From Script to Novella: The Birth of "Melissa"

 

Melissa's painting "Black & White" 

For several years, "Melissa" brewed as a captivating screenplay, simmering with the potential for a deeper dive into the human psyche. But scripts, like blueprints, lack the nuanced tapestry of prose. I craved to explore the labyrinthine depths of my characters, to illuminate Melissa's and Nathan's, unspoken thoughts and desires.

The title page of "Melissa's" screenplay.

That's when "Melissa" embarked on a metamorphosis. Guided by the strong foundation of the script, I embarked on a journey of transformation. AI tools like Bard, GPT-4, and Sudowrite became my writing partners, whispering suggestions for the improvement of vivid prose and unlocking vibrant possibilities for word choices within the narrative.

Sudowrite Story Engine

Each keystroke became a brushstroke, meticulously painting a world where the boundaries between reality and the supernatural blurred. The psychological thriller I envisioned evolved into an intertwined horror, faith, and the insidious poison of false pride.

A flashback "Funeral"

Currently, we are running a beta reading program, which will last five weeks. The human feedback of "Melissa's" story is crucial and truly appreciable.

Beta Reader Evaluation Process

This isn't just a story penned on paper; it's a story reborn, one that invites you to question your own perceptions and delve into the darkness within. Are you ready to face the chilling realities of human pride, the transformative power of faith, and the promise of redemption? 

Scene "Ghost"

The stage is set, the curtain rises, and "Melissa" awaits your presence.

Follow the beta-reader program updates on our blog to learn about the engaging and insightful process of being a beta reader, and potentially join the program for "Melissa," Part II!

#Humanpsyche, #Falsepride, #Betareaders, #psychologicalthriller 

What was it like for the people who sold their souls, and what did they gain from it?

This is another fascinating soul question on Quora.

Soul selling is a simplified name for the complex process of transferring Free Will from a person to Satan*.

The process of selling the soul is well described by a number of authors, including Goethe in the tragic play "Faust";

Faust

Oscar Wilde, in his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the film "Dorian Gray" 

The Picture of Dorian Gray

and me, in the novella Tomo and The Soul Catchers, which became a base for the screenplay Heaven**.

Tomo and The Soul Catchers

In each of these cases, Satan is ready to satisfy any desire of the victim in exchange for his/her soul.

For example, due to such a deal, Faust got limitless knowledge, Dorian - eternal youth, and Cora - seductive beauty.

So, in principle, we can say that these guys got what they wanted from earthly pleasures. However, is everything so simple? Or are there side effects?

Yes, they are.

The soul becomes a slave of the Head of Darkness*, losing its own "voice", the freedom of further choice and decision-making.

The good news is that the soul will not be punished for its "bad deeds", meaning it avoids karma. On the other hand, it will forever lose the opportunity to become the Creator, "produce" souls, and the opportunity to become "first", since Satan (which the soul eventually become) is always "second" to God.

Also, for a short time, the soul avoids Degradation and the risk of spiritual death for the loss of energy. On the other hand, it will run the risk of spiritual death as a punishment for cruelty.

A young soul might say, "I enjoy earthly pleasures, I hate making decisions and don't like karma at all, so this might be great for me." But in fact, Satan's "kindness" is a well-disguised evil, and in all of the stories listed, the protagonist encounters side effects shortly after the deal and is deeply disappointed in what he/she has done.

After the soul's Earthly existence, Satan will continue to “work” on it sending it to study or labor in the hardened worlds to achieve the energies and goals that He wants.

The soul will not have the opportunity to choose a planet, body, etc., and the habitat and shell of the body can be really terrible.

One way or another, the process of selling the soul or the temptations of Satan stretches over hundreds or even thousands of incarnations and does not necessarily end with a deal, since the majority of souls still choose the direction to the Light, leaving Satan empty-handed. This case of Satan chasing the soul for five incarnations, is well described by me in the screenplay Redemption**, based on my novel Redemption.

novel Redemption

Note:

*Satan = Head of Darkness

** We are looking for an experienced producer and director

Why War? Part VI

The Holy Bible says: 

1. You shall have no gods before me
2. You shall make no idols
3. Honor your mother and farther
4. You shall not murder
5. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor

Ten Commandments

Joseph Jughashvili (Stalin)  immediately violated the Five Commandments out of Ten when he came to power in the USSR  in 1924.

 A banner of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin

Stalin's commandments

1. Stalin replaced faith in God with faith in communism

2. Turned Lenin into an idol and generate cult of own personality

Berlin 1951 

3. Encouraged children to denounce parents; 

4. Forced people to bear false witnesses;

5. Carried out constant purges with mass executions of people.

karma 

For 30 years, Russia (USSR) paid with karma for joining the First World War, while accumulating a new one for violating the Commandments.

