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Guided meditation

Guided breathing meditation with
Mark Golding
(Mp3, 16:03)

LIVING AWAKE 8

And maybe your mind has gathered somewhat, and your awareness has drawn inwards, journeying towards the inner stillness that dwells within...

That oasis that lies within the mind, beneath the turbulence, aligned with the inner light that always exists behind the clouds... It is always there... Always. A joyful experience of momentary peace that can be extended, moment by moment, into a beautiful inner vacation for minutes... or more... Why let go? Is there something better outside of your mind?

And when the mind has gathered, inwards and inwards, it becomes possible to 'see' thoughts arising through the mind, just like bubbles arising through a glass of fizzy water, and all we have to do, is allow them to pass, without labelling them, identifying them, or following them, and to do this, we focus on the clarity between the thoughts, or the water between the bubbles, just allowing the bubbles to drift by, and drift by...

For, when the bubbles reach the surface of the water, they will dissolve back into the water itself, and so too, the thoughts will dissolve back into the mind, as they are of the same nature as mind... Thoughts are the same nature as mind... They are clarity...

This meditation is called 'the nature of the mind meditation', and you can try it after the breathing meditation below... Allow the thoughts to pass by, and then dissolve back into the nature of mind itself...

You may wish to try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Friday, 3 July 2009

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LIVING AWAKE 7

What is meditation? It is looking into the inner world... Closing your eyes and using a sense of inner vision to gain an insight into what is happening in your mind.

I always start by finding a place of stillness, a place to focus, and I have found the most powerful position to locate the focus is the heart chakra, or the heart centre. This is located at the base of the sternum, and situated within the body, slightly closer to the back of the body than the front.

It is taught in some spiritual traditions that this is the seat or home of the 'root mind', the place where consciousness resides.

When I started my meditation practice I found it difficult to locate and hold my awareness in this position until I realised a small method, a trick really, to be able to focus within the body... What I do is to imagine that a tiny pure gem of clear light has been implanted within my body, at the heart centre, imagining that I can 'feel' this physically within me.

With your eyes closed try this, 'see' and 'feel' what this would feel like, and when you have gained a sense of this, then consider this to be the basis of all experience, all consciousness, and the gathering place of all sense awarenesses... This is where it all meets... And where it all emerges.

And here, at this beautiful location, during meditation, all thoughts gather, and as the senses draw inwards, peace, tranquility and stillness are to be found.

And, this has had a very profound benefit on my life, for so often, as I find myself in a position where I might be close to becoming angry or irritated, or perhaps jealous or impatient, I draw my awareness into my heart chakra and find a place of focus and clarity, which can prevent my mind loosing it's cool... I would far rather stay happy and peaceful... Oh, just a word here, I do have fun and enjoy my life, it's not all serious, but from an inner point of happiness the world becomes a slightly better place, and I am able to add a positive contribution.

As a nun friend said to me once 'be part of the solution, not part of the problem'.

Gain an insight into your mind, take some time to learn what is happening within your mind... Your mind...

You may wish to try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Thursday, 2 July 2009

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LIVING AWAKE 6

By taking aim for the heart centre, it is possible, by closing your eyes and following the inner trajectory to reach a silent and beautiful garden that lies within.

A blissful paradise of your own creation, that will fulfil your wish for stillness and peace, and also permit a manifestation of your desires for creativity and love.

Feel no contradiction, for there is only harmony in this experience, the experience of alignment of desire with the bliss of stillness.

This is a method to awaken the creative healer that resides within you, the natural healing energy that has the power to both heal yourself, and to heal others with your understanding and love.

For your wishes and imagination can combine in a resonance that enable your life to become of your choice, as, you are the creator of your experience. You, your mind, your imagination and your bliss...

At the very centre of your perfect inner glade of beauty flourishes the glorious energy of your creative source, that which brings your thoughts into the world.

For this practice will enable you, as a healed creative, to create an inner environment of focus and direction, leading to the destination of your choice...

One step at a time... Gently...

You may wish to try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Tuesday, 30 June 2009

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LIVING AWAKE 5

What is your reaction to the word 'Abundance'?

I'll tell you my initial reaction - guilt and fear! Yes, there is an aspect of me that feels guilty at even the thought of abundance, it chimes with the thoughts - 'What will I feel if abundance runs out', and 'What if someone sees me enjoying abundance?'...

From your point of view I going to guess that this sounds pretty dumb, and now I write it down myself it seems very dumb to me.

For when I look at what I do have, and what is around me, there is far more that I do have, than what I lack, as, my life is full of abundance. And I feel my life is not so different from yours in this respect.

A physical anxiety based upon the worries of what I do not have may be considered the opposite attitude to that of abundance, so if I can shift my thoughts from what I lack to what I have, I shall reverse that energetic tension, and be able to relax and enjoy what I have, right here, right now.

With my eyes I can see colours, shapes, light, beauty and some mystery... I can hear harmonic and quiet sounds, and passing transient sounds.... I can smell coffee and bread, and I have the taste of demarara sugar and coffee... I am warm, dry and reasonably comfortable... Now then, might I consider that to be a state of abundance?

Hmm, yes, it does seem that way to me... Now, maybe you might ask yourself the same questions of your senses, what do you have, right now, rather than what do you lack right now... And try to sense, try to feel that energetic reversal, a state of accepting the abundance that exists within your life, right now...

And what is more, you can add to that dynamic, that energy flow, by engaging with your mind, and increasing that sense of well-being, by focusing on love... the love you have your family and friends, and those who you care for, this will add to your abundance...

You may wish to try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Monday, 29 June 2009

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LIVING AWAKE 4

Living awake is living with awareness, with all senses alive and vibrant, and the mind alert and aware...

Stop for a minute and check each sense in turn, starting with your sense of touch... Check your feet, your legs, your torso, arm, hands, face and head, and then once each of these is visited, sense your skin all over your body, that which physically connects with the world. There is a lot going on, right now...

Then take the sense of hearing, what can you hear, both quiet and loud, can you identify each sound?

What taste do you have in your mouth, what can you smell, and what can you see... What shapes, which colours, what movement, also light and shade?

Can you do this with each sense simultaneously? Can you still the mind to be aware of the multitude of stimuli and events as each occurs? There is a lot to do.

And then inwards, what are you thinking, with regard to what or whom, and what is the process of thought that is manifesting? This is the most important of these exercises, to try and be aware of what we are thinking as it happens, and this is called watching the mind.

For if we are awake surely we should be able to clearly identify our thoughts, we have grown up with them, but do we know each thought as it arises... For instance are you able to identify when your mind is wandering from one thought to another? Do you notice what is actually going on within the mind or does it appear to be an impossible task... It probably does unless you have tried to notice, or you have 'watched' your mind.

And if you can notice, you may see some habits that infuriate and frustrate you arising, maybe a tendency for impatience, irritation or anxiety, and each of these examples are thoughts that bring discomfort with them, so, it would be sooo nice if they could be avoided, or at the very least reduced, and this can be done, easy peasy...

Sit still for 5 seconds, and then think of a person or situation you really do not like, and sense the change within your mind, and then do it again. This is the mind of anger manifesting, and once noticed awareness of when it arises spontaneously becomes a little easier... Each time, until over time, it seems so loud, the discomfort of anger, that you can choose not to allow to to grow.

Maybe try this after a little meditation, so the mind is still and calm, and the change will be more noticeable... Fancy trying?

You may wish to try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Wednesday, 24 June 2009

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LIVING AWAKE 3

And then... Things have changed... How? Why? It all seems so different today.

It could have been that instead of feeling disenfranchised and disempowered by circumstances, I was able to gain a little objective insight into my situation... And, how did that happen? How could I separate myself sufficiently to do that?

So many questions... One simple answer...

I looked the other way. Instead of looking outwards for solutions to my problems, trying to juggle and manipulate the world to suit me and what I wanted, I turned my focus inwards... And then... The problems became smaller and smaller as I could see that the real issues, the real difficulties, lay within me, not in the world around me.

And the closer I looked, the more subtle and slippery they became, trying to wriggle out of my view... They screamed 'It's not you Mark, it's the rest of the world'... 'Its everyone else's fault that you are not feeling great, and nothing to do with you'. But as my inner focus continued the resistance began to fade, and the realisation revealed a frightened and vulnerable Mark that chose not to see the responsibility was mine, and mine alone..

I guess this might sound a bit of a painful process, and it is, but for me it is a necessary process, to keep re-visiting the root of all my issues, the root of all my problems and mental unease, the aspect of my own mind that tries to deflect the cause my issues onto others.

But like diving into a turbulent sea, as one dives deeper and deeper, the water grows still and calm, and a peace and tranquility is found, and from the new position, below the choppy and disturbed surface, a perspective is gained, from a still and silent aspect, with a clarity born from the separation from surface disturbance, and here, from this point, I am free from those aspects of my mind that trouble and torment me... Well, sometimes, it ain't always that bad...

So, an inner journey, to a point of peace... Looking inwards... Have a dive, deep into the mind by practicing meditation.

You may wish to try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Monday, 22 June 2009

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LIVING AWAKE 2

I wonder how long I have been asleep this time? Lethargy and inertia can creep up, in fact that is the nature of their approach... They do creep up.

Like a drowsy head on a pillow, the light begins to fade, the senses gather inwards and as we fall asleep our waking world ceases for us.

But, this can happen in our everyday waking life too, as circumstances shift around us, and all appears to be slipping from our grasp and control, it can so easily happen that our sense of direction, focus and, dare I say it, control begins to slip.

The goals, wishes and dreams we held begin to lose their magic and possibility, and as the light of hope begins to fade, we contribute to this process by sinking towards lethargy.... Do you know this?

A gathering inwards, a cyclic implosion of energy and desire, slowly reducing vision, hope and energy... Do you know this?

So, for me, what was the key, what was the step that that both served to wake me up and re-ignite my spark? It was a reversal of my polarity, yes, a reversal of polarity, and a reversal of my dynamic energy flow.

This may seem like an abstract and difficult proposition to undertake, but there is a very simple method to shift the directional flow of life, and the basic tool is the breath, the breath with which we are both completely familiar with but also virtually unaware of...

The breath has unique qualities and relationships with the mind, with our health and our sense of happiness and with our well-being. The three components of the breath comprise inhalation, retention and exhalation, and for each of these components, when smoothly and harmoniously synchronised, attributes can be considered and utilised to transform the breathing process into a powerful and transformative healing process.

One method of using the breath to transform our state of mind is here, below within the meditation...

You may wish to try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Friday, 19 June 2009

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LIVING AWAKE 1

I have been pondering... How do things happen? And what influence can we have on our life, our experience and our future?

There are, I think, a combination of elements that comprise our experience, that can be examined individually, and through close examination it may be possible to create positive outcomes to our intentions... This I feel, must be understood as being part of an ongoing sequence or pattern of events, that generally occur unnoticed in the melee of life.

To be able to focus on the componentry of experience, I find it necessary to still my mind and gain focus from an inner still point, and this I do by practicing a simple meditation.

You may wish to try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

I am particularly interested in the creative process... How inspiration arises and its source, and then the process by which what is internally manifest within the mind translates into the externally manifest... When our thoughts can be seen by others.

This process does occur all the time, but it does tend to pass unnoticed, and is often overlooked as the product of some external force.... 'It just happened'... But this is not the case. We play a pivotal role in what occurs in our life.

It is an aspect of living awake, or conscious living, realising that we inhabit the driving seat of our life and have the capacity and ability to alter our experience of life.

I have developed a series of 31 progressive steps in this process which I will publish over the next couple of months... A pathway to creative expression and understanding

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Thursday, 18 June 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 72

After the storm, all appears peaceful...

When turbulence hits, orientation and centering become difficult, and perhaps impossible. It is so confusing to lose the familiar placing of our lives, where we have familiarity and a perspective upon our vista.

When the turbulence arrives it can begin to rock the world, shifting our regular view of the world, and creating fear, unfamiliarity and a lack of perspective... But this can have a value, as it does offer the opportunity to gain insights into the broader aspect of our lives that may have hitherto remained obscurred.

The process can be exhausting and fearful, as the expectations of the past are shifted and changed, forcefully, into new expectations and realisations... And it is the new realisations that are the most potent and creative aspects of growth.

So, it can be good to refind a new centre after this experience, to gravitate once again. The inner destination is the same, but the pathway to locate it is altered somewhat, but all paths, meditation paths, lead to the same inner peace... It is there, in the same place but the route to locate the peace has altered somewhat.

Time to look inwards for peace and contentment, a 20 minute journey, leaving the storm behind, a memory, but a chance to learn... Inner peace, lies within...

Try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Monday, 15 June 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 71

I hit a low this morning, and cried like I have not cried in years... I wanted to run away, hide and escape from the world... It had all gotten too much for me.

It felt like failure, and I felt humiliated, crushed by the burden of my own expectations of myself... This was exacerbated by the sense of withering pressure as a result of my failing to heed my own advice... I mean, I knew what to do, had all the methods available, and systems ready, but they were, at that time, of no use, and I can say that knowing that I could, and should find my way out of my situation actually made the situation feel more acute and desperate.

Like a double failure. Ouch. Ouch... And hours later I feel exhausted and weary, as if I have had a major battle... And no wonder, for I have - have had a major battle with my pride.

Boy, because now, as time has passed, I can see that pride was the element of mind that was being exposed, poked, tormented and niggled. Such a subtle aspect, pride.. that which falsely imagines an elevated sense of self-importance, and that which over time works in its quiet and unobtrusive manner to isolate the sense of connectivity and empathy that others have for me, in the foolish misunderstanding that it is all one way traffic, and no-one cares for me, and that all the caring and responsibility lies with me.

And this is pride, a rather mutated aspect of pride, thinking that I alone represent the loving and caring of this world... It has been a tough and bitter pill to swallow, but it is a release now, a freedom from the prison of pride...

And I'll tell you, this was not easy to write... But, I'm smiling now I have.

Friday, 12 June 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 70

Where do you feel safe? Is it at home, is it when you are with others, when you are alone or when you are in bed? And what is the feeling of safety?

Safety is when I perceive no threat, when my imagined or actual security are not threatened... It is quite easy to recognise when my actual safety is threatened, by hostility or pressure, but the internal sense of safety is far more subtle and possible more elusive.

As, an inner sense of safety depends upon an imagination that perceives no threat, and a lack of inner safety is that which is reliant upon a (very often) non-existent threat.

