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Website last up-dated on 2/9/2012

The view from beyond time and space.

I am Merlin, and I am immortal. A quirk of birth? A gift from my mother? The legacy of

my father? I do not know how it is, but I know that it is true. Neither do I know the source of

the words that fill my head and fall from my lips like firedrops onto the tinder of men's hearts.

The words, the images: what is, what was, and what will be ... I have but to look.

A bowl of black oak water, the glowing embers of a fire, smoke, clouds, the faces of men

themselves -- I have but to look and the mists grow thin and I peer a little way along the

scattered paths of time.

Was there ever a time such as this?

Never! And that is both the glory and the terror of it. If men knew what it was that loomed

before them, within reach of even the lowest -- they would quail, they would faint, they would

cover their heads and stop their mouths with their cloaks for screaming. It is their blessing and

their curse that they do not know. But I know; I, Merlin, have always known.

... from "MERLIN"

by Stephen R. Lawhead

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Please go next to the "New Home" page to get more information about this site.

CONVERSATIONS - #1 PEACE PILGRIM

One meets very interesting people in the realms beyond time and space, and some of

the most interesting are folks who have also been unusual while they were active in the

relative world of the planet Earth. In the coming months of 2011, I plan to share some of

my conversations with these people with you who are now on Earth and kind enough to

join us at www.merlynsworld.com.

This is the first of such conversations. Some of you may even have met this fascinating

lady who is my partner in this conversation. She was (literally) walking the earth until her

abrupt passing over in A.D. 1981. She had abandoned her given name in 1953, and thereafter

was known only as "Peace Pilgrim".

Her amazing life is a lesson for all of us who profess a desire for a more peaceful world.

She lived her belief in the cause of peace, and her vow was "I shall remain a wanderer until

mankind has learned the way of peace, walking until I am given shelter, and fasting until I am

given food." For 28 years, she was a walking prayer in all 50 states of the U.S.A., and her

story has been immortalized in a book that bears her name. If you too want peace, please

Post Office Box 1295, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501)

The following is an excerpt from our conversation about the power of thought:

Merlyn: Please share with us what you have learned about our thoughts.

Peace Pilgrim: "If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a

defeatist or negative thought. Since we create through thought, we need to concen-

trate very strongly on positive thoughts. If you think you can't do something, you

can't. But if you think you can, you may be surprised to discover that you can. It is

important that our thoughts be constantly for the best that could happen in a

situation - for the good things we would like to see happen.

I have met some "new age" people who had heard some prediction of disaster

and were actually concentrating on that. What a terrible thing to do! Why, we're

creating every moment of our lives through thought, and we're helping to create the

conditions around us.

When you hear of any predictions of disaster there's a reason for it. The reason

is that you are to throw the entire weight of your positive thought in the opposite

direction."

Merlyn: Do you mean that our thoughts literally create our reality?

Peace Pilgrim: "Every good thing you do, every good thing you say, every good thought

you think vibrates on and on and never ceases. The evil remains only until it is

overcome by the good, but the good remains forever."

Merlyn: What is it like to constantly walk in unfamiliar places all alone?

Peace Pilgrim: "There was a time when I was walking out of town at sunset and a well-

to-do couple in a big house called me over. They had read about my pilgrimage and

felt it was their Christian duty to warn me that ahead on the way lay a very wicked place called 'South of the Border'. They just wanted to warn me not to go near that place. They did not offer food or shelter, however, so I walked on for several hours.

It was a very dark night with a heavy cloud cover and all of a sudden it started

to rain. Big drops were coming down, and I was carrying a lot of unanswered mail.

I looked for a place where there might be a shelter and nearby I saw a combination

gas station, restaurant, and motel. I ducked under the roof over the gas pumps and

started to put the unanswered mail into the front of my tunic so it wouldn't get wet.