"You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."

Along with the Spiritual Choice towards Darkness made by Tsar Nicholas, the violation of the Commandments of God gave rise to heavy negative karma that tormented the Russian people for almost 30 years - until the death of J. Stalin in 1953.

thaw

The next leader of Russia (USSR), N. Khrushchev, admits the grossest mistakes in the creation of the cult of Stalin, repressions, and purges.

Times Magazine 

The mummy of Stalin is taken out of the Mausoleum, the streets are renamed and the city Stalingrad becomes Volgograd.

repentance for sins

Khrushchev's repentance for sins greatly softens the karma of the country*. The USSR is slowly but steadily beginning to emerge from Darkness into Light.

However, this transformation does not bring everything that should have been done: neither Faith in God, nor deliverance from the idol of Lenin, the one-party system, and autocracy.

The new leader has the intention to move towards the Light, but in fact carries a mixture of Values. Here are freedom of speech and persecution of artists, improved living conditions and crop failures, friendship with the West and military intervention in the internal affairs of a sovereign country.

you shall not murder

In 1956 one of the main Commandments was broken - "You shall not murder". The Soviet Army killed  2,500 Hungarians who fought for the weakening of communist control and the observance of human rights.    

Cruelty and inhumanity in the war against Freedom in a sovereign country (against Free Will) bring despair to people (despair = Value of Darks).

chaos

With a three-year education ( low energetic potential), Khrushchev autocratically makes important economic and political decisions. The consequences of these mistakes give rise to instability and chaos in the country (Values of Darks).

injustice and despair  

But probably the biggest damage to the movement towards the Light becomes the execution of desperate workers in Novocherkassk (1962) who wanted to improve their plight.

In addition to being unfair, this action of the ruling elite was contrary to the idea of Marxism-Leninism itself with the dictatorship of the proletariat, which was the main engine of the struggle of several generations of revolutionaries. 

This inhuman act of the Khrushchev regime shakes faith in Soviet power and Communism and drives the workers to even deeper despair ( = Value of Darks). 

People were left both without faith in God and faith in communism.

Summary

• Russia suffered from the Spiritual Choice toward Darkness in 1914 until 1953

• During the regime of the Darks, the country accumulated new karma for violating several of God's Commandments

• The new leader N. Khrushchev turned Russia towards the Light by publicly repenting of the sins of the country's leadership (Stalin)

• Repentance brought relief to the karma of the people, but not all sins were recognized

• Due to the low energy potential and autocracy, Khrushchev was not able  consistently to follow the Values ​​of Light 

• At the end of the Khrushchev regime, some of the Values ​​of Darkness were returned 

Discover Spiritual Choices toward Lights in the novel Redemption.

Find more about Spiritual choice towards Darkness in the screenplay  Heaven.

* God will forgive a repentant sinner “seventy-times-seven times” (i.e., a limitless number).

Redemption. The Excerpt FIve

Ann and Rob. Redemption novel by Jacklyn A. Lo

I'd like to present the fifth extract from my novel Redemption. 

In this conversation, Ann requested Rob to explain the reincarnation principle to her.

****

“Tell me all about it,” Ann asked, steering her car through the city center. “I want all the info you’ve got on this reincarnation chain thing.” 

She’d left the café slightly later than expected and decided it wasn’t worth returning to the office. 

Instead, she went on a drive to clear her head and mull things over with a little help from Rob.

“Certainly, my lady,” he said, bowing his head slightly. “As you know, it has to do with your lifestream, which is made up of many individual lives. It’s a cycle of reincarnation. Birth, life and death, rebirth, life, and death.”

“But it’s not a never-ending cycle, is it?”

“No. Each life is built on the former lives, progressing towards the ultimate goal.”

“Of breaking free from the chain,” said Ann, interrupting him.

“Exactly.”

“What was it you called it again? It was named after a classic rock group, wasn’t it Oasis or something?”

“Nirvana,” said Rob, suspecting Ann was playing with him. “And the band was named after that ultimate goal, rather than the other way round.”

“So, is everyone caught in this reincarnation chain?”

“All humans are, yes.”

“And my work colleague, Peter?”  Ann asked after a moment of thinking.

“Of course. He will have had other lives before he was Peter, and no doubt he will have many lives after this one, as will you, my lady. And at this speed, that next life may come sooner than you expect.”

Ann glanced at Rob, frowning, “What do you mean?”

“The car,” said Rob. “You are traveling twelve miles an hour above the specified limit for this road.”

Ann sighed, easing her foot off the gas. “Driving too fast, moving too slow. I have to say, Rob, I don’t feel like I’m making much progress at the moment.”