We call these inner fears anxiety or worry and these are potentially the most damaging experiences we can have. The mechanics of anxiety are when the mind isolates and magnifies an event that has not yet occurred, and this distortion tends to create an inner feedback loop that it is often impossible to break.

As the mind spirals inwards, the physical functions of the body also have a tendency to reverse in flow, so our internal systems of digestion and breathing will distort, and the muscles will tense and slowly lock....

Safety lies beneath the physical, and dwells within the mind, closely allied to inner peace, and this can be manifest, at any time by taking action... By changing the way we are thinking... A matter of abandoning the present thought pattern and shifting to a calming thought process... This can take 15 or 20 minutes, to reverse the direction and flow, rather like turning round a large ship that has a momentum to be slowed down to be turned.

But, it is merely a process, and a process that does work. Anxiety, worry and fear can cease within 20 minutes, and safety and peace will be found.

I can guarantee this will work, and you will have found peace, a sense of safety and a respite from fear.

Try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Tuesday, 9 June 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 69

There does come a time when we want to be heard... We need to be listened to, to get our point across, and it is frustrating when we are not listened to...

Why don't you listen to me?

You are not paying attention, so I WILL SHOUT... THEN YOU WILL HEAR ME...

The option to shout does seem the logical way to be heard, but it does not work... When we shout people can hear, but they do not listen, and really communication is about being listened to...

And I am going to suggest an experiment... The next time you are engaged in a chat, a discussion or a row, you lower your voice... You begin to speak quietly, and I mean speak really softly and really quietly.

The effect will be remarkable... Really! The person you are 'talking' with will firstly ask you to repeat yourself, and will also disassociate from their thread of thought and interrupt their flow, allowing you to convey your point.

The more quietly you speak, the more others will listen, and when they listen, they hear your message, clearly, and this process of listening enables and facilitates your listener to dis-engage from the anger...

Now, please don't think that this is a provocative act, or a method of wrong-footing your friend, partner or rival, consider it to be an action of consideration, to relieve the tension of the moment.

The quieter you speak, the more others have to listen... Be softly spoken, patient, and do no rush to find an answer, as sometimes a momentary pause can also facilitate a relaxation of the tension of the moment.

This really does work, it is a very powerful method of communication... Start with a day of no shouting!

And always remember that peace, serenity and joy are only a thought away...

Try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Monday, 8 June 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 68

What level of provocation creates a harsh response? How loudly must someone shout at you, or vehemently criticise you for you to snap back in anger... What or where is your cut off point? Or does it vary from person to person... Do some people know how to 'push your buttons'?

Yes, I know a couple of people who seem to know exactly how to find their way to my vulnerable entry points, and then proceed to boot the door down.. Ouch.

Funny really, as they have used the same methods and tactics for years, maybe inadvertently, but effective nonetheless... I wonder why the methods are still so effective.. Is it because they are so experienced at understanding me and my vulnerabilities, and that they are really cute, shrewd and clever... Or is it that I am a little dumb?

Not going into self humiliation mode, but honestly.. If I have not gained a basic understanding of what angers me, at my age, 53... Well if that is the case I'd better start to understand.. Hadn't I...

If I react in a manner that has caused me irritation and anger on many occasions, it might be time for me to change my reaction, by becoming aware of the point of reaction coming (I should recognise the signs by now), and affecting a different response this time... If the enemy's attack has proved so effective so many times is it not time to see clearly his methodology?

A tad long winded here, but if someone in your life has irritated you for days, weeks, months, years or even decades, and you have tried a billion times to change them, perhaps, just perhaps, it is time not to change them, but to change something else... Your mind.

See the approach, the provocation, the needling as an opportunity to watch the barometer of your mind, to see it slowly (or quickly) reach boiling point... In this way they can be viewed as a friend, not an enemy.... And I am going to guess here, that the enemy we are talking about here may well have been the closest person to you in this world... Our nearest... Your nearest...

Enter meditation and then visualise the conditions that usually provoke your strongest angry response, and in these 'controlled conditions' you will be able to dip in and out of anger with a degree of objectivity to your observation... It can become a light exercise to train to respond in a new, and more effective manner.

Try love as a the means to communicate, instead of anger...

Try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Thursday, 4 June 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 67

I'm going to try to open out this moment, this moment in which we exist... The now, or 'The Eternal Now'...

For, we do not live in the future, and we do not live in the past... We live solely in the present.

When we do reach the future is has then become the present...

We stretch and strain into the future, often trying to pass our anxieties through our bodies, attempting to breach the barrier of physicality, and this effort, this force, can confine and increase the density of our body, through restricting flow...

It can seem that the more we strain the more likely we will achieve our future aims, by sheer effort.

But so often it happens that things do occur, when they are ready, seemingly without our current input, just like a gardener who after sowing his seeds, can turn away allowing the plants to appear without any further effort.

This ebb and flow, applying gentle effort and then relaxing, is so close to our breathing process, and this dynamic, when considered, as now, releases tension and allows the present to be enjoyed in the manner in which it exists...

For within the present exists a vast, infinite panorama of awareness, within which we can choose, in this present moment, either to be content or discontent, happy or unhappy, angry or patient... The list is long...

The more familiar we become with the present moment the more it will seem a friend, and less of an enemy from whom we are trying to wriggle and writhe away from, and the discomfort we so often feel within our bodes will subside, as we will not be at war within our bodies, our environment, and our world.

We will know peace within the present moment....

Try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Tuesday, 2 June 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 66

Can you recall the happiest moment of your life? The time at which you were not necessarily elated, but you experienced a profound contentment, peace and satisfaction.

When happiness was all you experienced, and sadness, confusion, anger and fear were nowhere to be seen... Maybe this lasted a week or so, or maybe just for a few minutes, but I'm expecting you to be able to recall that time... A time with no troubles at all.

And at that time it would have been impossible to feel any negative experience as my mind had no space, no room for anything other than peace, joy and contentment... I personally recall a two week period, spent in the Lake District, camping when it seemed absolutely impossible that my new found happiness would ever recede.

It was like stepping into a new world that had hitherto been hidden from my view. So, anyway... You too have had this experience, I know you have.... And how can we recapture it, re-find it, and live it?

It is a matter of eliminating the obstacles that hinder our peace, obscure our happiness and conceal our joy, rather like allowing the sun to penetrate the clouds allowing the warmth and light into the world.

And just as the wind can part the clouds, so the use of the breath, the inhalation and the exhalation of our lives, when aligned with the mind, can open the mind to the peace and contentment that lies within.

Aligning the breath with the mind, and the mind with the breath, using breathing meditations is a simple and certain way to find your inner peace, and once found again, can become a new basis upon which daily life can be based.

Regular and gentle practice will bring your mind, once again, to where you wish it to be... If you can remember it, it still exist within your mind!

Try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/spiritualorganic.php ...

Monday, 1 June 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 65

On a warm and sunny Sunday, those who have some space and time to appreciate and access some peace of mind have a beautiful opportunity.

This once a week situation that allows the normal busyness and often frantic pace of life is a window, a window that shows how life might be if we had the appropriate circumstances... Maybe less to do, maybe more time for ourselves, maybe the opportunity to do as we wish.

This window also offers an opportunity to see how the world, and our lives might be, if we had the peace of mind to be able to appreciate our circumstances. It is a little like a meditation upon how life should be, if only...

If only we could take this Sunday feeling, and transpose it into our Monday, replacing the Monday syndrome with a Sunday feeling.

There is a way, that will perhaps enable this... Take an internal photograph of your current peace of mind, or 'bookmark' the page of internal circumstances, and thereby be able to re-create them tomorrow morning.

You cannot take Sunday into Monday, but you can, by simply recalling the Sunday feeling remember, and therefore re-visit that which you experience now.

It really is that simple, it is just a matter of remembering, and then enjoying and maintaining this peace.

You can highlight, and more clearly define your peace of mind, by looking deep inside for 20 minutes... It will help bring Sundays into Mondays... And maybe even Tuesday..

Try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... By clicking this link... http://www.achome.co.uk/theorganichome/assets/meditation.mp3 ...This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

For further daily meditations, click this link... DAILY MEDITATIONS...

Sunday, 31 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 64

As the generations pass, what legacy, what gifts do we offer to the children?

We aim to create a world that is better than the world we grew up in, making choices that we hope will benefit our children, enabling creativity, diversity, communication and growth, as we all wish for, without exception, is for our children to lead happy and fulfilled lives, as this gives us a sense of understanding and meaning to our lives.

What might be the greatest gift we can offer? There will be many answers to that question, but I may suggest that if we can share an understanding of inner peace and contentment with our children, this will be one of the greatest assets to carry them through life... As life does bring so many events, both welcome and unwelcome, expected and unexpected and a self of inner balance will reduce anguish and fear...

The way we are with our children indicates the desires and wishes we have for ourselves, as we wish the best for them, and though we may have forgotten this, or ceased to believe it, we too used to live in a world where the perfect was achievable... And, it still is.

Whatever the external circumstances, we always have an option as to how we respond, and what we allow to grow within our minds driving our emotions will be in direct relationship the extent we either maintain or abandon our inner peace.

So with our children, and the profound sense of peace and contentment they help us to re-find, we can grow together, sharing the responsibility of jointly creating a better world, for them, for you and for me.

Maybe consider becoming more familiar with your inner peace, by allowing it to become one of your closest friends, by sitting and becoming friends, allowing a beautiful meeting to occur, of peace, mind and body...

Try this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Friday, 29 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 63

Following my path through life it can become so easy for me to forget my focus and begin to coast a little... Though keeping my eye on the goal, I tend to begin to drift away from the pure ideas and slip into a more lax and slack mode.

I was so lucky to today to be contacted by a friend who asked me, in no uncertain terms, as to what my goals actually are, my goals in terms of writing this blog.

It made me sit up and re-visit my original intention, and then again, re-clarify and update what it is I mean to achieve...

For those of you who may read these words, I can tell you that I studied and practiced meditation, as a virtually full time occupation for around 12 years, leading a life of reasonable quiet contemplation, looking into my own mind, learning an understanding of the relationship between my mind, my body, and the world I inhabit.

This time taught me that the circumstances I could create within my mind had a knock-on effect in the world, and that the more peaceful, calm and happy I became, the easier the world seemed to react to me, and this also had an additional effect of easing the minds of those with whom I met.

At first my training was difficult for me, as I was self-centred, selfish, greedy, irritable and not such a pleasant man to be around, but over time my mind-set changed and the attitudes I used to foster began to slip away, and a more positive, joyful and compassionate began to manifest...

I used to teach regularly, in the North of England and also in Sussex, maybe sharing with groups of 10 - 30 people. And it occurred to me that the methods I had learned were of so much value to me in my life that I should try to communicate to a larger audience, and to that end I created this website, as a vehicle to communicate... To an increasing audience, from all over this world, sharing with people I would never have otherwise have met.

Having to earn a living, I based The Organic Home, a green, organic and ecological site around this basis, thinking that the more open hearted people were often associated with the green, organic and ethical movements. I do still teach meditation however, once a week in the local hospital where I am also a volunteer chaplain, and I intend to establish a meditation group, here, close to my new home.

As a result I have net so many amazing and powerful people from all over this world, and have learned so much about ecology, recycling, organic and sustainability... So I have been taught, as I teach, and Samantha says to me 'We are all teachers, and we are all students'.

This journey that opens up new doors for me, every single day, is rewarding and often extremely challenging , but it is progressive and developmental, so, I learn and I grow.

This attitude has carried me through so much of my life, understanding that things do not have to remain the way they are now, and that I can offer something to alter the world, and most importantly that change does occur, but often so quietly and imperceptibly I do not see it happening... But change, growth and development are there, for me and for you, and all we have to do is take the first step, and then just keep allowing our forward movement to continue...

Just take the first step and then gently continue along the path, one step in front of another, and you will, yes you will, reach your destination... It is said, 'that a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step'.

For me this has been an inward journey initially, to see what lies beneath the turbulence of everyday life and the emotional rollercoaster of experience, and this journey began, not with a single step, but but sitting still, closing my eyes, and seeking inner peace..

You may wish to venture inwards too.

By, trying this short meditation here, relaxing, settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Thursday, 28 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 62

The journey we take through life, the complex and often strange events that comprise our experience, the ever unfolding passage of time, with both its unexpected and challenging, and its beautiful and amazing events that we witness, of birth and death, abundance and scarcity, joy and sadness, health and sickness... Each of us experiences these events, common experiences to all of us, without exception.

Whether these events create inordinate joy or suffering to us when they arise depends upon how we either accept or deny them. In other words, how we react to circumstances.

Is it possible to smile in adversity, and, actually mean it? Can it be that when someone really irritates me, comes right up to my face and provokes me, that I can remain unmoved towards anger against them?

Well, yes it is possible, but it will take a little practice and experience to maintain this in the face of adversity... Just like learning to balance and ride a bike, not easy at first, but soon we gain confidence, balance and proficiency.

It is best to learn this practice in gentle surroundings, gaining familiarity with what it is we are seeking to maintain... In this case our inner peace.

Take 20 mintues to familiarise yourself with what it is you really like within your mind, get to know it as a friend!

Try this short meditation here, settle down and sit still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Tuesday, 26 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 61

The elusive butterfly of inner peace. Look to hard at it and it is frightened away, ignore it and it is gone. Hold it too firmly is will be crushed, and hold it too loosely and it will slip through your fingers.

So, maybe we need another way of creating circumstances to maintain inner peace, once we have found it, is to entice it to stay, and encourage it to stay... A butterfly will stay as long as it feels safe, and as long as it is being nourished and stimulated, and in this way, our delicate and vulnerable sense of inner peace needs to be treated in a similar manner.

The elusive butterfly, the inner peace we seek, will choose to remain in a mind that has love, compassion, wisdom or patience uppermost, so to ensure that inner peace stays close by, and does not flit away too far, try to maintain a mind that wishes well towards others. The nectar that such a mind produces will cause the butterfly of inner peace to wish to remain close to such a bountiful and blissful source of nourishment...

Keeping anger, irritation and resentment at bay will prevent the butterfly being crushed or damaged, the light openness of such a happy mind will prevent the mind closing in, and trying to prevent an over excitement will facilitate the butterfly being gently held in one space...

Firstly however, we need to find inner peace, and get to know it a little better, as a friend who is welcome at any time, any time at all.. It is time to get to know this gentle and beautiful butterfly.