The man from the gas station came running out and said, 'Don't stand out there in

the rain, come into the restaurant.' The man in the restaurant said, 'Oh, we read all

about you, and we would like to offer you a dinner or anything you want.' By that

time I realized where I was. I was in 'South of the Border'.

The man from the motel was sitting across from me and he gave me a room for

the night. They also gave me breakfast the next morning.

There may have been gambling in the back room; something was going on in

there. But they treated me in a much more Christian manner than those who warned

me against them. It just demonstrates my point that there is good in everybody."

Merlyn: What can one person do to create peace?

Peace Pilgrim: "Be a sweet melody in the great orchestration instead of a discordant note.

The medicine this sick world needs is love. Hatred must be replaced by love, and fear

by faith that love will prevail."

"Don't ever forget who you are. You cannot be where God is not."

He who has ears to hear. let him hear,

... Merlyn

Y.G.I.T.S.

WEBSITE SUMMARY

PAGES NO. 1 AND 2

These are our two-part "Home" page. On them, you will find a statement of our purpose in creating the site, as well as links to all the other pages. Merlyn's world view is quite different than that of most of us, and is definitely positive in tone. We think you will enjoy it (we have), and our plan is to keep adding new features and ideas from his world. We'll keep you posted when there are changes.

Page 1 now also has "Conversations From Beyond Time

and Space" with some very interesting individuals.

PAGES NO. 3 AND 4

"Essays" - 2011 and 2010. A series of the Wizard's essays on a variety of interesting subjects. "History", "Medicine", and "Religion", for example. We are encouraging him to write some more for us. He is apparently living "outside of time", so that should not be a problem.

PAGE NO. 5

"Lessons from Merlyn". Among his many other

talents, Merlyn was a fine teacher. One of his star

pupils (named Arthur) certainly made a name for himself, so we encouraged the teacher to share as

many of his ideas with us as he cared to. Some of

these "lessons" may surprise you, but it looks like

they will be fun. We have lots of them ready to go.

PAGE NO. 6

"Poetry Corner" We have been interested in

poetry for a long time, and so, apparently, has

Merlyn. Here we will present some of his favorites.

We will also consider including some original

submissions.

PAGE NO. 7

"Merlynews". We are all bombarded daily with

news of all kinds - some good, some not so good,

but rarely do we get an opportunity for a news

perspective not locked into time and space. We

have been promised two types of news items -

Inside time/space, and Outside time/space, with

editorial comment on both. This should be fun.

PAGE NO. 8

"King Arthur" The legends of Arthur and his

friends (and enemies) have been around for about

a thousand years, and have been examined from

almost every angle. The key word here is almost.

We'll try to offer a new viewoint to this subject, too.

PAGE NO. 9

"Talk to Us". The Magician has agreed to have

a dialog with those of you who are interested in

sending us your thoughts on our BLOG page.

We also have an email address:

imagine@merlynsworld.com

We'd be glad to hear from you.

CONVERSATIONS - #2 LEONARDO DA VINCI

I have the best of both worlds. I can still remember and keep in contact with your relative

world of time and space, while living consciously in our timeless one. What a blessing, and all

of you have it to look forward to when you are ready. I had my first conversation just now with

the person you knew as Leonardo DaVinci, and believe me, he is everything you thought he was,

and more.

***

MERLYN: It is a real pleasure to meet you, Leonardo. Needless to say, you were, and still are,

quite famous on Earth. Is that still a source of pleasure for you?

LEONARDO: Well, you also made a name for yourself, and you still seem to be working at it.

How do you feel about it? It's really not too difficult to be well-known, however. A lot of people

have heard about Attilla the Hun, too.

MERLYN: I see your point. The reason for one's fame is a matter of some importance, isn't it?

LEONARDO: I'd say so. I had the opportunity to know some kings and princes and even a Pope

or two while I was there. Most of them were remarkable people, but they didn't all leave the

world better than they found it.

MERLYN: Your fame was based on the fact that you were knowledgeable about so many

different subjects. Of all the skills you had, what was your greatest joy?

