The Dream Time

The Australian Aborigines refer to the time of their ancestors, when they were the only human inhabitants of Australia, as the “Dream Time.” It was a time when all humans and animals lived in harmony in this vast continent which has such extensive desert areas. It was a time when those living on earth and those who had passed to spirit communed on a daily basis. Speaking and asking advice from the “old ones” was a natural part of everyday life. It was truly a time of innocence, when human beings used all their faculties, spiritual as well as physical. The Aborigines never enjoyed an opulent life style, such as that enjoyed by so many today in the Western world but they were undoubtedly extremely happy and contented.

For all our opulence, technical expertise and ingenuity, happiness is not something one readily associates with modern western society. On the contrary, anxiety and stress are far more in evidence, even though we all enjoy great happiness from time to time, it can hardly be claimed that we are contented. It can be argued of course, that it is that very discontent that has been the catalyst for many of the technological advances of recent centuries. Without discontent, the argument runs, we would be satisfied with far less and not have advanced much beyond the Stone Age. I wonder! That selfsame discontent is what has been responsible for advancing greed and envy as well as leading us into disputes that have often ended in war.

Discontent has also been responsible I believe, for the unhealthy emphasis on materialism that is a large feature of modern technological society. The interesting thing about this is that both discontent and materialism are never satisfied; they feed upon themselves and people grow ever more discontented, ever more materialistic and the result? Complete dissatisfaction and an inner yearning for something that is missing but many know not what. I believe it could be a yearning from within for a return to the Dream Time when human beings led an existence that was balanced, both spiritually and materially; a time when physical life and spiritual life were almost indistinguishable; a time when life on Earth and life in the Spiritual World were seen as part and parcel of the same thing. The legend of the Garden of Eden shows that the Aborigines were not alone in having a Dream Time in their past. All human societies began the same way and only the uneven pace of evolution brought about the huge differences that now seem to exist.

This comparison persuades one to think about the purpose of earthly life. Is it really designed so that we can learn to exploit the resources of Earth to the ‘N’th’ degree, to force the physical world and all that is in it, to do our bidding so as to provide us with the greatest possible physical comfort and enjoyment? Or is it designed as a test to see how effectively we are able to bring our five physical senses under the control of our higher selves? How effectively we are able to live a physical life in the knowledge of the spiritual life? How effectively we are able to introduce the values of the Eternal Spirit into our day to day activities?
Just as many Native Americans find themselves unable to adapt to modern city life and seek comfort in the false arms of the bottle, so it is with the Aborigines. It is a sad reflection on modern society that we appear to find it impossible to incorporate the old with the new. We seem incapable of providing environments where the old can be enjoyed unhindered in the same way as the new. We even find it impossible to bring ourselves to seriously study the true cost in human terms, of our headlong dash to possess more and more, to control and compel. It is as though we are so frightened of what such a study might reveal, we are not willing even to ask the question!

Clearly we cannot turn the clock back to the Dream Time but we can recognise that, despite its apparently less comfortable and technologically advanced results, humanity seemed immeasurably happier then. Stress was unheard of, disputes were settled on a local basis and did not become huge wars and there was no reason to spend huge amounts of time and resources on developing ever more terrifying means of destroying one another’s physical bodies. Instead of dismissing such legends out of hand, we should study them and see how we can use the knowledge gained to restore a long overdue measure of balance to humanity.

"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder who you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky

The stars have always been a mystery to humanity and, once they had conquered everyday life so they could live in communities and not be too bothered by wild animals, the stars were the next to receive the attention of early man. It is not surprising I suppose because living without artificial light, the heavens provided a majestic nightly display which they watched, not only with increasing wonder but also with intelligence. They noticed how the stars seemed to move as the seasons of the year passed, they noted the patterns groups of stars made and gave them names, for human beings throughout the ages have sought, by anthropomorphism, to humanise any natural phenomena that seemed to emphasise humanity’s insignificance. Because the stars moved from month to month, early man also began attributing the personal characteristics of people born when the stars and planets were in a certain position, to the stars under which they were born. Thus astrology came into being.

Today, we can only imagine just what a marvellous spectacle the heavens provided to those early humans. So beautiful and wonderful was it, there is small wonder that human imagination took flight on the wings of the stars. Deep within all people there has always existed a conviction that this physical life is not everything, that in some mysterious way, we are eternal beings and that when we leave this Earth through death we do not just disappear but continue in a higher realm. It was always considered higher and consequently associating the stars with the after-life was a natural step to take.

The Egyptians saw their earth as a reflection of the heavens. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, was seen as the River Nile upon which they depended for their very lives, and their Gods, who had once lived upon Earth, were now the stars and planets that nightly danced about the Milky Way. Each Pharoah was considered to be a god and when he died, his physical body was preserved, for just as Christianity today will not publicly accept that we have a separate spiritual body that takes over when the physical one dies, the Egyptians believed if their Pharoah-God was going to ascend to the stars or the heavens, he would need his physical body in order to do so. The Pharoah’s body was richly clothed in gold and precious jewels and buried in a sarcophagus in the centre of a pyramid which was then sealed so no living human being could disturb the God. With this star-based religion the Egyptians provided the longest ever succession of dynasties ever to rule over one nation.

The Egyptians were a fascinating race that appeared to move from primitive conditions into a highly organised and technically skilled people virtually overnight. Not surprisingly this sudden change has given rise to speculation that they must have had help. People advancing this theory talk about the ancient continent of Atlantis that disappeared in some almighty cataclysm; they say some of their high priests and scientists escaped and made their way to Egypt where they became looked upon as gods because of their skills. Using these skills they created the first pharaonic dynasty and passed their knowledge and skills on to a few chosen natives before they died.

Of course it is only in recent times that astronomy has shown us just how huge individual stars and planets can be, how puny our own Earth seems next to them and how almost constantly, old planets and stars are exploding and new ones are being formed from inter-stellar dust particles. Modern knowledge has done little to dispel the mystery and wonder we attach to the stars. Even with the huge technological advances that have enabled us to put men on the moon, it is clear that distances between stars, let alone galaxies, is so enormous, until some totally unknown means of propulsion can be discovered, we will never be able to venture beyond the closest planets in our own solar system. Modern knowledge has also led to much speculation (for that is all it can be) about the origin of the universe. Theories abound concerning the universe – it is said to be expanding, it is claimed as being finite, it is claimed that it all began with one “Big Bang.” The only thing that is clear to anyone who examines the evidence objectively, is like life itself, the universe seems never-ending. Each new advance in telescope technology just shows us more and more detail, further and further away from us – nowhere is there any sign of an end to either ‘space’, as the far from empty area between stars and planets is euphemistically called, or the universe comes to an end


Eventually I hope and expect, the investigations of space both inner (particle physics) and outer (astronomy and astrophysics) will do no more than confirm what poets, seers and Spiritualists have long known. Life is not a physical but a spiritual and mental phenomenon and that all matter has been and is moulded by the power of the mind and the spirit to produce what physicists of all disciplines see and investigate as their reality. When we begin seriously investigating the mind and the spirit – ah, then we shall truly begin to learn what reality is.

“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

Judy Garland’s famous song from the “Wizard of Oz” encapsulates our compulsion to dream. There is no-one I think who has not dreamed at sometime during their life, (and I don’t mean our dreams when we are asleep) it seems to be a basic human need. For many, it is only dreams that make their life bearable; dreaming that one day all the misery they are going through will be a thing of the past, that the lifestyle they have long envied amongst others, will be theirs; the young mountain climber who dreams of conquering Everest or the North face of the Eiger; the athlete who dreams of Olympic Gold; the childless couple who dream of a family; the pauper who dreams of winning the lottery; the invalid who dreams of good health; the widow who dreams of being united once more with her husband in the afterlife. The list is endless and varied.

This propensity to dream, to live in what some refer to as an ‘unreal world’ is in reality the prompting from our spirit-selves to allow the creative urges of the spirit freer reign. Our spirits are in a way trapped in our physical bodies and yearn for release; for a return to the freedom of the spiritual world where there are no restrictions upon the creative genius of our spirit. All great ideas that have moved humanity forward on the road from darkness to light and from ignorance to knowledge, have begun with a dream and a dreamer who will not be satisfied with things as they are. The spirit is ever dissatisfied for it knows there are no limits on the heights to which we can rise or distances we can travel. It knows that all things are possible and it is only the doubting, conscious mind which applies the brakes.