Try this short meditation here, settle down and sit still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Sunday, 24 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 60

The stillness of mind, the inner peace we seek, that we ALL seek exists already within the mind.

It does not have to be created at all, as you have it right now within your mind. It does however have to be found, located, identified and recognised.

It can, at first attempt, appear to be as elusive as catching a butterfly in a tornado, and without harming the butterfly, and once caught in our hands, not squeezing too tightly (as this will crush the butterfly) or relaxing our grip too much (as the butterfly will escape)... So not an easy task..

But should we be lucky enough to be able to watch and learn from someone who has learned many ways to do this the process becomes simpler, a bit like attending a master class... The methods I share here are the methods taught to me by a master meditator, and these, his methods, do work.

So, let go now of the image of trying to catch the butterfly, and allow the butterfly to find its way to settle in your mind, maybe by visualising it landing at your heart centre, on a tiny, tiny flower that is open and receptive... Invite the butterfly to land, and to rest...

You can try this visualisation at the end of the following meditation... And enoy it...

A short meditation here, settle down and sit still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Saturday, 23 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 59

Deep within the mind, below the surface turbulence, lies a depth of infinite profundity... Yes, within your mind that has just been stimulated by that thought...

The surface waters may be choppy, stormy even, but deep within the ocean, the water lies still and quiet. This inner world, the inner space we tend to overlook, carries as many mysteries and wonders as the universe.

Hubble, having just been adapted and repaired has new capacities to look further into space than ever before, and NASA have been developing their programme for about 50 years, and the history of astronomy is hmmmmm, well with telescopes, a few hundred years?

The history of meditation is recorded back at least 5 thousand years, and the refinement and development of the methodology has been proven to be both efficacious and powerful... It works, it has been tried and tested. The infinite depths of the mind have been explored and understood.

In 4500 years we can expect that the mysteries of the universe will be revealed and understood.... Well, possibly...

Anyway, the supreme inner peace and contentment, that I speak of so frequently does exist, with your mind and within my mind... I can say this as I have glimpsed into the depths and had experiential insights into the peace that lies within... Like the astronomer who can see with his eyes and then experience, understand and interpret what it is he is seeing... His training has aligned his mind to be able to understand what it is he is seeing.

The sense of inner peace, serenity, stillness, calm and tranquility is supreme and profound, and as beautiful, spectacular and mesmerising as the Hubble images... I cannot publish images of inner peace to show you unfortunately, but I can show you how to find it yourself...

This can be done by using the breathing practice called 'Black and White Breathing', which can be found by practicing the short meditation here, and settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Friday, 22 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 58

Whatever is going on in our mind can be seen and felt by others... We tend to hope this is not the case though...

We hope that our state of mind is not visible, and spend years and years perfecting the techniques of concealment, generally to protect other's from our fears...

But, this method of concealment can precipitate a feedback loop, whereby we can begin to believe that all is well within ourselves, (as we can just about manage the situation), and this can begin a tightening and inward compression of the fears and worries that are occurring within the mind.

This can become, over time, a dense knot of anxiety, fear, doubt and worry that lies at our very heart centre, ever constricting, yet ever externally denied by our controlled body language.

This can be quite damaging and destructive over time, and the tightness and tension that is used to hold these emotions inwards begin to tighten and constrict our physical bodies too, and we become, literally... tense.

The physical manifestation of the tension creates illness and dis-ease within our bodies through the tightening and constriction of the bodies flow and movements... The flow of blood around the body, the digestive system, our breathing, and the subtle energy flow within the body... Each of these can be hampered b this tension.

To get below our body's controlled concealment mechanism, we have to abandon bodily considerations temporarily and engage with the mind alone... This is the practice of meditation, to relax the body, let it go, and focus inwards into the mind...

Let it go, relax, and see what lies within...

This can be done by using the breathing practice called 'Black and White Breathing', which can be found by practicing the short meditation here, and settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Thursday, 21 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 57

Peace of mind... Yes, peace of mind... What does that mean to you?

Without a quick reply, take 10 seconds to consider what peace of mind both means to you, and what it feels like.

It can feel like a gathering in, of an energy that continually seeks via the body, to reach our into the external world and prevent any obstacles or negative events coming our way. Almost like a vibration that causes subtle tremors within the body, causing a dissonance, a lack of inner harmony, that can resonate out into our own world, creating tension in those around us...

You know the feeling, if you are around someone that is very tense or stressed, and the affect this has on you... It is passed on...

If however, you can locate and maintain your inner peace, this has the opposite affect. As, inside, the sense of peace and calm that you find will translate in to a more gentle body language, showing less stress, fear and anxiety, thereby creating a 'cushion' in the space around you, and... this will be picked up by those who come into contact with you.

In this way, by learning a simple technique of finding and maintaining inner peace, you will have a very powerful affect on those around you, and the world you live in...

It is not difficult, it just takes a little practice... Just a little, and regularly, once a day is ideal... Take the time to create a better world for yourself and those around you.

This can be done by using the breathing practice called 'Black and White Breathing', which can be found by practicing the short meditation here, and settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Tuesday, 19 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 56

When is the right time to start? It is now. If we put off what is important, the chances are we will never find or make the time.

And what issue is more pressing than any other in life... Money? Health? Beauty? Well, I would say that each of these is, in many aspects, secondary, and that the most important thing in life is peace of mind.

For this reason... With peace of mind we can remain happy and contented, whatever our external conditions, so, even if we are ill, and poor, if our mind is still and calm, our situation will have less power to alter our mood.

I am wondering if you agree with this? Do you think that peace of mind is important? The reason why I am probing a little is to provoke another question... If it one of the most important things in life, why not learn some methods to locate, consolidate and increase it?

This may seem a long term project from this point, or maybe even appear an impossible task, but I can say, from personal and intimate experience that the trajectory and habits of the mind can be shifted and redirected in a direction that leads to a destination of peace. Really and truly.. Yes.

A little regular practice is what this all about, as we are training the mind to follow new inner pathways by locating peaceful and contented inner conditions and as a result seeing how they may be found, and this will become a new habit, a new default condition within the mind... A positive activation...

Just 20 minutes a day...

This can be done by using the breathing practice called 'Black and White Breathing', which can be found by practicing the short meditation here, and settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Monday, 18 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 55

Realising that peace of mind lies within the mind... At first impression this seems completely obvious... Of course it does, but, even though we know this, do we actually behave in accordance with this understanding?

Don't we habitually look for happiness outside the mind, by seeking external sources of happiness? Yes, well I do. I think that by re-arranging my circumstances I can shuffle and re-shuffle my world in a series of refining and sequenced planned adjustments, to finally arrive at the destination of my choice... Ultimate comfort, safety and security... Oh yes, that is what I want! And you, you too?

Kinda like placing cushions and pillows around and under us, creating the perfect ambiance and lighting in the room we are in, having all our favourite treats and people around us, getting everything just right... Oh yes, that is it! When it all comes together, the right place, the right time, the right people, the right food, etc... etc...

Trouble is that this is not always possible, as our surroundings change seemingly independently of what we wish for... So, what can we do to ensure that we are comfortable in uncomfortable circumstances?

We can re-arrange the circumstances within our mind.

Plump the cushions, create gentle lighting, and relax...

This can be done by using the breathing practice called 'Black and White Breathing', which can be found by practicing the short meditation here, and settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Saturday, 16 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 54

In some ways learning how to observe the way your mind moves away from where you wish it to be is rather like learning to ride a bike.

The first few rides are all about wobbling around and falling off... Well mine were anyway...

In a similar way, if you gain a momentary view on the your internal state of mind, whilst enjoying that state of mind, trying to maintain the balanced mind, and also actively maintaining the pleasant thought can seem almost impossible... like juggling whilst riding a bicycle...

But those circus jugglers also took their first ride on a bike, wobbled and crashed, and you can reckon that once they started to learn to juggle whilst riding they rode into walls, crashed into boxes and all sorts...

So... it is not quite as drastic as that though... We are considering the gentle art of mindfulness - noticing what is happening in the mind, and choosing to follow pleasant thoughts, and maintaining the continuum of that thought by... remaining happy... That's it, that is all, simply remaining happy.

Easy really... Unless something gets in the way of our happiness... And that is where the seemingly eternal challenge arises... How to maintain a happy mind?

Well the first step is to clearly identify a peaceful and happy mind, by creating and experiencing the first hand experience, so that the ability to recall it a later moment is somewhat simpler.

Lets find a peaceful and happy mind, now...

This can be done by using the breathing practice called 'Black and White Breathing', which can be found by practicing the short meditation here, and settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Friday, 15 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 53

React... React to provocation... React to this. HATE...

Notice what has just happened within your mind.

Try again.... React... React to provocation... React to this. LOVE...

Did you notice a change within your mind, maybe being pulled or drawn from one position to another?

If you have, this is a very powerful tool in your understanding of how your own mind functions... The mind reacts to external circumstances, and whether we consider these events to be good or bad determines our reaction. So, if we like something our mind is drawn towards it, and if we dislike something we are repelled.

Maybe time for another quick test... Think of someone you like, and then... someone you are not so keen on... You may have to shut your eyes to try this experiment to notice the subtle change within your mind. Take a moment and feel the change.

This process of observation within the mind is called 'mindfulness' and this first observational process unlocks the pathway that leads to inner peace and contentment. Once the pathway has opened within the mind, opportunities lie within very single moment to make subtle choices about our reactions, enabling a sense of balance and calm irrespective of external conditions... We can remain still, clear headed and balanced Even when confronted with challenging situations...

This can be achieved, and will be achieved.. If you wish it..

For a close-up of this process, a short meditation can highlight the internal changes...

This can be done by using the breathing practice called 'Black and White Breathing', which can be found by practicing the short meditation here, and settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

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Thursday, 14 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 52

We have countless opportunities each day for creating happiness.

Each moment of our lives present us with the opportunity to make a decision as to whether we are happy or not, and we make these decisions, almost entirely without realising we are doing so.

For each moment carries what might be described as a crossroads, whereby we make a choice to travel along one of several pathways within our minds. Each of these leads to a different destination, for example if our current state of mind is one of contentment, we can choose to maintain this continuum of thought, simply by realising that it is contentment that we are experiencing, and not abandoning the chain of thought... This is called 'practicing contentment'.

Practicing in this way creates new tendencies within the mind, and over time the tendencies we wish to maintain gradually become our new default settings and contentment will, over time become where our mind will reside.

On the other hand, if we are angry with someone, and we maintain the continuum of anger, this anger becomes further ingrained within our minds, and again, over time, this becomes our default setting... Have you ever met someone who is always angry with someone, or something? And have you ever met anyone who is always (or tends to be) contented with life?

This is not an impossible task to undertake, it just takes practice, and mindfulness... Mindfulness being our own ability to notice what is going on in our mind, in other words noticing our state of mind, and making choices as to what we are thinking, and... making a choice as to whether we choose to be (in this example) happy or angry...

This is why meditation is so very useful, as it enables the meditator to observe with a heightened clarity exactly what is going on in the mind, and notice the transformation from distracted and turbulent mind to peaceful and tranquil mind...

So for a practical example...

This can be done by using the breathing practice called 'Black and White Breathing', which can be found by practicing the short meditation here, and settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Tuesday, 12 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 51

Within the seeds planted in the garden of the mind lies a potential, a potential for growth.

Each of the seeds we plant, in the form of actions (either mental, verbal or physical) creates the cause for an effect to arise at some time in the future, and this is explained by the law of karma.

So, using this understanding it is possible to understand that by planting positive seeds we will create the cause for positive effects. These positive seeds are planted by engaging in actions (mental, verbal or physical) of consideration, patience, generosity, love and compassion. The list of positive seeds is actually very long, but if what we do is based upon these 5 principles, the general trend will be to create a tendency for our garden of the mind to slowly become inhabited with many, many powerful and positive potentials.

Turning the garden around, from an overgrown, shaded and infertile space will take gentle and persistent effort, but know that as soon as you start to change things will start to occur very quickly. It will not be very long until your mind begins to lighten, and a sense of peace and space will begin to develop, and also you may recognise that as soon as you commence to change patterns will begin to shift...

This can be done by using the breathing practice called 'Black and White Breathing', which can be found by practicing the short meditation here, and settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Monday, 11 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 50

There comes a time when the gardener sits back and enjoys the fruits of their labour.

After a session of weeding and clearing an idea of the fresh potential is revealed and with this new insight, the gardener of the mind takes the opportunity to enjoy the new space that has been revealed.

And the enjoyment of the new sense of stillness and clarity, however new and fragile it may appear, is one to revel in. To have even considered undertaking the task of changing the dynamic of the mind's habits is one of personal empowerment and wisdom, and for this a sense of inner joy and satisfaction is a perfect, personal and private reward.

The seasons change, and time goes by, and the gardener of the mind knows that there is work to be done, of applying gentle and persistent effort, but understands that now the first steps have been taken, and having noticed the change, a sense of optimism and hope aligns with the inner knowledge that a beautiful, bountiful and sensual garden of delights lies close by.

The gardener of the mind sees his task as one of beautifying one's personal inner environment and thereby also participating in the small, maybe even quantum effects of adding to the beauty of the world.... As, the collection of many gardeners will create a more beautiful world, ever growing and expansive, shared and enjoyed by all.

Time to take a short break from the outside world, travel inwards, and enjoy the fruits of our inspirations....

This can be done by using the breathing practice called 'Black and White Breathing', which can be found by practicing the short meditation here, and settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Saturday, 9 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 49

More gardening... Got your boots on and your spade ready?

In this garden of the mind, we will need sunlight. Sunlight and warmth to reach the seedlings to nourish and sustain their growth, so we will need to consider whether there is too much shade for growth, and if this is the case we will have to trim back the overhanging trees, remove any obstacles to light, and even consider assisting the clouds to part, to allow the sunshine through...

The sun always shines, always, but often we cannot see it as it is obscured by clouds, but above the clouds the sky is blue and the air is clear... Always... It is just that from our perspective it appears that the sun is not shining.

From our perspective we can endeavour to realise that the clouds within the mind are inner aspects of our mind, and not external, and as such we can take action, internal mental actions.. thoughts... to part the clouds.

And in a similar way the overhanging trees and other obstacles to our beautiful garden of the mind can be imagined or visualised away, allowing the profound and harmonious connection of the inner light and external sunshine to combine.