“That day will come,” he replied, dishing out his most charming smile. “You just need to be patient, my lady. The little things matter just as much as the big ones. They all work together in the process of karma.”

“Little things like what?”

With barely a moment’s hesitation, Rob said, “Take your visit to the hospital this afternoon. You didn’t have to go and see your injured colleague. And yet you took the time to do it.”

“What little good that did? Peter didn’t even know I was there.”

“That is not what matters when it comes to karma. Whether people see your good deeds or not is of little consequence. It is what God sees that counts.”

“So, even little things help in my progress towards Nirvana? That’s certainly nice to know. But, still, I feel like I’m running on empty at the moment.” She paused at a set of traffic lights, momentarily lost in thought. “Rob,” she said suddenly.

“Yes, my lady!” said Rob, eager as always.

“Do you think I should carry on with this whole process of unearthing my past and finding out about my lifestream, about my true self?”

“As it says in the Bible: ‘Seek, and ye shall find.’”

Ann flicked the indicators to signal right and set off from the lights as if coming to a decision. “Can you map out the best route to the psychic’s place?”

Rob nodded happily. “On it right now!”

****

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Spiritual Choice. Part II

Right Spiritual Choice 

In our God’s hierarchy, a Right Spiritual Choice is a Choice towards Light. 

One of the best samples of a Right Spiritual Choice is represented in the drama-horror movie The Rite ( 2011).

Multiple Spiritual Choices towards Light is the best-case scenario for any spiritual entity as it guarantees the least incarnations to achieve Liberation and membership in the team of Lights.

For example, a man has made Spiritual Choices towards Light during his five past lives. In the present life, he again goes for Light. As a result, he will reach extra Spiritual enlightenment, upgrade his consciousness, and get closer to the Final Exit.

Multiple Spiritual Choices towards Light and its consequences are well described in Jacklyn A. Lo's Redemption novel.

A Spiritual Choice is the biggest challenge in anybody’s life as it is tailor-made for a particular individual and couldn't copy-paste it for anyone else.

Sometimes we get only a fraction of a second to execute our Spiritual Choice and to define our future for the next several lives.

However, we can also get months and even years for the Choice and define our Spiritual Direction. In this case, we might apply to decision making and use our analytical skills and intuition besides evaluating our Spiritual Values.

Why is Spiritual Choice towards Light so hard?

The Hierarchy of God is the most demandable; therefore, requirements to get Into it are the toughest. 

For example, going to prestigious Harvard University, you need to present a great Grade Point Average and high entrance exam score. The same with entering God's Hierarchy - you have to perform well daily and make the Right Spiritual Choices on the top.

However, as anything in the physical reality, the Spiritual Choice towards Light has its own risk - Degradation. A danger of degradation can appear if a person underestimates the risks of physical reality. 

For example, a man gives his kidney to his dying wife (Compassion is a Spiritual Value of Light). The wife is recovering but leaving the man and taking his property*. Due to disability, the man, who was a sportsman, can’t continue his carrier.  Being psychologically and financially broke, he finds no use for himself and becomes an alcoholic. Alcohol and drugs shorten a life-project and continuously reduce energy potential, which has been gathered before. The man faces Degradation.

* The reason for the betrayal can be the man's similar act in one of his past lives, that is, the Law of Karma works. However, we cannot know for sure.

Wrong Spiritual Choice 

In our God’s hierarchy, a Wrong Spiritual Choice is a Choice towards Darkness. 

There are several types of souls making that Choice:

• A young soul up to the first 10 lives

• Young souls who do not know how to separate "the wheat from the chaff" often go astray, succumbing to the temptations of the physical world. 
• Very often, such a soul ends up in prison. 
• Films samples:  Papillon (2017), Days of Heaven (1978), Badlands (1973)

• A mature soul with a direction towards Light:

• If a mature soul striving towards the Light makes an erroneous choice to the direction of Darkness, then the Law of Karma comes into force, which allows the person to return to the error and work it out. This Choice prolongs his path to the Final Exit. Negative karma always brings suffering.
• The Wrong Spiritual Choice and following Karma is well represented in the following films Bram Stocker’s Dracula (1992), The Machinist (2004)

• A mature soul makes his final Spiritual Choice towards Darkness:

• This is the last Spiritual Choice of the person. The soul might come back to the Earth or other dense world again, but without Free Will. The soul will be executing the Will of Satan.

Degradation

Degradation is the worst-case scenario for Spiritual Choice. 

Degradation characterizes by the constant loss of the previously gathered energies. As a result, it leads to a spiritual being's unprofitability and, ultimately, his soul’s decoding, i.e., Spiritual Death. 

For example, a man has made Spiritual Choices towards Degradation during his four past lives. In the present fifth life, he goes for Degradation again.  As a result, after his physical death, his soul will face Spiritual Death. 