The rainbow is such a beautiful natural phenomenon it is ready-made to be the catalyst for our dreams. Anything that is beyond the rainbow must of necessity be something incredible, something marvellous; something to take us out of the petty restrictions imposed by everyday life. In such dreamlike states the imagination is free to roam where it will and the imagination is very much the creative centre of us all. By releasing the imagination to dream, whilst not forgetting the necessities of daily life, we add an extra dimension to our lives that can bring us peace and release the innate understanding of eternal life which each of us possesses. In doing this we come to realise that what we formerly considered to be so important in our lives is in fact only marginal; we are learning to see the materialistic ego in its true perspective, allowing it to act as guide rather than dictator.

Allow your spirit to soar above and beyond the rainbow; give your inner self permission to move to the forefront of your life; look back upon your ordinary life from these imaginative heights and see what is truly important; give yourself permission to stop worrying because you and everybody else are part of a carefully-drawn-up plan; be free! Be free but with a sense of responsibility that can always distinguish between true freedom and mere licence. Being free to dream means allowing others to do the same, indeed encouraging others to do the same. In the rarefied atmosphere beyond the rainbow, you begin to feel, perhaps for the first time, that freedom of the spirit is the ultimate aim of life on Earth. Only after experiencing the ‘captivity’ of the physical body and living in a material world, can we truly appreciate what freedom of the spirit means. Next time you gaze wonderingly at the rainbow let go; allow your spirit to surge upwards and move into the stratosphere of human spiritual experience.

What’s in a Name - Part 2

Since publishing my earlier blog about Names, I have been approached on the question of Spirit Names, a topic I realise now I should have included. I believe and in this I share the Spiritualist belief, that when we are born on Earth we should not only be given the name(s) chosen by our parents but also a spirit name. In the Spiritualist service of Naming, the medium performing the service is required to give a Spirit Name to the child and this is either heard directly from the spiritual world, if the medium is clairaudient, or the name is placed in the medium’s mind in another way, inspiration if you wish. Also, because Spiritualists are horrified by the concept of ‘original sin’, flowers, as symbols of purity are used in such services rather than water.

Let me set out for you exactly what takes place at a British Spiritualist Naming.

Address by Officiating Medium: It will be something along the following lines:
“We meet today in celebration of a new life who has joined us on Earth; a life with all the potential for spiritual growth which is part of our divine heritage. As Andrew Jackson Davis, the great American Seer and medium said, “A child is the repository of infinite possibilities.”
Being children of the Great Spirit, we are sharing in a ceremony which is both ancient and sacred. The ceremony recognises the sweet life which has come amongst us, acknowledges identity and also acknowledges one-ness with God. Men and women have always felt the need to be distinguished from one another and known by an individual name. This is as much the case today as it has ever been.
Our service of naming is therefore an act of thanksgiving for this new life and an opportunity for each of us, especially the parents and sponsors, to dedicate ourselves to -----‘s (name of child) well being. We seek God’s blessing on him/her for he/she may shed radiant light in a world where darkness so often seems to surround us, or it may be that he/she will lead mankind into greater knowledge and understanding.
It is the duty of Parents and Sponsors to train children in the ways of spiritual growth, therefore I ask you ----- (names). Will you undertake to do your best to ensure ----- (name) is given every opportunity to grow up in the knowledge that he/she is a spirit being, part of the Great Spirit of Light we call God, as are all human beings? (The sponsors respond in the affirmative)
No number of sponsors alone will be sufficient to support ---- (names of parents) in this task. We all have a duty to share in this responsibility. Do not therefore neglect your duty, since today’s children are the promise of a better world tomorrow.
Surely we desire for all children that they be surrounded by conditions which will ensure the complete and perfect blossoming of their lives, which are, as yet, so young and tender. God does not call upon us to cleanse this, or any other child, from inherent sin. Spiritualism acknowledges that children are blossoms of divine love, a blessing from God, born in accordance with natural law. They inherit no handicap, save that of inexperience.
Just pause for a moment and admire the beauty and purity of the human flowers with which God graces the Earth, of which ---- (name of baby) is a delightful example. Who are we to presume that we can cleanse a flower so unsullied? No, it is not a process of cleansing from sin which we are about to perform, instead we shall use these flowers as symbols of purity and grace and concentrate all our thoughts of love upon ---- (name) as we name him/her.”

Next the medium offers a prayer:

Naming Ceremony: Holding the baby, the medium says to the parents, “---- (names), what names do you give your daughter/son?”
Speaking to the baby: “Using these flowers – earth’s purest gems, as emblems of the beauty which God delights to see in the hearts of his children – I Name you -------. May God bless and shield you, may His spirit messengers guide you, help you in trouble, comfort you in sorrow, inspire you to search for truth and may His presence and blessing be with you throughout your life.”
Spirit Name: “As some of you will know, it is usual at our naming ceremonies to give a spirit name to the child; a name inspired by those in the world of the spirit, which has meaning for the child, something which may inspire him/her in times when he/she feels the need for inner strength and guidance. I am inspired to give the Spirit Name of ---- to this little one today.”
The medium returns the child to the parents and then reads a piece he/she has specially chosen for the occasion and dedicates to the baby on his/her Naming day.
Speaking to the congregation: “As you will have gathered, flowers have a very special significance in this ceremony and I should now like each of you to come forward and give your flower to -----(name). These gifts are an acknowledgement, by each of us, of the purity of all new life, of the spiritual link that exists between us and every form of life and of our individual responsibility to ensure ---- (baby’s name) is surrounded by love and understanding and given every opportunity for spiritual growth throughout his/her childhood.”

Blessing: “May the blessing of God, the Eternal Spirit, be upon ---- (baby’s name) and his/her parents, sponsors and upon each of us. May this blessing remain with us today and forever more; Amen”

PERSPECTIVES

It is an unfortunate fact of human nature that we tend to view whatever is happening to us right at this moment as the most important thing in the world. If we are happy and joyful, it seems no-one could possibly be more happy and joyful at this moment. If we fall in love, the experience is unique and nobody could have felt as wonderful as we do. On the other hand if we are ill, particularly with a serious illness, we are frequently plunged into the depths of misery thinking it is the end of the world and others cannot be worse than are we. If we are struck by disaster; maybe all our worldly possessions are seized to pay our debts, or the love of our life has decided a divorce is necessary. A black cloud descends and we become so miserable, it is impossible to remember that others are often much worse off than us. Like the man who appears to be holding the sun between his hands, this is an illusion.

Keeping things in perspective is a challenge in physical life that few, if any of us, are able to achieve all the time. Our ego has such a narrow focus that when we are in extremis, either good or bad, the senses so overpower our objectivity that it becomes almost impossible to see clearly beyond the narrow confines of those five little controllers. Please do not misunderstand me, the five senses are essential to maintaining physical life; without them we should never have survived as a species and even in these ‘enlightened’ days, they keep us out of harm’s way. However, one of the lessons I believe we are supposed to learn whilst here is to distinguish between those occasions when we need to rely solely upon our physical senses and those when we must subject them to the control of our higher, spiritual senses.

The poet Rudyard Kipling highlights this in his wonderful poem “IF”:

“If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
. . . Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!”

Psychologists have long recognised this tendency of human nature and they set about dealing with it by encouraging people to become involved in various Support Groups, especially where serious and rare illnesses are concerned. By meeting and speaking with others suffering as we are, the isolation that our dominant ego has forced upon us is relieved. We can become objective again. Not right away of course; it takes time to adjust.