This can be done by using the breathing practice called 'Black and White Breathing', which can be found by practicing the short meditation here, and settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Friday, 8 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 48

More time in the garden...

For the flowers and fruits to flourish they need sunlight, water, air, nutrients and space, and today it is time to create some space.

In the mind lie many weeds that exist in the form of negative thoughts, and these can suffocate the positive sprouts, you know how it is, when you try to be cheerful and upbeat, optimistic and bright, but the mind keeps re-finding fear, anger, anxiety and anguish.

Well, those thoughts are the weeds that suffocate the positive thoughts, and as a gardener will tell you, constant weeding is one of the main tasks in the garden. We can spend an hour or so in the garden, identifying the most aggressive and virulent weeds, and making a note of their location, and then take appropriate action by chopping them down, and removing the leaves and stems...

This clears the area for a day or so, until the weed re-emerges, as... you know it... the root remains. So, for as long as the root remains the potential for the weed to re-appear remains too, and thus the negative minds, though cleared temporarily (by simply considering love, consideration for others, patience or simply kindness) will return.

Now, this is where the experienced gardener knows a trick or two. He will dig deep around the weed to remove the root structure, and this is where meditation becomes such a powerful tool...

We need to get right under the negative states of mind, uproot and eliminate them, and in their place plant some beautiful flower seeds... This can be done by using the breathing practice called 'Black and White Breathing', which can be found by practicing the short mediation here, and settling down and sitting still for 20 minutes... CLICK HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Thursday, 7 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 47

And, still sat in the garden...

What do we need for growth in the garden? Sunshine!

In this garden of the mind we love the sunshine, the beautiful golden light that radiates from the heavens, that gives the nourishing energy to the tiny shoots of all beautiful and positive potentials that lie within.

Maybe dormant, possibly hibernating, but nonetheless these potentials await the spring sunshine and warmth to remind them that it is their time to grow.

But... In this garden of the mind we can do something special, something ourselves. We can commence the sunshine from within, and this is initiated by a simple visualisation of the heart centre opening and by imagining warm sunlight radiating from deep within the mind, carried on a warm gentle breeze of love, acceptance, forgiveness, patience and wisdom. Yes... love, acceptance, forgiveness, patience and wisdom.

Sense the warmth and light softly radiating to encompass your body, aiding the process by granting yourself permission to heal and enjoy, without guilt... This is not wasting time, it is valuable and precious time that will nurture your own ease of body, and nurture your own peace of mind.

This discovery of your own inner peace, however fleeting and unfamiliar it may first appear, can, and will become an inner resource that through practice and familiarity will grow and grow... Both in the coming warm summer months, and also as a direct result of the presence of your own inner focus.

There is no better practice to start your own change than this, it will bring those quiet, dormant seeds to life, the seeds of inner peace, serenity and healing energy.. Do try.

To help to commence the process, maybe try a short meditation, by CLICKING HERE. This may take a couple of minutes to download... but it is worth the wait.... x

Saturday, 2 May 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 46

Back into the garden....

I am sat in my inner garden, experiencing my life, reacting to events that are happening to me. As I sit still here, things are fairly quiet and sedate around me.. I am not in an airport departure lounge, I am sat in a quietish room looking at the screen, so the external world is relatively still to my direct observations.

But, internally my mind is a rushing torrent of thoughts, feelings and ever changing sensations, a continual flow, so , how can I ever evolve a slowing down of these experiences?

I can take my thoughts inwards by beginning to focus on my breath, and as the mind and breath become aligned, the breath slows a little and the mind calms a little... Why is this?

3 Reasons...

The mind and the breath are closely related... Consider what happens when we try and thread a needle.. We inhale and still the breath.

The mind generally only thinks of one thing at a time, so focusing on the breath reduces other thoughts...

The breath is described as a 'neutral object' we are neither attracted to it, nor repelled by it, so our mind finds a neutral space... Do try using this understanding whilst practicing this breathing meditation... CLICK HERE FOR MEDITATION

Thursday, 30 April 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 45

From within the mind arise our thoughts, and these thoughts have 2 aspects... One is to experience and the other is to create. This is called karma, or cause and effect...

We create causes and experience effects.

Whatever we experience is an effect, and how we react to that effect becomes a cause.

So, we are constantly creating our own experience, in micro reactions to what we are experiencing... But how we react to our experiences is within our control, but in the short term what experiences arise is not... That is a long term project.

Using a gardening analogy, we have to think long term to create a beautiful garden, it does not happen in 3 months, or even 3 years, but over several years of gentle and consistent weeding, watering, planting and cherishing our overgrown back yard transforms into a sensual, cool, fragrant Eden... Our experience becomes more balanced, relaxed and even, and the beautiful flowers fill the air with their colour, fragrance and beauty, easing our minds and soothing our responses.

The seeds we plant with our minds will ripen and grow into the flowers of our garden, and the most beautiful flowers and fruits arise from the thoughts of love... Loving creates our own Eden, and as we carry such a beautiful and harmonious this will begin to manifest in the world around us... Creating our own garden of delights..

Tuesday, 28 April 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 44

In our lives lie many memories... Within which are those that can trouble us years and years later.. It appears that these troublesome memories remain with us almost as some sort of poison within the mind, and that they will not cease.

But there are methods which can reduce and eliminate the glare of painful memories, other than that of awaiting the passage of time.

You see we can choose what we focus on within our minds, and if something is painful or uncomfortable we can simply let it go. Without complicating things, and without saying that you cannot do it, just try letting go of that thought, that memory, and abandon it to the breeze of time, releasing it.

No, it does not matter if it returns, as all we have to do is release it once again, abandon it to the breeze of time. It is not easy the first few times you try, but as with so many things, practice will improve your capacity... And do you have a more important agenda than releasing your pain right now?

The respite is only a single thought away.

Monday, 27 April 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 43

Today is a special day... It is a special day.

It holds a unique opportunity, for both you and I.

We carry so much of a burden within our minds, comprised of worries, anxieties and fears, and what would we give to be free from this load... What wouldn't we do to leave them behind?

Can you actually imagine a life free from worries, fears and concerns? I mean, really imagine?

Just for a moment perhaps? For a tiny moment, just imagine the relief you would experience... Go on, allow yourself that luxury, that private treat to yourself, and perhaps most importantly... Don't feel guilty about it.

Do not feel guilty about letting your fears, worries and concerns go, because, as sure as eggs is eggs, they will come straight back (if you let them).

This burden we carry implies our responsibility for those around us, but in truth, we are less able to aid those around us if we are burdened by our load. We can develop a clearer vision of our circumstance with a light clear mind and be more powerful in our responses to our circumstances.

So, the guilt we harbour as a protection for our fears is actually a rather unpleasant dependency.... The two depend upon each other for their survival... A bit dramatic I know, but it is what is happening within our thoughts.

Release them both, let them go, and this meditation will aid the process.... Take 15 minutes, and don't be afraid of letting go... CLICK HERE Relaxation and Meditation

Saturday, 25 April 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 42

Have you ever had a dream, and then found it has not materialised?

Yes, of course you have, and so have I.

Well, I have been thinking about this, and I was wondering what role I might have played in the non-realisation of the dreams. I believe that when we let go of our dream, let go of our goal, let go of our vision, the connection is broken, and subsequently the destination shall not be reached, as the connection depends primarily upon ourselves and the maintenance of our dream.

So, what is your dream of today? What realisable goal lies within your mind?

Whatever it is, keep it alive, try to rotate it through 360 degrees, become familiar with it from all angles and all aspects, allow it to manifest with clarity within your imagination.

Do not let go of it.

If you happen to forget for a while this does not matter, simply resurrect the dream, and bring it alive once again... Just do not abandon it.

It is happening, it is beginning to materialise now as you maintain the dream. Make your dream something so special, so powerful, and so positive!

No need to limit your imagination.... Ever.

Thursday, 23 April 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 41

So.... planning a journey.

We have an idea of our destination, and even if we have not been there before we visualise our arrival and we have an expectation of what we will experience once we get there.

What actually transpires is never quite what we anticipate, but overall it is a reasonable facsimile of our expectations...

So, to embark upon the journey, we create a idea of our aims and wishes, and then engage in the appropriate steps to reach our intended destination.

We find out the various means of travel, consider times, prices and other conditions, set aside time for our journey, purchase our ticket, and set out, intending to enjoy both the journey and the arrival.

But upon our arrival, new and unexpected conditions arise, and we have to adapt, but still continue with our forward momentum, as, our trajectory is into the future, and not into the past.

Our life is a journey, just like travelling to our destination.

And, one of the arts of living is to visualise a destination of your choice... Though never exactly or precisely what we expect, we can set trajectories into the future for ourselves, creating a future in which we have played a major role in creating, through imagination, clarity and constant maintenance in our own capacity to create our destiny... Faith in our ability...

You see, I believe that our wishes do come true, we just need to believe this ourselves...

Saturday, 18 April 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 40

Do you have a spark at your heart? A spark of love, understanding and hope?

This is the essence of the future that lies within you. A key that leads to your destiny and that which opens up the pathways that exist ahead.

To ignite the spark, to encourage its growth, and to increase it's power is our task, even when all seems to be beyond grasp. For only if we see with a clear vision of our future will we fulfil our own wishes, our wishes for joy, peace and release from torment.

The power of our vision, the clarity of our expectations, and the conviction in our capacity to create, each of these will carry the future, our future, our choice of destiny towards us.

There are times when the clouds have gathered, concealing the spark within, but then is the time to look inwards, not outwards, and make the decision, to apply gentle effort to fan the spark, to re-ignite the flame, to give inner space for the light to begin to grow once again, and allow its warmth, light and power to suffuse and fill us, with hope and with faith in our future.

May your love, hope and power grow with you!

Thursday, 16 April 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 39

When confusion reigns, it can overwhelm and and conquer.

I tend not to be confused too much about things, but from time to time, a sensory overload can lead to a shutdown of rationale.. We can get stuck in a loop.

I spoke to a friend about his understanding of this situation, and he suggested it was similar to booting up a computer, the hard drive being overfull, and over loaded, and as a result, turns off and reboots, only to repeat this again and again...

So, we ask an expert to check the hard drive and remove some of the excessive data, whilst the computer is in standby, allowing the formatting to be cleaned and cleared, enabling the new start up situation to be initiated.

And, with this analogy I realised that when we get stuck in a mental loop, which can precipitate fear or depression, we should allow the mind to cool down, stop trying to over analyse our situation, and allow whatever needs to arise simply do that, arise.

Without judgment, analysis or fear. This rebooting can allow fresh perspectives on a seemingly intransigent situation to emerge and appear.

This has been understood by the saying... 'If you have a problem, sleep on it', as this shutting down and hard drive reformatting permits a fresh outlook.

I know that sometimes it is not easy to sleep when a problem is turning over in your mind, but I hope that this thought might ease your troubles....

We do not want another Ground Hog Day... xxx

Sunday, 12 April 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 38

As the new dawn arrives on this day, there lies an opportunity to shift patterns.

I am going to start with one of those patterns, and maybe you can start with one of yours.

I am going to take a few minutes to look out of my window, and sense, feel and experience the weather, whatever is appearing, and conjoin my ease with whatever the weather is doing, so... not feel less than joyous if there is rain and cloud.

The appearance of the sun brings so many positive inner attributes, and I am thinking that the rain should also bring an equal sense of optimism and joy. Not only for its necessary conditions of supplying moisture and sustenance to the earth, but for the sheer beauty of the movement of wind and rain, and the excitement it truly brings.

So, I shall smile at the rain and wind today, not view it with resignation and an unwelcoming attitude. These are not hostile conditions, they are simply the weather, the inevitable, but also the beautiful, the magical and the positive.

Wednesday, 8 April 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 37

I am scared. Frightened of the uncertainties of the future.

Do you ever experience this?

Time after time the present has shown me that my worries of the past have been unfounded, and often stupid, but even with this wealth of experience, and my depth of understanding, fears and worries can loom large within my mind.

To the extent that I feel a nervous tremor rippling through my body, in the form of energy fluctuations. These can increase the sense of nervousness I feel, as the physical effects can approach my mind adding to my insecurity.

This, at a time of transition and change, fuelled with uncertainty...

I am digging deep within my resources to try and maintain a semblance of calm and ease, and also relying upon those around me whom I trust to reassure me that all will be well.

I need your loving thoughts.

Time brings so many unexpected events, and we all share these common experiences, you and I, we all exist with one another, in this world, at this time.

Peace to you.

Sunday, 5 April 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 36

Whatever your situation, it will change.

In the darkest hours, where we dwell on occasion, we fail to see the impermanence of the situation, and we believe that nothing will change.

A fog descends upon us, and we are blinded to any optimistic interpretations. Why is this?

It is like a temporary inability to view the reality of that situation, as within us we forget that whatever situations we have found ourselves in the past, they have shifted, they have altered, and they have changed.

They always have, and they always will. As, nothing is permanent.

Moment by moment, all things change, some quickly, some slowly, but this inexporable process is always humming along quietly in our lives... the power of impermanence.
And in this way, the small changes can accumulate together to form a larger thread of change, and when several threads gather, a rope, strong enough to pull us from our difficulties emerges, and raises us from the darkness.

Realise that the threads of impermanence are forever gathering, accumulating in power, ripening as fruits in summer to pass a release to you. We can accelerate this process you know, and one powerful method is to visualise this process occurinng within our lives, and this brings the change in reality a little closer.

Change will happen.

Has this ever failed? Ever?

It has not, and never will. Ever.

Tuesday, 31 March 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 35

It is time for a unity of purpose, to overcome our negative expectations, and combine in singular determination to overcome our tendencies to imagine that our dreams are not realisable.

They are.

For each one of us is capable of adding our own wishes for a perfect world to the growing undercurrent of personal empowerment, and each true wish combines at a subtle level, meeting etherically and magically, and all this individual capacity is actually enabling an exponential growth in this world.

Do not think that this is not happening now, as it is, and the addition of personal belief in one's own contribution further adds to the power of the potential. There is no force more powerful than love, and utilising the power of love that we have for our family and friends, and extending this to encompass the world actually has the transformational effect we imagine.

This is not for me, or mine, it is for all, and both you and I are part of all, not separate. The common purpose we all seek is happiness, peace and contentment, and this depends upon the happiness of others, as we can find true happiness in the happiness of others.

We know this.

So often we fool ouselves into believing that our happiness depends upon serving our own interests, but looking back, the times at which we have found ourselves most at peace have been those times when our own self interests are far from our thoughts.