The Spiritual Death means that energy accumulations during the man's all incarnations, including minerals, animals, etc., will be permanently erased. He will die as a Spiritual Being without a right to incarnate again. The life in the identity of the man is his last one.

Typical samples of spiritual entities moving towards Degradation are people-parasites who consume what is earned by family members or society. 

Other Degradation samples are descended angels; reference film - City of Angeles (1998). 

Spiritual Values

Spiritual Choice is not easy to recognize for outsiders, as it is individually tailored for every being and based on an individual's spiritual and energetic potential. 

However, there is a common thing in all Spiritual Choices - all of them are linked to the Highest Intangible Values. Some of them are presented in Table 2.

      Table 2. Samples of Values of Lights and Darks

The Values of Lights are always opposite to Values of Darkness with one exception - Loyalty. Loyalty is a Value, which belongs to both parties - Lights and Darks.

 

However, their quality of Loyalty is not the same. If Lights' loyalty is based on Faith and Love, for example, Faith in God/ Creator, the Darks' loyalty is based on obeyance and fear, for example, fear of Satan.

In the novel Redemption, the protagonist, a powerful tech executive, chooses multiple Lights' Values, such as Freedom, Love, Courage, Peace, and Hope.

A Spiritual Choice as a Spiritual Test

A human with the higher energetic and spiritual potentials gets the toughest Spiritual Choice - Spiritual Test. 

For example, the Old Testament tells us about God’s test of Abraham; the New Testament describes Satan’s temptation of Jesus. 

The Great Gautama the Buddha made a tough Spiritual Choice leaving the Golden Palace with his young and beautiful wife and his baby-boy. Later on, the Demon Mara’s brought another Spiritual Test to Gautama, assaulting him by several temptations.

A Spiritual Direction towards Light is the most challenging but the most promising, as in the long run, it brings opportunities to become a Creator by yourself! 

Is Vipassana meditation a fast track to liberation?* Part III

Terms and conditions

In order to achieve the objectives of Vipassana meditation, a student should follow the terms and conditions of the course.

There are five important precepts included in the Code of Discipline for new students:

1.    To abstain from killing any being.

2.    To abstain from stealing.

3.    To abstain from all sexual activity.

4.    To abstain from telling lies.

5.    To abstain from all intoxicants.

In addition to the Code of Discipline, a student is expected to accept a teacher (or assistant teacher), the Vipassana technique, and execute all other meditation techniques, rites, and/or any form of worship. Religious objects, crystals, and talismans are strictly prohibited during the course, as well as any form of intoxicants and drugs.

Clothes worn during the meditation should be clean, modest, and comfortable. Music, reading, and writing are not permitted.

Meditation hall

All students must observe Noble Silence. The Nobel Silence has been invented in accordance to prevent telling lies. The Noble Silence will be started at the end of zero day and ends at the afternoon of day ten. During this time you will have a right to communicate with teacher (or assistant teacher) during two periods per day. In the case of questions concerning practical issues, you will have the opportunity to make a written request and leave it in the appropriate place. The usage of cell phone, Tablet PC, laptops is strictly prohibited.

The Noble Silence is not as awful as it might seem. In fact, it helps to save your energy for concentration on the training.

Costs

The Vipassana meditation courses, accommodations, and food are free of charge. A small expense fund is required if you are going to outsource your laundry or purchase bottled water or juice.

Vipassana courses depend on voluntary donations from the people who have attended the course. You can use donation boxes for donations in smaller amounts of money, or deliver a donation to administrator who will be on the premises on the last day of the training. 

I advise you to ask for a receipt for your donation and prepare a printed visit card with your name and email address, because he might tell you that he will send the receipt by email. Ask him when he will be able to send the receipt and take his personal telephone number to call him in case he forgets to do it.

Constraints

The most critical for me was the first day of the course. I choose the Vipassana meditation center close to Pushkar, Rajasthan State, and attended the course at the end of September.

I wasn’t used to the heat at over +35 degrees C (+95 degrees F) overall, and especially in the premises without air conditioning. The temperature one degree higher would make impossible for me to continue the training.

Another huge constraint for me was long hours sitting in the meditation postures. I used to stay in meditation postures for 30 minutes or so, but a 12-hour training session at the Vipassana felt like torture.

So, to be able to successfully succeed in a Vipassana course, it’s essential to start preparation for it as early as possible, at least one-month prior.

*Note:  This article is based on my personal experience and thoughts after my first 10-day meditation course of Vipassana, and is not presented to be an absolute truth. – Jacklyn A. Lo, Author of Redemption novel, http://rbjal.com/

Next article will tell about practical advices and where to go for retreat.