 
REALISING YOUR AUTHORITY

by Jacques Ractliffe

A SPIRITUAL CONVERSATION FOR THE

INDIVIDUAL...

(Life is a journey; the journey, and not the destination, is the party –

\- the party does not happen in an ethereal la-la land...)

Realising Your Authority. Copyright ©2013 Jacques Ractliffe.

All rights reserved. Written in South Africa. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

For information: PO Box 233, Pringle Bay, 7196, South Africa.

SECOND EDITION

Published by Jacques Ractliffe

Smashwords Edition

To my Mother

who taught me to Love without fear

1- SPIRITUAL SIGHT

Oh, how grand! – and all that blah!

Cutting to the chase of who you are is found in what you are. I am not going to waste a lot of time here – simply put, we are energy. The scientific knowledge of this is there, the esoteric belief is firm – what we are interested in is not this fact, but what this energy is and what our purpose is, is what is interesting. If quantum physics is to be believed, then what you think of yourself and how much you value yourself is a direct result of your thoughts about who you are and who you are in relation to everybody and everything else.

If you think you are not good enough for your lover – guess what? – you won't be! If you second guess yourself about whether you put too much salt in the soup – well, then you will have to go out for a pizza – again!

Oh, honey! – life does not need to be an endless pantomime – it could be fun..., but too tiring.

Now, let's look at all this from a spiritual point of view: It's quite simple, really. To what degree you wish to make yourself heard, felt, appreciated and/or respected is completely up to you.

Ma'am, if you are going to wear those red pumps or that shocking sequence number – then do so, but it has to be for YOU. If wearing a tuxedo makes YOU feel confident and relaxed, then by all means, PUT IT ON!

Have you ever had this nagging thought about people that they would be so much better off or come to some wondrous and spontaneous insight by just reading that specific book you had in mind – and then they would be knocked off that damned wall that they have been tap dancing on for God-knows-how-long? They are 'hanging back' you might think. Well......, not quite.

You have probably had the experience where you have met and know people who would really benefit from reading a particular book or joining up for that yoga class or to go see this wonderful spiritual master – in your opinion. It might seem that these people are holding back, looking out over the wafting wheat fields of expectations and possibilities. This should not be judged. If a person does not wish to enter that wheat field, then there is reason in this and it should be respected for what it is. Spirit teaches us that one of the biggest reasons for our human creation is the absolute use of free will. Free will is something that allows free choice, even if it seems that the choices presented at times are anything but free, we ALWAYS have free choice. Not even Spirit will interfere with our free will – not EVER – and sweetie-pie; this is one way you know that you are dealing with Spirit. This has been told to us in no uncertain terms from the beginning in many spiritual and religious texts. The question here is if we take it seriously or only see it as a qute cupie doll wrapped in a fluffy blanky.

It might thus be frustrating for us to see others with the potential to be more than they can be if they would just jump down from the fence and start the walk through the swaying wheat, but that is not your or my call to make.

The goal is to achieve balance. Coming to know your own Light means coming to know the energy that is within you, and the energy that surrounds you at any one time. This is what is indicated by your Light. This Light will remind you and teach you about things, it is simply a matter of allowing this Light to be heard – so the goal is to learn to listen.

However, it is not up to anybody or any being to decide for you. It is not up to me to tell you what to think. You decide. Take from this book what you need and discard the rest.

What we call spirituality is like an unyielding energy that is always present, whether you acknowledge it or not; and to what extent, is also your decision. Once you have become aware of the Light, it is quite impossible to un-know it. Oh, yes, well, I suppose you could try and ignore it, but it is not going to disappear. This is what I call gaining spiritual sight. Once you have some, your inner being just craves more.

The following pages are not the writings of my life experiences, but pages in which I speak to you personally about what creation is:

Achieving a state of living with spiritual sight does not imply that all your questions are answered or that you have reached some awesome enlightened level. No, life on earth will carry on, it is not other people who now change; it is your own perception and belief structure that is changing.

That which we refer to as God did not and does not change; humankind's perception has changed over the ages to adapt to a changing world, which includes a change of the perception of what and who God is.

It is completely irrelevant whether you are Catholic or Mormon, Buddhist or Atheist or whatever! Irrespective of your wants or imagined needs, there is an ultimate reality, but this is not the point I am trying to make. The point is for you to know who you really are and to have a small inkling of where we all come from.

This book is basically a comment on spiritual perception.

You also have your own divinity as does everybody else. The point is to find this divinity and to balance this with a human existence, knowing that you are part of eternity, whether pop idol, gay president, black nurse or confused student. There is no need to be afraid of unity. It's simple, if you can find your own divinity within yourself; you have found the divinity within others. And darling..., I mean WITHIN YOURSELF! It's not floating out there somewhere like some helium filled balloon. It also does not mean that we can now become one big doughnut with sprinkles of happiness on earth, nor does it imply that we are one day going to disappear in a puff of spiritual smoke and overpowering incense for having reached such a high level of vibration. No, the goal is to be able to live in both worlds – one of enlightenment and an earthly life as a human. Knowing ultimate reality in its totality will defeat the purpose of our existence, so there will always be things hidden from our human view. This is hard for many and even impossible for others to accept, but living in a state of grace is so much more fulfilling than not knowing who you are.

When you truly know that you are part of the Divine and that ultimately you are the Divine as there is only one Divine and that all there is, is the Divine, you will understand that you are Eternity expressing itself in Human form.

If Divinity is everything...

then science is Divine

I understand that what I have written here will be seen as blasphemous by some and even adventurous by others who might even agree with me but, there you have it.

This is not to say that every human being must now get in line to becoming a spiritual master with turban and toga; each to their own – and that is how it should be.

Achieving unity within yourself and humanity is not an overnight process, good God, if that were the case I know some people who would have been invisible by now! If more people actively seek their own divinity and find it, they will lay a foundation for others and it will become easier to balance your human existence with your divine presence, no matter what you wear, how you wear it or with whom.

Mine is not the way, it is just another way.

This book is not meant as a diary of my experiences nor is it an essay on what I think other people should or should not do, eat, say or study.

It is not for anybody to willingly influence another's opinion about who they are and what they should be or how they should act in regard to the rest of society. If you do this then you are showing disrespect toward others and more importantly, you are showing yourself disrespect in that you are living vicariously through others' eyes.

If you can respect others for their opinions, even if they might be different from yours, allowing each to grow as they see fit, then you have mastered a great lesson in self-realisation. You do not have to like another person's ways, but this does not have to include a disregard for the fact that they are still part of the wondrous process of life.

If we could all see ourselves as the actual process of life then we would know that we are Life. We are the ones creating our own destinies; we are the ones creating us. Whatever you call your Deity that does not matter, but if you see this Deity as the be-all-and-end-all over humanity (yourself), then you will fall for the temptation to also blame this Deity for EVERYTHING, whether this be conscious or unconscious. The outcome of your emotions, well-being and life in general will depend on what you think this Deity wants and needs when, in fact, THAT WHICH IS LIFE needs and wants nothing from or of you. This Divinity requires nothing, it is you who are doing the requiring, needing and wanting. Choosing to give so much power to an external factor/being/god-head is choosing to give away your personal authority to decide who you are and who you wish to be and blinding you to the possibilities of self-discovery.

I have to add, though, that one must also bear in mind that there is no such thing as right or wrong (as stated in many esoteric/self-help books over a long period of time), there is only what works and what does not work in any given situation – that is a very wise criteria to follow if you wish to discover yourself.

This book is written in such a way as to address each person who reads it.

This book is meant for anybody and everybody.

It is about you, it is about me, and it is about all of humanity.

You have to read this book with an open mind and a sense of humour. In fact, I was told by a wonderful woman, that the type of person who would read this book in its totality could only be a person who viewed life with a lifted eyebrow and a huge smile.

Although this book is meant to be read as one whole conversation, it is divided into several different sections for ease of reading. When I realised that Spirit was writing a book through me about human life in respect of our divine heritage, I was daunted. Spirit told me it was not necessary for me to write this book as there are many avenues through which it can make itself heard, but I decided to complete the project none the less; and once I decided upon that my life adjusted to exactly that goal. It was not an easy adjustment, but one I will never regret. My only advice to you is to, firstly, read this book with no judgment and in totality before you form an opinion, as just reading a section(s) would not make any sense whatsoever! Secondly, to read it slowly and with due attention.

I have kept my references down to a minimum of other material, and have chosen to rely upon only a few so as to prevent a cacophony of the same interpretation within an array of different opinions.

As it goes with books that have been written concerning similar material, there might be things here that you have heard before or read somewhere else in a slightly different format. I give thanks to all those people who have inspired me through their teachings and writings, but I have steered away from repeating exactly what they have said or to try and copy what is already available on paper. Most definitely you will not find in this book methods and ways to do various meditations or transcend your fears of something – there is quite a sufficient amount of highly recommended stuff out there on the world's bookshelves to inspire and assist you in such matters. Sometimes so much so that I find myself staring blankly into nothing with an open mouth at bookcases in bookstores and second hand book shops; some extra protein once did fly into my mouth – really!

I wrote this book not as someone who is perfect as a human. It is a book that is meant to bring you more clarity and spiritual insight, hopefully it will 'grab you' and assist you in realising that you are your own highest authority (exactly what this means will become clearer as you read on) and to hopefully deliver the insight to also realising the potential of your own authority.

Everything written in this book in every section has a direct bearing on the statement that you are your own highest authority.

Many may recognise the above statement from the "Conversations with God" series by N.D. Walsch – it is a brilliant statement and also a series of books worth reading.

THIS BOOK IS A WRITING FOR THE INDIVIDUAL, it is meant for us - here on earth.

Yes, you might have been told that we are all one and that there is in the end only the ONE, which is made up of the collective. Be that as it may, you will find in the following pages many thoughts and ideas that may seem odd and some that may seem credible, but at the end of the day it all boils down to what works and what does not work for you as an individual and us as a species.

2 - WHO ARE YOU?

...The Choice is Yours and No One Else's

The following was told me by a woman who recently felt herself awakening to the Light (as she put it):

"At first I was apprehensive of this instinctive knowing of things, it went against the societal structure of having to do something to get something. It scared me as people would say I am puffing myself up as all-important, a know-it-all.

I felt safer reverting to more concrete methods of finding things out – I am talking about spiritual healing/divination methods such as going to see a tarot reader, Reiki teacher or the like or even using my own methods, but with time, I realised that I have all this knowledge within me, not that I can access all of it mind you...

Several methods have been successful for me, but none has grabbed my innards as much as knowing that the power (power is such an inadequate word) of knowledge and insight comes from within my being – it is hard to describe, but it is the accessing of my entire being, my mind and soul.  
It is not an external source – I am my own source."

This is what I wish to convey – you are your own source. Now think of yourself as a sauce. There are various ingredients that eventually make up the flavour of this sauce; depending on what sauce you are and/or wish to be. Who combines the ingredients for this sauce; you or somebody else? What if you do not like the taste of the sauce this somebody else has made for you? Are you a thin or full bodied sauce; creamy or bland? Are you a sauce at all? My advice – learn to cook and make your own sauce.

As for me? I am simply fabulous! A very saucy sauce indeed.

Now you may be asking yourself who I am, why I think I am qualified to write a book on spirituality and who gave me the idea that I could do this kind of thing? The answer is simple yet daunting.... I gave myself permission to listen to myself. In more understandable terms it can be described as a straightforward self-authorisation to be an emissary of peace. To be someone who is prepared to listen to others and to listen intently to themselves as well and thereby becoming aware of who they are in the grand scheme of things – to read up on or experience things that peak your interest for the plain reason of doing it for your own enrichment, never mind what other people may think. What your family or friends may say is their own judgment of a given situation; it is not for them to judge. For anybody to judge anybody else's thought or action as wrong for that person is a waste of good energy. Don't get me wrong here though, if the action or thought in question is deliberately harmful to another being, then I do not see any harm in advising the party in question of what works and what does not work.

Have you ever tried asking Spirit (God, Allah, etc.) a question, not really expecting an answer? (Whatever you call this Eternal energy is not the point – we have all been conditioned with some form of addressing the Almighty –, which I will refer to as Spirit or the Divine or The-All-That-Is). When asking Spirit something you actually do get a response, which often comes through as a feeling. It is a gut feeling, a feeling you have to learn to discern as there is a lot of junk that clouds that specific sense – for me it is like an instantaneous message in the form of energy. It is not a feeling I can precisely describe or bottle for sale, but then again I am of the opinion that if a person thinks they can rightly describe the Divine, they are running blindly off course and straight for the cheerleaders.

Remember that Spirit will always answer your prayers considering your own highest spiritual ideals. It is a matter of getting to know how to listen.

There is so much to say and to write, the mission seems impossible. In some ways it almost is, words cannot possibly convey the essence of what even we, as humans, are able to grasp about our own divinity. These communications is my way of trying to comprehend the universe within all of us.

Have you ever wondered why it is that one often gets inspiring thoughts while on the loo?

It is the sudden silence... and, sometimes, directed concentration.

Being your own highest authority can become an issue for you. Does it mean that you – the physical you – are your own boss to the extent that you can consciously create your own future, or does it imply giving your Higher-Self permission to guide your life on earth? For that matter who is your Higher-Self? Is it separate from you as a human; a case of switching beings? Sounds a bit schitzo.

The point is that although it sounds better to say that your Higher-Self is there to guide you through life on earth, you are also still very much an integral part of your Higher-Self – it's only a word.

Yes, you should and can allow your Higher-Self to guide you, but understand that you and your Higher-Self are not separate entities. As soon as you treat your divinity as a separate entity, you will loose the plot and wind up wondering why and how you lost it. You will expose yourself to worldly influences that will only serve to enhance your worries, doubts and fears.

Because of our human status, we are not privy to some ultimate truths, for if we were we would not need to be here. Viewing the Divine world from our perceptions produces many ambiguities and dichotomies. Life itself is a dichotomy. Have you heard of the Divine dichotomy? There is no better way to understand than to experience, so ask Spirit for the experience as the means to understand.

Many spiritual books speak of the Divine dichotomy in some form or fashion. More about that later, but suffice it to say that there are many such books, enough to confuse you. The best course of action here is to confide in someone you can trust and feel comfortable with. Be discerning and NEVER rush.

You have to realise that there is no right or wrong, there simply is. It is a matter of what really feels right for you. This life is yours and it is your incarnation to live, so make the best of what you have chosen. Most important to remember is that this can be achieved when living in and with integrity.

So often one hears that spiritual discussions lead nowhere as there often seem to be contradictions. This is correct, but only if you choose not to hear yourself or you might hear, but not listen. As a human individuation, contradiction is part and parcel of life on earth.

Learning to accept and transcend living in two worlds is a challenge (and can become a bit windy), it was definitely one of my biggest challenges and it is something that has to be dealt with on a daily basis.

Note the meaning of the word transcend: if one thing transcends another, the other thing does not limit it....

The day you accept who you are is the day you become freer.

It sounds simple, but it can take years to get to this point. One could say: "...what a waste of time, it should have happened sooner...", but everything happens for a reason and I mean EVERYTHING. Yes, you can 'get yourself there sooner' via different decisions and actions in hindsight, but everything will happen for the benefit of your spiritual development even though you probably don't realise it. Boggles the mind doesn't it?

Being your own highest authority brings with it responsibility, some might say more responsibility than they are prepared to deal with. It is not so much the responsibility as the new awareness of the effects of your words and actions (and thoughts) upon others. It is nothing to be afraid of; it is simply a process of growth in realising that everybody and everything is interconnected on some level. It is a process of learning to accept who you are; and who is that? There are so many different interpretations to this question by many different people that I would rather leave it to the process of self-discovery. Maybe this book will be helpful in some way.

Although, in my opinion, there is an ultimate reality, who you are is who you choose to be. Although the process of creation in our earthly reality is a slow one, you can choose to learn how to actively co-create your own reality on earth or choose to simply have creation happen to you.

How do you learn how to co-create? You find out about whom and what Spirit is all about and who you are in relation to that. Now, before I continue, I just have to say that there are so many layers of what Spirit is that it is a seemingly impossible task to explain them all. You must come to understand that Spirit is everything. It is the water you drink, the wind you hear, and the trees you see. Whether it is a rock, a person or the stars in the night sky, all is Spirit. I could elaborate on this topic to such an extent that it would become a book on its own, but suffice it to say that when the world realises that science and the spiritual are in fact not separate, many of our day-to-day problems will be solved.

What is it to actively seek your own divinity (and by this I mean the Divine within you)? It is not about reading everything you can find on spirituality or trying out every meditation technique known to man etc. It is about being open to reading and listening to different opinions and to try a few different things/techniques over time to find those that might grab your innards.

Back to co-creating: To do this you actively seek your own divinity. This hardly ever would all happen in a day, it is a process; a process of discovering though reading, asking questions, experiencing and cultivating inner silence through meditative means.

If you are fortunate enough to find someone to guide you spiritually, absolutely fabulous for you; just bear in mind that you will come to understand that there are many spiritual teachers who come and go in your life and eventually you will grasp that all beings are your teachers to some degree. If you do not have a personal guru, do not lament your position, you will find that you will encounter several other teachers. I am speaking especially in regard of our modern life style where we travel more and are much more exposed to worldviews through use of the various forms of media.

The final points here are to always be aware that too much activity will drown out the all- important inner silence necessary to achieve spiritual sight. The person who makes too much noise will not hear the knocking at the door. Also, you should not forget that it is always your decision to open that door or not.

I know from experience that enlightenment mostly happens in stages. What you believe today is not necessarily what you know in a few years' time. A thought might grow and expand and change and even be discarded.

Spirituality seems ambiguous at the best of times and on the perimeter it is since we cannot see the complete picture from here. Ultimate reality, however, does make perfect sense. The catch is that you cannot completely know this reality until you are experiencing it.

The divine experience we are now having is that of being human – the inn's and out's of this individuation is discussed by several other spiritual teachers; this is another subject altogether and will not be discussed here. All the life inquiries of the human mind cannot be explained in a few sentences, so keep exploring – with this book, with other teachings and so on until you find You. Bear in mind, though, that you will not find your Self in the pages of a book.

Thus you are your own highest authority.

An article called Embodying Your Authentic Self by Leslie Temple-Thurston was recently published in the New Connections Magazine in Portland, Oregon.

I am not going to quote the article here, but I am going to comment on its content. The gist of it is about resisting change and fearing loss in the Western world. Face it, for many the Western ways of life are/have been relatively comfortable and privileged, especially in the more economically powerful countries. But this is becoming our downfall as living a life with blinkers on and ignoring what is going on around us are lulling people into a false sense of security – like leaving the electric blanket on overnight, so to speak. We, as a species, can no longer afford to live life as compartmentalised and separate from each other within our own neighbourhoods or toward our neighbouring countries. Our way of life has changed drastically since the time of small tribes that never encountered each other. Today we fly all over the world, have instant media access and sophisticated communication technologies. We have become extended families and if we do not SINCERELY treat the entire world's population as an extended family it is going to have undesirable consequences as we are seeing in today's world.

I have encountered many concerned people who do earnestly believe the above statement and they have started to actively participate in caring for their respective neighbourhoods – caring what happens to the children and elderly, caring about the state of parks, the quality of the water and caring for the animal and plant life.

The Western life style is bringing so much emotional turmoil into our lives. How do we tackle this situation? We should invest in believing that we are all one entity – we live in one world – we operate as one species – we believe that harming one part of that whole will endanger the whole, even if it is not immediately apparent.

"Living for the purpose of pleasure, safety or comfort takes one's life down a very different track from a life motivated by the desire to complete the awakenings that you came here for. By awakenings, I mean experiences fathomed and the resulting jewels of awareness that develop – stored safely in the soul as beacons of Truth. Lessons learned inevitably become the wisdom of the deeper meaning of life – life as a journey toward knowing who ""You"" truly are, toward finding Your place in the cosmos. This is a very different state of consciousness than wearing the mask of the separate self, which strives for success – to win power, money or celebrity status to protect the comfort zone of the wounded, soft underbelly of the ego.

An alternative to making things like safety and comfort our main concern in life, is to choose Truth and to live in Truth, or holding Truth in the physical body itself, and thus living in the physical world in your authentic state of beingness, presence, love and luminosity, takes time and work. Yet during the current accelerated times in which we live, this can be done at a very fast pace, faster than ever before in human history, if one is willing to learn every lesson as it arises in life's circumstances."

"To embody enlightenment you must be dedicated to the service of Truth, and Truth only. It is true that the Truth will set you free, and it is also true that first you must liberate Truth in yourself."

Extract from Embodying Your Authentic Self by Leslie Temple-Thurston

Live a life where everything is an outflow of who you are.

Let's talk about channelling. What is channelling and what is its purpose?

"In past channellings we have mentioned that some politicians in parliament operate within the light and within a certain time frame – that message was meant for South Africa. This is now a message meant for the entire world; governments of the world will have to begin to operate within the light and if these energies are not complied with then the offices will become redundant. Only politicians who operate within love, truth and in integrity with themselves will remain in power."

Quoted from - The Releasing Shame and Guilt channelling of Kryon on the 8th September 2004 in Wynberg, Cape Town (RSA), by David Brown.

Whether you agree with the ability of spiritual channelling or not is not the point I am trying to bring across. It is noticeable in our world, especially in our modern times, that people have begun to realise their knowledge of the general, false façade put forth by many people in political and economic power. A façade devised and practiced to keep them in power and a life of luxury.

As I have stated before there are also many people in powerful positions who use Religion and Spirituality as power bases for their fear-driven campaigns that they launch upon the population so as to keep people ("the masses") in check.

There is no God that will smite down those not living in their truth, but we humans do see (whether you wish to admit it or not) that if we do not do something to preserve our existence, we will cease to exist as we know ourselves (our human species). Who will make the decision(s) of our survival?

Channelling is a form of communication given to us as one means of listening to Spirit. Unfortunately, as with any form of communication, it can be misinterpreted and abused.

A bit more on channelling later – for now, just remember this:

Do not be forced out of integrity – let that be your nature.

Please do not look at the person who is valiantly attempting to assure their own continued existence and that of others and the planet that we live on as precocious and aloof. If you meet a person who cares for the continuation of life of everybody and everything, then you have met a person who has in some way realised their own highest authority.

3 - SELF-EMPOWERMENT

Be different, be otherwise. Be a rebel! Dare yourself to show yourself.. and the world.. YOU.

Ever think that whatever connection happens on the inside of you will manifest on the outside?

These days as soon as a thing is introduced into the market with an opening sale, within a few days it will be on the closing sale.

Our modern lives are, for the most part, quite rushed (diplomatic enough?). Before you know it, your face will be out of fashion and the shoes you bought last week - will really be...well..., so last week.

A colleague of mine once asked my advice on how to spend less money in a month – as soon as I dared tell her that she should think about not buying all those superfluous magazines, she baulked heartily. Aaaah, ooooh, there is so much to keep us in-the-know; in our social lives and in business. Endless advertising that tell us what to do and wear and feel and eat. What did that celebrity do two days ago? use that cream for this, it will make you feel you're worth it; and have you heard the latest..?

Oy vey...

Even in spirituality there is an astronomical amount of paraphernalia that would qualify one as a seasoned stuffologist.

By the time you have finished with all the breathing exercises and mantras and journal writing and meditations and readings and self-enhancing workshops, and, and, and.., oh myyy, it's already tomorrow afternoon – and you have not even gone to work yet..., sis on you, there's still the dishes to do.

This kind of I know nothing and believe everything attitude will land you up in an institution, even if it is only one of mental prepositions.., say what?!

You know, between Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth and Leonardo di Caprio's 11th Hour, we are now at the 11.99th hour of the 11th hour. Although very worth while seeing and taking note of, it leaves one feeling a bit like a squished frog under a car tire. In our modern day, it is imperative that we lessen the impact of modern stuffology. Our mental mind is like a very full train trying to make it up a very steep hill.

Dearies, the only solution to this hiccup is a concrete attempt at throwing out. Not even filing away or, God forbid, putting it somewhere else for supposed later filing or never-to-happen getting rid of.

I remember once when the big furry cleaning spider bit me – it was ugly; the spider, I mean. I donned the proverbial apron and plastic cloves and attacked the cottage I was staying in with glee (I think I resembled Cameron Diaz in her first scene after waking up in "Charlie's Angels" – well..., maybe not the undies!? I scrubbed floors; packed out, cleaned and repacked cupboards; threw out piles of old clothes and books, ready for the recycle and reuse bins. It became a bit much for my housemate who basically only ate and slept at home for three days as a consequence of my mad hatter interlude.

So, what am I getting at? UNCLUTTERING – NESS. The rest of this book will be dedicated to the various forms in which we can un-clutter our lives by realising our own authority in the be-all-and-end-all of things.., and then the catch, but that is for later. There's no point in discussing the cluttering operations most of us vehemently covet, we are all very much aware of those, however, we need to acknowledge that a conscious cleanup operation is needed – in every aspect of living life; including in how you see yourself in this universe. How do you see yourself in all of this?, as the discontented spiritual person functioning in a life of organised sludge, or as a lump of innocuous meat surviving the onslaught of life? Yes..? No?

Once again, I am not going to write a book containing copious practical applications and umpteen ways of doing something to undo the other stuff.. I am simply going to talk about it and highlight different aspects of life-cluttering situations. Your biggest responsibility on this earth is your self – because it is only from there that you can serve the rest of humanity.

Modern society is coming up with way too many bigger and better things. A lot of them work, but many don't – or they seem to work for a while, and the promises are fantastic. Mmmmmmmmmmmm, it's like replacing computer software the whole time; people conveniently "forget" that much of the old stuff still work – it is simply a matter of upgrading that instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.. and ducky – and end up with millions of ever multiplying viruses.