Our happiness depends uopn the happiness of others. It is time for an understanding of the transformational powers of our imagination and capacity for positive change to be fully engaged.

Imagine heaven on Earth, and what this might be like... An impossible dream? No, all dreams are possible, yours and mine.

Do not put it off, do it now... Imagine...

Thursday, 26 March 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 34

What do we hold our reality to be, and how do we engage in creating our own reality?

Tell me... Do you accept the overview and world view of the media, the politicians, the economists, and those who would offer their agendas and versions of a reality to you. Accept and believe?

In a conversation last night, I overheard someone saying... 'I'd rather hear about 4 people falling in love, then hear about 4 people fighting each other, as I don't want anger and hatred to be part of my reality'.

And this gently reinforced my own opinions of the world I inhabit, the view that I create the environment within which I inhabit, built from the inside out, and not from the outside in.

And, this small overheard conversation helped me to realise that I was not alone in thinking in this way, and that maybe a network of fellow 'optimists' lived in the world, quietly creating small ripples, generating waves of positive thought, and these could overlap and create a sub-structure...

I spoke to the talker, and chatted to him, and it turned out that the connection was far more profound, that he, and his wife were actively engaged in creating a network of fellow positivists...

It is far closer to manifesting in this world than I realised... Drawing closer to that time when our heavenly wish becomes realised.

Thinking of how it is, when I choose to participate in pro-active thinking, and not taking my foot off the gas, it will be sooner than later. And I do not believe that it shall not happen, as it is not part of my reality, I want something new, perfected and peaceful...

Think it.

Sunday, 22 March 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 33

Heaven on Earth.... An impossible dream or a realisable event?

To start on this venture, the initial step has to be creating an internal environment that is heaven. By this I mean, imagining and believing that as individuals we can exist in heaven, right here, and right now, without waiting for external conditions to become heavenly.

For if we can see the potential exists within our minds to be in heaven, and we can maintain this vision, this dream, this belief, our lives become, moment by moment, beautiful, calm, happy and perfected.

The idea of heaven is based upon an existence, a world, where love is supreme, harmony pervades all, and conflict ceases, and to achieve this goal, we cannot start at the far ends of the earth, we must commence at the heart of ourselves, by taking the small step of personal empowerment and self belief.

For if we believe within ourselves, that we can effect external change by initially manifesting internal change, the biggest step of all has been taken.

And we can. You can and I can.

A perfected world begins at home, and home begins within our minds, as the thoughts of who we are and where we are arise, moment by moment within our minds. Am I happy now, well yes, if I think happy thoughts... If I choose not to I may be happy by chance, but if I determine to think in a peaceful, loving, harmonious and contented manner I am choosing to be closer to heaven.

And, thought by thought, wish by wish, the creation of a perfected world, a heaven, becomes a small step closer to manifesting around us, as we are responsible for our minds, our projections, no-one else.

Make the choice that pleases you, independant of external circumstances.

You choose.

Friday, 20 March 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 32

Meditation does not have to be a serious pursuit.

It can be a simple inner journey, looking for where peace and quiet lies within the mind.

We have all found inner peace in our time, generally when we don't quite expect it. In the midst of a chaotic scene, inner peace can arise, as easily as it can arise when we are lying comfortably in bed, or on a beach.

The art of meditation lies within our capacity to recall the memory of inner peace, and maintain the thought...

Try it.

It can be described as a simple process or a complex process, but the truly simple way of meditation depends upon familiarity, opening up an inner pathway that leads to the destination of our choice, in this case inner peace.

Whatever your understanding, or memory of inner peace is, think about it, remember it, and maintain it.

Try it.

Wednesday, 18 March 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 31

Can you separate your mind from your body, maybe by sensing the connections between the two, or are you simply aware that the two are separate entities that interact?

I'm not talking about the brain here, as that is a quasi mechanistic process that has form and can be empirically viewed and measured.

The mind, your mind, has abilities and capacities that are beyond the physical limitations of the body, and the brain.

The mind can create futures, and indeed does create futures, whilst creating a present in dependence upon the past. The brain merely analyses what the mind creates and interprets it for the benefit of the body... For survival of the body.

The body and brain are physical, whilst the mind has no physicality. The mind is free and independent, but boy, does it feel like it is utterly dependent upon the body...

This is the dream, the trap, that we allow to play out in our lives, as we believe, mistakenly, that we have no role to play in this relationship. We do. But, we can see that this is merely an appearance, that we can move our mind independently of of our body, juts by using our imagination or by dreaming, as, at such times the body no longer hinders us, and we can travel wherever we want, in whatever form we choose...

Try it. Close your eyes and be a bird... Fly away and sense freedom.

Saturday, 14 March 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 30

I dreamed last night, of an event that could not happen. I was in the company of a group of friends, one of whom casually performed some levitation and remote object manipulation.

So, I thought it, I dreamed it, I saw it... I saw it with my dream eyes.

I have recently been considering that if I could imagine something it should be possible, and now I am wondering of this is true of dream imaginations. We use a more subtle aspect of our minds during sleep, or rather a more subtle aspect of our mind manifests during sleep, and the normal, or waking mind is left.

But there are strands that connect the two, subtle elements that straddle the worlds, the worlds of sleep and waking.

So, though the dream world is often peculiar, strange and alien, many aspects are very similar to those we experience in our everyday lives... We hold our identity for instance.

Penetrating the dreaming world, holding consciousness awareness is indeed possible, as indicated when we dream lucidly, but when this is done through choice, we enter an arena where we choose what we dream... As, we know we are dreaming.

So, at this time, can the impossible exist?

Wednesday, 11 March 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 29

I am puzzled by the limit of my imagination...

And you? Where does your imagination reach?

I am thinking that if I can imagine something... It can exist, and, at that moment, it does exist... In my imagination.

So, if I continue to imagine something, it continues to exist... In my imagination.

So, should I be careful about what I imagine?

As, what I imagine, and continue to imagine, can, and often will become an actuality, a reality, a truth, a manifestation... It does, it really does.

So, what is the biggest dream you have, the wildest image of imagination you have? What do you imagine?

Me? I imagine heaven on Earth. Nothing less will do for me. It took a bit of refinement to perfect the mental imagery, and all its component attributes, quite a stretch of the imagination in fact, but well worth it. After all, heaven... I mean, it just has to be just so...

And, I may ask, what attributes, characteristics and feel might comprise your idea of heaven on Earth? And whilst you consider them, maybe you can imagine them. Imagine them to the limits of your imagination, and then beyond that limit....

Careful now, as what you imagine can become a tendency to become true. We have to do a good job here, as architects, as designers, as visionaries, as image realisers, and as imagineers.. Image engineers, creators of possibility...

Sunday, 8 March 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 28

Wherever you go, and whatever you do, there are opportunities to create a better world.

From within the mind, exist potentials to alter the world, from within. For, as we think in a loving, considerate and peaceful manner, these small potentials have the power to shift the external world into a softer and happier existence for ourself and for others also.

Have you ever noticed that when you smile with the world, the world appears to be a nicer place to be in? Well, this is not a coincidence, this is an affect actualised by ourselves.

And, this can be increased in power and effect by familiarity... The more often we think in this way, the more often the world will appear to be less hostile, less forbidding and less intimidating.

This can begin by a small experiment, now. From your space, let go of any anger or irritation, and imagine the world bears no enemies, only friends, and also the world carries many beautiful potentials awaiting your realisation.

Try not to allow any niggles and doubts to disturb your thinking, by denying the existence of negativity, creating and enlarging the happy space within your mind.

Then, imagine the entire world siding with your mind set, without conflict of interest, a sympathetic world that desires, as you do, a gentle and peaceful day ahead... Do not let go of this idea, by not permitting external events to disturb your wishes...

Hold this for one minute, 60 seconds.... 60 whole seconds...

Sunday, 1 March 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 27

Right at our centre, in the true centre of our minds, lies a profound and perfect peace.

An undisturbed equilibrium, of the ultimate serenity and calm... Really? Is it actually there?

Yes, deep under the swirling ocean surface, and far beneath the overcast and cloudy skies, lies the profound stillness, a calm that exists at the depths of the mind.

That space, as large as the universe, but residing deep within the mind, forever still and calm, always peaceful and happy...

But, we choose to rise into the outer turbulence and engage with the world with an attitude of attempted control, rather than a calm acceptance, and this creates our troubled lives.

We can watch, and allow, and be....

Wednesday, 25 February 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 26

What value has patience?

I see so much anger and irritation around me, and so much of it is caused by impatience. Impatience allied with an intolerance to the behaviours of others.

In traffic, in queues, in shops and even walking along the pavement, a hold up of a single second can trigger an impatience, and this in turn can trigger anger, and this in turn can lead to violence.

This intolerance can be comedic when we observe it in others, as it is so easy to see how foolish it is. We think 'Could you not wait even one second? I mean, what is the mad rush for anyway?'

But, switch the situation around, and when we are in a hurry, do we get impatient with other? Well, maybe?

Why is this? It is because we think what we have to do is most important, as we are the most important people on the planet, or rather, 'I am the most important person on the planet'... And, all those other, secondary people, are simply obstacles to my reaching my aims and goals.

Really? So the needs and wishes of 6 billion others, individually, and collectively are less important then mine? A little crazy when seen in that light, but I'm suggesting that this is part of the thought process that occurs when we are impatient, and, what is more comedic, ludicrous and futile about impatience is that it is ourselves who feel uncomfortable first, then we project this onto others around us, causing friction and problems.

Let go of impatience, try to see it as the unwelcome visitor that it is, and try an experiment instead... Practice patience, become familiar with patience, and allow another person to be in front of you, allow them to go first... Careful not to be smug though... x

Friday, 20 February 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 25

Do you have a safe space?

For me, it starts with not fearing aspects of my own mind. There are thoughts that turn up that I wish to run away from, some that I freeze out of visible existence, and others that I obscure with a frenzy of activity.

Thoughts that frighten me, thoughts that intimidate me, and thoughts that only I know, those that I do not share... Even with myself.

A compartment has existed in my mind where I force unwanted thoughts, and in this unsafe environment, they can linger and lurk, adding a faint colour to my everyday existence.

To deny thought is an unsafe occupation, as this self imposed censorship predicates a lack of growth. The class of thoughts I am exploring here are those fears of our past experience, the denial of exploring our past, either as a witness to our past suffering or as an experience re-visited.

To re-visit, or witness, can be painful, but within the arena of a safe space, familiarisation creates a lessening of pain and fear, and from this an increased sense of inner safety begins.

So, which comes first? The safe space or the witnessing?

I'd say, for me, it is the safe space, and so... how do I create my safe space from which I can explore? I visualise, at my heart centre, the very centre of my chest, a flowing energy source, shaped as a lotus flower, from which issues a golden light, rising upwards, towards my throat, and then on towards my crown point, and once this visualisation is established my inner thoughts, those repressed and suppressed can be allowed to manifest, initially in tiny moments, but, for those brief moments I am safe to acknowledge and experience.

Small, incremental steps. Steps towards a safe inner space.

Friday, 13 February 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 24

Where is the point of balance in my life? Is there one single point, or are there many?

For me to feel centred and balanced usually implies that from around the centre of my body, the middle of my chest,there is a stillness, a calm, around which my body and the world exist.

This can depend on so many aspects... What I have eaten, where I am, who I am with and what time of day it is, and at times, seemingly by chance, there is an alchemical balance that predicates an almost perfected, though momentary sense of universal balance, and thereby contentment.

All the small contributory factors that contribute to this sense of balance and well-being can be simulated through familiarity and practice... So, if I begin to take notice of those seemingly random times when I am feeling balanced and happy, and consider, where I am, who I am with, what I have eaten etc... I can gradually refine my own understanding, and thereby gradually develop the capacity to replicate the situations, through small and fine refinements, and gradually bringing the balance inwards, so I can eventually glimpse that the balance, calm and happiness are actually dependent upon the way I am thinking at any given time.

The way I am thinking about where I am, who I am with, what time of day it is.... There is a consideration concerning the external circumstances, as these can nurture a sense of balance and weel-being, but they are only contributory factors, the only contribute, in part to my balance, as...

The balance in found from within, and without, in a lack of tension, a lack of imbalance, an acceptance.

This feels worth exploring, and familiarisation, by simply exploring, right here, and right now, a lack of tension, exploring the balance.

Tuesday, 10 February 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 23

From the consciousness, or mind, all relates...

At any moment, consider the connection you have with your body, your home and environment, the world and the universe. Actually, you may like to consider these relationships at this present moment.

I'm going to take this from my own perspective, and how I am feeling right now.

On this Sunday morning, following a peaceful nights sleep, I feel without tension, anger or aggression, though I sense a little trepidation. And, as I have no ill will towards the world it seems as if I have no enemies, and thereby I do not feel
threatened, so I have no need for defence, but as I sense trepidation, I feel the need for caution...

Trepidation as I am am about to do something with my day that I have not done before, and thus I have a little fear of the unknown... What will the day bring? Who, or what will come along that I have not expected, and maybe not intended or wished to experience?

Well, there will be countless small events that are new, countless, so, if I can enter my new day, with an aspect of flexibility and willingness to accept each of these events, meetings and occurrences they will be opportunities to adapt, and therefore learn, by adjusting my mind or consciousness to the situation.

This enables my passage through the day to be less fraught with obstacles and actually full of developmental opportunities, and I am thinking that as today is a Sunday, the world will be more willing to be gentle with me as I step into the unknown, as Sundays seem to be more gentle....

So, a good day to start... A gentle start.

What a lovely way to enter the day, and I'm thinking that this Sunday feeling is so good, that I will recall this same sensibility later in the week too, as I am preparing myself for the day with my attitude for the day... Not the other way round.

A Sunday feeling rather than a Monday feeling... It has to be worth a try doesn't it.

Sunday, 8 February 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 22

I met a very special person today. A lady who has led an exceptional life.

She explained how she had been orphaned aged 8, and had looked after her two sisters, aged 4 and aged 2 days... yes, 2 days old.

This lady is now in her late 80's, and from this astonishing start in life she built, studied and created a remarkable life, serving others, creating harmony and happiness around her. She is now blind, frail and very ill, but this was not what I saw.

I am rarely moved to write of those whom I meet, but I encountered someone so special today, and I feel some testament should be noted.