I believe that one good way to try to avoid such reactions happening is to use habit. Develop the habit of contacting your inner and higher self regularly. If you do this under normal circumstances, it will become easier to do the same when circumstances are abnormal. How can you develop this habit? It is simple really. Teach yourself to be still! Forget, just for a few minutes each day, the hustle, bustle and din of everyday life. Find a place where you will not be disturbed and sit quietly and relax. You may wish to listen to some relaxing music or to a “guided meditation” spoken by someone else. You and I are spiritual beings and although the spirit enjoys a good time just as much as the physical body, it can only truly make you aware of its presence in stillness. Only then can the promptings of the physical senses be dulled sufficiently to allow your higher nature to reveal itself. Like everything, the more you practice, the more proficient you will become and I cannot emphasise too much the importance of regular, relatively short (say 20 minutes) periods spent in relaxed contemplation. One way to help you achieve this state is to place a flower before you (physically at first but later just imagine it) and contemplate every aspect of it. You will soon come to learn the truth of John Milton’s words, “In contemplation of created things, by steps we may ascend to God.”

Try it if you do not already do so and see how gradually, you whole attitude to life and other people changes. Indeed the reverse also occurs; other people begin to react differently towards you. It will also help you retain a truer sense of perspective so that when triumph or disaster put in an appearance you will be able to treat ‘both impostors just the same.”

LANGUAGE

What a wonderful thing is language. Where would we be if we were unable to communicate with one another using words? When you move to a foreign country, like I did, you discover quickly that life can become very frustrating and lonely until you acquire a working knowledge of the language of the country where you now live. Then comes the process of learning the new language and trying to practice, practice, practice, until you become reasonably proficient. Even then, I find myself all too often translating mentally, what I hear into my native tongue, which slows the process of communication considerably.

Think of the advances in human understanding language has enabled. Were it not for language, and particularly writing, each group would have to discover new aspects of our world independently. Thanks to the written word, new discoveries and inventions quickly become the property of all humanity. So it is with ideas. Because of language and printing (and these days the computer) ideas can be circulated to immense numbers of people almost instantaneously. Then each can decide for himself whether the new idea is for him or her or not. Unfortunately, this immensely speedy and widespread distribution of information is frequently misused by those wishing to control the minds of others and generate pre-determined emotional reactions to events and ideas. Because so many of us are mentally lazy, this process is made all the easier.

However, I believe there is a much more insidious disadvantage to language and its use in communication than that. Language of necessity is limited; even the English language which has more words in it than any other, I understand, imposes quite severe limitations upon our ability to communicate EXACTLY what we mean in any given situation. Take a simple example; trees. Our many earthly languages each have a word for tree and then sub-divide that into various types of tree as defined by botanists. However, just as no two human beings are exactly the same, so it is with trees. How can we describe these subtle differences? The answer is we cannot and as a result language persuades us to lump many things together under a single heading. Thus we obtain a very partial and unrealistic picture of the world as it actually is.

To understand further what I mean take the example of a person who owns and dotes upon a pet dog; say a Bassett Hound. There are thousands of Bassett’s in the world and to a casual observer, they each look identical, except perhaps that some are a slightly different colour than others. Yet the owner of the pet on which she dotes, is able to tell her wonderful Basset apart from any other. How can she do this? There are a hundred and one subtle things that go towards recognition of a particular animal (or human being if it comes to that) and none of them can really be explained satisfactorily in words! We just “know” don’t we? It is not just us either of course; the dog knows its owner among a thousand other humans and it cannot speak any language!

By classifying everything in such restrictive and narrow ways, language blinds us to the subtle and vital differences between creatures, plants and objects that outwardly seem so similar. We become conditioned in other words. It has been instrumental I believe in the spread of intolerance and its use by megalomaniacs to target particular groups for genocide. Language is also an unwitting champion of materialism. Its arbitrary divisions and classifications focus our minds almost exclusively upon material life and make little allowance for our extensive, though hidden, inner life. How often do people who have undergone intense and mystical experiences that have filled them with joy and wonder, say, “There are no words to describe my experience”? How do you put into words the feelings you have when you experience some outstanding natural event; one that takes your breath away? The sudden and inexplicable surge of joy as you gaze around you from a mountain top, or the beauty of a small island appearing suddenly ahead of your ship in the early light of dawn?

Before any of us can use words to describe a thing, we have to engage in the process of thinking and we are told for instance, that in the spiritual worlds, communication is by thought transference, telepathy, not spoken words. Thus language becomes superfluous. This also explains how mediums can receive information from people in spirit who did not speak the medium’s own language whilst on earth. Is it too much to suppose that before language was invented, humanity also communicated by telepathy; that it is an inherent ability we have allowed to atrophy because language has made us stop using it? I believe that to be so and as a result our full and joyous appreciation of the beautiful world around us has been stunted. Only occasionally and then not everyone, are we able to break down the sight limitations language has imposed and see the true beauty of life expressed in colour and light.

If we once acknowledge as a species, the true limitations language has imposed upon us, we will become free and the world will be a much happier place because it will be easier for everyone to see the true reality and much more difficult for unscrupulous people to “pull the wool over our eyes.”

What’s in a Name?

With grateful thanks to Deborah for suggesting this topic. Lionel


Many people use this expression lightly, to indicate that names are not that important. Nothing, in my opinion could be further from the truth. Our names are very personal and very important. They form part of us; I would even go so far as to say they form part of our character. There are some societies where personal names are closely guarded and would never be disclosed to a stranger because once you give a person your name, you give them power over you. This may well be the reason why even today, we use the less personal surname when introducing ourselves to strangers.

It is as though the sound of our name, when spoken aloud, resonates in a special way with our individual electro-magnetic field. As we now know, artificial electro-magnetic fields can interfere with our health; for instance people living under power lines or very close to electricity generating stations often develop physical and mental health problems that have baffled the medical profession. Many Spiritualists claim that one of the reasons there is less physical mediumship compared to seventy years ago and earlier, is because artificially generated electro magnetism interferes with the delicate and subtle energies used to produce the phenomena. There are countless illnesses these days that were not evident in our grandparent’s day and I often wonder if electricity is the cause. We are surrounded these days by electronic equipment wherever we are. Even on mountain tops and other inaccessible places, we still carry our cell phones! Television, radio, music gadgets that people carry seemingly permanently plugged into their ears, telephones, computers, motor cars and other forms of transportation; all of them emit electro-magnetic waves at varying frequencies.

The great Spiritual healer Harry Edwards claimed each cell in the human body “has a mind of its own.” What he meant by this is that each cell emits a signal on a particular frequency and when it becomes diseased, the frequency of the signal changes. It only recovers when, by one means or another, the correct frequency is restored. Almost all forms of treatment come down at a basic level, to a means of affecting the electro-magnetic fields of various cells. Bach Flower remedies for instance transfer the frequency of the cells of the flower from which they are distilled, into the cells of the patient. Dr Bach urged his students to “feel” the energy of the flower when they were picking it. The reason different drugs are needed for different health conditions is because each drug transfers a different electro-magnetic vibration to the patient, so depending upon the wavelength of the signal of diseased cells, a different drug is needed to restore it to the original. A French scientist investigating the claims of Homeopathy found that water has a very special property; it absorbs the electromagnetic wavelength of any substance dissolved in it. So, homeopathic remedies act directly on the electro-magnetic signal of individual cells, using this magnetically charged water. Spiritual Healing acts in exactly the same way. The healers in spirit know the wavelengths needed to correct errant cells and apply them, often through the use of colour. Sound may also be used.

All in all then, the human body works through the use of electro-magnetic vibrations, although they are often of so subtle a nature that science has no instrument yet, sufficiently sensitive to detect them. Kirlian photography has shown how every living thing has an energy field surrounding it and some people have adapted Kirlian equipment for the treatment as well as just the detection of certain diseases. This being the case, it is small wonder that the sound of our name affects our energy field and that primitive tribes were so cautious about disclosing their individual names.

Numerologists make much use of names and claim that our name affects our lives in many different ways, including how financially successful we are. One numerologist suggested to me that if I added the initial ‘Z’ between my first and surnames on my book covers, my books would sell better! Others have told me that their experience has shown that some names seem to be possessed by those who are destined to live relatively short lives. The name of John was given as an example and I must say, co-incidence or not, my grandfather and one brother who possessed that name did pass to spirit relatively young.

The answer to the question therefore is that there is much more in a name than you might suppose at first. I believe we do not receive our names by chance, although parents may think their choice is random. I think the choice of name is very much influenced from the higher worlds because it is so important in helping us follow the path in life we consciously chose when we agreed to come to Earth in the first place. To follow that path successfully we need a certain type of energy field and our name is a vital part of that field.