So..., if we take this from a feeling point of view (Ok, OK, ok..., s-p-i-r-i-t-u-a-l! if you want to be all mushy and bling-bling about it), the reference point here is about un-cluttering the mind...

So how to do? How does one actually become unburdened? (How romantic..)

Well, if all the stories one hears about life are to be taken to heart, then the first and foremost issue that clouds the judgement facility and creates lots of emotional cluttering, would be.. LOOOOOOVE.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR...

(That's right! Let's begin with the strong stuff!)

How to know if someone is your true beloved? – how to know how to attract this energy. Could the answers lie in your self-worth and realisation of your own inner image? In my healing sessions with people, I have encountered this question more often than not – as it is probably one of the most important questions you have to ask.

The answers are not difficult to find, but it is the implementation that might be more intricate:

Istly - If you really wish to know if someone is the 'right one' in love, then ask yourself what you would do/feel if that person were no longer going to be there from now on – just POOF! – gone – and not in Cinderella style; reappearing in taffeta and tulle puff pastry, but NEVER-AGAIN-TO-BE-SEEN-OR ENCOUNTERED – EVER! Or even imagine yourself in a situation where you are no longer there – you no longer exist in any form; your essence is nowhere.

The person's name you ultimately come up with might not be the one you hoped for. Bull's-eye! But is there such a thing as only ONE true love? (I think I need something stronger than tea at this moment – this is going to be a looooong night.)

We also have to bear in mind that getting the 'right one' and only 'that one' is "awfully ridiculous". To place yourself in an idyll of meeting your one-and-only life partner from the word go – and that's it, end of discussion – is to set yourself up for flailing emotionally overdrawn disc space.

2ndly – Dramatic ego acrobatics have to be removed from the entire equation.

So, let's look at five things that keep divorce lawyers in plush comfort:

Allowing your relationship to slip into predictable and monotonous routines:

By becoming overly comfortable with each other's habits and attitudes, we unknowingly sow disaster. It also, as usual, takes two to tango – if only one partner makes the attempt at keeping the relationship fresh, well..., sorry for that, it ain't going to work; not in any form of a long shot either - ever.

It is not easy keeping a relationship 'wide eyed and bushy tailed' when we are concentrating on running around, taking care of everything, but our own inner happiness. Sheer exhaustion is a killer of many more than just your inner stamina.

Keeping it fresh and lively should also not be a stressful factor – just breaking routine is what you need. Organising to go out to attend something social in the week is a fantastic way to break monotony. Do something regular with your partner in the week and also something irregular. Once you are in a set and predictable rut in all your relationship dealings, it is very hard to get out of it. More or less like a hamster trying to get out of a toilet bowl..

Taking each other for granted and not attending to your partner's needs:

Taking someone's needs for granted is like telling someone that they are boring.

When you are truly with a person who you dearly love, you will naturally – and without thought - consider their requirements.

I don't think that means requirements thrown in the face of love – a relationship that is based on mental and emotional requirement will probably be REALLY hard-pressed to survive. But, once again, it has to be both partners who consider each other's life-paths; otherwise there will be no joy.

Update the growth of your relationship:

Things change – they always do. Remember – in life, CHANGE is the only constant.

Your relationship(s) is (are) going to grow – you cannot change that. So rather than fight the course of life, go with it and embrace it with your partner.

Maturity is the name of the game here – that is: mental and emotional maturity.

Be mature enough to say when something is not working for you – be mature enough to listen to what your partner is saying if something is not working for them.

And be mature enough to know when and if to let go – in everything. Many a time we tend to leave cracked situations until they irreparably push us out......... Maybe that's because we want out?

Making assumptions about what you think your partner is thinking and doing:

Mistrust is a gnawing rat that will eventually disembowel you. It is folly to surround your partner with an energy of your own assumption. Assuming them to be something they are not is not going to work. When finally faced with one's own growth, a person will always choose to be who they innately are – how long this takes depends on many things from the person him/herself, but it will eventually always be the winner. Serious!

Not making your relationship a priority:

This is the biggy-one: When in an intimate relationship with someone, you know that there are things that you are going to have to compromise on – and they as well. It is natural and cosmically 'right' for us to be drawn together in loving relationships, especially intimate ones. In this you have to know that when two people form this bond, they generate a single energy – and there is also still the two individual energies of the separate people involved. Both these concepts have to exist, as foregoing the one in favour of the other is tantamount to murder.

An intimate relationship should have priority over and within the world of relationships, other than the one you have with yourself, don't you think? Here we encounter many accompanying energies such as respect, honour and open communication, etc.

Ultimately, if life is not a priority, then what is the point?

Then what?

Let's approach this with a stop-over story and some Milo:

A few weeks ago a very apt question came up around a lunch table. A bunch of us were discussing all sorts over Sunday lunch in the garden – the conversation steered toward the impeccability striven for in the lifestyle of a spiritual warrior and the over all inner piece achieved. We were all having a go at this subject when one lady piped up with the question: "But, how does one then actually keep this supposed inner peace?" – the table stopped eating for just a moment, but just not long enough for me to successfully formulate some witty response.

Then, everybody looked at me – as if I had all the answers to the world's questions – the cheese-puff-thingy that I was eating hovered in my throat...

Mmmmmmmm..., I took a pizza slice and chewed on that – it had cheese on it too – maybe it would befriend the cheese puff and take it skipping down into my tummy. (God, what one thinks about when cornered!) I could feel an idea start to stand up in my brain, when another woman saved me – "maybe we should then define what inner peace is in the first place..", I smiled a cheesy smile as the lunch party launched into another discussion – which I will summarise for you here:

We concluded that what inner peace is and how to keep it actually go hand in hand.

You see, to maintain a believable peaceful outlook, one also needs to have and maintain an inner harmony, because it is this unseen energy of inner peacefulness that other people will pick up on; and this peacefulness cannot be maintained if it is not real – one cannot have it if it is not truly present; it can also not be truly experienced if not honestly felt. So, this is one of those wonderful scenarios where it cannot be unless it is...

Inner peace – sounds as if we are all supposed to be happy and content, wafting about on organic cotton candy, lace and incense – might as well be on Prozac for dogs – you might have less of a headache.

But seriously though, inner peace is not something you are going to get at 20% discount at Woolies nor pick up at bargain price at Morkels. It is not something that can be taught you by somebody else – it can only be shown. You can do as much Yoga as you want, deary, but you will never find the contentment of inner silence if you do not put practice into knowledge. Is a belief in something the complete picture? – isn't it rather something that needs to be justified with a YES or NO response?

Then what about knowledge? It is said that knowledge points to inner knowing – it is your own truth that need not be explained to anybody and also has no requirement for anybody to prove it to you – for wanting something proven to others is an indication that you still have not proven it to yourself..., and this will not promote inner peace.

With the above definition in mind, inner peace can only be attained through the acknowledgement of everybody as his or her own highest authority – as seemingly painful as that might be; when your eyes have opened more to appreciate the processes of creation instead of the daily slog of survival.

A very dangerous thing lies in making decisions for other people, because you think they would be happier for choosing to take the road of experiencing – you are not them – we are individuals for the reasoning of that unique individual experience. My truth may not be yours and yours not mine. Truths may be similar – and frequently are - , but they still are the truths of the individual experiencing them.

If you can respect this, you can respect all. If you can believe this, you will come to know it. If you can hold this in your consciousness always, you will live with inner peace – and this will lead you on the path of judging nothing and no-one – which, in turn, is the only thing that will divulge to you the inner knowing of true inner peace.

4 - LIVING RESPONSIBLY

I have been giving this one some thought – one could easily end up writing an essay – and came up with a solution in writing about this topic in, more-or-less, point form:

Before we chat about what it is to live a responsible life, it would be more prudent to highlight several emotional drawbacks that do not contribute to living responsibly with yourself.

POSSESSIVENESS:

Such a state, whether temporary or chronic, usually occurs when people aren't connected with themselves as their own source of respect and power. It's an emptiness that seeks to fill itself with the attention of other people.

JEALOUSY:

Jealous people share with possessive ones a lack of self-nurturance.

REPETITION:

People, who fall in love or are drawn to the same type of person all the time, are usually following the impulse of the base ego's will rather than the spontaneous human ability of discerning intuition.

LOVE LOST:

The person who remains attached to a lost love is a person who is all too willing to overlook the deepest flaws of another and to surrender his/her identity to that person. This act is co-dependency, not the respectful and appreciative merging of two equals.

OVERWHELMED EMOTIOS:

These emotions come into effect when one cannot set one's emotional boundaries; or enforce the know-how in helping to draw the line between compassion and emotional identification.

EMOTIONAL DISTANTANCE:

People who display this quality are characterized by a reluctance to become involved emotionally with others. When those who want their advice pursue them, they tend to withdraw even more deeply. They reason that when they're burdened with a problem they prefer to figure it out themselves, rather than risk interference from others. What they don't see is that they are missing out on the opportunity to relate to and learn from other people.

To remedy the abovementioned issues, there is actually only one solution: RESPECT. That's it. And what's more, respect for your self. Respecting only others is not going to get you very far – sorry for that, but it's completely true.

You cannot have complete respect for others if you do not completely respect yourself..., and by complete respect I MEAN complete respect!

Through learning and practicing this respect, it will be a natural and immediate consequence that your respect will flow out to others and other things.

Right living

Right living will be instituted and maintained through, for example, practicing the five basic yoga principles of:

Non-harming

Honesty

Non-stealing

Responsible sexuality

Greedlessness

'Non-harming' is when one's decisions do not harm another being or thing.

'Honesty' is a quality that is rather lacking today – and when found is really worth treasuring; firstly within yourself and also within others.

'Non-stealing' – whether this is shoplifting, emotional blackmail or the usurping of ideas - generates a simple yet downright heavy energy of lack within your self.

'Responsible sexuality' points to not taking advantage of others – sexually. And this includes your spouse. Because if you do take advantage of others in this way, you will directly also be taking advantage of your own integrity.

'Greedlessness' is an act of kindness. Being greedy is simply an act of desperation. Greed is a tempting factor in anything and everything.

All of the above first need to be addressed within your self. And all of the above can be achieved through one act only – and that is: HAVE RESPECT FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU ARE AND DO – and if you really achieve this without fooling yourself, you do not have to consciously worry about whether you respect others, because you will.

PHYSICAL HEALTH

A healthy mind requires a healthy body

(I sound like an underpaid employee advertising for a large conglomerate..?)

You are what you eat is a well-known saying. So much so that people tend to not recognise the truth attached to it.

However, I do not wish to over-explain and have decided to quote from a book called NEO HEALTH, by Keith Armour Mc Farlane:

"Any health condition is an indication that your body is like a 'stagnant pond'. It is essential, that you immediately halt any further toxification. This includes physical, emotional, mental and environmental toxification."

Well, if one is going to go all the way with this, then "as far as nutrition goes, immediately cut out all processed, refined, artificially flavoured, coloured and preserved foods as well as all genetically modified foods and foods with added sugar and salt.

Cut out all stimulants like coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco and soft drinks. All drugs, both pharmaceutical and recreational are toxic to your body. NOTE: Always consult your medical practitioner before making any changes to prescriptive medication.

Avoid dairy products, hydrogenated oils and if you are going to eat meat, do so sparingly and make sure that it is organic. Do not drink tap water" (I would think that that would indicate not drinking tap water straight from the tap without having it filtered first) ", which is highly chlorinated and fluoridated and reduce or eliminate air conditioning, antiperspirants and" (chemically enhanced) "sun block creams. Remember if you can't eat it, don't put it on your skin.

Cut all fear mongering and stay away from pessimists." With other words: DRAMA! One is not responsible for another person's happiness or lack thereof.

The next point is extremely important to remember.

"As soon as you begin emptying your 'stagnant pond', the toxins must be released from your body as quickly as possible. Any increase of toxins in your blood stream will increase blood protein loss and this will put you right back where you started."

Comment: Although the above quote is well stated (in my opinion), one also has to bear in mind that each person follows their own journey in health of body, mind and soul. The thing that we have to always remember is not to judge anybody for not following the same path that you are, for not sharing the same opinion(s) as you or not supporting the same actions than you. This is vital for your own continued growth as a responsible individual.

Mental stability

If you are not going to see to it that your life is filled with more meaningful activities than slogging away at a job – and also allowing your self sufficient mental recuperation – then Spirit will see to it that you get to rest the hard way; stick your bum in bed with a stuffy nose and a body that feels flabbier than a punctured wine skin.

Honestly, though, it is of vital benefit to notably include in our busy lives actual activities that have nothing to do with our work life – and by activities I mean things like Yoga, meditation groups, cycling groups, book clubs, creative writing, getting holistic treatments, etc..; that is why hobbies are very beneficial. Something meaningful that occupies your mind with creative thoughts. And then – get enough rest! Meaning that thing that requires you to do nothing. Everyone needs a time to do absolutely nothing, but sleep late, watch movies and snack in bed.

And one really needs to do this. Avoid learning it the hard way. Also don't try and do everything all the time – some things just simply have to be left for later..., or never.

It is not plausible to tell other people how they should spend their leisure time or that they need to actively decide to have more of it. Each to their own. But, it is a decision that needs to be made and enforced by the individual; it does not drop into your lap.

5 - SPIRITUAL MASTERY

A spiritual master's life purpose is to guide evolution through outstanding leadership qualities as human life continues to evolve through the progressive stages of enlightenment. This is to liken it to the leadership of a director of a movie, to guide from behind the scenes where the decisions leading to the overall design are made.

Spiritual masters do not function well under dominant direction for long and also realise that to achieve their potential, they will need a first-rate education; continuously seeking to better themselves and to quench their immense thirst for knowledge. Their fast rate of learning is little short of amazing and they are regularly called upon for advice and/or guidance.

A prominent trait of a spiritual master is their apparent lack of emotion as they regard emotional control as fundamental to their purpose. In truth they are highly sensitive and intuitive people in combination with a powerful spiritual awareness. They are concerned with human welfare and have a huge capacity for responsibility.

Those who do not recognise their own strengths are drawn to a singularly materialistic environment in an obsessive way, thus becoming unhappy, lonely and aloof. When negative, incredible depression is the result.

It is highly recommended that a spiritual master ensures a life of balance between work and pleasure as their considerable aptitude for work can lead to becoming an overachiever. Artistic hobbies in modules such as singing, dancing, writing, painting, and the like will enhance expression and lead to emotional relaxation. To a spiritual master, learning is a life-long pursuit.

Someone who has truly achieved spiritual mastery will, generally, excel at whatever they attempt, be it in any business or cultural organisation. They also have the most responsibility to humanity.

This world of ours is in yearning for a whole lot of love -  
and unconditional love is the only thing that a spiritual master teaches.

Thus, be open to knowing everything, but believe nothing -  
how you understand and implement the above statement, will determine your level of spiritual mastery.

Spiritual mastery will lead you to the conclusion that there is no such thing as spiritual power – not really. To hold spiritual power over someone or –thing is not spiritual mastery. A spiritual master knows that they can only be master of one thing – and that is themselves.

Mastery of yourself will bring forth the knowledge that free will for every individual deserves paramount respect. It will also teach you that, as a Human, you will give up your free will to allow the inexplicably complicated and extremely talented force-of-that-which-creates to lead you into new creations. It can never stop and never does.

To get to this point, practically speaking? Live your life simply – get rid of the things and people that create drama in your life – and lessen the impact of the given dramatics that our existence brings into our space.

But more on this later...

HOW ARE YOU GOD?

Some would say that being God-like would include not giving up. Those who believe this statement would follow the belief that giving up indicates weakness.

To a person who lives from the soul's perspective, giving up on some things would be perceived as strength. From a more spiritual point of view, it simply means that you are strong enough to let go of a situation that no longer serves your growth.

Don't get me wrong – I am not advocating using this latter perception as an excuse to avoid things or people; but there are times in which wise decision to conserve your integrity will override prostrating yourself to the crowd.

God enjoys the dance of life – and by dance of life, I mean everything in creation, known and unknown. So, as the Human extension of God, – the representative of God's Earthly experience – why don't you enjoy it?

So why don't we? I'll tell you why – it is because of our in-born fear of what might or might not happen in our futures.

"All our dreams can come true – if we have the courage to pursue them."

Walt Disney

An altruist will know that everything in thought is given power. With other words, everything we think is created energy. Creative energy is not discerning – we empower both love and fear – and what you have empowered will be attracted to you. And even greater than that is the overriding force of the empowered thought of humanity as a whole and in general.

A person that lives from the perspective of the soul will now realise that for us to discover "new" empowered states, will, as humans, cause us to loose site of the safe harbour of our known perceptions for a while – sometimes even for a long time.

The person who does not dare to question anything will experience a meaningless life and will be constantly bombarded by petty dramatics in the home, with family and friends, at the office and with themselves. These are the kinds of people who only tell others what they want to hear. A person who has self-worth will be willing to speak their own truth.

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness."

Tenzin Gyatso 14th Dalai Lama

I have heard of so many enlightened masters who have gone out to search for themselves – only to realise that at the end of that road they found God, and through searching for God, they found themselves.

There are "other" helpers, yes – etheric guides and spirits that assist us. There is your Soul and/or Higher-Self. There are many words for the same things, but at the end of the day, Humanity is simply another extension of creation – an opportunity for Universal Intelligence to experience another realm. God is very literally here – within and outside you. You are very literally God on Earth.

All we need to decide is to live this or not – either are your decision to make.

Will you be living to survive as a human or live from the perspective of the soul and live this corner of creation?

Having realised the above, the soul will also know that enlightenment has to come in stages, for if not, it will wholly overwhelm our senses instead of integrating them.

Now how does one put all of this into practice?

By seeing everybody as part of the process of Universal creation.

To love another human being is not about forming attachment, it is not about need, greed, expectancy or requirement – it is not even about giving yourself to that person – it is about seeing the face of God in another – any other – that will awaken in you the stirrings of unfathomable respect and honour for yourself.

All have the ability to change their perception, but only a view empower themselves to do so.

What face do you have?

A spiritual master knows that, within humanity, creativity requires great courage – the courage to let go all certainties. Our certainties are what is keeping us from enlightenment, because it instils needs and wants and buffers us from seeing or entertaining different opinions and experiences. It prevents us from experimenting and biases one to one set of rules.

Know that the rules that we as humanity have come up with are the rules that we gave ourselves. All religious and spiritual texts are written by human hand. All channelled information is spoken by human mouths. All divine inspiration is interpreted by human minds.

There is no separated force!

Free yourself from the expectations of others – give yourself the power of freedom through self-respect.

Mastery is found in not being any particular identity – and just being that; and a master knows that he/she decides that for themselves.

Within this knowledge and action of no-identity, you will find your structure – even in the face of a world that will always label you and call you by many names.

Your true identity only lies with you. To live this knowledge throughout your life is to live life from the soul's perspective.

To put it simply – it's all in the attitude.

I AM THE SOURCE AND THE MIRROR

Well, that's it in a nutshell – that's God for you. The really one, I mean. Not the one that has needs and demands. God is just a word.

True divinity is its own source and, quite frankly, its own mirror. We are part of that mirror. The top left corner?

We do tend to live up to our expectations. Living life with a victim mentality is not knowing that success is also determined by how one deals with supposed failure.

Divinity speaks to itself all the time – it is in not knowing how to listen that the perceived pain lies. And since we are a part of divinity, we are the ones being "spoken" to.

Treat people as if they already are what they ought to be according to their own highest vision that they hold for themselves – and you help them in becoming what they are capable of being.

How does one listen to divinity? There are many different ways and modalities whereby one can learn the etheric language of symbolism and feeling. Reading the energy of life is easy. The hard part for us is in the getting to the point of understanding it. The language of creation is not a verbal one – but it is a universal one, because it deals with images and impressions.

It is not a language dependent on vowels and consonants and is open to interpretation. Its meaning is oftentimes ahead of the concrete understanding of its intention(s) and its truthful translation requires no preconceived notions.

I am speaking of psychics, clairvoyants, channellers and the like, and I am speaking of those that truly only have humanity's best interest at heart – not their own and not for any gain.

A genuine esoteric will also be an altruist. A person that is truly devoted to selfless love will not hold forth that they are in ANY way the only source of enlightened information.

THE ESSENCE OF LOVE

The essence of love is the expansion of your own identity as the lover.

"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of a genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius."

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

The person who is going to end up walking a balanced life is the one who has mastery on the inside – the one who realises that they are an equal partner with God – taking the hand (so to speak) of that which we cannot see in our 3D linearity and not put it on an unreachable pedestal and make of it an unattainable goal. That's the person who has mastery and that's the one everybody wants to be with.

There must be no misunderstanding; the passion for a spiritual path that enhances a person is the result of the melding of the human heart with the love of God.

A person who is bound to the sway of life-drama – thus living to survive – is the one who will place stock and expectancy in being let down by others, including the one closest to them. Your heart will be broken many times and you will break other's hearts. You will allocate blame – including blaming new loves for past lovers' transgressions.

Roots are for insecure people. Your "rootedness" must lie in yourself and not in outer structures and external ideologies. A belief in exterior "rootedness" (when others' opinions mould our identities) will lead to a letting go of your dreams and ideals – replacing your creativity with dogma. Once you have assumed a particular definition, you will feel strongly inclined to defend this assumptive identity – this is furtive ground for the ego. All possible strategies will be devised by your egoic mind to convince you that you are not capable or self-sufficient.

If you believe that you are inadequate, other people will believe it also.

How do we silence the ego? Learn to love the moment that you are in at any given time. Spirit has lots to say – actually, there are times when you just want the communication to shut up!

Believing that you are inadequate is quite simply a fear in your ability to deal with something. Believe that you are more than good enough and you will be amazed at what life will reveal to you – you will "see" and "hear" things that you have seen and heard before, but this time you will encounter them differently.

In June 2007 I was involved in a car accident. However, I was physically fine – and the few bruises healed quickly. The accident was more like an emotional shock treatment. Spirit was presenting me with a crossroads. On the one hand I could have been seriously hurt if the guy hit me just a few seconds later. The crystal lamp I had bought that day and that was laying below the passenger seat was not even cracked!

It was actually a marvellous experience. What it boiled down to was that Spirit had asked me to take a break. This I deduced from the fact that I was uninjured, that the lamp was left unscathed – the fact that all the accident details were taken care of while I was being carted off in an ambulance – that friends were immediately (and after) at hand for support – that my insurance gave me no hassles (many people commented on how unusually quickly the whole thing was sorted out) – and the glorious state of affairs that my car was written off as per my heartfelt request – contrary to what people expected.

That following week was one of enormous personal growth. During my recuperation at home, I soon realised that I was supposed to take a little breather-holiday. This was told me before in psychic readings and numerological layouts; also in personal channelling conversation with Spirit. I took it as such and just relaxed. I went into total fermented mode – sat under a blanket and read for hours, did exactly what I wanted for seven days and did very little other than veg out.

The ascended masters of the eternal universe had been working with me – I felt it continuously – regarding ascension energies and loads of other energy shifts. I saw marvellous colours, heard exquisite silence and realised myself as part and parcel of God/Creation. I was given choices as how I wish to be – I chose the path of creation: I was given a glimpse at how to grow and experience my Godliness. I was started on a path to know and experience the actual physical art of manipulating creation instead of letting it just happen to me; and with that, the natural laws of creation and how it is supposed to work.

I have received fabulous books to read on the exact same topics – things have just fallen into place like a giant puzzle – all of its own accord, it seems.

Spirit was instructing me on how I can use life-force to affect my reality.

When I refer to "Spirit", I am speaking of the unseen intelligence that pervades everything seen and unseen, known and unknown. The life-force that holds everything together. That which you and I am part of – whether we want to be, or not.

I must also say that if I had known all consequences of my chosen life in human form, while experiencing this world, I would have had second thoughts. Tracing a path to one's own mastery is not for sissies.

Sepulchre

A master will know that he/she never needs to explain themselves to anybody. If a person really appreciates you for the sake of being you – then they will appreciate who they met in the first place. A true lover or friend will make every effort not to fall for the temptation to change anyone to suit his or her outlook, because they don't need to; and besides, the person who dislikes you for whatever reason won't believe in any reason to like you anyway. So, stop wasting your time! Not in the light of becoming judgemental and all or slamming your mind into superiority overdrive, but learn to work with it and avoid mincing around with people that do not appreciate your outlook on life – it is also quite pointless to judge them and will only exacerbate a discontented situation.

On the other hand, in any friendship or intimate relationship, to make anybody a priority in your life, when you may just be an option to them, is just going to, eventually, land you up in some dingy pub somewhere holding passionate conversations with the peanuts.

Relationships do work better when they are balanced and not entombed in unfulfilled demand.

The same goes for something like unnecessary healthy eating; (oh, God, I can just imagine all the health fanatics torching my home tonight) but there is a problem with becoming a fanatic about something. Always trying to preserve a healthy, pristine and sexy body, unfortunately, also leads to a slightly uptight mind. Believing that a some-specific-thing is going to save you from a some-specific-that is out – O-U-T! There is really an overflow in the buffer of the worldwide health server regarding people who spend way too much time watching their health in every teensy-weensy detail that they have no time to enjoy life. Being aware of general health and eating and acting accordingly is simply recognition that a healthy body promotes a better state of mind for clarity of thought and energetic output (I am not referring to justified medical conditions). Just like jumping off some building is not going to stop its demolition. There is a huge difference between passion and fanaticism.

The World Health Organisation would tell you that health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.

What is it like to live from the soul's perspective?