From a position of complete vulnerability, isolation and inexperience, she created, with a fearless attitude, a safe environment for her two sisters, protecting them, and sharing all she had.... And this continued through her life, using a stillness of mind, a stillness that could not be shifted, to see clearly which path to take, unswayed by the influences of others... To reach a point where she could explain that her mind was still and happy, in the midst of her physical situation.

She explained that she chose this path with her mind, and that she decided when she was young that she should learn to still her mind rather than try and still the world around her.

Such a subtle shift in thought, but such powerful ramifications and effects on life. You see, the time will probably come when we are 80 and infirm, and then should we think... 'I wish I had learned to still my mind when I had the opportunity?' or will I start today, start now...

I'm going to start now.

Wednesday, 4 February 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 21

I was trying to understand the harmonics and frequencies at which we exist. When we are living in harmony, what does this mean to you?

I have been exploring some of the many harmonic frequencies that resonate with our state of mind, and the relationships between discomfort and state of mind, and also the relationships between peace and state of mind.

I feel that this is a very important correlation to understand and reconcile, as the life we appear to inhabit, the life we wear like a snug fitting coat (but a coat we wear under our skin), is the closest thing to us.

So, I was considering the moments I felt afraid, intimidated or even threatened, and allowing this discomfort, or may I say, the jangly frequencies, to resonate within me, by encouraging them to manifest and amplify, in a sort of controlled experiment, using imaginary scenarios...

Then, once activated and amplified, I tried to initiate the opponent or opposite frequency to the jangle, from deep within my mind/consciousness, to even out, as it were, the coarser jagged frequencies.

And, finding the source of the apparently deepest seated inner peaceful harmonics, involved an acceptance and dependence upon love. So, to overcome discomfort, anxiety, tension and fear, I had to tune my mind to love, to believe that love had the power to overcome the discomforts, and perhaps most importantly.... have faith that the mind of love actually had the power, yes the power inherent within it, to overcome the 'outer' dissonance.

So, faith.

Faith that a thought within our minds can overcome 'external' discomforts. Faith in an attribute of our very selves... Faith in our own abilities to alter the way we feel, at any moment, our own faith.

This faith requires no middle man, no translator or interpreter, and perhaps most beautiful of all, I can encourage, nurture and increase it, at any moment, simply by closing my eyes and allowing the inner harmonic of love to arise and then to flow.

I'm picking up good vibrations....

Sunday, 1 February 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 20

How deeply buried was my self-esteem? Well, I did not know I had any for few years, it was so buried in pain, anxiety, self-doubt, confusion and fear.

If a single spark of self-esteem arose I snuffed it our quickly, fearing pride or arrogance, but as I had confused these I ended up fearing any sense of self-worth, and as a result of this I became lost, and terrified of my own identity.

I hated myself, as, it was my identity and my relationship with it that caused my pain... Simple really, so I should hate myself and my identity with a ferocious tenacity and eventually my will shall overcome this inner enemy and happiness will reign! Right? Wrong...

I made the mistake of thinking that if I detested my self, my identity and my body I would end up being free of them, in the foolish belief that they would get the message and go away, leaving me free to wander without hindrance, able to love the world and all those around me...

I ended up in a tiny prison within my mind, squirming and running from every thought, and even more so, any thought that related to self-worth and self-esteem. And this was compounded by a destructive relationship in which I became to victim of my own misplaced sense of empathy, placing myself in a situation from which I became entombed for years.

Then.. It occurred to me that myself, my identity and my body were the closest things around me and to me, and so how could I begin to grow amidst an ocean of self-loathing? Impossible to make this step...

I allowed myself to like myself, quietly and privately, without an arrogance or overbearing smugness, just simply like myself, and the walls came tumbling down, and freed myself from my prison. I nurtured my self worth and my self-esteem and this in turn gave me a new found confidence in who I was and what I could offer the world...

I am still learning and growing, day by day. x

Wednesday, 28 January 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 19

From a position of the present, how might I steer my life to a future that I wish for?

I can learn from the past, seeing the errors and mistakes I have made have initiated results I do not care for, and by using this wisdom, avoid repeating mistakes. Simple really, but such a tough lesson to learn, as how often do I actually (and blindly or stupidly) repeat and ignore the errors of the past?

Too often, and this can be due to a stubbornness and misapplied will to maintain a connection with a painful path, thinking that in my foolhardy way that things will turn out OK.. But so often is is better for me to let go, as soon as possible, rather like dropping a hot iron bar that is hurting my hand, but waiting until the heat has actually damaged my hand rather than letting go as soon as the first whisper of discomfort arises...Making a wisdom choice.

I feel so stupid sometimes that I have even picked up the hot iron bar, and in a misplaced reasoning that others will see I have made an error of judgement will silently and even publicly, refuse to let go... So who wins here? No-one, and least of all me...

Drop the bar Mark, feel no sense of shame or guilt, after all, who do I think I am kidding? Tsk...

Then, as the pain subsides, with an open and extended hand, reach into a future, from a position of relative freedom from pain, selecting a thread of silken hope, that leads to a destination of release, hope and potential.

Make a wisdom choice!

Saturday, 24 January 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 18

A combination of tributaries become a stream, and several streams become a river, and the river flows, and grows, creating it's own brood and stable path and direction.

Each tiny aspect of our mind, our thoughts and actions, are the miniature tributaries that form the direction of our lives, and each tiny element has a contributory aspect that has the power to affect our growth and power.So, neglect no aspect, as each has the capacity to alter our direction, and... the choices we make about every element forms our overall lifestyle.

I aim to choose the positives, the positives of love, compassion, generosity, patience, consideration, creativity, direction... and through effort these have gradually become second nature to me, a default far removed from my old life.

It took one single decision to create the overall shift, and from the desire to change I sought a pathway which I believed would guide and lead me to a better place, and it has worked...

A work in progress, and still work, but there is nothing else to do in life really, other than to improve and refine, or, life, for me, would have imploded and I would have reversed into a small habitation of paranoia, and self doubt... no use at all, just a space of fear and tension.

No good! When, it can become all good! A life of rose petals!

Tuesday, 20 January 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 17

Exploring the relationship of the mind to the body, and the subtle connections that interface the two...

So, where do you think they meet? Now, that is an enigmatic question, as where you think it meets, is that where it actually meets? Or, as I think, there is no actual meeting place, as they are ultimately comprised of the same basis.I had an unusual meeting today, discussing the generation of form and matter, from whence and how. My discussion partner was of the opinion that form is separate from non-form, but to me that is a less subtle observation than the idea that both form and non-form are ultimately the same.

This thought empowers me to take responsibility for the reality I inhabit, as through this reasoning my thoughts do become the form I inhabit, do become the world I live in and do become the life I experience.

A bit scary too, as it also implies that if I am in a situation that I do not like, it is within my capacity to change the situation... A big step perhaps, but maybe a step back allows a bit more breathing space. I can simply shift my perception of the experience, and for instance, change anger with a situation into patience with a situation.

So, my mind inhabits a body, a body that has both gross and subtle elements, gross meaning things we can see and measure and subtle meaning things we can only experience, non empirical...

Like the energy that exists and moves around our body, that sense of vitality and 'aliveness' that we experience, and we can know this by sensing how we can scan our within our bodies, with our minds alone, but feeling, very softly and subtly, the energy flowing as we move the mind around the body.

This has the capacity to heal, to relax and to ease our tensions, the tensions related to anxiety, a mental condition, that has a physical reaction within our body... Not as some might say, a chemical (and therefore physical) reaction, but a direct relationship between mind and body...

Relax the mind and the body relaxes, or relax the body and the mind relaxes... How? They are both the same, but, different!

Friday, 16 January 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 16

Hope exists within the mind. I believe it manifests as a choice or a decision...

When I hope something will happen or occur, what exactly is it that is going on in my mind?

I'm selected a preferred outcome, very often one with which I feel I do not have to participate, for instance someone hoping that their favoured team will win, and in these cases there is very little influence our hope has on the actual outcome of the game.But when we are hoping for events or outcomes in our lives we become players in our destiny, active participants in our futures, and thereby hope becomes a thread or link to our possible future.

And hope is such a strong attractor that it has the capacity to turn our life's direction, and bring an option into our life that appeared hitherto unattainable.

Hope can manifest as a doorway through which we can walk, or a light which illuminates a new pathway or even a destination in itself, as to live in hope is to remain positive and optimistic.

So, to understand and to engage with hope is an option, a choice we can make, now, if you like....

Know what it is you hope for, be familiar with your light, your hope, and it will manifest stronger, clearer brighter...

Tuesday, 13 January 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 15

Where do heaven and earth meet?

I've been thinking about the transformation of earth into heaven, and how this might be actualised... I feel it shall be achieved by series of inner experiences that gradually break down our hardened perception and understanding of the world being a rigid and fixed proposition, awaiting our relationship as viewer, thereby gradually softening our views as merely observers of an outside world...The world is not fixed in it's current trajectory, and each one of us has the capacity to alter the external, though very subtly, each time we change our minds about the world in which we live.

So, the question really is... Can we imagine what it would be like to exist in heaven, with all its connotations? Yes, that heaven, the imagined heaven where all is good, all is love, all is peace and harmony.. Well can you? Dare you?

Try. Just for a moment.

Now, I believe that a single momentary, imaginary glimpse of how the world might become heaven, has the power to shift the external, oh so infinitesimally, and almost imperceptibly, but nonetheless has an effect..

This is a regular practice of mine, and each time I try, my imagined heaven gains clarity and a growing sense of possibility, and when I have conjoined my practice, with others the event horizon becomes closer and closer, and the power of conjoined wishes seem to have an exponential effect on my own imaginary practice...

Its a win-win situation.

Imagine heaven on earth...

Saturday, 10 January 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 14

Is time an enemy or a friend? I have been thinking about my response to time (and also wondering what gender she/he may be) and how a better understanding of my interaction with her (yes, I made a choice)...Time can be seen as a battlefield, where at each moment I engage in warfare, determined to hold my ground, never to surrender under any circumstances... It is like trying to hold back a tidal wave, and at the same time getting exhausted, frustrated and also realising that I am fighting a losing battle.

Time is not a wall, and not an enemy, it is more like standing ankle deep in a gentle trickling stream, from which position I can see ahead, clearly, and remain focused on my destination. Time is a subtle flow, that passes at different speeds and intensities in varying relationships to our thoughts, our bodies and the world about us, so... a subtle relationship in our dealings with time enables a subtle approach, not a club hammer or one size fits all approach.

The temptation is to consider time as empirical, as determined by our watches and clocks, and being determined and imprisoned by it's mechanical and almost crystalline structure.

Try this... Imagine standing atop a great mountain, with the stars and heavens above, and lying beneath our gaze lie the intricate and multitudes of valleys, cities, communications and systems of man made life, and from this vantage point see that an attempt to control such a vast and complicated multitude is simply not possible, but that from our vantage point we might, in our rarefied positioning be able to affect the flows of energy and time around us, though in a very subtle manner, but the eddies and changes we initiate can have profound and powerful affects as time continues to flow....

No fight, no battle, more of an elegant dance, centred around an understanding that we cannot control, but we can influence, and, in this way we cannot lose, we have no need to be afraid, we can accept, both our own frailty in such an overwhelmingly large system, but also our own capacity to create a positive affect on the flow of time.

A dancer, in and of time, holds a wish to create beneficial outcomes for themselves, those around them, and for all life... So, this dancer holds a wish, at the single moment of time, that which we call, 'The Eternal Now' to create a better future....

The eternal now...

Now...

Friday, 9 January 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 13

From a single point, or single thought, an entire universe of growth can develop.

Consider how you may have reached this point of your life, as a series of steps or crossroads reached, and how at each step or crossroads, a decision has been made as whether to proceed, and in which direction.I am going to suggest that there is never a time at which life changing decisions can be initiated.

So... for the highest aims and goals to be reached a very clear, firm, strong and focused thought is needed, not a hazy and vague idea.

And, the clearer the thought or idea, the brighter it appears in the mind, and the easier it is to see with clarity, and therefore without associated doubts and confusions.

When a good idea or thought enters my mind, and this appears to happen spontaneously, I write it down, and then return to it a little later and see if I can imagine a positive outcome resulting from developing the idea... So, some ideas fall by the wayside, but every now and again, one develops a life of its own, and contributory ideas arrive in a synchronistic manner, aiding and supporting the original thought.

It appears as if the idea has a life of its own, and events and ideas arrive to nourish the idea that would otherwise have not arisen, in my mind or from external sources.

I truly believe that amazing, unique and potentially world changing ideas arise in everyone's minds, quite regularly, but we can overlook them as distractions, or dismiss them as too grandiose.

So, I am going to suggest that each one, you too, has the potential to create a better life for yourself, those close to you, and even change the world for the better.

Do not deny your potential!

Monday, 5 January 2009

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 12

I have been wondering what lies beneath... It is what dwells within.

It is what is in our very centre, and it is that which unites us all... We all have a common wish, a common goal... To live in love, peace and harmony.Above this deep seated commonality lies a series of layers, which we use as a defensive and protective mechanism which actually serves to harm us. It is, in effect, a layer of confusion, generally caused by the batterings we have experienced throughout our lives.. You know, the damage that we feel has been caused by those that tell us that they love us, and that we should trust them, but have actually harmed us.

This need not be a series of damages, as it is possible to learn, with wisdom, to use these events to learn how not to react to those with false motives...

How is this done?

A quotation springs to mind... 'Those who ignore the past are condemned to repeat it'.

We can trust our developed instinct, and listen to those whose experiences and example have proved to us they have no malicious or selfish intention, even if this means abandoning people from our past, as to develop we have to leave the past behind, taking the lessons, but abandoning the pain.

Not to hard to do really, it is about separating ourselves from pain, through thorough experience, witnessing and acceptance, not denial and shovelling away into a corner.

As, the traumas that harm us continue to do so as they have not been fully understood and aired, and lie dormant, awaiting an opportunity to revisit, but once fully acknowledged, lack the power they have previously held, as their weaponry and methodology are known to us... We know the enemy!

I wish to find the courage to return, within my mind, to those pains and traumas, and focus and highlight them, and wither them through thorough interrogation and examination. Know thy enemy!

They are much smaller than they initially appear, and lack any power once confronted... There is no enemy without for the person with wisdom, only memories of past events, as, in this present moment, we can stop, for a few seconds, look around us and see no enemy!