LEONARDO: You probably won't believe this, but I was a terrific lute player. I still wish that I

had spent more time making music, but one had a difficult time earning a living that way. In

Italy, there was a much better market for my art and my scientific work.

MERLYN: You were criticized a lot for not finishing many of you artistic projects. Why didn't you?

LEONARDO: You had to bring that up, didn't you? I guess there just weren't enough hours in a

day to do all the things I wanted to do. I often found myself thinking about my next project while

working on a current commission, and rather than do it badly because of my lack of concentration,

I simply quit. I do feel rather sad about that horse, though. They would have had a much more

difficult time destroying a bronze casting than the clay model.

MERLYN: How could you have foreseen so many ideas and inventions that noone else had even

thought of?

LEONARDO: You know the answer to that. Just like yours, my mind was partly connected to what

everyone called the past or the future. We both know now that time does not really exist, so it's

just a matter of where one focuses his attention. Those who are still on Earth now should know

this about time - I could see it when I was there, and said this then: In rivers, the water that you

touch is the last of what has passed, and the first of that which comes. So with time present.

MERLYN: I wish I had said that. Do you suppose we could continue this conversation at another

time?

LEONARDO: Certainly. I believe we have already done this again in the future, haven't we?

BE SURE TO LOOK AT THIS!

CONVERSATIONS FROM BEYOND TIME AND SPACE

The following items are appearing because in the "Outside of Time and Space" world of the Wizard are many other individuals who have made a name for themselves while

here in our relative world on the Earth. Merlyn has made an acquaintance with a few of

them, and would like to share some of his conversations with us. We think you will find

these interesting and perhaps even enlightening.

This is a message that appeared in December of 2011.

A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM MERLYN

Well, now, isn't this a surprise? It turns out that a big disadvantage

to living outside of time is that one can completely lose track of it. The

last time I visited this site (in Earth time) was in June of 2011. I didn't

mean to do that. I merely took a few days off to visit the "future", and

when I returned, six months of your time had elapsed. It sure can get

confusing, and I'm truly sorry for the oversight.

I can't wait to give you my report from the future of your planet,

because I believe you will find it encouraging. Right now, however, I'd

like to comment on what's happening in your "present".

The annual celebrations of all the world's great religions are perfect

occasions for mankind to collectively turn its attention away from the

mundane concerns of everyday life and focus on the more important

things, like kindness, giving, and the simple joy of just being alive. If we

can find a way to concentrate on the blessings we have instead of the

trials, every moment can be such an amazing gift from our Creator, it's

no wonder we call it the present.

For those of you who dwell in a predominantly "Christian" environ-

ment, of course, this special season is supposed to remind us of the un-

limited and unconditional concern that our Creator has for our welfare. The symbol of the gift of an "only begotten Son" should be meaningful to any parent, whether or not the story is historically accurate.

The important thing to remember is that any "gift", small or large,

always opens a huge path for the giver to receive far more in return.

This is the unfailing and eternal promise of the Creator, however He, She,

or It is envisioned, and we must not forget that. Let us all use this season

to remind ourselves that all seasons are holy ones, and that the wisest

thing we can do for ourselves and the world is to celebrate every day by

giving as much as we can.

I promise not to disappear again for months at a time. I'll be more

careful now. Have a joyful holiday, and try to make it last all year.

Unconditional Love to All,

Merlyn

WE ARE GOING TO PUT THE SWORD

BACK IN THE STONE!

It is time. The world of the 21st century will be built by the pen and the plow. The weapons of war are no longer the right tools.

LATEST SITE

UPDATE

4/13/2012

CONVERSATIONS - #3 ALBERT EINSTEIN

( What a treat to get this glimpse into the mind of a genius.)

MERLYN: It's a real pleasure to meet you, Dr. Einstein. Those of us who have been in touch with the world of time and space have great admiration for your contributions to the natural sciences.