Going With the Flow

This is a short extract from my upcoming novel “The Keepsake”

An accountant by training and in my late forties, I had undergone a recent, unpleasant divorce and was trying to adapt to life as a single man after twenty years of marriage. It wasn’t easy. Even here in Manchester I lived in constant apprehension. My former wife still lived nearby and I was petrified I would meet her. To avoid such meetings and to forget the pain, I worked longer hours than I should. This was taking its toll; lack of sleep and a poor diet made me irritable with colleagues. Everyone was sympathetic but I could sense their frustration and found myself less welcome at social gatherings. I was as tense as a tuned violin string and didn’t know where to turn. The transfer could not have come at a more opportune time. I suspect it was no accident, for the job could have been done by a more junior person. Henry Stanton Newton is very shrewd, which is why his company is so successful.

Thus I found myself driving along a deserted country road in Radnorshire, Mid Wales, on a beautiful May morning. It was still early, for I left home before six in order to avoid the morning rush hour. Feeling thirsty, I stopped to have some coffee from the flask I had with me. It was such a glorious day I got out of the car, removed my jacket and sat on a bank beside the road. It was so peaceful I couldn’t believe it. I had never been one for stopping to listen to birdsong, I was always too busy. This morning it burst over me like an auditory waterfall. Under the influence of its magic, my tension drained away. The coffee sat beside me forgotten as I became lost, not only the tranquillity of the particular spot but also the sheer loveliness of the gentle undulations of the countryside surrounding me. I felt a strange symbiosis and remember thinking, “I belong here.”

A bizarre thought, yet one that seemed natural sitting there listening and watching. Even on holiday I didn’t do this sort of thing. I don’t know how long I sat, but when eventually a car came past and disturbed my reverie the coffee was cold and I was a new man. The birds, the countryside and the clear air seem to have made up for endless nights without sleep. I felt invigorated. I was more confident and certain where I was going than for months. I think it must have been then I decided I wanted to stay in this magical part of the world.

I returned to my car with a light heart, wound down the windows and drove along at thirty miles an hour in order to see as much as I could. Had I not been driving so slowly I would have missed it: It was a faded sign, half hidden by foliage, “Ty Glas, Country House Hotel - One mile on the right”- On impulse, something contrary to my training, I decided to turn into the driveway. It was narrow, unmade and I drove with great care to miss the frequent potholes. I began to swear at myself for being so idiotic.

Rounding a bend I saw standing among trees, newly dressed for spring, the most delightful eighteenth century country house. It was built of local grey stone and blue smoke ascended from several of its chimneys. My nose and eyes became aware of the smoke almost simultaneously. The wood-smoke smelled so good that I breathed it in as though I would never smell its like again. Having allowed my coffee to get cold earlier, I decided to ask for coffee here. It seemed the sensible option - my accountant’s brain trying to wrest control from my impulses?

I Wonder

I wonder about many things. Why, for instance, are human beings so contradictory in their behaviour? We are usually willing to make allowances for human frailty where family is concerned and certainly expect others to make allowances for our own. However, when it comes to others we are more judgemental and expect a great deal more from them than ourselves. Should a stranger stumble, especially where their error causes us personal difficulties, we are often unwilling to make any allowances whatsoever. I wonder how it is that we can be surrounded by so much beauty and yet seem to delight in creating ugliness? I wonder at the perversity that makes us abhor violence as individuals but collectively glorify it in print and on film, and then wring our hands because society grows more violent.

I wonder why our physical senses have such an over-powering effect on our behaviour. Why is it that our finer senses need such careful husbanding to bring them to the point where they can counteract the physical ones? Even when the finer senses have been brought to the fore by careful training, there is a need for constant vigilance to ensure they remain there. Are we still so close to the primitive natures with which we began? Have millennia of human evolution failed so far to sufficiently distance us from our animal ancestry? Is it meant to be this way? Is earthly life planned by the great Creator to be one of conflict and if so, why? Anyone who thinks clearly about it will see we are beings of spirit who have physical bodies temporarily, yet so many refuse to examine the evidence objectively, preferring to remain in ignorance. Objective examination also discloses that life is not a purely physical matter. Humans can duplicate the appearance of living creatures, they can even use the mechanisms of nature to produce clones BUT NEVER HAVE WE BEEN ABLE TO PRODUCE LIFE! The life force that is required to energise any living thing is not of this world.

Scientists are well aware of this I believe and yet they persist in promoting the fiction that life is a purely mechanical process and soon its secrets will be revealed to their ever searching eyes. All they need is more sensitive, sophisticated instruments and everything will be revealed. As my father often used to say to me, “There are none so blind as those who WILL not see.” Because the activities of the scientific community have led to inventions that have made physical life so much more comfortable for many, they are held in increasingly high regard, despite the evidence that their much vaunted objectivity is frequently clouded by preconceived notions and research slanted to justify such notions. Not all scientists are self-seeking and arrogant, Albert Einstein for instance, refused to work on the Manhattan project that perfected the atomic bomb, but such altruism is rare.

Mystics and gifted poets alike have presented us with detailed accounts of the beauty that is to be found when we focus as much effort on discovering the hidden, spiritual self as we do on the outer, physical self. Yet, most people prefer not to take the time or trouble to follow the mental and spiritual discipline necessary to reveal this beauty. Are they right? Are ordinary men and women the ones who are really on the right track in using this life as it should be? I wonder! Should we all perhaps surrender to the physical domination of our egos and ignore the spiritual until we return to the world of spirit when we die? By focussing on the higher, spiritual self while we are here, are we frustrating the true object of earthly existence? And what about communication between ourselves and those who have already passed to that spiritual world? Is it wrong? Does it really exist, or is it a figment of the imagination of Spiritualists? If it does exist, are we right to use it because perhaps we are intended to remain in ignorance of our true selves?

Anyone who has tried to follow a spiritual or contemplative path; anyone who has ever received communication from a loved one who has passed to the spiritual world; anyone who has looked at the natural world with an objective gaze; anyone who uses their higher senses at all, will know the vital importance of using these things as an integral part of their life on earth. The feeling of love that permeates a genuine communication from the spiritual world; the feelings of elation and joy that greet those who are successful in achieving an altered state of consciousness without the aid of drugs; the feelings of awe and wonder when we glimpse for the first time the true, spiritual beauty of the natural world and see the spiritual light that emanates from all living things; such people KNOW beyond any shadow of doubt that we are meant to live a physical life in the knowledge of and participation in its spiritual dimension.

As Robert Frost says in his poem “The Trial by Existence” as God binds spirit to matter until death separates them again, “The awe passes wonder then,”

When a Friend Dies

I learned today that a dear friend of mine passed to Spirit recently. She had been ill but I was not aware it was a life-threatening illness, so the news coming from her son was a bit of a shock. It set me thinking about friends and what goes through our minds when we lose one.

The first thing I thought of after recovering from the shock was the first time we met, when she came to a church service I was conducting in San Francisco. Whilst she regularly attended the church at that time, she was still very much seeking, trying to understand about the spirit and at the same time give extra meaning to her life which and changed quite dramatically not long before. We next met in Canada when she was visiting relatives and I was teaching and demonstrating there. I was able to bring her some evidential information concerning her father in spirit and from that time we became friends – mostly internet friends but nevertheless friends. She joined the International Spiritualist Federation of which I was then the President and came to a teaching week of ours in London.

We would correspond by email regularly on spiritual matters and because she had a very keen and enquiring mind, she would sometimes introduce me to novel ways of examining the spiritual dimension and our role while in a physical body. I shall miss her physical presence and our emails a great deal but I am sure she will make every effort to contact me over the next few months. I know that with her knowledge, background and sincerity, she will quickly adapt to life in the spiritual world and will waste no time learning how to communicate with those of us here on Earth.