Monday, 29 December 2008

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 11

Integrating problems, seeing problems through another lens, or transforming problems... How is this done?

Well, today I will probably encounter 1000 problems, large, medium and small, and each of these events will arise, beyond my control, but I do have the capacity to control my response.Do I stand rigid and fight back at each problem, square on, inflexible and impassive, determined to overcome each as it arises through sheer obstinacy, and then end my day exhausted and dejected as I failed on so many occasions, and so unhappy that I failed in my mission to defeat all my problems and difficulties?

It is rather like a fighter trying to take on 1000 opponents a day, every day, and not realising that another method might be more practical, simple and effective.

I'm thinking of how the martial arts master's use their opponents strength as a weapon against them... As the bull like opponent rushes headlong at them, they use a gentle movement to move themselves to one side, and then deflect the opponent to the floor by using the minimum of effort, perhaps with a small wrist movement.

Simple, clear and refined movements, requiring mimimal physical effort, leaving the master adept, strong, nourished and fully able to continue his dance through his army of opponents.

Minimal effort, simple side stepping, allowing the opponent's flow to pass by without any full on impact, and also conserving the master's strength and energy.

As today's problems appear, take a different stance. It is not possible to avoid problems, but it is possible to become a master at our response to problems. Each is an opportunity to develop flexibility, to engage and experience an energetic flow, that need not be hard, unforgiving and impassive, but can be experienced as a gentle breeze, using a mental martial art, that becomes aware of how that gently moving the mind to one side prevents a full on onslaught by the problems and issues that arise.

See each problem, difficulty or issue as a friend, not an enemy, and then at the end of each day we will not have been at war all day, but have been engaged in a dance of constant motion, a unifying and nourishing process.

I am going to pass through my day, today, accepting each problem, and seeing each as an opportunity to experience a new flexibility and fluidity of attitude... I am going to play with today, not fight it!

Love and more, mark x

Tuesday, 23 December 2008

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 10

It is good to talk...

How many times have I heard that phrase, and just let it move away from my mind, but, since I have been writing, I have been talking, and I am beginning to realise why 'it is good to talk'.By talking I can express what I have been thinking about, and more to the point, what has possibly been on my mind for days, weeks, months or even years. And, when I have talked about it, I have had to clarify my thoughts to try and express fully what it is I am trying to say, or need to say, and as a result I begin to understand what has been going on in my mind.

So, it enables me to see clearly what I have been thinking... I gain some clarity.

This is not a one off experience, as I am beginning to understand that by managing to release a layer of thought, and being free of the static of that layer of unexpressed thought, I am then able to realise a deeper level of thought, one that had been previously obscured by the initial layer...

Cutting through the layer of static, facilitates a fresh clarity, and an opportunity to progress further, and I am learning, quite quickly, that a side effect of this is that I become less afraid of myself, as the fears I tend to have are merely unexpressed doubts and concerns that increase as a result of not being expressed or talked about... It is a win-win situation.

Kinda like when we hear someone else's problems we can often see that they are maybe not as large as they may have appeared.

Try not to be afraid of expressing fears and concerns, and maybe most importantly, do not think it is a sign of weakness, as I think it takes great strength to open up, and talk about the troubles we may have, and express emotions. Crying is good, not a weakness, and let no-one convince you otherwise. Express and feel, it is empowering...

It is good to talk. x

Tuesday, 16 December 2008

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 9

It is so important to make space, and take time, just for personal understanding... But therein lies an enigma.

By seeking understanding we stand in the way of a natural and profound experience, as in the material form, understanding through the analysis and observation of the material is coloured by a history, a weight of expectation and desire of experience.We create a lens through which we experience or witness.

So, within the time we can take for our own development, we can prepare intellectually, but we have to surrender to whatever is manifesting, and will manifest, in a manner that has abandoned our usual frames of reference, and that can experience.

This can initially be accompanied with a fear, a fear of letting go, a fear of abandoning control, as to move into a less restrained and confined position we must abandon our wishes, needs and desires to experience a more universal essence that we can control from our human bodies.

This underlying experience is that of which we all are, and all we have ever been, and all that we shall ever be, and at that time the material, and the appearances of this life are seen as that, mere appearances.

Therein lies freedom, but to leave the vessel of our usual lives, feels like jumping from an aircraft without a parachute, and of course, it is scary as we mght never come back... Or if we do we might be badly damaged.

But all is well, it is all good, as no harm lies at our very centre, all that is to be found is peace, love and a universal connection. And faith, any faith... your faith or my faith, will be the lifeline, the cord that holds your heart true, and will always protect the traveller.

Friday, 12 December 2008

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 8

Where does our energy come from?

Some comes in the physical aspect as material nourishment, derived from the physical, but on a more subtle level we sit astride a fountain, a source of unlimited potential.And this source is never ending, and never needs replenishing as it has the aspect of being able to provide more energy, in direct relationship to the amount we choose to use. The more we use, the more we can use, and, I believe that if we can align ourselves to receive, and channel to higher aims and goals, the source will find ways in which to empower and enable our wishes and dreams.

It contains a wisdom that can 'see' our inner motivation and our intention, and should this align with the directions of the pure and true energy, and we can act in accordance, using our own capabilities and propensities, our abilities to manifest the energy in the material world will begin to increase in a symbiotic relationship to our current capacity.

And, this in turn will increase our capacity, as we grow in alignment, so what seems impossible today, will be possible tomorrow as we shall only be able to use the capacity we are privileged to utilise at any one time.

There is no limit, as we shall grow as our understanding grows, and we shall grow into the increased capacity when it is time.

So, increase your dream, increase your wish to improve the world around you, and the never ending source will nourish you. You will not be ignored or overlooked, you will be nourished... It is waiting to say hello, and then be your greatest friend and ally! m x

Monday, 8 December 2008

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 7

As I sit upon the precipice of the next moment, I can extend my direction along certain paths I wish to travel, with a relative degree of certainty that I will reach some of my daily destinations. I will attain some of my goals for today, though I will also encounter circumstances that are truly beyond my anticipation.Maybe social interactions are the best example of the unknown, both when I meet those I know and also when I meet those I have never previously encountered, as so often it is with social interaction that the most unexpected interactions occur.

The interplay between myself and others is the most extraordinary of events. From the moment of social awareness, the frisson that arises when I realise I am about to greet or meet someone, to the subtle awareness's of body language, visual appearance and presence, into the interplay of eye contact, verbal communication and scent, and then into the most subtle interplay of mind to mind communication... That from which we actually meet and share.

And, at that moment when I become fully aware of the contact of mind to mind, at that very instant, what can I do? As, at this time, the trajectory of the contact, and indeed of any potential relationship, depends upon the subtle interplay of mind to mind.

Me? Well I try to extend an acceptance, a loving and open arena for the other's mind to experience, extending a mental hand of friendship, safety and compassion. I have learned that the natural wish that I have for myself is not different from the natural wish others have for themselves, and so I try to offer the wish I have for myself to others.

And in this way it is not contrived and manipulative.

It is a humbling experience to realise that I am no different than others, and that I reside in the same mental forest groves as everyone else, with all the same beauty and potentials, and the sunshine within each of us, that flame of faith within us all, can illuminate and nourish both others and myself.

Saturday, 6 December 2008

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 6

I was invited to address a group of doctors at the medical school, based at the Sussex County Hospital, and today I delivered a 2 hour lecture...

I find it so inspiring that the NHS (National Health Service) are opening their doors to aspects of healing and spirituality, as for many years, the British Health Service has been based on empiricism and only now, are they beginning to realise the efficacy of the holistic approach to health and healing.The group were mainly attentive and enthusiastic, even when I suggested a guided group meditation and relaxation, and the level of acceptance following the meditation indicated that they had been affected by their experience. Only one, yes one, of the entire group had any previous experience of meditation.

Explaining the difference between curing and healing met some barriers with the more traditionally minded doctors, but I believe that over the course of the 2 hours I managed to make a fair point.

What delighted me most is that the NHS is prepared to take on board the possibility that 'alternative' methods are worth pursuing and developing, and that the holistic approach to health and well being is rapidly entering the mainstream here.

So, I applaud those doctors and decision makers whose courage in venturing into the 'unknown' will result in the development of a more complete and efficacious health service for their patients. It is a brave step for the traditionalists, and it is up to us, those who see, feel and work with the integrated mind, spirit and body to show the way. To be living, walking, talking examples, worthy of our responsibilities.

Wednesday, 3 December 2008

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 5

To be able to share ideas and thoughts, uninterrupted, is a rare occurrence. To explore one's conjectural and spiritual aspirations, ideals and concepts, with an open and listening ear is such a beautiful experience.Normally, in such uttered or otherwise expressed situations, the listener unpicks the statement, from their perspective, and waits for an opening or opportunity to relate their understanding, which more often than not, finds flaw or fault.

However, when these flaws or faults are raised, with a positive response, a considered and encouraging response, the result can be growth and development, as a sense of nurturing is engendered, a sense of safety is nurtured, and this predicates a further possibility to explore even further.

This does not mean that a blithe and disconnected listener is best, but a wise and considerate listener, who wishes to encourage the speaker's wisdom and knowledge, through the use of affirmations of the positive, rather than an accent on the negative, is rare.

As, it appear to me, that so often, in conversations of a spiritual subject matter, that the listener wishes to impose their own belief system, (though possibly this is inadvertent), to 'correct' the speaker. It is a rare listener that can facilitate a safe environment for the speaker to explore, and further develop within their own capacity and faith, without the imposition of their own beliefs.

To develop within ones own inner path is to be celebrated, nurtured and encouraged, whatever the faith, as 'Faith is the Flame in our Heart', the profound sense of security and protection that resides within us.... And, should we choose to nurture our faith, our individual faith, then this should be encouraged and praised!

We all have a separate faith I believe, though often based upon similar understandings and beliefs, but our individual capacities and propensities are our own actual path... Our Faith, our sacred, precious and rare Faith!

Monday, 1 December 2008

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 4

Where is a scribe without an oracle?

The two work together, and cannot exist without each other, like female and male, day and night, light and dark. A symbiosis that shifts and changes in it's proportion and relationship.And as with day and night, there are times when they meet, and gradually shade into each other, as one begins to become the pre-dominant side...

But with female and male, the relationship of women with men, in everyday life and within personal relationships, an extra dimension of acceptance of the other's strengths is absolutely necessary for the relationship to develop and grow.

We hear that behind every great man is a strong woman, and I would also suggest that behind every great woman is a strong man. I can almost hear your thoughts as you think of say... Mother Theresa... Well, I am not suggesting that I know exactly what goes on in individuals lives, I am attempting to realise my own dependency upon the women in my life, and also the aspects of the feminine that exist within me.

Maybe a hackneyed topic in the age of the metrosexual man, but for someone whose feminine aspects are often powerful, contradictory and challenging, the shifting sand of the yin/yang within my psyche and physiology, are balanced and tuned within a relationship with the women within my life.

My external relationships with women balance my internal movements, but, this takes a surrender of certain masculine traits of strength and superiority, and this can be quite overwhelming, a chosen disengagement from some genetic traits, almost a taking over of the wisdom of the greater need than merely the emotional.

To do this, I must feel safe, and I do. I am so fortunate to have so many astonishing women in and around my life, providing safety for me to explore and grow, my family, my friends and my wife, together combined as my special girls, all women... each of the beautiful women with whom I learn, you with whom I can share, now... I am the scribe.

Friday, 28 November 2008

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 3

Sometimes it is time to act, to initiate actions from thought, to manifest our wishes and dreams, initially within our perceived capacity and ability, using our sincerity and and the power of our hope. Also understanding, or realising, that the power of directed thought is virtually limitless in its potential to create an effect, that can and does manifest in the real world around us.After all, whenever great things have happened in this world, it can be seen that one person, (and that includes you and I), has had a dream, an idea, and once the idea has clarified, it can be developed, nurtured, nourished and eventually manifested in our words and actions, thus facilitating the manifestation of the idea in the physical world.

Why are we not great persons in this way? Well, we are! As, what is the difference between us and the great ones? So little really, and each of the great ones realised that their dreams could not be realised alone or in isolation, so their dream was shared, united and empowered by a sense that greater things happen as a result of community of purpose.

So many people around the world are working for the greater good, but also with the wisdom that alone, the responsibilty to change the world is too great, but with unity of purpose, even in a general sense, each contribution adds to the momentum of the dream.

Faith is the Flame within your Heart!

Monday, 24 November 2008

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 2

There are wars happening all over the world, some we know about, and many we do not. Conflicts and troubles too small to warrant media attention.

I'm going to report on one little known conflict that is happening, in a mind near you (virtually speaking)...This is a war that goes on, in my mind, so very close to me, so close I can never escape it, and so close to me that I cannot see it, but from time to time I can sense its presence, as the shells and bullets fly, troops dig in, are then sent over the top into hand to hand combat, whilst the navy and air force are doing their things, sometimes using the highest of technologies and communications, and sometime using the most basic of brute forces and thuggeries.

And what about the command post? The Head Office? The master controller who dictates the overall thrust and direction of the war, but leaves the small local conflicts to the local commanders, who in turn turn a blind eye to the hand to hand conflicts, right at the very front line.

The command post, with a large world map on the wall, covered in coloured tags and arrows, and another on the table, where the smaller local conflicts are represented by small icons being shoved about to represent the shifting dynamic of the conflict.

The wile and cunning of the enemy knows no bounds, and will happily engage in any form of deception, including flattery and false trails to lead me adrift, and also espionage is a real threat, as there is what I think is called 'leakage' whereby the enemy seems to know what I am preparing...

I need some sort of code that cannot be broken, a la 'enigma' and also a weaponry, system and understanding of the enemy that means, whether long or short term, even if I lose 100 battles in a run, I will not be deterred of disheartened, I will continue the war, until things are resolved.

All I wish for is a completely peacful mind, no conflict whatsoever, so I can see and feel what is best for me, and those around and close to me, so my response to a situation will never be one of anger or irritation, jealousy or impatience.

So, when peace reigns, the war to end all my wars will be won. I am about to commence a public war, a war where (in my mind) there are no losers... An unusual war. m x

Friday, 21 November 2008

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LETTER FROM ASCRIBE 1

Hey, new day and all that, so, here I go along the path.

The pathway that leads to my destination, to my journey's end. Now... I can hope for a final destination, and wish for one too, and then I can aim for it.

Or, I can ignore the possibilities that exist as possible destinations, and hide my head in the sand, choosing to allow 'ahem' fate to lead me.