ALBERT: Thank you, Merlyn. I must admit, though, that when I was on earth,

I didn't pay much attention to these worlds outside of time and space, so it

appears to me now that my determination to keep my focus on the somewhat narrow idea of "relativity" wasn't really very helpful.

MERLYN: That's a pretty common reaction when we leave the physical world

and arrive here. It's all about focus, isn't it?

ALBERT: It certainly is. It's just amazing how we can completely concentrate

so hard on empirical evidence that we completely miss the bigger picture.

My contemporaries who understood the "quantum" theory better than I tried

to convince me, but I was pretty stubborn. I remember telling them that a

belief in an external world that is independent of the perceiving subject is

the very basis of all natural science.

MERLYN: What do you think about that now?

ALBERT: Well, I'm proud that I was able to help expand the scientific viewpoint,

but I didn't go nearly far enough. I can see now that we cannot stand apart from

a reality and do any more than present diagrams of it. We will never understand

its true nature at all that way.

MERLYN: You spent the latter part of your long career trying to mathematically identify a unified field that would embrace your physical reality and also include

the "uncertainty" and "probabilities" of the quantum theory. Did you ever reach

a satisfactory conclusion?

ALBERT: Not before I crossed over to this world. As long as I was focused on

earth, I just was not able to accept the idea that the unified field might not be

physical at all. It wasn't scientific enough to imagine that the energy we called

"consciousness" was the underlying reality that formed the energy we were

calling "matter".

MERLYN: Where do you go from here, with an even greater understanding

of reality than you had before?

ALBERT: I can't wait to find that out myself. I hope I won't be so determined

to simplify and measure a universe that is complex and limitless beyond all

comprehension. We can't really measure infinity, can we? Right now the

reality I see just gets bigger and more amazing every time I look around at it.

Why, I just found out that some astronomers from Yale University and Harvard

University recently suggested that there might be as many as 300 sextillion

stars - that's a 3 followed by 23 zeros. You know what? That number is still

too small. The more they search, the more they will find, because I see now

that it is their collective imagination that is creating all those galaxies. It appears that there truly are no limits to this awesome creation.

Watch here for more conversations from beyond time and space.

... Merlyn

Those of you who have been fascinated, as we have been, by the tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, will probably need no introduction to Merlyn. He appears, sometimes prominently, in many of the stories and legends of Arthur, and has himself been the sole subject of many books over the intervening years.

Some of these wonderfully written and often lengthy works have attempted to un-

ravel the mysterious origin and life of the famous "magician". The truth is, however,

that no matter how painstaking has been the investigation, no-one really knows how

many of the "facts" that have been uncovered are really true.

It is entirely possible that all of the stories of Arthur, Merlyn, and the other charac-

ters in the tales are merely legends with little or no basis in fact. To a real student of

early English history, this matters not at all. The stories, whether legend or history,

are simply too enchanting and memorable to be ignored.

This man, who has been called Merlinus (Roman), Myrddin (Welsh), the Merlin of

Britain (a title), Emrys (another Welsh name), and assorted other aliases, emerges from

these epic tales as the most memorable, the most amazing, and perhaps the most

important character of all.

His seemingly endless roles include those of a musician, traveling bard (story teller),

naturalist, physician, mystic, seer of the future, druid priest, warrior, teacher of Arthur

as a young boy, counselor of Arthur the King, emmisary of a united Britain, architect

of shrines, astronomer, and all-around miracle worker. Small wonder that he has been

immortalized as a magician. If all these skills and abilities were truly a part of this

one persona, the world has not since seen his equal. In our own troubled time, it

would certainly be helpful if a man with the insight and wisdom of a Merlyn was

available to guide us. Would we listen?

The kingdom that we call "Camelot" was built on Merlyn's strong principles, and

was destroyed when they were forgotten. The legends say that Arthur was the

"Once and Future King" who will appear again at the proper time to help lead the

world down the right path. These same legends are not very clear about whether

the Merlin of Britain really died, or simply disappeared to re-emerge at another

time and place. Is it possible that he has???