Living from the perspective of your soul is to know and accept others as they are, really! Not just saying it. Always! It is a life style, a way of life and part of your outlook on life. It will be with you every waking moment and transfer to every conscious and unconscious act. From there you will understand where others have been in life and you will accept who they have become. You will also, without question, accept who you have become and allow and invite others to grow.

And above all, you will gain immense respect for other people; you will acquire an unfathomable respect for life (understanding that everything comes from the one Life that is universal energy in its various states of motion); you will be awed at your part in all of this – and you will come to know that wisdom is truly much more than intelligence.

To be consciously aware of whom you are in relation to others, you will have to be your own best friend.

"The man who views the world at fifty, the same as he did at twenty, has wasted thirty years of his life."

Muhammad Ali

How do you show others that you live from your soul's perspective?

You don't – that would be wholly inappropriate. If you are tempted to prove yourself to others, then you do not understand what it is to live a soulful life, yet.

Just like one should never force one's own opinion upon another in any matter; if you were to be offended by another's "faults", then turn to yourself and study your own "failings". In this way you will be able to see that your belief creates your universe – what you are attempting to achieve here is that it is what you know within yourself that will master your universe.

People ask me what is meant by self-acceptance – I mean, what is it really all about and how does one do it? My own belief is the following:

To accept who you chose to be is found in the knowledge that God has no preference as to what you do with yourself; as you do come into this life with certain abilities, looks, etc. – the interesting and meaningful part lies in seeking perfect acceptance from yourself and not a perfect life.

I don't mean to make this sound like God finding an interesting TV channel on a Friday evening and munching buttered popcorn under a blanky on the couch, but this is when God experiences its human existence.

And where are we going to find this acceptance within ourselves? This is a life-long pursuit of finding, accepting, assimilating and finding more... God does not stop growing and experiencing.

However, to give you one example: True happiness is found in fidelity to a worthy cause. Believe in something "bigger" than you. Live your passion and you will begin to unearth the answers to your existence without asking. This will be "given" in direct proportion to your current knowing. Godliness will never intend to overwhelm.

Most people make the mistake of trying to find contentment within themselves through seeking it elsewhere. Whether this is by making someone else more important than you, like in a marriage or succumbing to addictions and thus making that addiction your God. By appointing overriding importance to another person, thing or sensation, you will give away your power of self-actualisation – most do this out of fear and/or loathing of looking at themselves without judgement. They cannot bring themselves to believe that they play a part in experiencing God's Human creation – never mind creation as a whole.

From an esoteric point of view there is no past and there is no future, but to us, who are living in a linear dimension, the "past" and "future" are two very "realistic" things.

However, the past and future should be seen as tools: Our known past as humanity and our personal past is what is reflected in emotion - the future is a concept based in feeling. Neither should be deemed important and is only there to concretise the reality of our world. It would also be completely dilly to ignore our concept of time, as it is something we live with – and we also need to understand that it is a tool used by Divine consciousness to propose a potential result. Knowing this means that you will also know that you do not have to be a linear slave.

And on the note of slavey-people – an altruist is nobody's slave; an altruist serves humanity by knowing that he/she is ultimately serving him-/herself. And I mean really knowing it!

One of the main purposes of being here on earth is to discover where our true purpose lies in the service to humanity and the earth as a whole – and then, once discovered, to live it. Either you are going to believe this or you are not. Ultimately, nothing can force you to believe anything. And that, in my opinion, is how you know God.

What is inner peace?

Inner peace is found in always listening with an open mind.

But more to the point, how does a person master inner peace? Let's break it down into three points:

Get rid of survival mode

Throw away the ego

Pretend your gender doesn't matter

Three, seemingly, impossible tasks – all going against human nature.

Survival instinct is built into our cellular structure, but that does not mean that it cannot be changed. The use of survival instinct was to instil in the human mind that you were alone and that you had to do everything on your own. You had to clear your own path, because nobody was going to do it for you; and, therefore, you had to compete for space, food, love and money on this planet – you had to survive.

The only way to transcend innate survival instinct is to know that you represent ultimate survival – you are the definition of survival. You are a master of humanity. You are the Light.

Begin by trusting in interdimensional forces that you will not understand, but know are always there, opposed to survival instinct, which is an old energy that says you have to compete for everything

You have to toss away ego before you can balance it. What is meant by that? Ego is part of our design – we cannot switch it off, but you will know that your old ego triggers are discarded and that your ego is balanced when you can sit in a situation where somebody is calling you names and not feel it. Even if they are right. Becoming detached from ego-drama, irrespective of the situation, does not indicate divorcing yourself from living. Can you do that? An experiment here would be to disengage when a situation like this crops up. Simply respect the person who may be abusing you for the fact that they too are part of Humanity – recognise to yourself that they are the ones out of balance and not you. Do not join them in their abuse by accepting their unconscious invitation to revel in their drama; because that is what they are wanting and are waiting for. That is how one would disengage without airing superiority. There is no need for sarcasm from your side – that is pure ego-drama. Disengage, Scotty! Disengage.

Get rid of gender bias. Let me put it this way: A male orientated society has proven itself not to work – in looooong gone history of this planet, a female orientated society was as miserable a failure. The actual point that Spirit is interested in seeing is a society that is equal and without considerations of gender.

Most of us have been both sexes at different times and places in our incarnations. None is better than the other and none is capable of realising peace on earth on its own, regardless of what any mucho male egotist or feminist has to say. There is only one thing that will harmonise the sexes; and that is in seeing each other as spiritual incarnations within the broader experience of universal consciousness.

Identifying with certain things just because you are a certain gender and/or even campaigning against the other is nothing less than survival of dramatic ego.

Defining yourself on base of your gender (including whether one is heterosexual or homosexual or bi-sexual or a-sexual) only biases you to feel free to do certain things without expecting it to be questioned.

Just have a look at your favourite esoteric masters, whether dead or alive – and if they have really achieved mastery you will find and see in them all three aspects that have been referred to above.

Now find and implement them in yourself. There is not really such a human as a "master" – it's just a descriptive word, mostly used by those that externalise responsibility onto other humans they see as superior, or by people themselves who feel that the title of "master" hides their own inadequacies, and the system that will guide you in discovering your own mastery? Divine intuition. It is something that will assist you in knowing how fast to go and which way to turn. It, however, will not happen in advance. And that is what keeps many people away from their own intuitive abilities – the insecurity of not definitely knowing future happenings.

Intuition is a language that is spoken through symbols. It is our innate capability to read our surroundings – through animals, people, radio, billboards and events in nature. Our own inner Divine being also "speaks" to us through the actions and words of our friends and family. Inspiration is often unknowingly given by someone you hardly know or have met in passing – and sometimes we just need the unwitting push of a really good friend who might just be in your life for a season.

6 - TRUTH

"Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds."

Franklin D. Roosevelt

We are each a highly complex and interdimentional group of melded entities with spiritual purpose – your Higher-Self. Yet, we only "see" one face in the mirror. Although there are many truths, there is only one core truth – that truth is very simple; it is the love of God. Each will then have their own truth, which is based on the core truth of God within themselves. This is then your truth and what enlightenment is for you.

God can thus not do anything on this planet unless it is through the Human Being.

People who have come to work with this truth are generally referred to as Lightworkers. But to really identify a true lightworker – have a look at their eyes.

A lightworker's eyes are very stable (w.o.w. they do not look all over the place – their attention is not diverted from their momentary focus). Yes, their eyes seem to reflect a brilliance that is found in clarity of the eye (sparkles) and the eyes seem to "smile", but more important than that, a lightworker's eyes have a soft and penetrative look (not stare) that conveys a knowing of peace and honesty.

A true lightworker knows that there is no pushing and pulling from an outside source – there is, instead, a dark/light balance in each Human heart. This is what is known as duality; and that is the test of the Earth.

What holds the cosmos together?

Our free will lies in the choices we have in either blindly following dogma or listening to our own life force.

Following dogma usually results in an unending host of do's and don'ts that need to be adhered to.

Following a built in guidance system also has rules; the difference is that cosmic rules are requested and activated by pure intent. Set rules are inflexible in their interpretation – and worse yet, they can be bent to suit needs; whereas cosmic rules stand above the need to explain and cannot be altered to suit adaptation. Cosmic rules are there to enhance an enlightened being's life, not to encase it. Did you ever think what an enlightened being actually is? I would propose that it is a person who relishes in the essence of the understanding of pure love, knowing that it cannot be explained to one who has not encountered it, and that to explain it takes away the energy of peacefulness that surrounds this understanding.

An enlightened person knows that there also has to be an element of trust when taking the "hand of Spirit" and moving forward. There has to be faith in cosmic intelligence:

Let's look at some...

The core emotion of the universe is that of love.

All spiritual masters that have ever been, are and will be on Earth know that all too well. Love is the key for enlightenment of the Human Being.

We are all dearly loved, irrespective of anything. It is a cosmic given; it is a built in part of cosmic existence. It is.

This is the most difficult cosmic law to accept and believe - for most.

In every Human being there lies a profound divinity.

It is, however, not intuitive. It is felt enough to lead people to find/or reject God in some form or fashion of worship. The knowledge that you are God is not intuitive. Why? So that if you search for God, you mean it. For if it were a flirtation, you will never find any answers.

This is duality.

No Human can willingly un-know anything.

Once energy is created, it is created. Experience can also not be erased. It becomes part of you for life, forever embedded within your knowledge. It is how you work with it (or not) that counts. This also counts for the ways one chooses to receive communication from Universal Consciousness. If, for example, one chooses to communicate with the Divine through altered consciousness, or cards, or numbers; this manifests as its language with you – it might, in all probability, not make much or any sense to another, but this would be the way that cosmic intelligence knows how to nudge you. Even if you choose to ignore it, it will not become unlearnt.

You can never return to a less aware state.

Do we have to re-learn it all when we come back next time? Well, if that were the case I would most decisively have huge issues with the faeries!..., and then some!

The next cosmic law states that whatever has been learnt spiritually in one expression will carry over into the next.

Just think of it in this way: Why then do those (who choose to recognise it), who seemingly had no spiritual training, have profound wisdom?

The reason most people are afraid to open this side of their God-given perception, is because then they have to face it; because once that symbolic jar is opened it cannot be closed. This is the reason most do not ever realise their own altruistic nature, because of the fear of their own mastery.

How does one not realise one's own intuition and psychic nature as given tools in the dance of life? By not acknowledging that those mentioned abilities are innate to every living Human Being; some just cannot bear the risk of fitting on that particular frock.

Another fear that goes along with the one mentioned above is the fear of allowing change to occur in your life. Change is, to many, a horrendous swearword. Rather the devil you know than the devil you don't!?

When pure intent is given to know who you are in this world as a spiritual being, you give permission to the cosmos to start rearranging things around you.

Finding God within you is by no long shot esoteric candyfloss.., it does change your life.., and this is what is so difficult to accept. Becoming enlightened is not for the faint hearted.

It is not that God finds pleasure in taking away love in any situation; however, the earth plane demands compensation for the honing of skills.

When a human decides to move into an interdimentional state, the whole cosmos knows it.

Your "universal family" recognises it. That which is you on the "other side" feels it. The God in one will always greet the God in another – the cosmos awakens when you do.

When you are not sure why you like someone, but you feel comfortable in their presence (I am not speaking romantically), it points to an unconscious recognition of spiritual life force emanating from another.

And lastly (for this book), have you ever wondered if that light for peace that you send to the war torn areas of the world, the political offices, and the downtrodden actually has an effect? It does. Every person affects the fabric of our cosmic existence. Our so-called future. Only one half of one percent of the human population is energetically needed to awaken peace on Earth. Governments will start making wiser decisions and ignorance will turn to wisdom. Sending light to other areas of the world and to other peoples of the world follows an intelligent design of cosmic proportion and has an effect on the minds of the cosmic participants. These are the Old Souls. It's the Old Souls who will make the difference; and many of these are children today.

Note: Even if a child is an Old Soul (currently known as Indigo/Crystal children), the emergence of their Light depends overwhelmingly on the upbringing they receive from their parents; and will consequently give to their own children. Parents are the focus, because without enlightened parents, the light of a child will in almost all cases fizzle and die, or at the very least be grossly delayed or just not come to fruition.

It is how one looks at things that matters...

E.g. the way I write is by completely trusting Spirit to bring me the right material at the right time. When I am writing, I know that the material that I have gathered will be presented in the right order, even when I pick up a peace of paper I have scribbled on or underlined something on to lead me into a specific subject.

But for someone who doubts that something like this could be, it will simply not work.

For Divine inspiration to become Divine guidance, it has to be believed by the individual who receives it, as it has no obligation to anybody else and with that, I truly love you, because I truly love myself.

"To be brave is to love someone unconditionally without expecting anything in return. To just give takes courage; because we don't want to fall on our faces or leave ourselves open to hurt."

Madonna

7 - COMPLETE.. OR COMPLACENT WISDOM

So far, we have been advised to, very literally, treat ourselves as our own best and most endearing friend; to willingly and wilfully evoke the Creator's will for and in our lives; and to maintain equilibrium in our psyches.

It all sounds quite poofy.., but it can be done. The answer? OBSERVANCE.

Observance of yourself – always and in all ways. ALWAYS. Observe your actions before you react. Observe your thoughts – don't react to them. Don't react...

The danger here is to fall for the soft ebbing flow of complacent wisdom – I have met and know several people who suffer from this type of wisdom, including, at times, myself. Complacency is not the same as a firm belief in something; complacency is when that firm belief becomes stagnant and rigid. Opposed to this is complete wisdom such as that of Jesus who lived a life that advocated no distinction in empathic love between male/female, rich and poor, religion or creed.

Seen from another perspective, complete wisdom is something that requires action.

How many people do you know who simply believe that intending something is going to lead to its realisation? Well, sometimes – but more not than often – intention is the only thing required to make something happen, if it is also cosmically intended. However; usually intention is not enough; although a vital step, it is only the first step.

Intending brings one to the point of generating the energy of creation, without which nothing will happen.

After intention comes observation. The observation of your choices. Observe your internal and intuitive reaction to your different choices. Then, depending on your experiences in and outlook on life (mine, for example, would be from a spiritual point of view), choose. If you get stuck here there are basically two scenarios: 1) Someone else will choose for you, 2) Life will choose for you. Either way – God does not stop "Godding".

After you have made a choice, make decisions for acting upon that choice. A lot of people can actually get up to this point, but it is during this point that things start going pear-shaped. They masterfully weigh their options and even write down their choices. They then proceed to make decisions, but the decisions become half hearted. This is usually the point where most people become unstuck, which means that the next and most crucial step for realisation on our earth plane is not completed. And this is to TAKE ACTION. Without action you might as well have stayed at home watching TV.

There is a fine line between an obstinate control freak and a blissful ignoramus.

Cosmic intelligence may only assist you in achieving your decision when you initiate the action. Letting go and letting God is not about forfeiting your power to a seemingly higher and outer power, but about acknowledging your Higher-Self as part of you and you as part of it.

Intention

Observation of choices

Choosing

Making decisions for acting

Take action

Let's take a feasible example:

INTENTION: You set the pure and honest intention of leaving your current industry of work for something else. You have thought about this for some weeks/months and have more or less outlined what it is you want to achieve.

OBSERVATION: You observe your choices in this situation by being aware of opportunities that present themselves. You "observe" that you have the choice to stay in your current location, move to another province or even emigrate.

CHOOSING: You then make a decisive choice as to what it is you really want.

You want to move. Leave the logistics to cosmic intelligence, but nothing stops you from maybe squizzing the internet for available flight tickets.

MAKING DECISIONS: Once you have decided what you want, make decisions on how to act to achieve this goal. Not about how to move and exactly where and when and all that paraphernalia, but start getting your life in order for this move – leave the grating details to your Higher-Self – you simply decide on what's going to move with you. Fabulous!

Note: Telling all and everybody about your plans just generates unnecessary expectation from others who may just be waiting to see you fail; and this is often the point where we stall and sputter.

TAKE ACTION: When cosmic intelligence then arranges the opportunity – then take it!

Throughout all of this, you will get absolutely nowhere and fall flat like a baked pudding that has been made without flour if intuition is not your guiding language.

Darling! The kettle ain't going to boil unless you switch it on... and instead of waiting for someone else to switch it on, switch it on yourself.

Never let other people decide what your capabilities and limitations are – there always will be many volunteers to tell you you're either too old or too young or not smart enough.

The truth of the matter is that, in general, people cannot and are unable to accept blatant honesty, raw beauty or unblemished innocence. It's too.. toooo.. ..GLARING!

It's like the difference between dogs and cats: A dog gets up with you in the morning and licks you in the face and sends you of to work with the assurance that they will look after the house (OK – maybe not the Paris Hilton-style doggies). Most cats will give you a one-eyed look of 'get-your-fat-ass-to-work-and-feed-me-before-you-go'. Or so the prophecy goes. (I assure you, I am very much a lover of all animals).

Moral of the story? Surround yourself with people of like mind and people who will give you sound advice if you ask for it, especially when making life-changing decisions. Consciously avoid the opinions of those that will generate fear. If you "cannot help" yourself and announce your plans to the world prematurely, it simply points to allowing your ego to sabotage you; the question is "why".

8 - MEDITATION

I open myself to the Light,

I ask to know

and to experience...

Myself...

Sounds pretty fuzzy-wuzzy doesn't it? Many different people have different ways of meditating or calming themselves down. Some will calm themselves by listening to music and others will do breathing exercises, etc. The truth of the matter is that the word meditation frightens some people. It alludes to many a rigid situation of compliance or one of ridiculous fanaticism and, even worse, one of falsehood.

The practice of meditation today has become more accepted, whether you sit quietly and listen to the surrounding sounds in nature, find shapes in the clouds, follow a specified regimen of a particular meditation exercise or simply listen to calming music or your own breathing – many people practice some kind of meditation to calm their minds down.

The art of calming down your own mind and clearing your head of too many thoughts IS MEDITATION.

Face it, the human body and mind does not function very well under undue amounts of stress (noise, pollution, constant chatter, small talk and maliciousness). It becomes tiring to be subjected to all of this on a constant basis. We are supposed to be much freer than most of us are in this day and age – irrespective of what you might be told about the benefits of a secure job and the security of the average western life style, WE, as a race, ARE most definitely NOT FREE to experience and know the truths of our reality. To soak up life and to live it to the benefit of everybody CREATES FREEDOM within your mind, which in turn will manifest as freedom in your actions.

The immediate response I have received from a statement like the one above is that no one can survive without da moola (meaning: money – for those of us who do not know). If you do not work you will not earn money; where inspiration has become synonymous with creditors. This is not my argument; I simply wish to point out that we are being fooled to think that we are free. Slogging umpteen hours at a work desk and the ever-increasing pressures to produce security (money) and the ever-increasing demand of our time to fulfil our obligations to our employers are taking a notable toll on our social structures at home and in public. Families are breaking apart; relationships with our friends, family and spouses are crumbling in front of our eyes – and yet not many are doing anything about it and even some who are arguing against these situations are succumbing to the counter attacks from those who would demand our lives as compensation to earning salaries. I am not being blind here – we know all too well that this is how our life on earth has functioned for some time; but times are a-changing. People are awakening to the fact that we are being fooled into a sense of false security in order to sustain a few in power. Just think about the amount of times you have been cornered to secure your future over the phone with some bank or medical aid; – Mr Bell was a darling, but sometimes I want to throttle the person who came up with the idea of cell phones - billboards jumping out at you on the roads and media advertisements telling you that you will not survive without their product or investment policy. There are those who have become the slaves of those who would benefit by inciting this slavery, but who are slaves themselves to their wealth. Freedom? Show me where. I have more chance of meeting the talking mice in The Hitchhijer's Guide To The Galaxy story than finding true freedom from oppression on this planet.

The truth is that you have to achieve freedom in your own back yard before hiring a crop duster plane to spew I LOVE EVERYBODY in the air. You won't really know what I am going on about unless you actively practice the art of clearing your mind of excessive thinking. Thoughts generated by absolutely anything bombard us throughout the day; you cannot solely rely on the natural occurrence of dreams to sift through all this mumbo-jumbo. The process needs a bit of help and this is achieved through becoming quiet and giving your mind and body time to relax and wind down. Not by sipping five martinis in front of your favourite soapy or manhandling the creepy-crawly out at the pool, nooooooooo, SILENCE, ALONE, QUIET, SSHHHH. Meditation after exercise does wonders as physical exertion stimulates greater oxygen intake and takes the mind off other things. Bubble baths or showers are also wonderful and meditation after one is very relaxing. Now I know that most of us lead busy lives, but you must make the effort, and you will if you really wish to do this, and then it will seem that there was always time in the first place.

Now I am going to stick out my neck a bit. I can actually visualise the guillotine rolling in! We are all included when I say this: Ritual and custom is a good thing, but giving your power away by becoming this ritual or that custom is a dead end to your personal growth. Arguing over which colour to wear to which religious festival has zip-dee-doo-daa to do with spiritual maturation. Becoming hooked onto the 7-step whatever-plan will very soon stunt you. To be able to think for yourself after you have read the 7-step plan is the interesting part. I am talking about personal realisation – only after that can we save the world. Much has already been achieved and more will be achieved (if we wish to survive as a species) regarding this realisation of personal power. It is through the realisation of personal power that you will come to realise the unbreakable bond of communal power. Good grief, I sound like I should be wearing Jesus sandals, but the truth remains the truth.

Our world does revolve around money and those who have the most of it will have the most economic/political power. My argument is not against earning money, we all need money to survive in our modern day world and the answer is definitely not to revert to ancient times where people lived in small tribes living off the land. As many modern day people will tell you, this drastic type of action as described above will only result in total chaos..., but the answer is also not to let things go on as if there were no other way. The age-old excuse of not doing something for the benefit of human kind and the survival of our planet (home) is now no longer valid and is a sad excuse to avoid looking the truth in the eye. The time that things are starting and will start to go horribly wrong for us is currently happening (the sad thing is that many people know this, but feel too weak to do anything about it – the what-can-I-do-mentality is rife among humans and exploited by politicians).

If you are 50 – 60y today, the reality of you experiencing this planet running out of oil, e.g., is staring you square in the face.

Read The Last Days of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann – the facts quoted will widen your eyes.

The belief that our leaders will save us is a fallacy. There are too many leaders out there who are in it for their own gain and those who are honest mostly succumb to the lures and pressures of powerful people who would corrupt and lie to get what they want. The time for one person to emerge who has all the answers to our troubles is not logical any longer. We live in an era of lightning fast communication and media frenzy. In ancient times it was quite acceptable and understandable for one or a few people to make themselves heard, as the world populations were much smaller and closed off as is today. We are part of the cycle of life, which is the creative energy within everything – there is no judgment in what you do, however, we are just as subject to the laws of nature/give and take/cause and effect/karma, or whatever you would call it, as anything else. Whether you believe in a Spirit, God or nothing is your choice and it is no one's business to force you to believe otherwise. There is an ultimate reality regardless of our choices.

There was an episode in Star Trek where two crewmembers explored a new planet. An unknown substance rendered them unconscious and took over their lives for a short time. This half liquid goo became them and walked around as replicas of them. All was eventually saved, but to cut a long story short, this goo had intelligence that wished to copy the appearance and lives of these two crewmembers, because it wished to advance itself. This energy strove to create itself in the next grandest version it could envision itself to be.

Intelligent matter will always strive to create itself in grander versions. This is not in itself a problem. The issue comes in for the intelligence when some members of this intelligence wish to hoard power to fake belief that it is grander than the rest of the intelligence.

A method of meditation that I found extremely useful was to meditate on the seven keys of ascension described in Leslie Temple-Thurston's (with Brad Laughlin) book Returning to Oneness. It is a marvellous description of empowering yourself through spiritual awakening. The seven keys of ascension are very powerful tools in creating a balanced life free of ego. To be free of ego or to believe in a higher power or simply Life should not be viewed as a trick of the mind to numb you to the influences of society and to blind you to the way the human race conducts itself. No human is free of ego, there are simply those who choose to be driven by it, strewn along by it and then there are those who would try to transcend it so as to recognise it when it becomes threatening to one's common sense, life sustainability and compassion.

It would be unfair of me to rewrite Leslie's book here so I will only give you a few keys to ponder on:

Do not believe in LOSS or GAIN

Forgive all BETRAYALS

View the EGO IMPERSONALLY

This book goes on to describe the wonderfulness of accepting who you are, in death and divinity.

There are also physical forms of meditation as e.g. Yoga:

Not all methods of meditation have a positive effect on everybody. What my friends or colleagues might deem as beneficial to them could have negative effects on me. I was once told by a health practitioner (who studies Yoga) that a certain type of Yoga is actually not as beneficial to me as other forms of Yoga, if one took my overall physical and mental make-up into consideration. As I literally found out just to prove it to myself.

I found (FOR ME) that slow moving exercises were of tremendous benefit to my well-being. I thought this preposterous in the beginning, but soon found out that it is true. Movement is of vital importance to the body! Running, walking, jumping, swimming, whatever, just moooove. I do not think I need to go into the beneficial qualities of keeping the body active as to sustain it. You can read about it in many other books. It is also highly beneficial for the circulation of life sustaining energy.

There is hardly anything more honest for a being to do than to participate in finding its true nature – to do this simply follow the rule of bringing no harm to another. Then you could not possibly bring harm to yourself and in good conscience to any other being.

There is knowledge in Presence.

Being present in the moment indicates to us that when you have achieved quiet in your mind you will experience everything around you in much greater detail...and in this presence you will invite a clearer mind to interpret your surroundings and the meaning of certain situations and answers will be more forthcoming (by you).