After these thoughts passed through my mind, I began to realise that I too was getting closer to the time when the Great Spirit will call “time” on my sojourn here on Earth. I went on to think about all the things I should be doing before that time arrives. Over the years and as a result of my privileged position as a lifelong Spiritualist whose family have many connections with the Spiritualist Movement in Britain, I have absorbed a certain amount of knowledge. I have been lucky enough for instance, to experience virtually every type of mediumship as well as having the honour to work for spirit both as teacher and medium. Whilst I have written two books which include accounts of some of those experiences, I realise I have more to offer and unless I press on, my time will have elapsed before I have been able to pass on all that I should. I realise that having been blessed with reasonably robust health, I should not hesitate to travel as much as possible in order to help more people understand the role of the spirit in our lives. The opportunities are there and I have sometimes been slow to take advantage of them.

The passing of a friend therefore brings a mixture of emotions; first sadness and a sense of loss; then curiosity as to if and when they will communicate and prove their continued existence. Next comes nostalgia and those memories that have not been at the forefront of our mind, perhaps for years; the happy times of sharing and exchanging ideas; drawing closer over time as we share our problems, triumphs and disasters; the support given to one another in times of trial; learning from one another as we grope our way towards a better understanding of life and its purpose.

Then there comes thankfulness that we have been blessed by knowing this soul and a prayer that they will be helped in their new home, to adapt and to learn quickly the new powers and abilities they can now exercise freely; even perhaps a thought that they may continue to help us from the spiritual world. I am certainly grateful and blessed that I knew this particular friend and I look forward to the day when once again we can share our thoughts and ideas when I too am in spirit.

Friends are a special gift that we should treasure and never take for granted. They brighten our darker days and add lustre to the brighter ones. They come into our lives at special times for each of us and through them we come to learn in a most wonderful way, just how much every one of us is a spiritual brother or sister of the other. Our friend may live many miles away from us but their friendship makes a mockery of physical distance; no matter where each of us lives, the joining of minds in correspondence or conversation makes it seem as though we are side by side. We should rejoice that at last they have been freed from physical bondage and are now able to enjoy a liberty that is not possible to those of us who live in earthly bodies. As a tribute to the privilege of enjoying their friendship we should try harder to leave behind us one or two “footprints in the sands of time” that may help another come to a better understanding of their role in life.

Little Acts of Kindness

The world is full of kindness, despite the fact that it is the unkindness and the brutal that attracts the headlines in the press and on television. Most people are at heart kind and considerate and it is important I feel, for us to remember this when the headlines scream at us and make us angry or sad, or even murderous. The headlines are manipulative; the editors are playing with our emotions in order to sell their newspapers or TV shows. Their acquisitive, unprincipled nature is being used in its turn by those malevolent beings that do exist in spirit I regret to say. Such beings are ever on the alert for opportunities to spread their own darkness as widely as possible but their ability to do this is limited by the availability of people on Earth willing to blindly do their bidding in return for power, money or both. They cannot act independently, only through the agency of unscrupulous people on earth.

One has only to walk down the street or go shopping almost anywhere in the world to see human kindness in operation. Smile at a stranger and invariably that smile will be returned; ask for help in finding something, someone or somewhere and the person you ask will usually do their best to help you. If you have ever been involved with a tragedy that becomes public knowledge, you will have experienced the inherent kindness in the caring and supportive response of people, even total strangers. I remember being at a conference once where a lady had her money stolen from her handbag in the street. As soon as it became known amongst those at the conference, a spontaneous collection resulted in the replacement of the money and the vast majority of those who contributed did not know the lady concerned.

Look how the internet is used to appeal for help for people suffering in all kinds of ways and the almost overwhelming responses that take place. See the usual response of most people to domestic animals and how upset they become when cruelty or neglect takes place. Check out the countless voluntary organisations all over the world and you will find numerous people working quite anonymously to help others in a thousand different ways. From providing food and shelter to the homeless, to helping young people deal with their first job interview; from setting up and maintaining shelters for those subjected to violence, to singing Christmas carols in the streets to raise funds for worthy causes and to brighten the lives of those listening; from working to provide funds to eradicate such scourges as polio, to visiting elderly people in their homes to provide company, conversation and above all, to listen; from doctors giving a year or more of their lives in order to use their skills in third world countries, to young people who eagerly carry out work such as gardening for the elderly and infirm.

The world is full of love, if only we will look for it and ignore the strident tones of those who never seem to have a kind word to say, or make any allowance for the inherent weaknesses to which we are all prone. Remember those friendly conversations on trains or buses or planes? Conversations with strangers who we will never meet again but who, for the time we are together, share with us their friendliness. True not all are like this; sometimes we can sit beside a stranger on a plane for hours and hardly speak to one another but in my experience that is not so common. Remember also the times you have visited your local general store because you have a problem with something in your home that has stopped functioning properly, and how often the advice you receive goes way beyond your expectations? You may have expected to be sold an article needed to affect a repair but end up with advice that enables you to deal with the problem far more effectively and often with less expense.

There is an old saying, “Love makes the world go around.” It is true in many more ways than we realise and when I feel despair at a particularly barbarous human act, I try to remember all those little, spontaneous acts of kindness that are so numerous, nobody bothers to record them. These are the true measure of humanity and disclose the love which “from our birth, over and around us lies.” We should be of good cheer for love always conquers and even the huge vested interests that seem to dominate in this present age, will inevitably fail as the power of love expands.

The World Would be the Better for It

The "Top of the Morning" and a very Happy St Patrick's Day to you all. Here are some verses that set out what we should do to make this world a better place.

Lionel



If men cared less for wealth and fame,
And less for battlefields and glory;
If writ in human hearts, a name
Seemed better than in song or story;
If men, instead of nursing pride,
Would learn to hate it and abhor it;
If more relied
On love to guide –
The world would be the better for it.

If men dealt less in stocks and lands,
And more in bonds and deeds fraternal;
If love's work had more willing hands,
To link this world with the supernal;
If men stored up love’s oil and wine,
And on bruised human hearts would pour it;
If “yours” and “mine”
Would once combine –
The world would be the better for it.

If more would act the play of life,
And fewer spoil it in rehearsal;
If bigotry would shield its knife
Till good became more universal;
If custom, grey with ages grown,
Had fewer blind men to adore it;
If talent shone
In truth alone –
The world would be the better for it.

If men were wise in little things,
Affecting less in all their dealings;
If hearts had fewer rusted strings,
To isolate their kindred feelings;
If men, when wrong beats down the right,
Would strike together to restore it;
If right made might
In every fight –
The world would be the better for it.

M.H. Cobb

CHILDREN

These verses were received through the mediumship of E.W. Wallis from his ‘control’ “Lightheart.”



This life is a school,where all must learn,
And the children of Earth must each in turn,
Pass through their classes, gain the truth
And rise to the land of immortal youth.
‘Tis hard for the children whilst here below,
To struggle and strive ‘neath care and woe,
The battle is hard and the struggle is long,
But praise and joy are the victor’s song.

Weak are the children, yet they grow
From childhood upward, plough and sow –
Sow on the pathway of life their seeds,
Good, bad and indifferent earthly deeds.
The children are loved by a Father’s love,
Are watched by the Angels that dwell above,
Are guided, and guarded, when they will,
But often roam where death doth kill.

Roam in the pathway of sin’s delight,
Out in the darkness of error’s night;
Away from the Father’s love and care,
And from the Angels watching fair;
Yet their wayward feet must ever turn,
To where the sacred fires do burn,
Through sorrow and pain to be purged by fire
And freed from the dross ere they go up higher.

Oh! Children arise and onward go,
And learn the truth, for thus I trow,
You will leave behind your load of care,
And mount to dwell with the Angels fair;
To earn in the college of Spirit-Life,
The fruits of your earthly toil and strife;
To reap your recompense in Heaven,
For the trials and woes ‘gainst which you’ve striven.

Upward and onward! then be your cry,
As you go to the mansions that are on high;
No longer children, but sons of God,
No longer toiling on earth’s dark sod;
But rising as men and women pure,
With a knowledge and strength that must endure;
Give God the praise for His wonderful plan,
And the love He has shown to His creature – Man.

"I Wish You Enough"

You have probably read this one before but I think it bears repetition. have a wonderful Monday


Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.'

They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'

'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'..

'I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' he said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

He began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone...' He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.' Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

He then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.

Something to Think About!!