CONVERSATIONS #4 - ABRAHAM LINCOLN

We are so fortunate because we have just met a remarkable individual who, in a recent important

life on Earth was named "Abraham Lincoln". No doubt you have heard of the 16th president of the

United States. He was almost single-handedly responsible for keeping those states united at a crucial period in the nation's growth. He still has a lot to say to us about unity.

MERLYN: I've heard you referred to as "Honest Abe". What do you think of that?

MR. LINCOLN: The truth is I thoroughly disliked the name "Abe", and those who knew me well would

never use it. Perhaps my efforts to be honest were notable only because there were so many others in

my profession who didn't think it was important. I did think then that honesty was a very important trait,

and of course I still do. I had resolved to be an honest lawyer then, and believed that if one could not

be an honest lawyer, he should just be honest without being a lawyer.

MERLYN: What made you become a politician?

MR. LlNCOLN: Well, that's a long story. At the ripe old age of 23, I actually ran for the state legislature

in Illinois. I lost, but a couple of years later, after I had made a lot more friends and ran a business in

New Salem for a while, I tried again and this time I made it to the state capitol in Vandalia. I was pretty

good at public speaking already, but you couldn't live on the three dollars a day we were paid, so I

spent three more years studying law books so I could pass the law exams and become a lawyer, too.

That got me to Springfield, which had become the new state capitol, and I ended up serving four terms

and got appointed to the Whig party's State Central Committee. I guess I was just supposed to do that.

MERLYN: Since your assassination you have become generally regarded as one of the greatest

leaders your country ever had. Did you set out to do that, or did it just happen?

MR. LINCOLN: If indeed I did accomplish any great deeds, it was because the need for them was

thrust upon me. I did, of course, seek to become the president, but the nation was already headed

toward a civil war when I got the job, and I was unable to prevent it. During the war, I believe I was the

most unpopular president the country had ever known. I lived with rumors of abduction or assassination

from the moment I was elected. Threatening letters arrived in my mail almost every day. I made up my

mind that there wasn't anything I could do about that, so I just got on with my job, while some others

tried to protect me. My job, or my immediate objective became to save the Union because I believed in

its nobility. I wasn't trying to destroy slavery until I realized that its abolition was absolutely necessary.

MERLYN: What did you really think about the slavery issue?

MR. LINCOLN: It's obvious to us now, isn't it, that i's ridiculous to think that one man could or should

be the "owner" of another. Even then, I believed that if slavery wasn't wrong, then nothing was wrong.

Changing the situation wasn't quite that simple, though. Slavery was a huge part of the southern state's

prosperity, and even in the north where it was illegal, there was considerable prejudice against black

people. Those who wanted to abolish slavery altogether were a very small minority. My personal

attitude was always that all men should be free, and if any should be slaves, it should first be those who

want to be, and second those who want others to be. Whenever I heard anyone arguing for slavery, I

wanted to see it tried on him personally.

MERLYN: Do you believe, like the writers of the American Declaration of Independence, that all men

are created equal?

MR. LINCOLN: I think those authors meant to include all men, and women too, but they did not mean

that everyone was equal in all respects. They did not mean to say that all were equal in color, size,

intellect, moral development, or social capacity. They distinctly defined in what respects they considered

all men created equal - equal in "certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the

pursuit of happiness." That is what they said, and that is what they meant.

MERLYN: What advice would you have for the politicians in the 21st century?

MR. LINCOLN: Now that is a big question. The issues they face are not local, or even national. What

I see now is a "world" union that is trying to self-destruct through a global civil war. The leaders must do

everything in their power to prevent that, but just as in my time, the real issue is a moral one. From our

perspective, we can both see that the only real answer for any country, or the whole world, is to get

everyone to realize that we are all in this together. Unless the true objective of leaders is the welfare of

everyone, as well as every other living thing, the world needs different leaders, or it will not survive.