There is nothing weird or abstract about this, it stands to good reason that a more stable mind-set will be identifiable in a person who has more control over their mind which is gained through becoming quiet (internally) on a regular basis. That's it.

One of the most destructive forces to your own person is your thought. It does not take a professorship to come to this conclusion. Your thoughts have a way of running riot and to invade your space at random with information and speculation that simply serves to tire you. Take the scenario of watching a TV drama, reading an intense book or listening to a story on the radio. You begin imagining delicious expansions on the story line and sometimes it can become totally out of control and even ludicrous – what would we do without our soapies! This leads to your mind being occupied with diddly-squat of anything useful.

Having your thought taken over like this, even if it is about another person whom you might be having issues with, is a waste of energy and will tire you mentally and physically. The solution is to find a constructive option to clear your mind of wasteful thoughts. This could be many things, but I recommend meditation – getting lost in your favourite (calming) music, writing in your journal or sitting still in meditative practice.

Of course you would not be able to do this in the middle of a busy office answering seven phones at the same time with people all about. No, but meditation is a long-term investment that brings your state of mind to a calm stillness in any situation over time. Thus, meditation becomes a way of life. It cannot be used as a quick fix once in a while over a few minutes. To gain the power of a balanced mind that can assist you in controlling harmful thought you need to practice often.

I have been asked the question often enough on what meditations are best suited to any one person. That question has to be answered by the individual him/herself. The best that I can do here is to say that all meditation is beneficial to some degree, whether it is meditation in exercise, sitting positions or whatever; the ultimate goal of meditation is to bring the meditator's mind to a focal point of concentration.

If you are listening to a guided meditation then you will become absorbed in listening to the voice of the person speaking and the mental images invoked by the meditation. When practicing quiet meditation on your own the situation will possibly be of being consumed by the music playing or following the mental invocations of the meditation.

Other meditations, like those combined with exercise, will have a strong element of concentration on the movements/exercises involved, etc.

Some examples:

There is the 100-Grains of Rice Zen Meditation in which you transfer 100 grains of dried rice from one small container to the next – one grain at a time. The object is once again to bring the doer's mind to one point of concentration; not filled with thoughts of business, family, friends, colleagues or emotional expectations or problems. The actual meditation is not the point. What the meditation achieves for the meditator is the deciding factor.

Another meditation that I personally like very much is the Salutation to the Moon Meditation (Eastern). It is an exercise meditation that incorporates twenty two slow moving positions including a specific pattern of breathing. Once you have the movements and breathing sorted out (not intricate) then the meditation/exercise is quite enjoyable and serves to focus your attention on what you are doing and thus brings quietness to the mind.

Learn to discern through vibration...  
...now what does that mean?

Meditation is not only something you do by becoming quiet in a desired location or position, humming away or concentrating on not concentrating (smile). It is something that can be done in many different forms and in many different places.

Because of our higher vibratory status currently on earth (as apposed to e.g. 20 years ago), it is easier to live in meditation. I do not mean to live in a haze of bliss and ignorance, but to constantly be aware of your divine being. Through living life with the knowledge of who you are and who you are in relation to others, you will gain the insight to live life with right insight and wisdom regarding life's challenges.

This is to discern through vibration, measuring the energy (life force) surrounding you at any given time.

Once you have achieved a constant connection to your divine Self, a sit-down meditation will feel and become notably different to what it used to be.

Please note that something like this does not happen over night. Enlightenment is a process. God takes time. Things happen slowly on the Earth plane.

If a situation seems dichotomous – there is usually truth hidden in there somewhere.

9 - WHICH LIFE-PATH TO FOLLOW?

...WHICH PATH IS RIGHT?

Madeleine has a little box on her dresser that is filled with sea sand that she brought back from her seaside holiday 18 years ago. A reminder of the happy times she had on this childhood vacation.

Whenever she opens the box and feels the fine sand she remembers the fantastic energy that it awakens in her mind.

This fantastic energy has nothing to do with the sand; it is the energy of this remembrance that is stored in the mind, which is enhanced by the memories rekindled by touching the sand in question. There is nothing weird or funny about saying that energy is invoked by touching an object that reminds you of something; it is true.

Certain objects, smells, sights and sounds remind us of certain things, whether happy or sad. The important thing, however, is the emotion that is invoked through the memory; and emotion is energy in motion – think about it logically.

I have now erased what I have written about three times – continuing with this subject is not as easy as I imagined. There is so much to talk about and to refer to that it is leaving me a bit breathless, but in saying so I have to start somewhere.

To know if you are following the right path is one of the age old and continuous questions that the human race asks of itself, even those who profess to be atheists.

It is as if a person has a ready-made question mark in a pocket somewhere about if you are doing the right thing, even if it is only a small voice in the distant background. No, not the wife.

A spiritually enlightened person (spiritually enlightened person, to me, indicates not necessarily a religious person or person of high moral standing or someone who necessarily performs endless sacrificial duties), in my opinion, is someone who understands that they do not understand everything, someone who grasps the meaning of unconditional love as is meant in its grandest expression, someone who understands that the hardest thing to do is to simply let another person be who they are - to let a flower bloom on its own. They will tell you that being enlightened has nothing to do with religious persuasion, culture, belief structure or doctrine. You can be who you are in any part of the world and still be enlightened as to the compassion one can show to all that is life.

There is no one path that will lead you to enlightenment. This is the point I wish to make and is the point that so many find unacceptable and confusing, because it displaces you from the comfort zone of having no responsibility other than following the rules of the doctrine that you believe in; or do not believe in.

You can read up on the consequences of this kind of exclusive belief structures in many books such as in the Kryon teachings and in Neale Donald Walsch's books, especially Tomorrow's God, a book that expands on the idea of the type of God that is waiting in the wings of our modern era.

So many paths...so little time...so you might think.

I overheard a conversation once, spoken among friends and acquaintances at a house party/braai (while we were all outside in the garden), about Reiki (a form of energy healing) – whether it is to be believed or not. The question of whether this form of treatment and those like it (which the human race currently classifies in general as New Age) will retain its popularity or fade was brought up. One person even remarked that he thought that this type of thing might become big business in the future. Another stated clearly that, to him, something as intangible as Reiki was not in his scope of reason and he could not bring himself to believe in it.

The point is not to believe or to not believe in such esoteric matter – some people swear by the experiences they have had and others cannot see the reasoning in it – but if you can accept another's opinion and belief to the extent of not ridiculing it or that person, then you have mastered the great art of respect.

Even though the second person (in the above e.g.) mentioned that he had a friend who was involved in the corporate industry and who had now reverted to teaching and practicing Reiki and the fact that this friend was busier than ever before, because of the numerous requests he received for his work, this person could not understand why and how someone could get involved with something so way off the beaten and proven track and that the friend was happy and successful in what he was doing.

Here is the thing: It is not really about believing that we all stem from the same source or that we are all made up of energy that has its own intelligence, or that there is an ultimate reality that we as humans cannot realise in totality as this would defeat the purpose of our existence; neither are the arguments for or against alternative healing or the question of whether science is only proving what some alternative healers and teachers have been saying for decades.

People have always been looking for answers throughout history and separate groups have pitted themselves against each other since time immemorial regarding opinion on something or the other, especially the way people believe – or should I say should believe.

I could go on and on about this, but would it help?

There is no honour in blinding yourself deliberately.

The only reason people will belittle another's truth is because they are not comfortable with their own and feel insecure as to its continued existence in the face of newer truths.

Here I have to use some examples from history in reference to what has been said (...and there are MAAANY examples to choose from).

The age-old method of control through religion is a well-ridden horse. In my own country of South Africa there is the past example of Apartheid in respect of political control. In the USA there are the atrocities committed against the native Indians for economic control and many inhumane acts still remain in force to this day by modern governments to keep control over what they think e.g. the American people should know and have – if you would like to read up on some factual information then I recommend again Thom Hartmann's book The Last Hours Of Ancient Sunlight; especially the chapter called Transforming Culture Through Politics; this chapter makes you doubt if many of our world governments really have humanity's best interest at heart for the long term, or is it all about short term gain?

There are also the crimes committed against the Aboriginees of Australia...and so many more examples of racism/culturism in almost all (if not all) countries of the world e.g. China, Russia, Germany, Iraq, Rwanda– the list is endless.

All in the name of religion and/or belief. Mind you, not the actual religion/belief in itself, but the version held forth at the time that serves the convenience of a section of humanity.

The next example is not a recent one, but also one that will give credence to my point that a portion of a population has always held power over another under the guise of religious fervour, economic strength, political righteousness or plain old military might (many a time for the good of the people in question) based on what the controlling portion believes (or the government of that controlling portion wishes its citizens to believe).

Righteousness:

It was in the England of 1554 during the reign of Queen Mary and her Spanish consort King Phillip. When Mary came to the throne after her father's (Henry the eighth) death, one of her wishes was to restore England to the Catholic faith. She believed that she had come to the throne through Divine providence and did not yield in her fervour to introduce England back into the Catholic fold and Papal authority.

Many a person of any standing or faith has prostituted their conscience in respect of gaining power/control over a certain situation. We do this in daily life as well.

"Archbishop Cranmer was another victim of Mary's reign and when he was finally forced to recant his position in matters of faith and stripped of his churchly titles, he closed with the following statement: Next, having repeated the Lord's prayer, he exhorted the people to loyalty and obedience, and made confession of the Christian faith, all this according to the expected form. 'And now,' the degraded Archbishop said, 'I come to the great thing that so much troubleth my conscience more than anything that I ever did,' but when the packed congregation of priests and doctors listened for his explicit and final recantation, they got other fare. For what he repented of and recanted was that recantation itself which, he said, with simplicity akin to the finest courage, he had made 'for fear of death, and to save my life if it might be.'"

(Papiers d'Etat, pp.399-402. Renard – King Phillip, (February ? 1555). (pp 409-410)

The above quote is an example that many people will hang on to their beliefs even in the face of great harm – why? The answer is simple – people have to believe in something, even if it is to hold the belief that they believe in nothing. But to believe in something that moulds your actions is something that many cannot do without and that is the only thing that will finally change a person's actions – belief.

My mother's father once told his family (before his death) that it was important to believe in something stronger and wiser than your physical being even if it was not what he had taught as a church minister.

Some will swear by following the traditional Eastern path of e.g. Fung Shui or Zen, classical Reiki or Budhism, Christianity or Atheism. When you have the wisdom to realise that there is no such thing as the right path, but only the question whether the path will enhance in you the power of insight and understanding of the sacredness of all life, then you will come to the conclusion that the path is not the criteria, the will to achieve understanding, enlightenment and spiritual insight into the meaning of life and those who tread its path – that is what is important. So study different paths, read different books and experience the custom and traditions of different people, through this you will gain immense knowledge, and by assimilating knowledge you will gain wisdom into whom you are in relation to that knowledge.

To make myself a bit clearer I will quote you a passage from Diane Stein's book Essential Reiki: "The living body, human or animal, radiates warmth and energy. This energy is the life force itself, and has as many names as there are human civilizations. Mary Coddington, in her book In Search of the Healing Energy (Destiny Books, 1978), fills an entire volume discussing the history of this energy in various cultures. The Polynesian Hunas call this healing force Mana, and the Native American Iroquis People call it Orenda. It is known as Prana in India, Ruach in Hebrew, Barraka in the Islamic countries, and Ch'I in China. Some individual healers have termed it Orgone Energy (Wilhelm Reich), Animal Magnetism (F.A. Mesmer), and Archaeus (Paracelsus). In Japan this energy is termed Ki and it is from this word that Reiki is named." (p 16)

The fact that there is an energy that binds us all is no longer a foreign concept to science either.

If you think you are quite an open-minded person, flexible in acceptance and a progressive mover, I urge you to re-examine yourself. Often we get comfortable with where we are and unconsciously refuse to budge and thus stunt our emotional, spiritual and mental growth.

Ask yourself if you are inflexible through pride, ego, stubbornness, and fear of change and/or self-righteousness. Examine if you (maybe unintentionally) display a fear or reluctance of moving forward.

It takes a great person to see their own shortcomings, and an even greater one to do something to improve themselves; and a grand person to say that he/she might see and advocate perfection, but finds it more difficult to implement them him/herself.

I was recently on a business trip to Malelane (about 45 minutes outside Nelspruit) in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. It was beautiful to say the least. On my way back I stopped off at a guesthouse in a place called Kaapsehoop, called Silver Mist. What a breathtaking location! The scenery is awesome and leaves you gawking and be-wondered. You are literally on top of a mountain and many a morning you are walking through the mists and clouds, like Heidi. Your body starts to soak up the ever-present tranquillity and your mind feels like it is taking an endless breath within the endless expanse surrounding you...

...and then there is the penetrating silence.

When I first visited Kaapsehoop it was difficult to adapt to the peaceful features as described above. However, after the silence and wonder has wrapped you up in the folds of its blanket and transcended the wild activity of the city, you begin to listen...

...to your own voice.

It is not the voice of an outer Deity who commands you from afar, but your own voice of reason. It is not your speaking voice, but your inner voice that prompts you with feelings of wisdom. How to discern between what is wise and what is not? It is for you to decide what is workable and what is not. The only advice I will give is this: If it does not harm any one or anything then it is most possibly a workable situation.

Then I headed home toward Johannesburg. A city filled with business and bustling, horrendous pollution and loads of stress buzzing around you like an irritating fly that just won't have the decency to sit still long enough to be gotten rid of!

I was at first distressed at being in Johannesburg again and felt depressed, but after some thought I realised that this was where I made a life (I am not referring to business). I would never have come to accept Gauteng Province as the province in which I stayed if I did not come to the realisation that this is where I wished to be at the time. I originally come from the Western Cape and Gauteng was a foreign land to me when I moved there. With the knowledge that what you resist will persist I learned to live harmoniously with my surroundings. This does not mean that you have to accept everything that is going on around you, but with clarity of mind you will learn to transcend that which pains you and change that which disturbs your inner peace. The trick is not to fall for the all-consuming lure of having everything that the consumer industry tells you, you must have, want and need.

If your continuing existence depends on having everything that you think you cannot do without, simply to display to other people that you have what they do not, then your life will be superficial and unfulfilling and constantly driven by the unworkable need to impress – there will be little time to enjoy much else, including your family and friends...and they will pick up on this very quickly. Why do you think there is so much unhappiness in the world currently? One of the reasons why families and relationships are falling apart in such great numbers (in general) is because spouses and parents and intimate partners are too consumed by the stresses of work and feel overwhelmed by the pressures put on them by their superiors to perform at peak all the time; leading to employers making inroads into the private and leisure time of their employees. This is not a workable outcome and corporatism still has a way to go to admit that humankind needs a compromise between work ethic and living as balanced and satisfied people. Satisfied both in what we do for a living and providing financial comfort on the one hand and on the other realising balance in giving security and love to our friends and family.

The outlook that is still prevailing in a majority of countries is one of greed and need for power and the fear that another will have more power than you.

I have said that this will be a book for the individual, so I will not go any further into discussing countries and producing statistics on their performance (or lack thereof). Just one more thing: This is even becoming notably apparent in Eastern countries such as Japan where woman are demanding more time from their spouses and if it cannot be given – well, go look at the rising divorce statistics on the internet or listen to related media reports.

The gist of it is that there is no one-way of looking at a given situation, be it object or thought. There is the logic and belief of the person(s) in question to consider.

Within this knowledge you will find peace of mind.

There may come a time in your life when you have to admit to yourself that you might be heading for spiritual burnout. This may occur through simply trying to successfully learn too many different spiritual techniques, reading too many spiritual books and hanging onto almost every word from various spiritual gurus.

There is a definite benefit to seeking advice from others and there is nothing non-workable about going to see a therapist, traditional healer, clairvoyant or the like or reading up on spiritual topics. You just need to be discerning and to cultivate discernment you will need to open yourself to experiencing these things. How do you decide whether it is harmless (whether you agree with it or not is not the point)?

As many spiritual writers through the ages have written: If it does not harm another, if it does not demand anything from you in return for its favour and it resonates with your inner sense of being, then it is worth looking into.

This is not new information...

Now the question remains: "...but what if the path I choose is not the correct one or at least the one that will get me there the fastest?"

Firstly you have to consider the fact that no one path is the correct one. However, you must also bear in mind that one person's choice of path might not be yours and would turn out not to be of much benefit to your personal development. Secondly, you need to ask yourself what is meant by "...get me there the fastest". Get you where for what reason? Lovey – if you're going to the dance club tonight, then there is no point in dressing up in a gold lamé gown for uncle Leroy's farewell.

Although it is your own choice where you wish to go or be on a spiritual level, Life will naturally show you the best and quickest way(s). It is the human who slows down his/her own progress through indecision and ignorance.

Educate yourself through reading and listening. No one else, including Spirit, is going to make up your mind for you. Listen to your inner guidance and do not be shy to ask for outside guidance from other spiritually minded people.

The one thing I did notice, however, is that once you show interest in finding out more about whom you are it is very difficult and at times impossible to turn back. Once your interest is piqued, it will keep gnawing at you to find out more.

I still hear the questions as to what is the best way to further spiritual development. There is no decisive answer except this: Even those ways and paths that seem foreign to you and might even leave you doubting the reality of the people, who follow those paths, are not for anybody to judge, since all these paths are created by the one path maker who is us.

Are the spiritual symbols used in, e.g. Reiki, still applicable today; what about the original eastern art of Feng Shui? Is the EMF balancing technique superior to polarity therapy? Should I become one hundred percent vegetarian or is the blood type diet my goal concerning health?

Too many questions! If and when you trust in your ability to commune with your Higher-Self, you will realise that you can trust your Higher-Self to bring you on the path best suited FOR YOU; and this will happen at a pace suited TO YOUR abilities and comprehension. And always remember that NOTHING on earth will be given to us in such a way that will scare us or demand servitude to another deity, unless you believe otherwise. Duality will remain and is a helpful tool to recognise that which is reality.

What is natural to us is divine, why should it be different?

"Did you ever use a pendulum? Did you ever wonder how the muscles in your hand responded out of your control to give a yes or no answer regarding your health or the energy around you? It's cellular intelligence, and it's time you started to meld with it. It's time for marriage of the intellect, the intuition, and cellular intelligence." - Quoted from: Kryon channeling Perceptions of Masterhood II.

10 - WHAT IS IT TO CREATE LIGHT?

What does it mean when some say, return to nature or be more natural? Excuse me? The answer is lengthy and also can be summed up quite quickly, but let me go about it this way: I have also found the explanations of certain spiritual/religious material either too esoteric or ambiguous, or both; taking into account that not everybody has the same take on interpretation, one can, however, overdo explaining. I too am guilty of that.

But before we go off on another tangent, let's start with two words: CREATING LIGHT.

The question you may ask is this: "OK fine, I can see that to sustain ourselves as a species into the future, we have to do something about our way of life; to carry on as is will eventually bring destruction of life as we know it."

The answer is not to divert back to tribal societal structures and to give up on modern life. The humans as we are today evolved over much time and lots of effort went into creating ourselves a better life. What on earth would be the point of reverting to primitive life structures?

One point of view is this: Both the primitive and modern psyche has to be looked at and the best qualities of both worlds need to be combined. If it is peaceful and honest living that you desire, then both schemes should be transcended and a new one implemented – but this can only be achieved once hate and greed have been put aside. When humans return to their natural instinct of harmonious existence, then we could co-exist; but when is that going to happen? It will happen one way or the other. Look at it logically. So many people are becoming aware of the falsehoods and political and social cheating going on around them, especially the women. So, how long before our world society reaches breaking point? How long are mothers going to stand by and silently accept a darker future for their children, one of dishonesty and malice? Even those who turn a blind eye to what is going on in the world realise that they can only turn a blind eye for so long. Men have lost their masculinity (I am not referring to homosexuality), because they no longer know what it means to be a caregiver and stand as a sturdy compliment to the feminine. Many women have lost their femininity in a struggle to become the men of the world – our children see and emulate all of this...and strangely enough, it is the homosexual in general who carries a hefty weight in trying to balance these two energies..., but more on this specific topic in a later discussion.

Now, you might ask, why would I be writing this? I say: My function in this is to create light, with other words to bring clarity. Attempting to bring clarity to a situation (or creating Light as the esoterics might say) is a noble act only if you are honest about your truth and do not attempt to force your opinion on another. The aim of the game is to simply create an atmosphere in which others can freely speak their truth and make decisions in an atmosphere that allows them to think clearly and without malice or fear (malice and fear are equally non-conducive to human development).

Creating Light is very powerful. If only a small percentage of humanity create Light it will have far-reaching effects. Creating Light is a process by which one will create an environment of emotional peace, understanding and exceptional wisdom about what works and what does not work. By creating a thought-space for other people through which they may make their own decisions regarding their friends, family, peers, children and fellow human beings; this is how you create Light, which is love, which is life.

If only all people could catch a glimpse of the fact that all life is sacred, to truly see this for what it is, that everybody is made up of the same building blocks and that everything is simply in a different state of being/energy. In this pure and honest state of mind who could in all sanity intentionally harm another being?

For if you harm a tree, you ultimately harm a human.

Looking for answers? There are many places to look, but since this book is also about pointing out some of the relevant and accessible pieces of literature on the market, I would point out such books as the Kryon series by Lee Carol; the Conversations with God Trilogy by Neale Donald Walsch and for those who are up to it, The Book of Life – Ascension and the Divine World Order by Michael Sharp.

There are also many truths revealed in Thom Hartmann's book The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight.

Things are said in these books that many have turned away from and turned a deaf ear to, because it hits home as straight as an arrow.

There are many more relevant texts out there, but I am not even going to try and write them all down.

One of the most painful things I ever had to hear about myself came from a very good friend; a friend who changed the way I looked at certain things and allowed me to experience who I am. Through his actions – and by simply being who he is and allowing me to be who I am – I was given the head space to realise that I am indeed a spiritual teacher and healer. He once asked the rhetorical question of why I am here. What is the use of me being on earth? I instantly realised that it was Spirit talking through him and he was delivering the message. I was mortified and gratified at the same time. It was not a comment I appreciated at that exact moment and I was angry and upset for a few days..., but I knew what was meant. It was a time in which I was changing and was given all kinds of signals by Spirit to allow myself to become that which my essence is meant to be.

I will forever be utterly thankful.

11 - THE ENERGY OF LIFE

Who is that entity, being or whatever  
you call it/him/her?

(For the sake of continuity, let's stick to the word 'God'.)

What is God?

God is the energy that flows through everything, it is the breath that you take, it is the other person you see, it is the tree in the park, the boulder on the hilltop, and it is you and me. God is in the worst manifestation of criminality; he/she/it is the poet, musician, prophet and also present in the best scientific brain. I could go on and write a nice long poem, but where would that get anyone? God is, and that is that.

If you have been taught that what we call God is actually a being that sits somewhere on a throne, ready to dish out punishment and reward, then you are under a false impression. I am not going out of my way to insult or belittle any religion or spiritual path, for many roads lead to the Divine. We are not here to learn what we did wrong or right to have deserved the lives we live. We are not here to mend our broken ways or to succumb to a person of authority, people who call themselves experts in the field – and we have to listen to them, because they know best. No, listen and use what is best for you, do not listen and obey out of fear.

One of the best analogies of where Spirit comes from and how we (Spirit) belong, I found in The Book of Life by Michael Sharp. This is not new information to Spirit and can be found in different forms in other places here on earth, but it is awesome nonetheless and will be new information to many.

The reason that so many people write similarly about spirituality (and I am referring to the recent writings that have become known by humanity as the 'new, new age' or 'now age') is not because they are copying each other or have run out of things to say, but because it is so important – and there are many ways to say one thing, but there may only be a few which you or I understand.

God / Spirit / Allah / Buddha / Divinity... is "I", and "I" am AWARENESS (not the mind).

Unless you truly understand what is meant by the awareness of the "I" and the meaning of the statement "I am the Light / you are the Light", you will not understand it, and that is as it should be. No one can make another understand his or her perspective. It is purely only what I can describe as an "ahh..." moment, a moment of enlightenment if you will – and there will most probably be several progressions of this light bulb scenario on the same subject as you grow spiritually.

Now a toughie, I got the question: "Explain the statement: Thy will and not mine''.

The best way to explain this is to view the body and mind as a conduit of intention and not the source of it, like with a musical genius.

Thy will and not mine, to me, is an indication of becoming a person who is able to let the innate divine makeup flow through the physical vehicle. Not to become a subject of another power, but to recognise the fact that we are all part of that divine power, or what many call God.

Now, the titillation here is to say: "Well, then that means I am God." This is true, we are all God, and we are part of God, for there are many different forms of the energy that permeates everything. To limit that which is God to one particular species or object in the wide expanse of the universe and beyond is what is holding many people back in the quest for development as comprehensive beings and complimentary creators of reality.

In a nutshell, we are all part of The-All-That-Is; creating our own reality within the confines of our understanding, which is part of creating the ultimate reality of existence of The-All-That-Is.

Picture yourself as a sapling growing in a wide meadow on a large planet. There are many fields, rivers, rocks and..and..and.. on this planet. You are part of this planet as much as this planet is part of it's solar system, etc..etc.. – sounds a bit like a Japanese cartoon?

As you mature as a tree, you provide shade – and in this shade another ecosystem develops.

How do you let the Light through? How do you get the Divine essence flowing? You do not. All the meditation and spiritual study will mean nothing if it is not done with a definite intent of finding The-All-That-Is within yourself. It is a process that happens in its own time, if you allow it – and once it is started; to stop it will be to inflict chaos upon your mind-set. This Energy/Essence cannot be forced.

I will use Reiki as an example to explain

When a Reiki practitioner holds his/her hands over a spot on the body they will feel energy released from their hands, which flows into the body of the other person. Sometimes the energy transference will hardly be felt and other times it will be quite noticeable depending on the situation at hand.