Afriend of mine sent me this and I think it is worth passing on.


Imagine that you had won the following prize in a contest:



Each morning your bank would deposit $ 86,400.00 in your private account for your use.

However, this prize had rules, just as any game has certain rules.

The first set of rules would be :-

1. Everything that you didn’t spend during each day would be taken away from you.
2. You may not simply transfer money into some other account.
3. You may only spend it.

Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $ 86,400.00 for that day.



The second set of rules:

1. The bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can say, “It’s over, the game is over!”
2. It can close the account and you will not receive a new one.

What would you personally do?

You would buy anything and everything you wanted, right? Not only for yourself, but for all people you love ? Even for people you don’t know, because you couldn’t possibly spend it all on yourself, right?

You would try to spend every cent, and use it all, right?



ACTUALLY, THIS GAME IS REALITY!!

Each of us is in possession of such a “magical” bank....we just can’t seem to see it.

THE MAGICAL BANK IS TIME!

Each awakening morning we receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life,

and when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is NOT credited to us.

What we haven’t lived up that day is forever lost....yesterday is forever gone.!!



Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time…….

WITHOUT WARNING. !!

WELL, what will you do with your 86,400 seconds? Aren’t they worth so much more than the same amount in dollars? Think about that, and always think of this:-----Enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think.



So take care of yourself, and enjoy life!

Here’s wishing you a wonderfully beautiful day.

God Bless.

What I Live For

This is a poem I learned when I was a young boy in the Lyceum, the Spiritualist Sunday School. I have often fallen short of the high ideals it expresses but do try to live in accordance with its principles.


I live for those who love me,
Whose hearts are kind and true;
For the heaven that smiles above me,
And awaits my coming too;
For all human ties that bind me,
For the tasks by God assigned me,
For the bright hopes yet to find me,
And the good that I can do.

I live to learn their story,
Who suffered for my sake,
To emulate their glory
And follow in their wake.
Bards, patriots, martyrs, sages,
The heroics of all ages,
Whose deeds crowd history’s pages
And time’s great volume make.

I live to hold communion,
With all that is divine,
To feel there is a union,
Twixt nature’s heart and mine.
To profit by affliction,
Reap truths from fields of fiction,
Grow wiser by conviction
And fulfil God’s grand design.

I live to hail that season,
By gifted ones foretold,
When man shall live by reason
And not alone by gold,
When man to man united
And every wrong thing righted,
The whole world shall be lighted,
As Eden was of old.

I live for those who love me,
For those who know me true,
For the heaven that smiles above me,
And awaits my spirit too,
For the cause that lacks assistance,
For the wrong that needs resistance,
For the future in the distance,
And the good that I can do.


George Linnaeus Banks

Timmy's Sacrifice

Here is a touching tale showing how the young can teach us so much.

One evening every year the local Mayor was wont to meet
The children of the City at their annual Christmas treat;
And so that none should hunger at this season of goodwill,
The board was spread with Yuletide fare that all might eat their fill.

A mighty Christmas tree was placed at one end of the hall,
Its glittering branches laden down with lovely gifts for all,
But with so many guests to satisfy, His Worship smiled,
There can but be one gift – and only one – for every child.

So one by one each childish heart was filled with happy joy,
And sounds of Ooh!, and Ah!, were heard as each received a toy.
One little chap called Tim seemed dazed at this display;
‘Twas plain to see that presents very rarely came his way.

His clothes, though tidy, bore the mark of many a patched up tear,
Sign of a loving widow’s never failing care.
“Tis now his turn to take a gift – Oh, what a glad surprise!
A box of soldiers! Timmy’s joy was written in his eyes.

He stretched his hands out eagerly – and then, we saw him pause;
One wistful look, and then he spoke – and oh the loud guffaws
That echoed round the room as, shyly, timidly, he said,
“Please Sir I’d like a dolly for a little girl instead”.

The jeering sniggers of the rest made Timmy blush with shame;
“He wants a dolly!” someone sneered, another, “What’s her name?”
The kindly Mayor said, “Oh but why a doll, my little son?”
“The soldiers for a lad like you are surely much more fun?”

“It’s for my little sister Sir, she’s ill, and – oh I know
She’s longing for a little doll because she told me so.
You said one present for each child, and so I’d raver Sir,
Give back the so’jers and I’ll take a doll, instead - for her.”

As Timmy finished speaking, not a single sound was heard,
Glances were averted and many eyes were blurred.
Sarcastic sneers and sniggers faded in a trice,
For Timmy’s story told of great self-sacrifice.

And when the children, homeward bound, went filing through the door,
A lovely doll, and soldiers too, young Timmy proudly bore.


By William H. Dawes

HARMONY

Each morning for the last few days, I have watched the leaves unfold on a beautiful Abrico de Macaco tree that sits outside my window and marvelled at the harmony displayed. The leaves are now fully open and are the lovely, delicate green that new leaves the world over display. It may seem strange that a tree is coming into leaf when we approaching the end of summer here in Brasil but the weather has been so hot and dry this summer that the leaves fell off from lack of moisture.

The harmony of which I speak is not just that the fresh, green leaves harmonize perfectly with their surroundings but also the fact that the tree itself is in such perfect harmony with Mother Nature that it allows her to work her magic by making itself freely available. The tree is content to be. It does not seek to be an oak or a palm or a jacaranda, it merely provides the means whereby nature can disclose her splendour to all through the tree’s leaves, blossom and fruit. It is in balance, as though it is fully aware of its role in the scheme of things and knows its contribution is important.

It makes me think how much better our world would be could we as human beings, accept that each one of us is “important in the plan of Him who framed this scale of beings”*. If instead of envying the talents of others, we could recognise we too have talents and strive to make the best use of them; if instead of trying to bend the will of others to our own, we could accept that variety in all things really is the spice of life, and allow tolerance to rule our thoughts; if instead of fighting what we often describe as ‘fate’, we could accept that everything happens with a purpose and co-operate with it; if instead of being in conflict with those with whom we disagree, we could seek for harmony; if instead of worrying and becoming stressed, we could be still and allow the “peace that passes all understanding” to enter our hearts and souls.

Then would we be in the same harmony with the natural world and our fellows as is that tree outside my window; the same harmony as the rose and the jasmine who freely give their wonderful fragrance to saint and sinner alike; not for them any discrimination on grounds of colour, social standing, race or religion. If only we could learn to give, to give from our hearts, expecting nothing in return we should learn that in giving, we automatically receive. What is more, we receive in proportion to our needs instead of our wants. It is without any doubt, ‘more blessed to give than to receive’ and this is due to the Law of Compensation. Unfortunately, all too often, we seek to circumvent this Law because we are ego driven. The ego convinces us we must have more and more, without reference to our needs, only to our desires.

Were we in greater harmony with our surroundings, we should learn that all life contributes to the life of all other life – there can be no separation. We should learn that the deep, slow energy of the tree for instance, is available to us, if we only learn how to ask; if we only learn how to blend our inner selves with the inner self of the tree, the flower, the bush, the animal, the mountain, the stream, the ocean or above all, our fellow human beings. Were we willing to change our ways and seek to do these things, I believe the world would be transformed. All inequality, all envy, all hatred, all conflict, other than that needed to grow and strengthen ourselves, would disappear. There is much ignorance amongst us but it is not intellectual ignorance or lack of scholarship, it is lack of insight. The blindness that causes us not to see the obvious; the blindness that refuses to see that ‘all are parts of one stupendous whole, whose body nature is and God the soul”**


*Francis Thomson ** Alexander Pope

EARTHCHILD

Some time ago I published a blog called “Seeing is Believing?” using an extract from the book "Beyond All Belief" written by Peter Lemesurier. Today’s blog is an extract from the same book that takes the concept he introduced to the next stage and provides an interesting way of looking at how humanity can break out of its self-imposed prison of illusion.

It is with the archetypal image of Earthchild, then, that we can most appropriately set before ourselves the vision of wholeness and all-inclusiveness which, if we are to survive as a species, now needs to be manifested at every level – psychic, mental, physical and social. Insofar as our science, religion and psychology reflect that vision, we may adjudge them to be broadly in tune with reality – in this respect at least – even if some care in interpretation is needed. If our traditional politics and moral beliefs fail to reflect it, then that fact can only be a judgement on them.