The point here is not that the energy transference is occurring because of the practitioner, but because the practitioner allows the energy to flow. This energy is only facilitated by the person giving Reiki; or any form of energy healing for that matter. If the practitioner blocks the flow of energy by means of e.g. emotional hindrance or grandeur, the energy flow will be much smaller or even non-existent.

Everything on Earth is in duality; nothing exists in a vacuum of singularity. For our purpose of existence, we will not see the full picture, because if this were so, it would negate the reason for this duality. Meaning that there will always be an understandable explanation in our realm of the existence for something – an explanation that a human mind can cope with. A point to bear in mind though, would be that every happening on Earth has a spiritual connection and origin, even though it might not seem so.

E.g: You drove to work and another driver wrote your car off and you landed up in hospital with serious bone fractures. You won a big prize in a magazine competition, etc. These happenings seem at random and quite self-explanatory progressions of circumstance. The point is not to now go in search of every higher truth of every happening in your life. No, this is not necessary; what is helpful is to realise that all happenings have more than just mundane reasons. And who guides these reasons? Some would call it the Higher-Self; which is also part of God; thus we are all One,. ..and if we are all one, then it stands to reason that there is only One.

I reiterate: To facilitate the creative flow is the way to get it going. Trying to do the creating of the flow of Essence or to try to make it happen is not going to produce notable results.

THERE IS NO LOVE MORE SUPREME THAN THE LOVE YOU HOLD FOR YOURSELF.

To successfully understand who you are communicating with whilst facilitating any kind of energy healing, it is necessary to understand that you are in fact in communication with that which is you.

The question now arises: "If we are all made up of the same stuff, thus being of one energy, then what about our individuality as human beings?"

This individuality is undeniable. It resides in all humans. The crux is now to find that medium between being one and still being able to express one's individuality. This is not an overnight task, but when attained will draw back the curtain of incomprehension just that bit more.

When a part of Spirit incarnated as human, it was also to experience the joy of individual fulfilment.

The richness of individual expression cannot be achieved unless a duality has been created that will allow that expression to occur. This does not make you alone a god, but allows Spirit to experience individuality in many different ways. Without the curtain of duality, this experience on Earth that Spirit is having would be pointless.

"We are not human having a spiritual experience, but spirit having a human experience."

Source Barbara Marciniak

"Through the eyes of ascension, what does the Human master think when you say the word God? It might be different than you think. You see, the Human master understands the difference between the old Human perception and the energy of truth. God is not sequestered to a system made by Humans. You will find the essence of God in the center of every atom of every molecule in existence. You will find the love of God in every cell that is biological in the Human body. God is not sequestered in what Humans "think" God is. God is not definable. God cannot be placed into a set of rules. God cannot be placed into a sole lineage either. The focus of God is the Human Being. It is not history. It is not doctrine. It cannot be compartmentalized."

Quoted from: Perceptions of Masterhood 1 Kryon channeling of 2003.

This does not indicate that some people have God and some have not. EVERYBODY has God, for God simply is. The religious leaders that heal, heal with God, even though they might compartmentalise God, because when you call upon God, it is there. God is an energy.

In my opinion, that which we would call God is an universal intelligence.

And if you wish to become more spiritually aware? What do you do?

Who decides that you should change your opinions and beliefs? It is you (just like it is I who might decide to start a sentence with the word "and"). When is this going to happen?

Only when your psyche is ready and not before. Does this mean that you have to wait for the psyche to make up its own mind? No, you have to alter its perception by trying to change and informing, through your actions and intentions, the mind and body that you wish to expand your consciousness while remaining you. Only when the psyche has heard this message repeatedly, will your reality start introducing the necessary changes that require a new reality to be created.

A master knows that there are two very important things to know on the spiritual path - one is lots of patience and the other is not being disappointed with the outcomes by creating expectation.

"If it is the quality of your consciousness at this moment that determines the future, then what is it that determines the quality of your consciousness? Your degree of presence. So the only place where true change can occur and where the past can be dissolved is the Now."

Source: Practising the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

Meaning that we are time bound beings, living in a world where time is a vital part of our existence; but this is also where our perceptions lie. You cannot be happy in the past now, those are memories, you cannot be happy in the future now, that is a possibility to come, you can only be happy now, here in the present moment.

As humans it would be ridiculous to say that we could be free of our concept of time. We live in a world that watches the clock. We do things at certain times; it is part of our earthly creation and very much part of duality. What I am trying to say is that we can free our consciousness of the constraints of the concept of time.

I quote again from the same book by Eckart Tolle: "When every cell of your body is so present that it feels vibrant with life, and when you can feel that life every moment as the joy of Being, then it can be said that you are free of time. To be free of time is to be free of the psychological need of the past for your identity and the future for your fulfilment. It represents the most profound transformation of consciousness that you can imagine."

12 - BELIEF VERSUS KNOWING...

There is such a myriad of books out in the world relating to spiritual topics that it gets a bit confusing to try and decide which books are the right ones.

There are no right or wrong ones; it is a matter of preference considering who you are as a person and where you are in your spiritual growth.

The goal is to become discerning about your reading habits regarding your choice of spiritual reading matter.

Some might find that their inner being resonates more with books based in mysticism and others might prefer esotericism, etc.

The judgment call here, if we were to call it that, is one whereby we should steer away from becoming transfixed on and with one particular subject; in effect becoming its slave.

A master knows that true knowledge comes through the respect of diversity.

Enlightenment is not a thing that just happens once (and I am speaking of the word enlightenment in the sense of: to give more knowledge to someone). A person grows and matures mentally in stages, not in one day. The same when we use the word enlightenment in a spiritual sense – to receive clarity of thought regarding a situation(s).

I use the story of the appreciative healer as an example: A widowed mother who for some years had been suffering from a rare bone disease, had in a final attempt to seek a cure, gone to a well known spiritual healer. When the healer asked her if she believed that God would cure her, she responded: "...I don't know..." These words brought tears to the healer's eyes and warmth to his heart. Not for any other reason than the widow's unwavering honesty.

Unless you are able to be blatantly honest with yourself and to have the courage to inspect the best and worst traits regarding your self, you will continue to live in a world of controversy to which you have no resistance. If you turn away from your personality, unable to inspect your inner desires without pure intent to really have a look, then you are lying to yourself and others will pick up on this vibration, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Being spiritually enlightened and living practically with the knowledge that you are Divine Essence does not free you from the mundane (...e.g. the receiver of revenue), but it alters your perception and experience of events. The more you come to believe this (for it is your belief structure that must change for your perception to change) the more you will know the meaning of Light.

Even when you understand what the Light is, there is still no point in living as if biding time until your physical vehicle dies; that is not living Life.., and completely defeats the purpose of its earthly creation.

Light, Life and Love – it is the same thing.

How do you know that what you are reading and/or hearing is true? Channellers of the current New Age will tell you that you will be able to feel the difference. This will be a perceived feeling; a sense of the energy that surrounds any situation. A true Spirit-filled message is always saturated with love and there is no ego present.

Beware of any persons or organisations who give forth a so-called spiritual message on behalf of a person or organisation and who tells you that his/her/its message is only for a special few.

That which is Spirit will never deliver a message that is exclusive or violates the integrity of any being.

How to discern if a person calling themselves a channeller is for real? People that truly channel spiritual information will never represent themselves as the only source of information.

We do not need gurus and masters to give us procedures for enlightenment, but they are very necessary and helpful for many people, as they serve to shine light and understanding on the path of enlightenment.

The guidelines for discernment on this subject can be found in the article Guidelines for Spiritual Discernment (1987) – in the New Realities magazine – also available in Kryon book 10 A New Dispensation (Plain Talk for Confusing Times) and on the Kryon website, www.kryon.com.

It is a good rule of thumb, in spiritual matters, to be aware of any institution that specifically asks for membership and/or asks you to follow any human being (or, for that matter, any being), past or present.

Also, it is unwise to become emotionally dependant on friends, family, a spouse or even intuition.

Probably one of the most difficult mindsets to wrap around, currently, is the belief that we are communicating with ourselves, which would imply that we are part of The-All-That-Is – many call it God.

This book is not about providing scientific proof of spiritual things, these are amply provided for in other writings – irrefutable proof of certain situations will always be looked for by Humans, it is part of our way of life – we need to know. And still there will always be those who will never believe a word of it, because the implications are too unsettling for their hitherto existence; such an attitude is not judged by Spirit, it is part of our free will/choice, but I will tell you that you will not grow as a person and your self-worth will remain underdeveloped.

Then what about the so-called unbelievers?

How much you actually wish to participate or wish other people to participate in something that highlights our divinity, is up to every individual human being. Free choice is always highly respected by Spirit.

A close friend once sent me the following little story. I have no idea who wrote it, but wish to share it with you here:

'Crazy Wisdom'

'Crazy Wisdom' is the wisdom of the saint, the Zen master, the poet, the mad scientist, and the fool. Crazy Wisdom sees that we live in a world of many illusions, that the Emperor has no clothes, and that much of human belief and behaviour is ritualised nonsense. Crazy Wisdom understands anti-matter and old Sufi poetry; loves paradox and puns and pie fights and laughing at politicians. Crazy Wisdom flips the world upside down and backward until everything becomes perfectly clear.'

I wish to say more about channelling, but am at a loss for words as much has already been written about the subject, so I am going to quote from a piece that was written by Lee Carrol in the 10th Kryon book about channelling...

"Channeling, by its basic definition, is actually the way that all scriptures on Earth were written, the Holy Bible among them. Think about it. When you stop to consider who wrote the Bible, you begin to realize that Humans did. When you then further examine how that all came to be, you begin to understand how channeling worked to bring us spiritual energies back then and perhaps continues to fit into ongoing spiritual information today.

After the death of Christ, the man called Saul became the apostle Paul and a follower. After he had his spiritual experience on the road to Damascus with an Angel (who some say was Christ), he was a changed man. With his newfound excitement – and while in prison for his beliefs – he then wrote letters to friends in Ephesia, to his friend Timothy, to the Galactians, and Corinthians, among others. He was a highly spiritual man, one who founded many Christian churches and helped guide the doctrine, but when he was writing letters to friends, he probably had no idea that his words would be seen someday as the holy word of God.

Long after Paul's death, his letters were discovered and slowly became scripture. So, you might ask, what was it that made simple letters to friends become Holy Scripture? The answer is that it was the energy of the words and the profundity of the information, as seen and examined by other Humans of the faith. This is channeling at its best!

About 1,400 years ago, the prophet Muhammad had a similar experience. He received information directly from an angel, and it spawned the nation of Islam, a huge spiritual belief system on the planet today. By the way, before you go to the next thought, I'd like to remind you of the prophet's basic message: unity! On the record is the fact that this great prophet was to unify the tribes of the Arabs and give them one God, the God of Israel! I tell you this to remind you that in only 1,400 years, you get to see what men of power have done to a divine message that you might not be as familiar with as you are with our Western religions.

The Pope, representing more than one billion Catholics on the planet (almost a sixth of the world's population), also channels (but don't tell him that). The church authorizes a system where he sits in the "Chair of St. Peter" (a Vatican relic) and gives spiritual information. This information, according to ancient church doctrine, is absolutely infallible at the moment the Pope gives it (not later after processing), and comes directly from God. The process is called Excathedra (Latin for "from the chair") and it's the Pope... channeling! Charismatic Christians have a real-time information system called Glossolalia, or "speaking in tongues", whereby one person gives a message in a worship service in a strange language that they don't know, and another will often stand and interpret it. When it's not a show (sometimes it is), these messages are uplifting, and are accepted as messages from God – channeling, once again.

The actual definition of channeling is ""the word of Spirit (or God) as given to a Human or Humans for their enlightenment and information."" In recorded history, it was often given by a messenger-angel who started the conversation with "Fear not."

(Own insert: I always wondered about that until I realised that having an inter-dimensional creature unexpectedly show up, walking through walls, might be a very frightening experience!) Those two words also carry a larger message: An angel of God will never give you a message of fear. It's often one of liberation, escape, fulfilment, action instructions, or just plain joy! Today's channeling messages haven't changed in this respect, in that they're still often given by an angelic entity who first speaks of the love of God."

What has caused some of the greatest struggles in history on earth? Spiritual arrogance! The notion that only a handful of certain people have been picked out who qualify for redemption is what has been behind murders, massacres, vengeance, retaliation and wars. Our ideas about whom and what God is has caused more pain and suffering than anything else within humanity. Whether you read the Bhagavad-Gita, the Book of Mormon, the I Ching, the Talmud, the Yoga-sutras, etc,etc,etc, does not qualify you to condemn another or relegate their belief to a blasphemy, just because it does not agree in totality with your own. There is nothing wrong with having different interpretations. Why haggle over the meaning of words in the Quar'an or what the Bible says? Have we truly listened to what our holy books are saying or are we content with the watered down interpretations given us by so-called experts? The basic message of all the scriptures is the same; it is the interpretation that differs from culture to culture. Enrich your knowledge and read, but I caution you to read with an open mind and an attitude that will prevent you from becoming a slave to what a certain book says. People, even those who are divinely inspired, still write books by their own hand and people have their own thoughts about things and interpret things in a way they are able to understand.

You can only ever be Love by approaching EVERYTHING with love.

Think of the arrogance displayed by some people in the work place, does it get them anywhere? It most certainly does not inspire respect. You are very susceptible to becoming arrogant during your spiritual journey; the temptation to think yourself superior to another person or culture or nation is very subtle in the sense that you will probably not even notice this arrogance until someone points it out to you. Arrogance is sometimes so blinding that the person, culture or nation would never believe you even if you did point it out. Think of the self-importance that countries have heaped upon themselves because of the international aid that they provide (if only that aid was as large as their arms budgets). Even gestures of love have become a platform of arrogance. A spiritual master knows that arrogance and pride is the downfall of humanity. Everybody suffers from a bit of arrogance and pride now and again, even our most revered spiritual leaders; the point is not to judge yourself, but to be able to recognise this and correct your behaviour. Even so, there will always be those who will only judge each other by what they deem as their worst actions and see those people as unworthy or worse yet, a people that should be pitied and led toward the right path.

As stated in the Bible, in the book of Jacob, you should never say that it was God that tempted you, because God cannot be tempted and God does not lead anybody into temptation; because people lead themselves into temptation through their own desires.

Belief creates behaviour.

I once met a woman who placed great value in her spiritual knowledge. She was brought up in the Hindu belief and also displayed great appreciation for the more new age beliefs of e.g. the power of crystals, had studied Energy Healing and believed in regression therapy.

She cornered me one day and sat me down and we had a wonderful discussion about these things. She stated that she would truly want to just have one day without any seeming worries, and to be fancy free. The one thing I very soon noticed was that, even though she displayed an open mind about these spiritual topics, she was tied down by her beliefs. It is good and necessary to have beliefs, but not to the extent that would lead one into an obscurity of worrying. My goodness, can you imagine? Running to the esoteric store to find a particular crystal or incense that you must have now or the world will come to an end. The same goes for a person who would be going to church or join a monastery simply to avoid going to hell. The concept of hell and the consequent use of it as a tool to get people to obey their spiritual superiors is not part of what The-All-That-Is is, but it is your choice to experience that if you wish.

Being too caught up in the details of a belief structure, or basing your way of life on it to such an extent that you feel you hardly have room to breathe, is a sure-fire recipe for disappointment and disillusion and will only lead to frustration and unhappiness.

Don't get me wrong – following traditions can be very rewarding in itself. It is foolhardy to poo-poo something that has meaning to another, but that does not mean that because you might wind a turban around your head every morning and hum to a crystal that you will achieve spiritual enlightenment (where am I going to find a turban at this time on a Sunday afternoon?), or by going to church every Sunday, God forgives you for being an absolute doofus to other people during the week and so we save the earth from eternal damnation. Good heavens, no!

Life is like soup – there are complex chemical reactions taking place to produce the various flavours and textures.

You are as much part of the soup as anybody else (as long as it is not cold avocado soup - blegh!).

Seriously though, if you would like to read more about the soup theory, the meaning of ascension, what guides are and the validity of meditation, then purchase Kryon book 10 – A New Dispensation (Plain Talk for Confusing Times), authored by Lee Carrol and read chapter 7, or go to www.kryon.com and access the channelling section and find the channelling on What's New and What's Not.

13 - IMPECCABILITY

What does it mean?

Leslie Temple-Thurston brought out a CD called Impeccability – it is inviting, calm and full of truth. The word – impeccability – is quite a loaded word and indicates, to me, a way of life: Have you ever felt out of sorts with your living space? Hark those words that your mother might have spoken about keeping your room clean! There is much to be said for a tidy living space. Some people might just see it as a chore, but it quite literally has a substantial effect on your psyche. A dishevelled home will result in a dishevelled mind, no argument about it. A dirty living area will cause you to be sluggish and listless.

I can see the faces now – astonishment at such an inconsequentiality. And it is true; although I am speaking of homely disarray, remember that it still creates an energy of unrest in your mind and the mind of whoever visits your home.

Everything we do produces unseen energy that manifests in some form or fashion – in this instance I am speaking of a psychological manifestation.

Keep yourself clean.

No one likes to be faced with someone else's uncleanliness or unseemliness. If you are physically dirty, you will become unhappy, because your mind will project the image of not feeling OK with yourself. In the same breath, unseemly behaviour (behaviour that is meant to deliberately upset other people unnecessarily) will cause a non-caring energy to envelop you – this energy is consciously/unconsciously picked up by everybody else.

If you do not feel good about whom you are, whether you realise it or not, you will project an unseen image of low self esteem and this will only lure people who wish to lay prey to your loss of self-worth.

Ask yourself the question:

"Does this truly work for me or not?" Now, based on your level of consciousness, your answer might not be the same as your neighbour's, and that is not to be judged.

It is not about who is right or wrong, it is always a question of: "Is this workable for me in light of my personal growth, or not?" This personal growth is always spiritual no matter what the situation, because that is all there is. So the choice you make is one of workability for you – God is not going to judge your choice – Divinity does not judge. Your choice is your own, just be aware that all thoughts and actions (no matter what they are) have their own set of consequences. So the question is simple: Are you prepared to accept the possible and probable consequences (positive and negative) of the given situation? Think about this, it will be wise to do so.

There are many issues in the media that simply serve to reinforce our own perceptions of life and diffuse our spiritual sight.

Spiritual sight is not the insight of a guru or master on a mountaintop; it can be, but I am not intentionally giving it a religious or esoteric meaning here. It is the second sight you acquire to be able to witness your own actions, but not to judge them.

It is when you expect things in return that people, including friends, can disappoint you.

So many times I have had the question about the validity of past symbols in our modern era. This includes religious and esoteric symbols of healing and knowledge.

I refer now directly to those lovelies who used to be on board with bright new ideas, but lately have withdrawn their light, because of the fear of change.

I say to those who refuse to change that GOD IS CHANGE – AND THAT IS THE ONLY CONSTANT.

Then there is also the use of symbolism and ceremony, which is a good thing to use when you want to celebrate an emotional victory or to signify the breaking away from/of something, such as a ceremonial dance or simply the burning of a piece of paper with some words or symbols written on it to signify the end of something in your life. It is healthy to do this, as the situation creates an energy that results in a particular mindset, so do not scoff at it for it has great value. It is simply something that is tangible to us and serves to give it concrete meaning.

The goal here is to continuously move away from situations that produce negative thought patterns (like mulling/worrying over something or someone) and negative imagery (like violence on television) and distance yourself from willingly taking part in negative ego-talk (like arguments and ego-puffing – a defensive behaviour to protect the ego from imagined insult). It is extremely tempting to indulge in drama; the small ego thrives on this.

As within, so without.

Quaint words you might say, but oh so true. It is astonishing to think how many straightforward answers there are to life, but they are simply ignored as quaint words and phrases, never to be taken seriously or deemed as too silly and direct to have any real bearing on the way we run our lives or how our governments rule our countries.

Herein lies the awkward silence of truth recognised, but ignored for the benefit of psychological comfort.

The age-old question of how we as a species are going to survive given all the signs to the contrary linger on almost everybody's mind. The only way we will achieve domestic harmony and international peace – for the most part – would be for, at least, most people to agree on a single concept regarding our outlook on life.

That agreement is none other than a spiritual one. Whether you believe in a god or follow whatever type of religion or spiritual path, or not, is pointless if no one will be left around to continue these beliefs. Whether you feel yourself to be spiritually minded or not, is so totally not the point, it is the basis of our existence as humans and Divinity's experience as Humanity. Having respect for different beliefs and people of other cultures is paramount to our survival. You might think yourself above this and pride yourself in your accomplishment of giving other people their own space; this is a sign of stagnation and should be guarded against. To think that you would ever stop growing and experiencing, even beyond your human form, is right up there in the cuckoo's nest – not only in the nest, but well hidden under mommy cuckoo.

When you begin to sense that integrity in all things is the most important attribute in life irrespective of your belief structure, then you have mastered a great feat. The only thing remaining now is to implement it. And how to do this? The answer is simple, yet complex in our way of life: Do unto others, as you would have them do onto you. Although a simple sentence, it is a complex concept for most. How on earth is humanity going to do this? It goes against the rules of our civilised way of life. Think about it...

Even our ancient prophets and also today's prophets had/have issues with this. For most it would be an impossibility to achieve given our current world order. There is not enough trust and honesty you might say. This is true for now, but if we wish to survive as a species, then there is no alternative. What to do then? Realise who you are, even if the full picture will be hidden from you.

You are a spiritual being of great glory and incomprehensible grandness, all of humanity is.

"Those who wish to wait in their choice, thinking, is this real? will have a harder time making any kind of decision. Whereas we have told you that God works slowly and that you have plenty of time to do this and that, here is one subject that's now at hand, even in this room... even as you read. You're not alone in this. Have you noticed that governments are having to wrestle with the same thing? So are corporations. So is organized religion on Earth! It's all around you, and at some point you have to take notice, and 'connect the dots',"......"as it describes a Human in recognition of a situation."

"Some are asking, ""What am I going to do with this question?"" If it's true that you're eternal and that you're only here for a short time, hiding in duality, then the real test is for you to find out if this is actually so! This is a good start. Unfortunately, there will be no empirical proof for you, as there is in 4D science with other questions of physics. Instead there will be interdimensional proof... all around you. Will you let your cells talk to you about this? They know. Will you let your emotional-self marry the intellectual-self and give you an answer? It requires that you let go of old paradigms and ask God, ""Please tell me what it is I should know."" Then within free choice, it's up to you to decide if any of this is spiritual fact or not."

Quoted from the Kryon Channelling: Perceptions of Masterhood II.

You can choose to read the above words as hooey and esoteric jargon, or place value in the meaning it conveys to humanity's continued existence.

We have a responsibility to ourselves.

14 - RELATIONSHIPS AND THE CHILD

Oh my gosh, what a topic!

Children today are being bombarded with visions of violence, ironically enough, through programs tailored for the youth market. Not only do the youth of today have to deal with overwhelming social ordeals, but also they are faced with mediums that actually teach them to attain power by lying and scheming and it draws their young, inexperienced minds like flies to rotting flesh – and this under the guise of "that is how it works".

The old blahg! soon enough becomes the new laadeeda! in our modern society, if you are not careful you will be out of fashion tomorrow. This is the kind of world our children live in, no wonder many look like they just climbed out of the laundry basket, my goodness! It seems that a lack in stability leads to a lack of clothes that actually fit.

Now don't get things in a twist here mom or dad, I am not saying that you do not provide stability in the home. No, but a child and/or teenager needs more than that, they require a stable society. Let's take the role of the father as an example: – more and more they have withdrawn their affection and love to save face at the loss of their masculinity. Real men do not cry, they do not show their feelings and definitely do not have pajama parties – says who? On the other hand it is as bad to witness a woman losing her identity to becoming a slave in the kitchen, as it is to see a man lose his character to the role of financial provider. Much has already been done to empower women, and some men are starting to get the picture that being a man entails much more than crunching a beer can on your forehead. The danger is actually now that the feminine will grow past the masculine instead of equalling it. Just like the shrinking of the female self-worth has led to imbalanced psychological growth, a plummet in male self-worth is not going to allow our sons and daughters to grow up within a balanced atmosphere either. This chapter is not as much about women as it is about men and their effect on the younger generation. Men have lost their true identity as care givers of the family unit and replaced it with a masculinity crisis wrapped in cellophane; unfortunately very few, if any, are actually buying. This is also not comparable to mislaying your car keys; it's more like putting your glasses in the freezer and only finding them long after you already got a new pair. The problem is that the new pair sucks – but you threw away the original specs anyway.

The woman then donned the old pair, because it was thought to look nifty and gave her authority – so she thought. It just made her look silly – God in his infinite wisdom did not originally give the woman a pair of glasses as He knew she would loose it in the flower bed (or sun bed) anyway.

Jokes and this parable aside, women in general have lost their own authority – the power they held as nurturers, because they fought to gain what men usurped, was given up in an attempt to be care givers.

And what about the children?

I must admit that raising a child in today's world is tricky; there are so many things to consider in the art of nurturing a young mind and body. One of the solutions is going to be a change in the belief structure of the parents, and those kinds of parents are starting to increase in number. These are the kinds of parents who will allow their children to discover who they (the children) truly are and not cloak their questions in puffy pink/blue candyfloss. These are the kinds of parents who will raise their children with integrity and teach them the worth of integrity, not only towards others and other things, but also toward themselves.

If children are taught about their own divinity and that of everybody else, including their parents', they will learn respect. If a child is taught to respect him/herself, he/she will respect all others – it is a natural consequence.

Oh, and another thing a parent will achieve much more with – is humour.

Never cease playing like a child. By this I mean not to evict the childlike aspects of your being. To give you an example: When I was in grade 3 or 4, I was in Langebaan for a weekend with family and friends. One school friend of mine was with me on the beach of the lagoon and we were just running around and playing in the sand. The wind was blowing lightly and at one point I took my towel and made like superman, letting the towel flap around my shoulders like a cloak blowing in the wind. My friend teased me for doing such a childish thing, in her mind. Something as simple as this, can easily clip the wings of a child (so to speak), but then again children will be children, right? No, if children are not raised to accept themselves, and their parents, for who they are, whereby they cultivate inner strength, they will not grow and mature as individuals and will succumb to social pressures.

What is the world lacking? You can say what you please in this regard, but many children simply lack morality and values. I am referring to simple respect, honour in what and who you are and a healthy mixture of self-worth. Who are they supposed to learn this from? The culprit here is not only parents; it is our way of life in general, especially the Western society and in general our LACK OF INTEGRITY as a species. You can rationalise it in any way that you wish, but go sit down and think about it. The way our media does its reporting, violence as a way of survival, insurance fraud – something as small as claiming for something that was not even stolen in the first place. I am sure there are many individuals who strive for a better world, but are getting nowhere because they feel overwhelmed by all the corruption going on in government, society and at home. All because we did not teach our youth, generally, the truth about who they are and that they are all part of the bigger picture. We are sitting with a frustrated and confused youth culture and it is going to take much more than pretty words, chocolate and a bit of time to correct.

Changing beliefs does not happen overnight – and politicians have as great a responsibility here as the parents and teachers do.

Going about life within only the masculine Divine or feminine Divine will get you no further than your front door – and for some that is fine, because thy have a nice front door, but if we want to start teaching our youth how to live responsibly as co-creators of Divinity, they have to be taught that God/Divinity is surrounded by two energies and not one.

Life on Earth can only be manipulated (created) within both energies of the feminine and masculine – that is how it works. The earthly manifestation of this is the two sexes. There is no other way here.

Everybody knows the feeling of being in the sweet, unspoilt and innocent presence of a child. This innocence should not be one of ignorance, but one of knowing who you are. This can be achieved through the parents who would raise their children with love and understanding. This love would allow a child to grow into the grandest version of who they wish to be. These are not meant to be fluffy-coochie-coo words, I write them here, because they are meant to be taken seriously. If a child is secure in the knowledge that their parents will look after them in every way – body, mind and soul – then they will grow up as self sufficient beings who will respect all that is life, including that of the parents.

Many children of yesteryear have psychologically (and some physically) turned around to their parents and blamed them for teaching them that it was normal to accept limitation.

Yes, everybody has some limitations in various things, that is part of what makes us individuals; but to raise a child within a limited perception is cruel. A child needs to experience and parents are there to guide (NOT FORCE)! If the child gets hurt, all a parent should do is console. A parent can provide safety and security and love and stability, but to force a certain outcome, as they would see fit for their children, defeats the purpose of being human.

What a person is contributes much more to his/her happiness than what he/she has, or how he/she is regarded by others.

Let's take a look at Western politics:

The soulless way of life taught to us by many Western religions and politicians in countries such as the United States of America, Canada and most of Europe has led to a great hunger for power over others instead of power with others. The West has brought a great deal to the world through technology and new ways of living; but in order for this to have happened many people were disconnected form their inner guidance systems and, instead of true politics and religion, the leaders of the West ended up wanting more and more power. Politics has been within the masculine domain and control in the West for almost two thousand years, the masculine being everything that is known and within the operation of science. This mode of conduct is spilling over into the East and one hardly finds a political leader worth looking up to these days.

Much the same is mirrored in family life:

The father plays an important role in the lives of boys and girls. The father is seen as the protector of the family and thus, quite literally, holds the energy of the family. The father energy looks after the children in much the same way as a male bird brings food to the mother bird to regurgitate to the chicks. The mother energy is very different to the father energy and both these energies play an irreplaceable role as to the defining of our children's psyches.

Did you know that a man has a far greater capacity for emotional support in general than a woman? This is because a man should be there to support the needs of his wife and/or mother of his children in financial, material and emotional ways – thus supporting the family and the home. In the West the father figure has been debased, shot and vacuumed up. Oh, it is quite nifty for the church to have power; it is totally acceptable for politicians to have power; but the average Mr Joe Soap on the street is left out in Siberia somewhere and is not taught how to love as a man – actually, he is relegated to grunting. The worst part is that men have come to accept this disillusionment as a fact of life (I wonder if I could make a television drama out of this?). To compensate, many men climb the corporate ladder to become powerful at the expense of their families. They might provide the right homes with the right addresses but, by making their living they forget the emotional needs of their families.

Ooooooooooooh, by all that is holy and sequenced in suburbia! I can hear the counter attacks! Women might argue that men are obsolete and fulfil no real function. Men might counter argue that women are trying to usurp so much power that the children are now paying the price for the consequent lessening of nurturing they receive. And what is this about men having a great capacity for emotional support? I am sure many women would scoff at that idea; many men would frown upon that idea as undermining their masculinity and would scold women for being too emotional. And so we could go on and on and on.........,tea anybody? Scones?

Unfortunately the fact is that men have become obsolete in many respects and women have become like the men who believe themselves to be superior to almost everything, lusting after power and wealth. What earthly good is it doing and what is it teaching our children? No, shame, hey? There's little Bobby lying with Mommy's gold leafed nail file that she still bought in Dubai in his abdomen and little Sally rifling through Dad's shaving kit, looking for a sharp enough razor blade – blast all the electronic gadgets!

Until we can become true men and women who know who they are and who will see the perfection in their creation as a man or a woman, well, life between the sexes will be chaos for the most part.

It is not for men to subjugate their wives as cleaners and cooks. They are here to nurture our children, the task of raising a child is an awesome one and also one of great responsibility – sometimes with blood, sweat and tears – a job that ranks right up there with the most demanding and more highly skilled than any you could find. Unfortunately many of our worldly societies do not see this fact and deem it inferior.

Because of this women do not trust their men and do not see them as caregivers. It is also true that our societies are placing such unbelievable pressures on our men to perform in the work place that achieving such ultimate success has become a god, leaving the women to fend for the children in an emotional vacuum. This emotional vacuum is an extremely destructive force, even if there is no financial worries, a family without the proper emotional support will crumble – it is just so.

Because women may feel that their men are no longer masculine in the true sense of the word, they have rallied to replace this feeling of disillusionment with their own masculinity, but this has only resulted in our men becoming disillusioned with the true feminine; and worst of all our children have become disillusioned with their parents as a whole.

You may read these words and ignore them, but they are true. Whether we like it or not, the only solution would be to become true men and women again.

What is a true man? A true man is a man who is a father, a pillar of support and understanding, one who will give his life for his family, but not one who will use the excuse that it is not manly to do this or that and stay away from home because they have to work for the money that provides the nice furnishings that the woman demands. When a man is able to gain the respect of a woman as her sound protector, supporter and provider, the boy children will see that and take it to heart and they will wish to become like the father. Just like the girl children would wish to become like their mothers if they could see the respect held for the father, but not because of fear or inferiority, but because of true respect gained by the father for the mother, through her own respect for her own femininity as a woman who is able to care for her family and herself, because the man is able to care for the family and himself.

It is when our children genuinely do not wish to be like us in any way, that we should feel ashamed.

And what is it to be a true woman? Woman command the world of emotion – a realm where most men would feel like hippos caught in quicksand. A woman's strength lies in nurturing – a quality that comes to her as easy as breathing – a quality not naturally possessed by men. A woman has a totally different wisdom to that of a man and it is deeply connected to Divinity and the energy of creation.

Men: Respect our women in their abilities and respect their femininity as part of the Divine plan.

And men are to respect their own femininity and although it is much smaller than that of a woman, it is part of who you are. A man who is in charge of his own emotions becomes very strong and powerful within himself.

Women: Respect our men in their abilities and respect their masculinity as part of the Divine plan.

And women are to respect their own masculinity and although it is much smaller than that of a man, it is part of who you are; without it you would float away.

(I would really urge you to read the following channelling by David Brown: Creating Stress-free Families – to be found on the website www.kryon.org.za – it is not something to pass by.)

I am not advocating that women should stay at home, barefoot in the kitchen with the child on the hip, nor that men should simply disappear behind a work desk for most of their lives.

To put it in laymen's terms: Men, have enough respect for our women to see that they have some different qualities to you, in general, in the fields of nurturing, connection to Divinity, and the ability for greater emotional support for our children.

Women, have enough respect for our men to see that they have some different qualities to you, in general, in the fields of physical strength, care giving and a capacity for greater emotional support of the family. Our sexes were designed to complement each other, but yet we have distorted and vilified them in an attempt to become wholly superior to one another. Claiming superiority in one form or another has been the downfall of almost every civilisation known and unknown.

One of the biggest goals for us as a species to achieve is the harmonious cooperation of man and woman, this I know from my Higher-Self to be true. There will always be differences; that is the way of life on Earth, it will not be different. Without this harmonious cooperation between masculine and feminine we will under no circumstances achieve peace.

And that is how it is.

Where do homosexuals fit into all of this? Although reviled in many cultures, homosexuality has been with us for a long time within our human history. Homosexuals have a very definite role to play in the melding of the masculine and feminine – not for everyone to become homosexual, but the far grander vision of bringing the sexes together as two poles existing in harmony and using each other's advantages for the best purposes of a peaceful existence on earth. This bringing together is nothing more than the level of understanding achieved by a person who possesses a higher level of a masculinity/femininity meld, than would be by either the femininity possessed by a heterosexual man or the masculinity possessed by a heterosexual woman.

The South African Kryon channelling Terror of Love, channelled through David Brown is a must read in this regard.

"...everyone we know is there by Divine design, and that we all need one another to enrich our lives. That some of those ""unions"" are painful is a necessity: Everyone in your life plays a role essential to your development. Your challenge is to become mature enough to recognize and live by this truth. It is unnatural, from a spiritual perspective, to view people as enemies, or to be an enemy yourself. Negative relationships generate negative energy, which blocks symbolic sight. We cannot see the Divine purpose in a union that we choose to interpret negatively."

Author: Anatomy of the Spirit, by Caroline Myss.

15 - ACHIEVING BALANCE THROUGH LIFE

Everything you say, do and think has consequences, no matter what you say, do or think, that is just as it is. The decision, however, lies with which set of consequences you are prepared to live and/or feel comfortable with.

So many people have this idea that what you think, say or do might just go unnoticed in the grand scheme of things. Well, they do not. Even though it may seem strange to you that a simple thought has an eventual outcome, it is so. We know that energy creates and thought is energy. Of course, just thinking about that something special is not going to imply its immediate materialisation right next to you, but thought still has energetic consequences, whether positive or negative to our psyches. Words have a very powerful effect on people and induce an array of feelings and responses. Actions are even more powerful in our immediate environment. So why would anyone wish to deny that energy has consequence? It goes against the natural law of cause and effect and the law of attraction; we are simply speaking of energy. Now, let me try to connect that word energy to the word spirituality: The Divine is an emptiness filled to the brim with potential. The realisation of that which we call God as nothing (no-thing), places you in a state of pure being that might announce to you the meaning of the I AM. That is one explanation – Divinity is no-thing, which has the potential for everything when moulded by Human thought, word and action.

Just a word on words:

An enlightened person will come to know that there is in fact very little to say. Words become superfluous when you realise that everything comes into being through intention. You must bear in mind that whatever we see, hear and touch, etc. will have both an Earthly and Divine explanation and reason for its existence; they cannot be separated in the Human mind. So it would be pointless to live a life purely based on the spiritual and renounce the mundane – and vice versa – as this would defeat the purpose of our existence, which is the expression of the Divine in Human form. What lies beyond our human existence will become clearer with the passage of our own-recorded time, as has already started happening and is evident in scientific findings and speculations – to an extent that will never negate the duality set up for our benefit. Some will believe this and some will not, this is necessary. This also indicates that although we will start discovering where we come from and who we are in the grand scheme of things, our purpose of existence will never be defeated. Can you imagine another you telling you what the end result is potentially going to be of your existence? Life on earth would become monotonous, predictable, unrealistic and even unbearable – which brings to mind some soap operas.

That which is divine is potential creation, which is energy in various forms of expression.

If you feel the constant need to explain your divinity to others, your ego is still in control of your mind set. This is not good or bad; it just is, but to give you an example: I once met a guy who is also very aware of the energy I have spoken of and he has the gift of being able to see the colours associated with this energy, and from that is able to disclose potentials within your life. Although he is quite accurate, he constantly boasts about this prowess and expresses himself in such a way as to be seen as thinking himself superior to others. I am not judging this person; what I wish to show with this example is that it is very easy to mislead people with your thoughts, words and actions; even if you are not the type of person they make you out to be. And another thing, it is also a plausible consequence that what other people think of you might influence your thoughts, words and actions.

Being enlightened does not exclude you from being human and susceptible to human impulses – the difference lies in the ability to decide which impulses are conducive to your being.

To say that e.g. your eating habits will influence your health is true, and to say that a health issue also has a spiritual connection and reason is also true. To separate the two is fallacy and brings no lasting solution, which will not be found in only one area. To arrive at an enlightened state, a state, which is one of awareness of who you are, will also include the understanding of the above statement.

What is respect?

Respect is dignity and honour of the self. A lack of these lead to physical illness. Anger that is filled with hate and disrespect creates loveless energy that creates sickness in you. To respect and honour yourself with dignity will lead to the respect and honouring of the dignity of others and they will respect and honour your dignity in return, unless they have none of their own.

This should be a way of life and not a condition.

It is important to show our children that we are able to release our issues about life and each other in a stable and non-judgemental environment. It might sound weird and old-hat, but the releasing of what troubles us through positive means, is what will make us walk with pride and dignity. To talk to your spouse about what troubles you or to confide in a friend that which causes you emotional pain is nothing to be ashamed of. It is healthy. Just as the body will attempt to rid itself of toxins, so the mind must also be cleansed of things that trouble us, and not only the natural process of dreaming can accomplish that.

A breakdown in communication is what is causing so many relationships to crumble. Try to understand that there is no judgement in not becoming someone's friend or lover if there is nothing to build it on. There is no universal law that states you will forever be with that one or this one person. But, you should at all times display respect, and learning respect can sometimes come in a package that will not be pleasant to hear at first, but might ring true at a later time. People who cannot move forward in their own growth are people who consciously or subconsciously revel in the attention received from others, because of what they feel was unjustly done to their person, and are people who lack respect for themselves.

WITNESSING A LACK OF RESPECT FOR YOUR SELF IS LIKE A FLASHING LIGHT TO A CHILD'S PSYCHE.

Spirit strengthens you through each and every challenge that you might face. Challenges should not be seen as tests from an outer deity, they are of our own and of the entire human race's devising. Overcoming them is what makes us wiser, or not. You will master your challenges when you work with your Higher-Self. There are those who think they have mastered their challenges when all they are doing is masking their true, often emotional, issues.

How do you achieve this balance? By balancing the masculine and feminine aspects within you and to actively seek to understand relationships and their impact upon who you are.

I refer you to a Kryon channelling called Undestanding Relationships. Visit www.kryon.org.za.

A person who has mastered her/his reactions is a person who knows what is important to react to and what is not. That biblical saying of turning the other cheek, to me, indicates not a person who will be beaten up in the name of God and not a person who will grovel in the dirt in the name of God. Turning the other cheek is when a person stands up for their own truth, and many times the appropriate action will be one of saying or doing nothing at all. Knowing what is important to react to is a sign of maturity in any spiritual book, in my opinion, and this includes respect for other people's knowing. I am aware that these last few sentences can be heavily misconstrued, but they are meant to be taken in the pure form of seeing everyone as part of Spirit.

Do not confuse a person's self-assurance for vanity, if it is true self-assurance and not arrogance. Remember that a spiritually enlightened being will not defend their position, as they do not need to, because they will treat anyone with enough respect to allow them to express their own opinion(s).

So much in life hinges on choice – your choice. Life is not pre-ordained, it just is there. There is no competition between a right and a wrong way, but there is choice.

If you understand the above sentences for what they mean, you are not better than any other person; it just means that you have made a choice. These sentences will mean different things to different people.

Choice is energy directed.

When you understand that there is actually nothing to say and that each human individuation follows a path of their own choosing, because it is the choice of the One Energy that is all of us, then you begin to understand what enlightenment is.

Do not judge those who deny their connection to the Divine. Each person has to see The Connection, or not. All that we are and everything around us, our bodies, our brains, our science and fact, etc are divine aspects of the whole. Now do you understand that Spirit and our world are of the same energy? Then why do we constantly try to disprove or prove the imagined gulf between the two?

Either you take the above information and make it part of your belief structure or you do not. It is your choice.

You cannot stop change for change is constant. However, it is your choice what to do with change – this is a biggy, there is much meaning in this.

I wish to quote you a section from the Zen classic Herding the Bull

"Returning to the source...

What is, just is.

When the river flows, it just flows.

When the bird sings, it just sings.

Every thing and every creature lives and acts by its own nature.

This is the truth as it has always been, from the beginning."

Whether you are a fruitarian and only eat the fruit when it has fallen from the tree or believe that one should use the medicines dispensed by medical doctors and shy away from homeopathic/alternative medicines is your choice. It is your choice to express creation in whatever form you deem fit. That-which-is-Creation has no judgement here, it simply experiences creation. It is true, though, that you will not achieve the knowledge of That-which-is-Creation if you believe that what you believe is the only way to believe, because through that way of thinking you cannot possibly respect another and live with love in your heart for that which all of us are a part of.

The time to fool ourselves is over, too much reality is staring us in the face that our current way of life is not working. But, then again, no matter how hard you try you will not convince others of an opinion or belief that they do not share with you, you can only plant a seed in the thoughts of others. If the seed is honest and true it might sprout and grow. What it grows into might not necessarily be what you thought, but it will probably be to the other person's benefit.

It is not whether we are right or wrong and have to abandon our habits – we have come so far as a species and delivered wonderful technological, medical and scientific results. We have achieved much and now it is time to find something new to advance the psyche of our species before we expire through holding on to designs, technologies and belief systems that have proven to no longer serve us as workable options. It does not take scientific excellence to realise when something is no longer working. It does, however, take guts to advance sustainability.

If you have seen the movie The Stepford Wives you will see this ideology cleverly masked in comedy.

Probably one of the most difficult aspects of true spirituality is the knowledge that there are no conditions to meet, no rules to follow except that of the development of personal power and self-love (read about these aspects in chapters 2 and 3 of Soul Psychology by Dr Josua David Stone). Both these aspects create self-worth. This is a trait that many people lack and is coming through in our children of today, as this is a personal trait that is essential in a healthy development of the psychology of a person. You cannot treat other people with respect if you do not treat yourself with respect.

Treat your physical body with respect and care and you will find that it is easier to treat your spiritual vehicle with respect and care. Take the example of eating healthily and getting sufficient exercise. I would not stress this just because it sounds good or because it might be the in-thing to say; it simply refers to this: If you are unwilling to look after your own physical vehicle how do you propose to look after your emotional, mental and spiritual states? This is not a brain-tease.

I was asked the question about what the difference between good and evil is? My response was that what we call good and evil are two different aspects of the same force. What does this mean?

Firstly, you have to understand that there is in fact no such thing as a rogue evil force out there to get you. The concept of badness is a concept devised within the human psyche and because of this fear it is manifested into existence through thought and has become a part of our lives on earth. I stress again that the energy that creates life does not distinguish itself for anything in particular and that this energy can be used for what we deem as good or bad. If people are to move on to the next stage of constructive development as the human race, we will have to recognise a belief system that does not have an entity sitting on a throne directing the ways of the human race and deciding who to condemn and who to reward with salvation. Whatever you may call this energy that you may deem as some kind of higher power, it is Life wishing to express itself. This expression of life is what we are part of. Once you realise that you are expressing a part of that which you are, you would have stepped into a different way of thinking.

Take channelling, for example. Who do you think you are communicating with? It is not a separate energy, but yourself in a different form; once you realise this, the implications are startling. There is no overseeing authority that judges you, but an energy that is part of you that guides you in that which we as incarnated humans cannot know because of our temporary human status. The thought of an overlord smiting or uplifting those of his choosing leads directly to the behavioural pattern to bow down to this being. Worse yet, we now have someone to blame if things go wrong for us. You might not realise this, but this blame-game is, in fact, what keeps many religious beliefs alive. Religion in itself is not a bad thing, it has many good qualities, the issue here is the humans who have twisted and directed religious beliefs to suit their own needs and the failure to see God (or whatever you may call it) as Life expressing itself through creation.

The authority figure in religion of a god is a handy way to explain our so-called wickedness. I have found that many people are just too afraid of the enormous implication of recognising themselves as part and parcel of creation instead as the result of it. No wonder that there are those who say that they do not believe in God or follow a religion, because at the end of the day the concept of a ruling god figure and the resulting beliefs surrounding that just do not make sense. I have also found that many people who call themselves atheists are not necessarily people who do not believe in some kind of energy that creates life and expresses itself in human form on this earth, but people who have become disillusioned with, for example, the concept of a godhead ruling humankind; and then there are also many different godheads according to all the different religions, most of which profess to be the right one and if you do not follow that particular godhead, you are doomed to some form of hell.

Hell is a fear-based concept and not an actual place. Hell is a creation of the human mind.

Have you ever thought that you have the authority and power to co-create your own reality within the sphere of the psyche of the human race? Frightening concept? This is what scares many people into not wanting to accept responsibility for themselves and their lives. The thought that you are an individual with power to co-create and also part of a whole think tank, called humanity, which is part of creation, etc, is just too much for some to comprehend or for some to want to comprehend. An individual has limited powers of creation, humanity as a whole has an awesome ability to create, we are simply too afraid of the possible outcome.

We create what God is, on earth.

Let us talk about the process of claiming integrity.

The new energy explains to us that the way to handle co-creation is to use the concept of taking things away. It is more beneficial to ask Spirit for balance than it is to ask for answers, for it is through this balance that you will learn the appropriate answers to your life. Instead of asking a god to create your reality, learn to become the co-creator of your own reality on earth.

To be a master of your own life on earth would require you to view life as perfect (which it is in ultimate reality where The-All-That-Is requires nothing). A person, who has gained the capacity to decide what energy is to be removed from their lives so that they can decide things in a clearer atmosphere and thus simplify their lives, is a person who has learned to subtract the inappropriate parts so that they can see more clearly.

This is sometimes done trough the process of thought and sometimes with physical action and sometimes through a combination of both.

Divinity creates itself, and when it created itself as humanity it was not to see if humans could reach enlightenment to such an extent that we would renounce our human forms and return to pure energy. This is your choice, but there is no test, there is only the intent to live life to its fullest potential in respect of giving of oneself in the knowledge that every human is essentially energy, the energy that permeates everything and is everything. We are life and we are part of Life. If you do not know this you will not respect life in all its aspects. If you do know it, you will be drawn to preserving and respecting all that is and gives life.

One of the quickest ways to claim integrity of your self is to aid another that requires help. Take something like the Meals on Wheels for the Aged program here in South Africa. A simple gesture of providing food to the aged will change your perception of life into a grander one of caring, whether you give of your time or money. But, let me tell you that there is little as rewarding to a person's integrity as physically lending support.

There was a time when I was in a strange place mentally. A person I loved very much was lying unconscious in a hospital bed, breathing through a tube and connected to all kinds of wires. It was a time that I felt alone no matter how many friends and family consoled me. Just as the bones in this person's leg, I was shattered and did not know what to do, but carry on. Working and taking care of this person's needs became my only two concerns. Months went by in which I hardly thought about myself. It was one of the most painful and enriching experiences of my life. When it was finally all over and the person had recuperated, I gave way to tears of sorrow and relief. One of the most beautiful things that was impressed upon me by Spirit was the notion that crying was encouraged. Why, if I was such a strong person and knew about The-All-That-Is and that life is energy manifested and....

Answer: You are human. Humans are meant to feel and experience. It is not a curse to be able to express emotion. If you look at women, in general, they are able to express emotion much more freely than the average man. Why? Because men are conditioned, in our current societal structure, to not show emotion. Although this is changing, it still affects a large part of humanity. Men have a huge capacity to absorb emotions and feelings, but because they block their outlet (that of speaking freely about it), they absorb too much and this leads to violence in some form or fashion.

Do not swallow your tears, for they allow for emotional release.

Just because you might know about The-All-That-Is, does not free you from experiencing human feelings and emotions, it will cause you to view things from a different perspective, but you will still be a man or woman with emotions and feelings.

Just remember one thing – emotions call upon that which we have experienced in the past and feelings call upon that which we experience as the future.

When we teach little boys not to cry, simply because they are men, we create in their worlds a reference to the past instead of providing an inspiration to the future by allowing them to process their own pain.

OK, a bit of leaning to the brighter side of things, I suppose. As I was explaining the above ideas to a particular lady, her immediate response was: "But, my daaarling, I am simply too stressed out to cope with all of this...."

So I launched into an explanation of where stress comes from and what stress is. I am not going to try and repeat that whole discussion here. To put it into a nutshell, people who believe themselves to be victims of other people or situations will experience stress. And let's face it, many people thrive on being unconscious victims and would never admit to inducing their own stress.

"Anger at being forced beyond one's willingness is the essence of stress. The tension is spurred by underlying resentment toward misperceived authorities – misperceived because no one has authority over you – no one but your own powerful self. All stress is self-imposed, since all stress-inducing situations are elected by your own free will. There are no exceptions, because in all doings, you have the choice to remove yourself from the stressful situation. While it is true that certain consequences would follow, it still holds true that your options are always freely available to you."