Nor is there any conflict between the over-all image of Earthchild and the needs and claims of the individual. Our cherished personal individuality, as we have seen, is an illusion – indeed, the very illusion which gave rise to much of our obsessive game of conceptual hide-and-seek in the first place. Consequently there is no reconciling of group and individual to be done. The group is the individual – for, just as, etymologically, the word “individual” means ‘that which cannot be divided’, so there is no way short of illusion in which you can separate yourself from the rest of humanity or from the world in which you live.

As you are Earthchild, so Earthchild is you. Nowhere but within your own psyche can the Great Work be done. And if planetary perfection comes, then it is in your unconscious that it will be conceived, in your consciousness that it will ultimately be born.

It is no surprise, then, that Earthchild should embody the archetype of the Self. It is totally unremarkable that it should present itself as Kalki, Matreya, the Future Christ, the returning Son of Man.

In whatever form, Earthchild is, if you will let it be, the saviour of the world.

Obsolescence

One often hears people complain that almost all modern manufactured goods have ‘built-in obsolescence’ to ensure that customers re-order on a regular basis. Whilst this is true, I believe EVERYTHING has built-in obsolescence but the time-scale varies a great deal. The Pyramids that were built thousands of years ago have deteriorated substantially over the years, even in the ultra-dry climate of Egypt. Many buildings, though lovingly tended and maintained, eventually crumble and decay. Metal objects, no matter how well constructed are subject to corrosion unless painted frequently and even then they will not withstand corrosive action indefinitely. Everything on Earth is subject to erosion from wind, rain, frost, sea and sun. Not even the mountains that seem so firm and everlasting can escape erosive action. Land masses gradually change shape each year as the tides erode some land here and deposit extra land there. Rivers carve their way through the landscape, none more dramatically than the mighty Colorado which created the magnificent Grand Canyon in Arizona. They remove soil from one place during floods and deposit it in another, thus changing the landscape in a different way.

It is not just artefacts, buildings and landscapes that have built-in obsolescence, empires, dynasties and other socio-political creations of humanity have it also. The most notable example of this is Hitler’s Third Reich that was supposed to last for a thousand years but in fact lasted less than twenty. The Roman Empire with its Pax Romanus did last around one thousand years but the signs of decay were evident long before the Goths and Vandals sacked Rome. The British Empire also lasted very many years but could not withstand the pressure of its subject peoples to have independence. The Pharaonic dynasties in Egypt lasted much longer than any other political system yet established but even they eventually faded into history. Many are the religions that held sway for generations that are now no more and it is very likely the same fate awaits those that are in the ascendancy now.

Why does such dramatic, though sometimes gradual, change seem so inevitable? As nothing exists without a purpose, what can possibly be its purpose? An examination of history, natural, political and religious will reveal that without exception, though the transformation may have been bloody and violent, what replaced the old was an improvement because the old had largely atrophied and was no longer fulfilling the purpose for which it was created. In every case the old gives way to the virulent and the new. This is true whether of ideas or of practicalities. It is a Natural Law that the old give way to the young in every sphere. The Earth itself will one day grow too old and tired to fulfil the functions for which it was created and it will die, eventually becoming part of some supernova that will explode and spread its atoms throughout the universe to be used in the creation of newer, better worlds.

Nowhere is this process more obvious than in the lives of human beings. We spend relatively few years at our prime, when we can influence events and people significantly in whatever circle we move. Soon we begin to decline as our energy lessens and our place is taken by younger, thrusting, minds and bodies. This is because our physical bodies grow to maturity and great power and then enter a period of decline until eventually they are unable any longer to contain our spirit and they die.

This is not the end however. The spirit vacates the worn out physical body, leaves the Earth and rises in a much more beautiful and glorious vehicle to inhabit the world of Spirits, a much, much more beautiful and rewarding place to live than the Earth. The new vehicle, our Spiritual Body, we have created by our efforts whilst on Earth. The good we have done, the consideration we have given to others in preference to ourselves, the sick and suffering we have helped, the ear we have readily lent to listen to those wishing to unburden themselves, the tolerance we have shown towards those with whom we disagree, the joy and happiness we have tried to bring into the lives of those around us. All these things go to create the bright light that surrounds the Spirit Body after a physical life lived to the best that we are able. So, even our bodies have ‘built-in obsolescence’ in order to replace them with something better and more durable. Make no mistake, without the physical body and the efforts needed to use it to the best of our ability, the spirit body could not rise in such beauty to take its place in the Spiritual World.

God and His wonderful laws have ordered everything perfectly, even those things that seem like imperfections to us are not. They are part of His perfect universe and we do not have the knowledge or insight to recognise their true qualities. Never fear growing older my friends for in reality, we really are growing better, despite our many faults!

SPRING

Spring is the loveliest time of the year and in the northern hemisphere there are already signs that it is beginning. Spring, when nature dresses herself in her newest clothes and what appeared to be dead, suddenly comes alive as life stirs under the ground and the sap begins to rise: Spring when male birds almost overnight grow the most beautiful plumage and when both males and females feel the stirrings of fresh life and begin frantically to build new nests or in some cases, to refurbish existing ones: Spring when colour returns to an earth starved of it during the cold days of winter; the gentle, white snowdrop, the pale yellow narcissus and primrose, the buttercup and daisy, the bright yellow daffodil, the even brighter yellow forsythia, the crocus in white, yellow and purple, the brilliantly coloured tulips that deck the fields in Holland and Eastern England: Spring when the air becomes perfumed once more, as lilac, jasmine, stocks fill the air with their scent.

Spring when the horse chestnut trees grow their ‘sticky buds’ that will eventually burst into bloom like huge candles decorating a Christmas tree: Spring when the leaves burst from their buds in that fresh, gentle green that will only last for a few weeks: Spring when the grass grows an inch overnight and is full of juicy sap that fattens the udders of the cows as they graze contentedly after a winter of hay and artificial food: Spring when birdsong increases in volume as more and more birds return after their winter migration and sing joyfully in courtship to their mates: Spring when all that lives seems to take on a new energy as the blood responds to the new season in the same way as the sap in tree, grass and flower.

Spring when optimism returns even to those jaded after witnessing more Springs than they care to remember! It seems we shed our cares and worries as we shed our heavy winter coats and replace them with lighter and more colourful garments. As colour re-appears in the outer world, so it also re-appears in our inner world. What seemed such a great effort in the dark days of winter, becomes a pleasure as the lightness of our spirit raises our heads and brings smiles more readily to our lips as we hear the joyful sounds of young life all around us celebrating the energy of the new season.

Robert Browning captured the spirit of Spring so perfectly in his lovely poem “Home Thoughts from Abroad.”


O, to be in England
Now that April 's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England—now!

And after April, when May follows,
And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!
Hark, where my blossom'd pear-tree in the hedge
Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
Blossoms and dewdrops—at the bent spray's edge—
That 's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture!
And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
The buttercups, the little children's dower
—Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

Though it is still only March, the portents of the coming April abound; each day the pale sun grows warmer and snowdrops and crocuses appear overnight, braving the chilliness of the air that is still in the service of Jack Frost and makes steam of our breath in the clear, morning air. New life, new hope, new joy, new expectation: Welcome the Spring and encourage it to awaken hope and joy in your breast also.

This is Love

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.

"Your son is here," she said to the old man.

She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.


Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the dimly lit ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile.

He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.

Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.

Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.


"Who was that man?" he asked.


The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered.


"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."


"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"


"I knew right away there had been a mistake,but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here.


When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed."


I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His son was Killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this Gentleman's Name?


The Nurse with Tears in her Eyes Answered,

Mr. William Grey.............




The next time someone needs you ... just be there. Stay.



**************

WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS GOING THROUGH A
TEMPORARY SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.


WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY HUMAN EXPERIENCE.



HAVE A GREAT DAY AND BLESS SOMEONE ELSE IN SOME LITTLE WAY TODAY!

GOD IS SO GOOD.