Author: Messages from your Angels by Doreen Virtue, Ph.D.

The woman who asked the question in the first place still gets heart palpitations when her shoes don't match her outfit, but she has, at least, developed a sense of humour about it.

16 - ACHIEVING BEINGNESS IN LIFE

"Your deepest fear is not to be small; your deepest fear is to be magnificent beyond belief."

Quoted from: A Kryon Channelling by David Brown (South Africa).

Sometimes it seems as if Spirit requires you to be efficient in something particular, which you might view as rather mundane. What you have to remember is that Spirit requires nothing (and requires nothing of you) and you will not achieve true inner peace if you do not follow your essence-trail (that trail which is shown to you by listening to your heart). A dichotomous statement, you might say; this means there is truth to it. How to know this trail? This knowing will lie in your belief structure.

I know it to be my truth to talk (or write) as plainly as possible without the use of mystical terms and symbology (as far as possible). This has proven to be more difficult than I expected. There simply are certain things that will be clear to some and not to others. This is as it should be and I have learnt to work with that.

And because you have one particular belief structure and I might have another, does in no way qualify us to judge each other or make either of us feel inferior. This does not mean that we have to become pals, but respect will be the outflow from anybody who respects him or herself. Some scientists say that a common energy field binds all of human kind, and that we are made up of the same building blocks. Why not then respect that which is part of you?

The goal lies in realising that to keep defending your beliefs (about you and what affects you) will simply serve to make others keep you at arms length. Even though it might not always be consciously recognised, even those who are not necessarily very true to themselves can easily detect falseness in attitude in any form. This is picked up as an inexplicable and irritating vibe – and should not be ignored and also not judged – you only decide for yourself.

I would say that most people do not believe themselves to be magnificent beyond belief. I mean, how dare anybody be so presumptuous, right? I do not agree.

The thing is that I cannot convince anybody who does not believe they are part of a Divine energy that they are magnificent beyond belief. Why? Because each individual of the whole has the right to their own opinion(s).

It is enormously frustrating to think that there are those out there who do not think like you – would this not solve the world's problems? It might, but it would be pretty boring. Commonality does not only lie in sameness, but also in respect for that which is different. And if that which is different can respect their differences in the light of the greater good of survival and a peaceful existence, we might survive as a species. What is keeping us back? The fear that another will have more than you, and this fear is born from the fear to recognise everybody as magnificent.

Belief structures are very hard to change, but the world will not wait while we bicker about it. Change happens in its own time. It is ludicrous to think that every human will start to follow the same belief structure or follow the same spiritual views. But what is needed for our success as a species, is a new spirituality in which we see one another as ONE SPECIES dependant on nothing and no-one, as part of the energy that always was and is, and as humans on Earth dependant on each other for survival as the human race. This is just so.

The thing that freaks people out about a belief structure that includes all of humanity is that there is no one to blame for your troubles.

The freakiest thing is the possibility of not having pre-destination or a mapped out future, but only pre-disposition that allows for possibility. What scares many is the fact that we all create our own futures as individuals. Yes, there are things to deal with that are beyond our control as individuals (for the most part). Geological situations, for one, are something we as a species have to deal with and the possibilities lie in the solutions we find as the human race. There is no such thing as destiny, only possible outcome.

Then there are those who howl for technical observations about our world – if this is your fancy, there are lots of books covering this topic. I have heard that Gary Zukaf's book The Dancing Wu Li Masters is quite binding.

Now, let us talk about something more identifiable in our own lives: Partnerships – I am talking about romantic partnership and close friendship. I wish to break it down even further and urge you to imagine such a partner in different settings and situations. What am I getting at?

A client of mine once told me how disillusioned she was with her boyfriend. They had been seeing each other for many months and had moved in together and were even talking about marriage. But when they moved to the big city from a smaller coastal town, things started going askew. According to her, her boyfriend did not grow psychologically with her in the new city and had become depressed and uncooperative and according to him, she had passed him by and become someone he did not always recognise as the down-to-earth woman he had met. But when they went away anywhere outside the city on holiday, things would usually start returning to normal, until they returned to the city.

To cut a long story short, different people react differently to similar and/or stressful situations. The object here is to recognise when the energy of a situation concerning another person has changed. Life is change and it will not be different. Spirit will not stagnate and stop growing – what would then be the purpose of living? It is not for you or me to go and judge another person because they chose a different way of expression (living). It is much more beneficial to move on, for if you stop your own growth in favour of another's, then you will end up an unhappy person and make those around you unhappy. Nobody ever said it would be easy to see yourself as magnificent, but if you do see this in yourself, then pain will be more fleeting and happiness more frequent. Now the question arises whether the above statement could not lead to a license to leave partners at any whim. No, if you live your life within the knowledge that all things are sacred and deserve respect, you will make the correct choices regarding partners at the right time, even though they may be unsettling, demanding and even challenging.

Many families have been led to destruction through personalising the pressures of life. There will always be pressures and many buttons to push for different people. And yes, our current Western life style serves in many ways to aggravate these pressures through dishonest politics, shameless employers and the fear of not having as much as the next person or company or country, or losing power to another person or company or country. This having been said, we have to recognise that dishonesty and fear is not something that will disappear – it might lessen over time, but not disappear. There will always be people who sow distrust or scheme or lie to protect what they think is theirs or think should be theirs. What we need to achieve is a mental equilibrium and a stable emotional outlook. Not to become androids, but for our own benefit of making reliable decisions regarding our own lives – that will not harm another's life.

"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."

Source - by Dorothy Nevill

You have to bear in mind that every religion (in matters of living and spirituality) is but a small part of Spirit. That-which-is-the-energy-of-life has no judgement what you do with the energy. This energy has no preference. That is part of why humans exist, so that we can decide what the energy means at any given time as a person and as a society. And when you see yourself as part of this magnificence, you will stand in awe and innately only create that which is life giving and sustaining.

Be a silent witness of yourself. Observe yourself and do not live another's life. By being the best at who you can be, you assert to the world who you are and those of like-mind will be attracted to your presence. Even though we are mostly unaware that Spirit operates on multidimensional levels at the same time, it is not necessary to know what is going on, on those other multidimensional levels as we have our own world to create. Spirit has repeated this last statement several times in the past in different channellings in different ways, lest you become obsessed with things that will only serve to inhibit your growth as a human. It is important for each individual to know that they are part of the whole, but that we are here to create as individuals who realise that they are part of Divinity. When or if you realise this, the question that is uppermost is...what are you going to do about it? That is the interesting part.

You are ultimately what you consciously or unconsciously create yourself to be. The difference is a choice not taken.

You might be asking yourself: "Who am I?"

The answer: "The co-creator of That-Which-Is."

"What is THAT-WHICH-IS?"

That-which-is, is SO much more than what we ascribe to as what we might call God or Jehova or Allah, etc., but that has been the comprehension of most people for a long time, and still is. The human mind could not possibly comprehend in totality that-which-is. The good news is that we do not have to know all of this to create heaven on earth. We are magnificent enough as it is to be able to bring peace and meaningful existence to our planet. You simply have to make it happen and when enough people make it happen, it will. These are not sugar-coated words.

Have you ever wondered if co-creation is a process? This I have to explain through an example:

"It was during a flash-moment of anger and disgust at what someone had told me, you know, one of those unnecessary waste-of- time scenarios, that I realised something beautiful, and wrote it down."

What this person had realised is that he was still able to witness his ego even though he was swept up in this emotional moment. This allowed him to calm down more quickly and realise that he was wasting energy on an external occurrence.

We are emotional beings and will be charged by different events, it is part of what makes us human. To be able to process emotions, to release issues by witnessing yourself and your ego will make going through life's challenges much more amicable and allow you to expand your human consciousness.

Whether you practice witnessing yourself or whether you process emotions on paper, it is very beneficial and I highly recommend it. Leslie Temple-Thurston speaks about it in her book The Marriage of Spirit, also found on www.corelight.org.

"Divine inspiration is the birthright of every human being."

Source- The New Revelations – Neale Donald Walsch.

An acquaintance of mine mentioned to me the following tale in lieu of wanting to know what exactly transpired on a specific evening: "I went out to a friend's house the other night and at her request did an energy reading for her. This is not something I do a lot of the time and was unprepared for the amount of energy that came through me that night. The feelings that I felt during the reading were so strong that I started crying. Even though it was a cold night, I was hot, but started to shiver uncontrollably. It became so noticeable; that at one stage I thought the woman must have thought that I was putting on an act, which I was not."

Being able to commune with your spiritual guides (for lack of a better word) does not put you on a pedestal. Anybody and everybody has this capability, but not everybody realises this and not everybody would want to delve into this side of their abilities. For those people who are afraid to try this form of communication there is the option of going to someone who has realised the ability. You can use the same judgement call here as saying that not everybody is going to be a carpenter or a lawyer. If everybody is a chef, then who is going to run the restaurant? You see what I am getting at? There are people out in the world who make a living from their spiritual abilities, be it a priest or an energy healer (faith healer) or psychic.

The reason that some people are in awe of those who can commune with the spiritual world is because it is seen as communing with the unknown. And that is why there is fear surrounding this type of communication. Just because we live in a more modern era than yester-year, does not mean that people cannot commune with what we call the otherworldly or that the spiritual books being written today are of any less importance or are, at the very least, subordinate to those spiritual texts that came before. Yes, I am in awe of what a chef can create with food, but I am not jealous, as I have my own contributions to make to this life on earth.

Many people just refuse to believe that we are all special in our own ways and not only a select few emotionally unstable people.

The question then: What is the difference between religion and spirituality?

Your religion is the thing that describes rules and regulations – an institution. Your spirituality is the thing that is free from requirement – free from the requirement to believe in unchallengeable laws and free from the requirement that tells you that God can only be approached in one particular way.

The highest expression of love on Earth toward another is to allow persons to give themselves back to themselves.

The only way we are going to achieve real peace, is by changing people's ideas about who and what God is. How is this possible? By changing the ideas people have about themselves.

At this point it might become clear to you why there are many spiritual books repeating the same topics, because repetition is a powerful tool and these topics are of such importance that they bear repeating in as many ways as possible so that they may be heard and understood.

No one who has realised that humanity is a collective, part of the All-That-Is, and also individuated within each person, will call upon you to abandon your religion or belief structure, but to broaden it to a point where it also is inclusive of the other religions and belief structures. It is only when we achieve this belief that we will gain the wisdom of survival without destruction of another. What is holding you back?

Your inner truth cannot be vanquished. Even if others have persuaded you to behave and think in another way, once they have gone, you will return to what you believed in the first place. Trying to convince yourself that you are something else might work for a while, but your mind will eventually tire of the lie. Take the example of politicians who finally resign out of political office, because they just cannot condone what their party is doing – just today I heard on the radio about a politician resigning out of Zimbabwe's reigning government, because he could not condone the action taken, leading to people having been left homeless in the middle of winter.

It is ill advised to ever copy another's behaviour, as with such an action you loose a bit more of who you truly are and aspire to be.

And what keeps humanity from realising and accepting their own authority? FEAR and GUILT. A woman or child may fear a man, because they fear his response if they seem to think themselves important. A man might fear a woman or his peers, because he fears the thoughts about him if he were to seem weak in the eyes of the world. Fear imbedded in our psyche of the Almighty, fear that he might strike us down, as taught to us by our religions; and therein lies their power. This has led to people renouncing religion and leaving churches empty. Guilt, because we fear so much and feel undeserving of life. Guilt, because we may feel powerless to make this earth a better place to live for our children.

As I was coming in from Pretoria last week on the N1 route, I was shocked to see the city of Johannesburg engulfed in a thick haze of smog, so much so that only the highest towers were visible. I was horrified to think that people actually breathe that air – and deep down I also recognised guilt that I was not doing more to rid this city of pollution.

Fear and guilt are of little use. As individuals we are unable to save the world in one fell swoop, but we can actively participate to spread love and inspiration to others, such as helping out the elderly or volunteering at hospitals, etc. Only by spreading love, which comes from understanding another person, which comes from giving them your time and ear, which comes from knowing yourself, will we be able to change our reality and clean up the pollution.

17 - ACHIEVING GRACE WITH LIFE

A grandfather and his grandson were out on a picnic. As they sat down beside a tree in the woods, the grandson accidentally disturbed a snake, which then bit him on the hand.

The story's conclusion is that the grandson died of the snake's venom before he even reached the hospital.

Whose fault was it; who is to blame? Was it the grandfather's decision to go into the woods where there were known to be snakes; that caused the boy's death? Was the boy being stupid just sitting down next to a tree in the woods without inspecting the ground first, as his parents taught him? Was it the snake's fault that it killed the boy because it was instinctively protecting itself? Was it fate or God's decision? Should we now not go into the wood? Should grandfathers not take their grandsons on picnics? Should we kill all venomous snakes? Who is to blame and what is the solution?

If you do not believe in a god, then you would most likely blame the situation on fate and the solution would be for people to be more careful in this particular forest, because of the known snaky inhabitants.

One thing, though – there is no such thing as fate.

If you do believe in a god, then you would probably lean toward the God's decision scenario. The solution would most likely also be like the former, unless you are a fanatic bent on ridding the world of snakes because they are deemed to be evil. Maybe the boy did something to displease God and he sent a serpent to kill the boy?

Now, if God be omnipotent, as claimed by the Bible, then there would be no reason to have the need to kill something if God can actually not be displeased, because he is omnipotent?

The danger here is to get tangled up in a web of intrigue. The truth is that neither the grandfather nor grandson remembered to check the ground before they sat down. The truth is that the boy accidentally placed his hand on a snake, which then reacted with natural animal instinct to protect itself. No one is to blame, but much of humanity requires someone to be responsible, and that would be God. Although God is not a human and does not have human qualities, to better identify with this deity, humans have made God a man and given him wants and needs. But, you might say, this is contradicted in the Bible; God is not a man, but an all-seeing and all-knowing heavenly being. So who is right?

If you believe in fate, then you, once again, shove your responsibility of life onto something else – playing the blame-game. We created this ourselves. Why? I cannot answer you other than you reading the whole of this book and then making up your own mind about whom and what your word for Life actually and really means.

I wish to tell you a true story – it is not about physical death, but a death of sorts nonetheless, that led to a new outlook. The thing I wish you to realise here is not the sadness of the situation, but the creation of a new attitude. The person who wrote this was experiencing great emotional turmoil. I have promised to keep his identity secret and omit certain sections and names within his story. The young man had great wisdom within himself and I believe that this was a turning point for him. This is an example of how writing down your feelings can assist you in gaining clarity of thought. He was 26 at the time, studying drama and stage production.

He wrote:

"Why am I so very sad? I lost control over my life, my sense of being, I lost me. I suppose these last three odd years have made me grow and gain in wisdom and insight, but I must admit that it has caused me more pain and emotional turmoil than I would have thought possible for me to bear – I sometimes feel so weak and inferior – too many reasons. When I think back it must have all started in my first year at university. I thought it was wonderful – so many opportunities. But then I discovered that the two most important teachers of my university course where back-stabbing, frustrated artists who enjoyed frightening people they could not use for their own gain.

First of all I tried to be a miracle-worker by cramming as much as possible into my day. I tried to be the perfect student – taking on extra subjects and working myself into a frenzy. But to no avail. I could not conform to what they wanted me to be. I did not display the catty, vicious personality they deemed so necessary for my chosen profession. Finally I became both mentally and physically so run down that I ended up in hospital.

Today I realise that they failed me as teachers.

I could go on and on for quite some time and use up a substantial amount of paper, but what is the use? Life goes on and one should concentrate on the positive things and be grateful for the people who are special to you.

I sometimes think I am too sensitive for my own good. If there is one thing that the good Lord has given me – or maybe it is just the way I am – is that I can feel other people's emotions (maybe everybody is like that, but they don't all know it) – to an extent, of course – no one can feel exactly what another feels at the time, but seeing so much anger, pain and confusion in people's eyes is sometimes a bit too much. I can see it in many people.

Life has its ups and downs; sometimes the one more than the other, but life is also what you make of it, so why not make it a life full of laughter – easier said than done. But, there is only one you and you have the power – maybe not to choose what comes your way and what you are exposed to, but you can decide what to do about it."

Make of this what you will – it was written on the spur of the moment, without structured thinking. The young man has consequently become a successful entrepreneur in a field that he enjoys thoroughly.

Was it necessary for this young man to go through all this turmoil? The answer is no and yes. No, because you can make things less complicated for yourself and reach decisions and conclusions much faster and make life happen much quicker for you by realising you are creating your own life and accept the responsibility of your decisions regarding life on earth.

What goes around comes around.

Yes, because to have reached a point of solution to realise his talents required all of this stuff. But the stuff could have been avoided or lessened if he were taught to know his true relation to The-All-That-Is at an early age.

It seems ambiguous.

To be able to create life from death is an art. An art we all have the ability of.

The point I am trying to make here is about stepping out of our self-inflicted world of disappointment and into a world of creativity, love and freedom. It sounds very much like puff-pastry, I know, but the idea is to allow yourself the time to learn what ecstasy is. One of the greatest incumbents of the Human race is the lack of love we hold for ourselves. Real, unadulterated and all-encompassing love of another individual (who is simply another individuation of the whole) can only be realised by discovering all there is to know about whom you are – facing all the giant toads and headless horse riders come hell or high water. Who you are is so utterly beautiful – who in their right mind would want to settle for less in themselves or another? I will tell you who; it is those who are afraid of being present in the reality of creation. It is also those who waft on the ignorant clouds of bliss. Being in a state of bliss is an ungrounded state; a state that most will go though when going through the stages of enlightenment; and also escape. Ecstasy comes with being grounded.

Where did you hide your heart the first day it was broken? Actually, there are two days involved here – that day as a child that you hid your heart away as protection against social hurt and also that day when that specific someone crushed your magnificence underfoot and you hid your heart away from intimate rejection.

These scenarios can take many different forms, but it boils down to the same thing.

We need to find our true hearts individually and our true heart as Humanity – now don't go queue at the chain store...

18 – GOD AS A THIRD PARTY

Do we treat spirit as a third party god?

The-All-That-Is has been relegated to the sidelines, because many people do not feel that they can relate to a god that is so far away and is so ambiguous and cruel. Take the instance of war and the resulting human suffering; and to make matters worse, all sides of a war usually declare that God is on their side. I would recommend you read Deepak Chopra's book Peace is the Way - Bringing War and Violence to an End...if you are serious about wanting peace to be a reality and not a dream.

If you regard God as an outside force that is somewhere in the heavens, totally apart from yourself, then you will feel this loneliness and end up treating God as a third-party who basically has left humanity to its own devices. You must remember that while we might change our customs and opinions and even our beliefs, that it does not mean that The-All-That-Is has changed its mind. We are the ones who change our minds. That-Which-Is-Life does not judge this, for it does not. It cannot, since we are the ones creating this experience for God. We are extensions of God for the purpose of creating the experiences that The-All-That-Is cannot experience as The-All-That-Is, because The-All-That-Is just is. The funny thing is, that even through this explanation, I have made use of the concept of separation, but such is the reality of duality. Without duality, That-Which-Is-Life could not experience being human.

If you view God as The-All-That-Is that is part of you and does not reside far away or separate from you, you will feel part of this life-energy that creates all that is.

If you believe in channelling, you might come up with the question as to who is actually being channelled? Whether the Pope is sitting on his High-Chair, giving forth the absolute and spontaneous word of God or weather it is Lee Carrol channelling Kryon or you channelling you-don't-know-who in your living room, it boils down to the same thing. We are channelling ourselves; we are speaking to that which is us. Difficult concept to grasp, so I am going to include some separation glue - we are communicating with ourselves on the other side. Although there is no other side, there is no here or there in ultimate reality, but this is a concept beyond our grasp and duality has reigned victorious.

Realising that you are capable of channelling what we would call our Higher-Self, is realising a wisdom of truly blessed proportion. Finding this wisdom is great.

Then there is the question: "But what about the names of these channelled thingys". Well, giving names and identities to what you might deem as outside channels should not be of so much importance. It is natural for humanity to assign identity to something, but these names are for our benefit of identification only.

To try to overanalyse That-Which-Is-Life within our single-minded reality is folly to ourselves, and will lead you down never ending mazes of pondering. You cannot analyse love or put it into a box.

Life is honestly a bit of a drag, in my opinion, if you are unable to walk through the fear of being loved and giving love.

Have you ever wondered if co-creation is a process of actually creating something from something, but from what? If the Divine is life and we are part of that life and we are able to co-create with that life, is co-creation then a matter of knowing how to use life (like bending light) to materialise your creation?

The first thing to know is that there is no separation between life and us. Spirituality is also not about shutting out the human world, it must include it.

This is important to realise. I am not necessarily referring to those very few who can materialise something physical from what seems like nothing, as is e.g. claimed by some who have seen the Sai Baba do it. Nor am I referring to those who are able to move objects with their minds. Although these abilities can be achieved, I am referring to the creation of what we know as the day-to-day process of human life. Trying to explain this in detail is going to take too long, I will rather explain it through a real example:

A young gentleman – let's call him Peter – cornered me once with a very serious question on his mind. Upon explaining to me that he had seen a renowned tarot reader and psychic who told him that he was facing disaster in his workplace because of his perceived arrogant personality, but should not leave his workplace at that time, I could see that he was in a mental bind about what to do. He also told me that after asking a specific question as to what the outcome would be of this revelation of the psychic, she responded by telling him that there was no specific answer. Peter felt short-changed and had more questions than answers. Peter was especially disillusioned with this woman, because he had seen her several times before that, and never had she been so illusive.

Now what?

The most important thing to realise here is that, generally, a psychic can only feel the potential of a very small part of all the potentials surrounding any particular situation. It is like looking at the universe through the eye of a needle. You can only see a tiny dot in space and no further or wider. It makes good sense to ask the advice of those who can be helpful, in fact, I would recommend it, but the thing to bear in mind is that you can change what was told you, because nothing is pre-destined. What about all the other potentials? Usually the potential or potentials that a tarot reader and/or psychic would see are those potentials that are most likely, given your current frame of mind and the frame of mind of humanity as a whole.

Peter came to realise that he could change his attitude at work and take other people into consideration and not come across as so arrogant. Through this action he changed the atmosphere to a more conducive one in which he could remain until such time that he would choose to leave, for as the psychic advised him, he did end up creating his own business. As for the unresolved question, the psychic was merely trying to tell Peter that he was the one who needed to make the decision – the potentials were there, he just needed to act out of his own accord. A new situation was created through Peter's actions, which led to him becoming the head of his own business. The time it took for this to unfold was at the discretion of Peter's decisions. In our world it takes time for these things to unfold anyway, sometimes within months or years – a time frame that would cause us to forget the psychic's words in the first place. Creation on earth is not perceived as instantaneous, as there are many people with many different opinions and people tend to change their minds all the time.

Identifying with intuition is to learn to trust it.

I say again: NOTHING on earth has only a spiritual/divine explanation, it also has a material one – and vice versa. Take for example a person who would claim that her lower back pain was an indication of support issues in her life. Her medical doctor, however, gave her the medical reason – her posture was causing her back pain. Both scenarios carry the weight of truth for humanity. Rest assured that this woman's bad posture has led to her chronic lower back pain and that she will have unresolved support issues on an emotional level as well. The one holds the hand of the other – in our world.

To gain power and control over your life, you first have to give up the power and control.

When I first heard the above statement, I thought it utterly ridiculous. But true it is, whether you like it or not. True personal power can only become reality if you are willing to give it up in search of wisdom. It took me years to gain the bit of spiritual insight I have, and much of that time I did not even realise that I was searching for this knowledge. The last three years before I started this book were filled with emotional turmoil and I still have times where I feel lost. Why? Because that is the time it took for me to recognise my own power of insight, whether I liked it or not. At some point I realised that I should stop defining myself as this or that and concentrate on what my Higher-Self was telling me. To this day I am still frightened to follow my heart in all things, for it sometimes brings anguish, but always ends up being successful when followed completely. This does not imply that you should be irrational in the world within which we live, but compassion for yourself is very respectful and necessary if you are to become a person who listens more to their heart than their head, for this generates compassion for all living things.

Story time...

The holy woman arrived at the so-called cave of Light, she had travelled far to experience the sight of one of her nation's spiritual glories and to experience the rapture of this moment – to feel the divinity of that holy place, and maybe something more...

As she finally entered the cave and her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the sunlight filtering through the cracks in the rock formations above, she realised there was nothing inside this cave bar the sand and rock of the ages. There was emptiness. The resulting silence was soft and reassuring and the atmosphere as if everything was holding its breath, there was no concept of time and space.

As the holy woman finally exited the cave of Light, she realised that God was also she.

I am not saying that God is a woman, for God is neither a woman nor a man, That-Which-Is, just is. What the holy woman realised was that God is within her and every other thing. The unyielding energy and force of creation is everywhere, for it seeks to expand and become and experience.

The Universe breathes and an entire creation happens.

To heal is not to give healing, but to facilitate that which heals.

When she returned home, she was asked if she had absorbed the karma of the cave of Light. Her answer came not of herself, but yet of her self: "If your idea of karma is that it makes you a slave to your past, then your idea is false. Karma is a starting point, an energy to begin with and that can be changed. Karma simply suggests an incomplete energy."

I wish to give you some viewpoints of this New Spirituality that is being spoken about across the world. And nowhere did I find better descriptions than in Neale Donald Walsch's book The New Revelations:

1. "God has never stopped communicating directly with human beings. God has been communicating with and through human beings from the beginning of time. God does so today.

2. Every human being is as special as every other human being who has ever lived, lives now, or ever will live. You are all messengers. Every one of you. You are carrying a message to life about life every day. Every hour. Every moment.

3. No path to God is more direct than any other path. No religion is the "one true religion", no people are "the chosen people", and no prophet is the "greatest prophet".

4. God needs nothing. God requires nothing in order to be happy. God is happiness itself. Therefore, God requires nothing of anyone or anything in the universe.

5. God is not a singular Super Being, living somewhere in the Universe or outside of it, having the same emotional needs and subject to the same emotional turmoil as humans. That Which Is God cannot be hurt or damaged in any way, and so, has no need to seek revenge or impose punishment.

6. All things are One Thing. There is only One Thing, and all things are part of the One Thing That Is.

7. There is no such thing as Right and Wrong. There is only What Works and What Does Not Work, depending upon what it is that you seek to be, do, or have.

8. You are not your body. Who you are is limitless and without end.

9. You cannot die, and you will never be condemned to eternal damnation."

19 - YOUR PERCEPTION VERSUS YOUR REALITY

"Despite the impact of modern technology, the world's dilemmas and dangers are not accidents caused by recent changes. They are the predictable result of the way humanity has been living since the first city-states of the Semurians were established around seven thousand years ago... recycling won't save the world, birth control won't save the world, and saving what little is left of the rainforests won't save the world. Even if all those good things were fully implemented, our fundamental problem would still remain, and will inevitably be repeated."

Source - The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann.

Our world problems do not arise from only one thing, like pollution, diet or violence. To go and blame only technology for all our problems is fallacy; our technology comes from our ideas. The root cause of our world's problems lies in the way we perceive everything around us.

Mr Hartmann goes on to say..."Nothing but changing our way of seeing and understanding the world can produce real, meaningful and lasting change...and that change in perspective will naturally lead us to begin to control our populations, save our forests, re-create community, and reduce our wasteful consumption."

How do you go about this then?

To perceive your world as a living organism, one that is part of your life support structure here on earth, is not something you just decide to do when you wake up one morning. We have been conditioned by many of our religions and various leaders that the earth is just a piece of dirt and will forever be there to endure and absorb our abuse. Not so. The demise of the earth has a direct correlation to how we treat it, whether you deem yourself to be spiritual or not, this fact remains an absolute.

My aim here is not to simply repeat what people like Thom Hartmann have written (although the temptation to regurgitate his ideas is overwhelming, because of the sheer importance of them), but to enlighten you as to how to approach yourself as Life dealing with life, which is everywhere.

How do we start to perceive the earth as part of life? Step by step:

1. Quiet time. You would probably say that it is quite obvious to say that earlier cultures had more leisure time than we do now in our industrialised world. This is true, however, the first step in appreciating the earth is found in quieting the mind so that you can experience the world with more clarity. If you fancy structured meditation, do so. If you feel that e.g. Yoga calms you, then do so. Engaging in activities that calm the mind are highly beneficial, and I include the activity of being by yourself and enjoying your own company – not becoming a recluse (not at all), but putting aside time for yourself, and only yourself. Some people find it hard to be with themselves and find they have nothing to say.

Yes, it is not that easy in the beginning to listen to your own thoughts, you find you get bored and irritated, because of the quiet. But, with time you will start appreciating these moments and realise that you are communicating with yourself and also the earth, because the silence will allow you to gain a kind of peace that will allow you to respect the dirt you tread on.

2. Inform yourself. It is actually quite horrific to have found out how uninformed I was about health issues around the globe. I urge you to read up on health issues affecting the world, go onto the websites of organisations such as WHO (World Health Organisation) and read up on the new strains of TB or the spreading of AIDS and even contagious proteins, called prions, found in meat. Some people feel that stepping out of their comfort zone to inform themselves of our worldly reality is too risky, in that it forces you to open your eyes to the fact that we are lied to daily by our governments and media just so they may keep making money and accumulating power, regardless of the possible consequences to humanity.

Old diseases seem to be returning and they are resistant to our vaccines. It is harder to argue with persons who have informed themselves of what is truly going on in the world.

3. Sustainability. After you have brought yourself to that point of calm so that you are able to witness life around you and act with it, instead of reacting to it, you are able to assimilate the world around you. Now you can inform yourself about your world, about other cultures, beliefs and the health of our earth in general, because what we physically consume comes from the earth. After this you are able to think about sustainability without going into hysterics about it (do not confuse this with the passion of survival). To live in sustainability with the earth is to only take from it what you need and to share what the earth produces with the world. Unfortunately fear of losing power and technological advantage has led our nations into hoarding what they think is theirs, just because of the boundaries they have drawn up. Why not share? What is the big deal? If we were to lock up all the dishonest politicians and those that support their efforts for the reasons of personal gain (quite a lot of people – we will need a biiiiiiig place to put them all) and thus root out the fear we have for each other, there will be enough to go around!

It is disgusting how we have allowed our youth to become so power hungry and greedy and disrespectful to themselves and their worldly neighbours, but hey, from whom do you think they are seeing this example? From us who call ourselves adults – all over the world (generally speaking)!

4. Respect for life. Oh goodness, this could be a whole section on its own, but let us keep it simple. Let us talk about drugs – in all forms.

"It is not heroine or cocaine that makes one an addict, it is the need to escape from a harsh reality. There are more television addicts, more baseball and football addicts, more movie addicts, and certainly more alcohol addicts in this country than there are narcotics addicts."

Source – Referring to the USA. Shirley Chisholm (b. 1924).

Providing entertainment drives the entire modern world. In itself there is no problem with this, it's absolutely fabulous, but so much of today's entertainment provides no mental growth. In this do-not-need-to-think-world, it is easy to lose yourself, simply to get away from our worldly reality. Our psyches find it frightening that we are killing ourselves and so many choose to escape rather than remind themselves about respect for all that is life and teaching this philosophy through their actions. Without respect for your family, friends and neighbours you will have no respect for other cultures or nations. Without respecting all other people, how do you expect to respect plants and animals?

Without respect for yourself, you have no true respect for anything that exists. And respect for yourself is the only form of respect that will lead to respect for all that is life. All these forms of respect are linked and none can be taken away from the whole.

"Companies that sell or produce toxic or carcinogenic chemicals as waste by-products are able to spin or suppress news stories so affectively that most citizens of Vermont" (USA) " , for example, don't know that over 53,000 pounds of a chemical banned in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, and other countries is sprayed on their feed corn every year. This chemical has been linked in scientific studies to breast cancer, leukaemia, lymphoma, birth defects, and reproductive tumors."

Source - The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann.

If people in power can blind themselves to harming their own people, because there is a buck to be made, it means they have numbed themselves toward respecting life.

5. Wisdom. The answer is to view everything and everyone in life as having value. Being realistic about our reality and putting it into perspective is what is needed. A wise person's outlook on life is one of shared survival concerns – not necessarily religious, but a concern to preserve life for our children, something most mothers understand very well. Since wisdom is usually something that comes with age, it will stand you in good stead to listen to your elders. Not to obey blindly, for each has their own wisdom. But you will find that respect for life is a universal wisdom.

I would strongly recommend that you read the chapter on Transforming Culture Through Politics in Thom Hartmann's book The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight. This chapter makes one doubt if many of our world governments really have humanity's best interests at heart for the long term, or is it all about short-term gain?

Now, the question I have been waiting to ask in this book:

IF YOU THEN ARRIVE AT THE REALISATION THAT YOU ARE PART OF THE-ALL-THAT-IS, THE ENERGY THAT CREATES EVERYTHING. IF YOU REALISE THAT YOU ARE AS MUCH PART OF LIFE AS THE NEXT PERSON. IF YOU REALISE THAT PLANTS AND ANIMALS AND INANIMATE OBJECTS LIKE TREES ARE PART OF CREATION JUST LIKE YOU ARE,

...then it is impossible to have an attitude of something-or-someone-will-save-us-sometime? Or is it? Being your own highest authority does not leave space for such an assumption. We are our own saviours – that is what we are supposed to realise. If we see the world as our own (and since we are part of Creation, then there is no other way to see it) and belonging to everybody, then we will be able to find lasting solutions and not just quick fixes.

Deciding who you are eventually creates who you are.

**Let's talk about those sparkly things – the baubles and attractive shineys in life. Those situations we think we cannot live without. There are, of course, many, but here are just a few I think pertinent that I have assembled with the help of a certain house cat in mind:

The want and need of being loved

Everybody wants to be loved, even the house cat, but if you seek love too hard, it will avoid you. Do not let another's love become your primary reason for living; for if it does, when that love fades you become an empty vessel, because all that you were by yourself has now vanished. Some people bargain on that and suck the love right out of you so that they can control you.

The want and need to be admired

Let's be honest, everybody likes to be complimented and to receive a little admiration, particularly the house cat. The catch here is not to become addicted to receiving admiration, for it becomes like a powerful drug, a drug that will eventually lead to your demise if not brought under control. Handling fame and fortune is no joke. It is a dizzying aphrodisiac. We need no better examples of this than some of our world's own rising young pop stars. Too much power too soon is detrimental – some might even say that some people (like some politicians) should never have been exposed to overflowing amounts of power in the first place. It is like wearing a wedding dress that resembles a meringue tart on the verge of exploding – too much tulle and lace and things that create puff to be able to withstand the breeze.

The danger of growing accustomed to your own power of magnetism is an ugly truth. Confidence is a wonderful thing, but being pushy is just plain bad sport, old bean.

The want and need to be emotionally accepted

I am not so sure about the house cat, but just think of a cat's face after you have dunked it in water – that look of "I look like a drowned rat – how could you...". In fact, I think a cat generally has far less need of emotional acceptance than most humans. Emotional manipulation is rife in our society. It's everywhere, in houses of parliament, marriages, friendships and economics.

But a worse trait is the persons who cannot stand up for themselves, because they live by the need to be accepted, or part of the in crowd. Honestly, people have killed themselves over not being accepted.

The need to be busy

Now, here the house kitty is definitely not part of the equation. The need to show others that we are "oh so terribly busy, the week has just been horrendous" is a very real problem within our world. Think about it, how many marriages and / or friendships have been pushed too far because of "being too busy"? The need to prove ourselves to others as hard working maniacs has become a true real life tragedy. "Shaaame, are you OK?" has become a very sought after phrase.

The trap of self-importance

The kitty's aura is now shining brightly upon us. Oooooooh, this is a sneaky trap, one that you can very easily fall into. When you think that you know more than others – honey-child, take off the tiara! A whole world of wisdom will open to you if you simply listen to others – make a conscious effort to listen to people, even if you do not agree with what they have to say, you will still have gained the wisdom of respecting another's opinion.

I found that many people in power (take for example your boss) would force down authority by creating fear and making their employees feel small and unimportant. This is a very trendy fashion and can lead to riches for the boss and obedience from the employees. But has this led to any form of real respect for the boss or from the boss? The question is not one of who is right or wrong and are we going to strike or burn the office complex down? No, the question that interests The-All-That-Is, is whether we, as humanity, will find a solution to the trap of self-importance. The solution literally lies in viewing everybody and everything with respect and, in the process, realising your own authority as an individual and part of The-All-That-Is.

Which leads us to the glamorous attraction of good intentions

The cat is sleeping (again).

Bringing over a homemade chicken pie to your new neighbours, just so you can size them up and scope out their make of car and hopefully the furnishings to see how they measure up to fashion standards and where they thus stand on the earning ladder, is not part of good intentions whichever way you look at it. You cannot make your intentions good either.

To use good intentions as a ruse to get what you want is tantamount to emotional blackmail. It's like being a good church-going boy or girl, but slam-dunking the reputation of others for the rest of the week.

The comfort of harmony

The cat looks so peaceful, like a fuzz ball atop a marshmallow. Peace and harmony; that is what we all desire. The catch comes in, of course, in all the different ideas about how to achieve that. Harmony, to many, is just to achieve personal comfort and give money to some charity somewhere.

Yes, it is true that harmony and peace is first achieved within yourself.

If life on earth was structured in the way that most of humanity was running around like 'droids, fulfilling every command from the hierarchy sitting somewhere high on a mountain in a plush air-conditioned building, wouldn't life be grand? No conflicts, no violence, only birthday cake all around. Wouldn't life be pointless?

Real harmony and peace lie within compassion for one another.

One can always identify a false sense of harmony when it is used with the objective of imposing righteousness.

Just as you may become enthralled at the lure of materiality (the next best Merc or the latest party frock, etc.), you can be lured into a false sense of security by the attractiveness of intuition and psychic ability:

(The cat is still sleeping, but opened one eye to make sure I am not about to pester her – adding a glare of ominous proportions for good measure.)

This ties in with becoming obsessed with your physical body or mysteries and secrets and the obsession of devotion. Giving your inner power away is all that would be achieved here. The moral of the story is that someone who knows who they are and made a place for themselves to fit in, will be able to catch the lures in life and let them go.

Now don't go and hide and retract from society – although it is sometimes beneficial to ensconce yourself in silence to ponder over things and get clarity about certain situations, just remember, for example, that Jesus did not spend his days dwelling in a cave.

That's it. The cat has left – her work is done.

Oh, and PS – Spirit does not indulge in small talk either.

20 - THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PRISMS

The only way I can write the following section is to make use of some esoteric concepts and symbolic talk, or what might seem so. After completion of the first draft of this book, I was asked to expand on the concept of viewing our lives through multifaceted insights and to write truthfully about what I perceive to be my truth:

Insights into new paths are to liken it to the concept of viewing through both sides of the prism of the universe. To view life in this way is, for us, no more than seeing life from both a feminine and masculine perspective (not male and female). This viewpoint will allow you to walk past the general orthodoxy of and in our human culture.

There are many ways in which Life can coach you outside of the usual parameters of thinking; the one I have been given / chosen, before coming onto the Earth plane, was the one of being able to perceive life through this duality of a feminine-masculine perception, simultaneously.

Let us talk about the 'root' of all truth

The truth is perceived in many ways; however, the base or root is the underlying foundation on which logic and other points of the conscious mind are built. The root is beyond all - the point of God where We and It are connected.

The Face of God has many different forms and is not stuck in one interpretation in any one way. Being able to see through part of the Prisms of God or Reality is an insight that is lost to many, regardless of culture, sexual persuasion, race or status.

To explain this one particular way of finding and understanding The Answer, I must explain, firstly, the path to it:

The ability to find the root is a gift and will, in all probability, become easier for more and more people as our concept of time passes along. It is, however, still not the easiest thing to do in a world in which rational nitpicking has engulfed our senses and numbed out perceptiveness almost to the point of amputation.

Our paths were laid out before us within the folds of pre-disposition (and not pre-destination, as some would want us to believe), before we were born onto this Earth plane... for reasons that you and God chose, be that it is You, or You and He/She – one or together.

Being able to see both sides of the face of God is a gift innate in all. The question is only if you would want to see life as God.

The Root:

To find that path to the actual Truth point belongs in the journey one takes as an individual. The heartaches of non-conforming (whatever it may be, as differences are only on the surface, the soul beneath is still the same), of hiding and then being free of all, this all contains elements of the Path of Truth as this Life presents Itself to each individuation.

Being who you are, is not about Body/Mind, but only of a particular path to the Infinite, whatever that may be to you, and also any other individual.

Every voice spoken is filled with the essence of God.

If you speak in the voice that was given you, you will speak your Truth.

Viewing life through a masculine-feminine lens at the same time can be likened to the following esoteric explanation:

Picture it - all around you it is completely dark, bar two lenses positioned in front of you like glasses without a frame, showing you the world. You lean forward and peer through them. The one on the right portrays viewing through the masculine energy and the one on the left, the feminine.

Imagine the scene that you see here as a river mouth, opening into the ocean, on a beach. As one may and can peer through either lens separately, this is what one would perceive:

The masculine side shows you what is visually perceived; a logical interpretation of what is tangible. Thus – the river, ocean, rocks, sand, etc, that make up the beach.

Perceive at this stage also that it is becoming high tide.

The feminine lens shows the same scene, almost showing up like a digital display. It also shows the fish in the water and the jagged edges of the rocks beneath the water at the river mouth. Looking through the feminine lens preoccupies the mind with beauty and description, the wanting to know more than that which is on the surface. The masculine lens, on the other hand, is occupied with rational judgment.

Through the masculine lens you can see the rising tide and move away in due time before it makes everything wet and endangers the small children, thus also drawing the feminine out of possible harm, who takes with her the children and all their towels and paraphernalia. The feminine lens also sees the lovely shells that the rising tide is spitting out and shows it to the children.

The trick is to look through both lenses at the same time. That accomplishment will make life a lot clearer. What you may or may not realise, is that all humans have both masculine and feminine energy within them. The goal here is to tune into that part of you that holds the other lens. Any one sex (male/female) will have more of their own energy than their sexual counterpart and also a portion of that opposite energy within themselves. The reason for this is that we may be able to perform what is known as intelligent co-operation.

Let me explain:

The nature of the feminine is to bring forth fragments of the unknown, which the masculine then makes practical upon the physical plane. For it is within the male's ability to reason out what the female has intuited. This is intelligent co-operation viewed through the prism of human duality.

To truly grasp the unknown you cannot be cemented in rationality, and thus no true female can be completely rational. To truly understand the unknown you must become an observer of it. The doing is left to the true male. The true female is not really that apt for the doing just as the true male is not really apt for the observing.

Let us look at a practical example:

As Peter sat down (coming home after work), he started telling his wife, Hanna, that, as he was driving home, he was wondering about his old friend John, and that he has not heard from him in a while. Hanna replies that John is probably still busy with his new business venture. Hanna, inexplicably, then proceeds to tell her husband about the fact that she had to rescue their pet hamster, who had jumped out of its cage when she was cleaning it (something the hamster had never done before) from certain death-by-cat-lunch.

Now, on the face of it, it seems that Hanna is uncaring about John, but Peter knows that she isn't. Peter then also starts to think about his friend's business.

Following the nudges of intelligent co-operation, Peter telephones John.

John is fine and also informs Peter that his business partner had tried to scam him, and were it not for adhering to the intuitive warnings of his female accountant, he would have been in serious financial trouble and possibly have become vulnerable to a hostile take over of his company.

If both Peter and John had ignored the feminine observer here, both of them would have been poorer for it. Not only did both Peter and John listen to their feminine counterparts, but also then to their own feminine observer within.

You can only learn to use this inner counterpart by learning to work with your outer counterpart as a mirror.

The men in the above story were only able to honestly hear the females in their lives by listening to their own feminine sides and then acting upon it – the doing aspect. The exact same goes for women to listen to and respect their inner males.

It is not about becoming a 50/50 man-woman; that is not the intention. The intention, on Earth, is for intelligent co-operation. It is within our duality in physicality for humans to achieve this intelligent co-operation; that homosexuality has manifested (or tried to) since time immemorial, as a pre-disposition, for some, who choose it before they are born onto the Earth plane.

True creation lies within the merging of the masculine and feminine energies.

(Note: To be too spiritual to be of any earthly good or to be too earthly for any spiritual good is not judged by Spirit – and is also of little use, as no one lens means much on its own, but combined they allow for intelligent co-operation.)

***

It is now almost two months after completion of the writing of this book and I have decided it's time to write the ending.

There are things in this book that you might not agree with, but if you have finished it anyway, you can now assimilate all of the information presented in your own mind and evaluate it as to what level of significance it holds for you. Completing the reading of this book is not a feather in my cap, finishing this book is simply a beginning of enquiry.

The process of getting this book out has produced in me exaltations of joy and tears of frustration; and yet it is a child born of the Universe of which I am a vessel - just as you are.

If you do not feel it necessary in any way to read up on some of the opinions and information given in the literary works and/or websites I have listed within the former pages; that is also perfectly fine. A golden rule of life is also to keep things as simple as possible. Just realise, that to recognise this simplicity, it is often beneficial to have experienced its opposite; otherwise how would you know? In New Age terms this would include the knowledge gained in your psyche from what is termed as your previous lives – truthfully, though, they are your concurrent lives which one perceives as past, because of our recognition of linear time.

When you bite into or drink something that has an unpleasant taste for you, you would automatically want to stop consuming it. The goal of this book is to have people connect with whom they really are and to realise what they are a part of – and this is universal creation energy. This book is about learning to trust this energy in all things in life, whether it is buying a new house or car or deciding whether to take that new job. The process of learning about this energy is one whereby you inform yourself and through that you can realise it as your self (Higher-Self) guiding you. Learning to trust a guidance system that nudges you as to what is best for your development as a Divine being in Human form is not for everyone, as there are people who fear true love and true freedom. It is a belief structure that requires nothing and yet, from our human viewpoint, requires total dedication to allow every other human being to decide for themselves, from the perspective that all humans are one and thus create the world we live in. Humanity, as a whole, is part of a consciousness that inexplicably will provide you with guidance in the form of feelings and also in the actions and words of your fellow human beings. We are all part of this everlasting and all-pervading consciousness, whether we would want to believe it or not, since we all have choice.

What exactly lies beyond our human form, I don't think anybody could rightly say, but that there is a living force guiding you, is a belief structure that will lead to peace, understanding and compassion in our world, regardless of your religion or culture.

To learn to listen to your feelings does not happen overnight, but, once achieved, brings you to the realisation that you are your own highest authority and that we are our own highest authority on this Earth. This leads to the realisation that Humanity, as a whole, creates what it has realised.

The Holy Mind is a vessel complete with all knowledge and also never full as it seeks to experience itself in everything. One can only understand and grasp both these concepts at the same time through the ultimate compromise that both statements are true.

The paradox of our existence is that our world of illusion is the only way that The Light can be revealed to us.

Weave music into your soul and remember that to ultimately better our world, you have to be the greatest love of your life; only then will you realise your own authority as a Godly individuation and our authority as a Godly whole.

There is no love more supreme than the love you hold for yourself

(...within all the facets and faculties that make up you and all that is you and us).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Listed in this bibliography are only those books directly quoted from and/or used for specific research purposes in the writing of Realising Your Authority.

Books are listed in no particular order...

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight

The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late

Revised and updated

By Thom Hartman

The Kryon series

Book 1 -> 10

1) The End Times

2) Don't think like a Human

3) Alchemy of the Human Spirit

4) The Parables of Kryon

5) The Journey Home

6) Partnering with God

7) Letters from Home

8) Passing the Marker

9) The New Beginning

10) A New Dispensation

Co-authored by Lee Carrol

An Indigo Celebration

More Messages, Stories and Insights from the Indigo Children

By Lee Carrol and Jan Tober

Bestselling authors of the Indigo Children

Conversations with God

Book 1, 2 and 3

Also:

\- Friendship with God

\- Communion with God

\- Neale Donald Walsch on Abundance and Right Livelihood

\- The New Revelations

\- Tomorrow's God

By Neale Donald Walsch

The Marriage of Spirit

Enlightened Living in Today's World

Return to Oneness

The Seven Keyes of Ascension

By Leslie Temple-Thurston

With Brad Laughlin

How to Know God

The Soul's Journey into the Mystery of Mysteries

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of your Dreams

Based on Creating Affluence

By Deepak Chopra

The Power of Now

Practicing the Power of Now

Essential Teachings, Meditations, and Exercises from The Power of Now

By Eckhart Tolle

Soul Psychology

How to Clear Negative Emotions and Spiritualize your Life

Author of The Complete Ascension Manual

Beyond Ascension

By Josua David Stone, Ph.D.

The Bible

New Translation – First Edition – 1983

Opening to Channel

How to connect with your Guide

By Sanyaya Roman and Duane Packer

Essential Reiki

A Complete Guide to an Ancient Healing Art

By Diane Stein

Living Color

Master Lin Yun's Guide to Feng Shui and the Art of Color

From the author of Interior Design with Feng Shui

By Sarah Rossbach and Lin Yun

The Book of Life

Dossier of the Ascension

By Michael Sharp

Anatomy of the Spirit

The Seven Stages of Power and Healing

By Caroline Myss, Ph.D.

Messages from your Angels

By Doreen Virtue, Ph.D.

Eat Right for your Type

By Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo

With Catherine Whitney

A Course in Miracles

Foundation for Inner Peace

Kabbalah for the Layman

Volume 3

By Dr. S. Berg

The Mozart Effect

By Don Campbell

Websites and magazines are listed within the body of the book.

General subjects researched for this book...

Reiki (Energy Healing), Channelling, Meditation, Colour Therapy, Feng Shui, Numerology, Tarot, Mysticism, Esotericism, New Age, Crystal Healing, Flower Remedies, Music Education and Christianity (Religion).

No attempt was intentionally made by the author to advertise any one particular belief system, as this would defeat the purpose of free choice.

The most ecstatic heartache, as a Human, is to know (of) pure and true Love

This is the double edged sword.

Jacques Ractliffe

Jacques Ractliffe was born in December 1971 and raised in Cape Town, South Africa.

Jacques is a Life-Force channeller who actively promotes people to achieve their own highest authority and knowing within their own lives.

'To knowingly put one's innermost thoughts and feelings out there to be judged and interpreted by, not only friends and colleagues, but also strangers is probably one of the scariest things anybody can face – you know, like that dream where you walk naked through the street or amongst your friends and teachers in school; everything hanging out for their looky-see; for herein lies the ultimate judgement of yourself by the rest of humanity.

The truth is that this ultimate judgement is simply superficial and transparent.

The reality of it is that one can only be truly comfortable and honest with oneself if you are irrevocably you.'

December 2012

What is our purpose for existing on this Earth?

To teach ourselves that co-creation is the reflection of our interpretation.

That is what God is here.

I am here to see change in action and not to conform to that which is known.

How about you?