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Dealing with Loss

Written by a father after the death of his son who was called Olen

SAY OLEN

The time of concern is over.
No longer am I asked how my wife is doing.
Never is the name of our son mentioned to me.
A curtain descends.
The moment has passed.
A light slips from frequent recall.

There are exceptions;
Close and compassionate friends,
Sensitive and loving family.
For most, the drama is over.
The spotlight is off.
Applause is silent.
But for me the play will never end.
The effects on me are timeless.
Say Olen for me.

On the stage of my life
He has been both lead and supporting actor.
Do not tiptoe around the greatest event in my life.
Love does not die.

His name is written on my life.
The sound of his voice replays within my mind.
You say his is dead.
I say he is of the dead and he lives.
His ghost walks my soul,
Beckoning me in future weloome
You say he was my son.
I say he is.
Say Olen for me and say Olen again.

It hurts to bury his memory in silence . . .
What he was in flesh lies buried miles away.
What he is in spirit stirs within me always.
He is of my past but he is part of my now.
He is my hope for the future.

You say not to remind me.
How little you understand,
I cannot forget.
I would not if I could.

I understand you, but feel pain in being forced to do so.
I forgive you, because you cannot know
And I would forgive you anyway.
I accept how you see me,
But understand that you see me not at all.
I strive not to judge you,
For yesterday was like you.

I love you,
Will make no expectations towards you
But I wish you could understand that I dwell
In flesh and spirit
The mystery is that you do too but know it not.

I do not wish you to walk this road.
The way is steep and the burden heavy.
I walk it not by choice.
I would rather walk with him in flesh
Looking not to spirit roads beyond
I am what I have to be

What I have lost you cannot feel.
What I have gained you cannot see
And I would not have you.

Say Olen
For he is alive in me
He and I will meet again
Though in many ways we have not parted
He and his life play light songs in my mind,
Sun rises and sun sets on my dreams.
He is real and shadow, was and is.
Say Olen to me and say Olen again.

He is my son and I love him as I always did.
Say Olen.

Realising Our Dreams

There is an old song that runs, “There’s a long, long road a winding unto the land of my dreams.” Like all songs that make us think about our dreams and take us away from the humdrum, everyday business of life, it became very popular. Also like many popular songs, its sentiments are undoubtedly true and instinctively people are drawn to them, even though, or maybe because, they themselves are unable to put their feelings into words.

Dreams have had a greater impact upon the evolution of humanity than anything else. Were it not for dreams we would still be living in caves. However, dreams only become reality if we really believe in them and are prepared to work hard to realise them; hence the’ long, long road’. No worthwhile dream will become reality without dedication and hard work but we become so engrossed in that work, time and the day to day drudgery which many people consider life to be, disappear. This is our reward, far more than the final achievement. If we become stuck in a rut our lives can become singularly boring and depressing after a while. Could this possibly be part of the great design of our lives? Because we are intended to dream and work at bringing them true, the remainder of life slowly but surely loses its appeal?

It matters not what dream we choose to follow, the important thing is to dream and work at it. We are creatures of Spirit and the motive and directing force of spirit is Mind. Unless we keep our mind fully occupied, and indeed stretch it at times, like any other unused faculty, it will atrophy. It is in dreaming and working to bring them into reality that we stretch our mind. An oft repeated aphorism is “the journey is more important than the destination” and although this is used to refer to life in general, it is equally applicable to dreams. When pursuing your dream whatever it may be always focus on today. Keep the image of your realised dream clear in your mind as an incentive but your focus should be on the steps taken today towards its realisation. Enjoy each step you take along the road, in the knowledge that it is an important part of the dream.

How often have you found that a dream you have treasured for long, seems to be far less exciting when realised than you thought it was going to be? There are two reasons for this. First in pursuing your dream you have grown, you have changed. What you considered to be really wonderful a few years before now seems commonplace to the new you. Secondly, the purpose of the dream is to stimulate growth and evolution, not to become an end in itself. Dreams provide the excitement and adventure in our lives; without them it would be pale and uninteresting. Once you have achieved your dream, don’t sit back too long enjoying it but set out to pursue a new dream as soon as you can.

‘Ah,’ you may think, ‘I had a lot of dreams when I was young but now I’m too old to dream!’ Never! Never consider yourself to be too old to dream or too old to work at realising one. By continuing to dream and work at ways to realise them, you keep your mind and spirit young and active. Dreaming is not an exclusive function of youth. Dare to dream at any age; dare to feel the excitement as you plan how you can go about bringing it to fruition; dare to thrill to the sense of achievement as you move one step nearer to the dream. What I am really saying is, dare to be you! You and your character are moulded by your dreams and by the efforts put into realising them. Dreaming is not an idle pastime, no matter what ‘realists’ may say. Dreams bring sunshine into our lives; they brighten the dullest day and take us to magical lands where our minds are refreshed and our spirit’s purpose is revealed.

Be a dreamer, love life and all that is in it. Allow yourself to feel the true magic of reality instead of the shadow that is all the Earth can provide on its own.

Spiritual Healing

Harry Edwards healing a curved spine.

Here are some brief thoughts by the great Harry Edwards, whose Healing Sanctuary at Shere in England is still operating using both contact and distant healing, often with the most remarkable results:

Reproduced from the booklet “A guide for the Development of Mediumship” by kind permission of The Harry Edwards Spiritual Healing Sanctuary Trust.

Spiritual Healing is now considered to be, by many, the highest form of mediumship. Perhaps this is because the gift of healership should possess a high quality to differ it from psychic healing.

Whereas the development of purely psychic faculties need not possess a spiritual incentive, spiritual healing certainly does. The primary qualities a healer possesses are those of generosity, love and compassion. He cannot be of a mean or selfish kind. He needs to possess that deep inner yearning to heal the sick and to take away distress.

Spiritual healing is a spirit science: while this is true of all forms of mediumship, healing by the very nature of its accomplishments needs the presence of a guide, or guides, who have the particular knowledge how to direct the correct qualitative remedial forces to master a given ill condition.

It is probably very true that every guide possesses knowledge of this character to some degree, but it is reasonable to assume that as the healing gift develops it will become necessary for other spirit personalities to come into the picture for dealing with specific diseases.

The commencement of healing mediumship invariably begins in the healing circle, particularly so when the sitter is able to receive the condition of trance. Many healers have commenced their ministry under trance, and then as the development proceeds the need for a trance state is overcome. This follows the acceptance of the fact that guides are always present when there is a need for their services, and they are able to direct the healing forces to the patient via the healer’s spirit faculties without trance being essential.

It is suggested that the beginner who desires to develop healing should, when he has been able to attain attunement, attend a healing circle, first as an observer, and then, later on, to join in with the healing endeavour through his spirit-self, as if he is actually taking part in the healing itself.



There is probably no spiritual healer who treated a larger number of people than Harry Edwards. Initially a printer with political ambitions, he visited a spiritualist meeting and came across a medium who said he was an excellent instrument for spiritual healing. Subsequently, he made his first attempts, which were so successful and attracted such a host of visitors that he fully dedicated his life to healing. Thousands of healing stories are reported, and even in hopeless cases, healing or improvements were due to his help, although he did not even meet the majority of his patients personally. An incredible number of letters asking for remote help were sent to him from all over the world. In more than 40 years of his activity, up to two thousand help-seekers per month visited him at his secluded sanctuary in Shere, Southern England. He also became famous by his public healing demonstrations, which, like the one at Royal Albert Hall in London, were attended by up to five thousand visitors. His declared task was to propagate and popularize the knowledge of spiritual healing. For instance, he recommended the cooperation between conventional medicine and spiritual healing, with the effect that there is to this day, successful cooperation between the two disciplines in England. He set spiritual healing in a spiritualist context, talked about spirit doctors who are a prerequisite for making success possible and considered healing as a medial act. Raised as a Christian, he often referred to religious subjects, which brought him some rather unpleasant experiences with the Anglican Church and a tendentious investigation report by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Edwards wrote various books about his findings.

" The Power of Spiritual Healing" - "Spirit Healing" - "A guide to the understanding and practise of Spiritual Healing" (German title: Geistheilung, Bauer Verlag) - "Thirty Years as a Spiritual Healer" - "Life in Spirit" - "The Mediumship of Jack Weber"