And, everything in between. So, given the choice, where do I want to end, or more importantly, who do I want to end up being? What attributes of my life do I wish accentuate, develop and grow? Which do I wish to abandon, remove and uproot? And what attributes and aspects of behaviour, insight and wisdom do I seek to discover, plant and encourage.

Well, I have to look around and see who is doing what. What and who I like, admire and respect, and then learn. As, there is no person on this planet, who does not have a positive attribute that I can aspire too. I have an opportunity to learn, refine and develop from every encounter, trying to look through eyes of wisdom to see what I can learn.

It's so easy for me to be dismissive and arrogant, thinking the validity of my insight and understanding is greater than that of others, and it is that, which serves to blinker me. I'm not banging on about a servile humility, I'm really interested in a questioning enthusiasm as to what is available, all around me, every day, and what I can derive from life's continual spectrums...

A soft, gentle hunger, a desire born of dreams of peace, to increase the sparks, breathe life into the flames, to warm from the inside, allowing, eventually, to convey that which brings me some small joy, and with this, pass truth along with a smile and a soft word.

Thursday, 20 November 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 216

I'm not sure I want to talk about peace, love and happiness today, I'm thinking that self-loathing is the thought of the day...

Now, I'm not in the midst of that particular maelstrom right now, but I have just had one of those moments when I could recall, see and taste what it was like.

That imprisoning and crippling deformation of reality, that distorts and twists, obscures and confuses, ensuring that no exit exists, and no respite can be found, other than oblivion. And, when it was at its strongest for me, it was added to by a sense of guilt that I should be so concerned about myself. Adding to the mix, and, I was my own torturer...

Serious and heavy stuff.

That was then, but the memory is strong! Loud and clear! So, what happened, what started its retreat? Well, it started when I realised that when others spoke kind words to me, uttered gentle praise or offered compliments, these words had a power, a power that I did not have to shun for fear of being exploited, but a power to illuminate a pathway out of my prison.

I had to be gracious enough to accept what was coming my way, be they words of encouragement, respect or love, and this was terrifyingly difficult, as I could not trust. I thought that by opening up to love, compliments or kind words I would be weakened, vulnerable and exposed, and this would increase the possibility of being exploited.

I have not got it perfect just yet, as some have slipped in under my radar (and hurt or used me), but I can say that I have learned to trust first, and question later. This is better for me, and as a result of my mistakes I have developed an increased intuition as who I can trust. And, in the end it all becomes clear, as eventually true personality shows, and we can see who our real friends are.

As someone said to me recently 'a bad penny takes a long time to drop'!

Find solace with your trusted and loved ones, do not be afraid, as the beautiful ones, the light ones, have no agenda other than to help you to be free from your self loathing. xx

Tuesday, 18 November 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 215

Individual - Separate - Together - As One

A seemingly contradictory collection of words and concepts, but this is a common experience, a reality, a truth for us. I'm saying us, as over the weekend we spent some time letting go of ordinary appearances and conceptions and tried to see what actually lies behind 'reality'.

Individual. Well we both have our identities, history, hang-ups, problems, issues and families.

Separate. We are isolated from each other, in the physical sense, and sometimes in the emotional and spiritual sense.

Together. We are linked together, in relationships, friendships and families.

As One. Beneath the normal appearances and conceptions, and even aside from the subtle existence, lies a commonality, a thread, network or system that links everyone and everything together.

We can understand this partially, by realising that we are all comprised of the same substances, in the form of atomic structure, but also that in the subtle worlds that exist beneath the 'normal' world, the man made conceptions of linear space and time do not actually exist.

It was described as, and experienced by me in this way.

Access to the subtle, or etheric world enables communication without restrictions, rather like the internet. We can, from our computers, access any website at any time, and also communicate and interface with any one, any where at any time.

Distance is no object, and we can email 1000's of people in one mailing, and also the networking sites, such as facebook offer common notice boards for our notifications and public communications.

Once we have entered the subtle world, it is possible to communicate, subtly to any one, anywhere.

We discovered that we could share thoughts with each other, and wondered if we could also share thoughts with others, not in the same physical space as us. And, we can.

In this subtle world exists a safety, a love and a trust that allows the safe development of our wishes, dreams and capacities for growth and development, and more.

And we conceived a wish, a dream, we shaped and discussed it, and managed to, in the imaginary capacity to fully realise the dream. And, from dreams and wishes, reality can be born.

Our wish? That everyone, all over the world, with any faith, faith in their highest potential would glimpse that inner realisation, realise that it can happen, and that would trigger a desire to fulfill that very potential and their highest capacity for love, compassion, truth and healing would be ultimately realised.

And that in turn would inspire those without faith, by their direct observation of other's inner potential as manifested by actions, thoughts and deeds, to realise that they too had potential, causing faith in their own potential, though latent, dormant and obscured, and thus their faith and potentials be ignited and nourished to develop and grow.

And, this in turn facilitated, finally and ultimately, all beings to realise their highest states. Knowing that truth, love, safety, communication exists beneath the clutter and chatter of normal life, and that within our commonality of love and truth, we are, as one.

So, quite a wish. Quite a dream.

But though virtually impossible, it is actually possible. We are here, adding our bit to the wish, to the dream, in the knowledge that our dreams can come true.

Over the weekend there was an event whereby 4.3 million dominoes were lined up into a single linked system, and the world record was broken. If you look it up you will see it... It took many people many weeks to get everything ready, and in the right place, and I'm sure things went wrong, but it happened, and the record was broken. And, man, is it amazing to watch!

One last word from the weekend... 'Faith is the Flame in Your Heart'.

I am sooo happy to share this with you. xxx

Oh, if you wish to pass this around your family and friends, in a ripple effect, who knows what might happen. xxx 'Faith is the Flame in Your Heart'.

mark xxx

Monday, 17 November 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 214

The light that shines in the heart has a power that can outshine the sun.

The warmth and light that we can experience, by closing our eyes and reflecting our vision inwards, towards the heart centre, can enable us to transcend, even if only momentarily, every single worry, fear and concern.

A moment, a snatched glimpse of the peace, the light, the safety, the nourishment, the security we need, is there. Right now. And, it is us, we, who choose to release that connection, through familiarity, bad habits, laziness or foolishness. I can say this, as I know it from my own experience. My own laziness, my own foolishness.

I always thought I knew best, and this self-destructive and arrogant attitude, could have continued to blinker and separate me from my inner light. You see, and I know I am on a bit of a confessional here, but having a clear intelligence and intellect can actually serve to distract me, simply by reasoning positivity and peace out of the park.

In other words, I am too clever. More fool me.

But when its raining, I am going to shelter, I do wish to be closer to the light, dry and warm, and, the place of shelter, warmth and safety lies within. And at that time I shall leave my intellect by the door, along with my dripping raincoat, I shall step inside and experience... Stop thinking, and dry my toes by the fire.

I have such a clear image, of so many steaming stocking feet up, around a beautiful fire of warmth, love and peace, with laughter, happiness, sharing and loving, toasting forks, candlelight, where all my wishes can come true.

I can dream. I can wish. xxx

Friday, 14 November 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 213

So, as I journey into the future of my life, I learn. I learn as I am seeing that which I have never seen before, and these things that I am seeing, I am growing to understand, have meaning in my life.

In other words, I am growing aware that everything that happens to me, both happens for a reason, and moreover, that reason can be realised and understood.

Extrapolating this to its conclusion, I am wondering, if with sufficient awareness, that every breath of wind I see and feel, every subtle flavour I taste, all the multitude of sounds I hear, and every scent I sense... as well as every appearance to my mind, might be understood with regard to the meaning it conveys? I understand, that at this time, this appears to be an abstract or even an impossibility, but I am guessing that such awareness is possible.

And, if possible, what for? To what purpose?

Well, we were talking (like we do...), and asking ourselves this same question. And for us, we believe that every appearance we experience, carries the potential to teach, through the understanding that each appearance is a karmic impression, caused by our previous actions, and through understanding our past, in relation to the present, an exquisite refinement of our responses can be initiated, developing a fluidity of mind, a flexibility of response, that can be utilised and integrated into spiritual growth and development. In a nutshell, learning from the past.

Now I know this sounds a little, well, extreme, but I just thought I'd share a little of my aspirations with you..

Only dreaming now... xxx

Tuesday, 11 November 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 212

Last night we spent hours talking about truth, hours and hours. About why we should not be afraid of the Truth, why it was so difficult to speak the truth, and why we are ashamed of some aspects of the truth, and why we avoid talking about the truth.

We covered some semi-familiar ground, and gradually ventured into unexplored territory exposing truths to each other. For me a large part of the process of talking about my truths enabled me to understand, by clarifying, arranging and verbalising my truths, so that I could proceed to share them. At some points, I felt myself cringing with an almost demented embarrassment, and an apologetic confessional exposure at the things I shared and aired.

But, with no exception all I said was listened to, understood and appreciated, and best of all, not criticised. You see, exposing weaknesses, failures and shameful behaviours is something that a good friend or partner will take on board, and be honoured to share, and the reason I can say this, as I myself was honoured to be placed in a position of trust, so that I could hear the truths of others.

And this brings me to another thought. That of keeping secrets. I was taught, by my mum, that the best way of knowing other's secrets is to never share them, by being an absolute fortress, never divulging a shared private truth or secret, and once a freind realises that this is the case, they will never be afraid of sharing with you, and this in turn helps them, as once a secret is shared, however dark and private, it 's power is lessened, as per the old maxim, 'a problem shared is a problem halved'.

What an honour, what a priveledge to share a secret. x

Saturday, 8 November 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 211

Oh, it can seem so difficult to ask for help. To admit that in my splendid isolation I cannot overcome all obstacles and hurdles, and that in my accumulated wisdom is not sufficient power and energy to continue to develop and grow.

And, in a sense this is true, but man, things can flow so much easier and quicker with a little help from my friends. And when I realise that I am lucky enough to be able to call upon the help of some extraordinary friends, this 'little help' becomes a big, big help. Those friends with whom I share thoughts, jokes and ideas, those family members who listen and love unconditionally, those people whom I encounter once and then never see again, the rarefied spiritual teachers I have encountered and listened to, the hidden and mysterious energies and forces that can swing to our needs, to all these I seek help.

To grow, mature and increase our capabilities it is essential to communicate and share, a symbiosis that by the laws of karma, creates a rythmn that offers support and nuturing in balanced measure to that which we in turn offer.

But, should we deny that we need help, help will not be so evidentially forthcoming... So, I am learning to be able to ask for help. To ask for help, nourshishment, blessings and protection, in order to increase my positive capacities.

Thank you. xxx

Thursday, 6 November 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 210

I have been wondering if my dreams are possible, and I have come to realise that if I can imagine it, it is possible.

Why should any dream be beyond realisation? The realised dream may not manifest in the way I can imagine, but the reality will be the same.

I'll express an example, or try to... If, for example I wish for one of my children to be happy today, and imagine to realise this, and exert my wishes, and indeed tell them of my wishes, they tend to come true, but not in the exact manner I may have imagined.

This is as my idea of their happiness, and their idea of their happiness are different, and that the realisation of their happiness depends upon many factors of which I am not aware... Their individual experiences, meetings and occurrences through the day. A complex set of karmic appearances, and their individual relationship with each of these appearances.

In other words, how they react to their circumstance.

So, may I be daring enough enough to wish for happiness for many people that I know?

Yes, I can, and this wish is aided and assisted by individual communications that illuminate the possibility of hitherto unrealised potentials for happiness, maybe highlighting a dormant potential, and activating a thought process to stimulate that potential.

This is more than possible, it works.

Within me, and within you, are obscurred potentials, hidden by fear, neglected through distraction, maybe forgotten, but awaiting the appropriate stimulus to begin to grow.

Within me, and within you, these highest potentials will welcome the chance to grow, and overcome the repressive habits and tendencies, and once activated, can be nurtured and increased to the highest capacity.

I believe that within each one of us, lies the capacity to heal our lives, fulfill our wishes and help everyone we encounter to also develop their potential.

We simply need to stop being afraid of the potential of others, and nurture their capabilities... It will help us more than we maybe understand.. No need to envy, for each person has a different set of positive qualities, and, combined they will support us, not threaten us. There is no need to hold anyone back..

Start to imagine, start now.. x

Tuesday, 4 November 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 209

What is the measure of happiness, or, what is yours? How much money do I have in the bank? Does somebody really love me? Is my new car is running really well?

For me, it is a combination of about, say, about 100 check listed items, that, if all can reach a satisfactory standard, and can maintain that standard, for the foreseeable future, then, yes, of course I am happy.

You know what's coming... I only managed 94%, so I'm not quite happy enough...

And, you know what, I cannot remember when I got that 100 list all ticked and checked.. But somewhere, once, I was happy, really, really happy. Then what happened? Well, things changed. But they are always changing, so... if I can't stop things changing what can I do to prevent myself from becoming unhappy?

I can learn to keep my mind happy. Train to keep my mind happy. Learn methods and techniques for keeping my mind happy. Become so familiar with my happy mind that it will eventually revert to being happy, by itself...

And, this will bring contentment, peace and a relaxed attitude to the problems and trials of daily life.. It is so simple, so obvious, that I simple miss it most of the time. I am dumb really.

Saturday, 1 November 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 208

Wednesday's meditation was good. We had the best ever attendance at a class, and we even had to draft in some extra chairs... Good sign.

Guiding meditations is interesting, and not as some have suggested to me, repeated by rote... Part of my training taught me how to both meditate, and reveal (vocally), the processes of focusing the mind and relaxing the body, talking about it whilst I'm doing it really.

But being able to maintain focus and concentration of both aspects simultaneously, maybe a bit like rubbing your tummy in a circular fashion, whilst tapping your head (which I cannot do...). But with training I'm sure I could learn how.

So, why bother to learn how to meditate? Eh? Why? Well for me it works like this.

When I practice meditation, whether for 1 minute, 5 minutes or 20 minutes, what I am seeking to locate, and maintain, is an awareness of a peaceful state of mind, and, a peaceful mind is a happy mind. The more often I seek and identify this peaceful, happy state of mind, the more familiar I become with it, and over time, it becomes simpler, quicker and easier to find, to the extent it can become the default mind, as opposed the familiar irritated or angry mind that normally manifests.

Getting familiar with the state of mind you wish to inhabit! Getting used to being happy, peaceful and content. xxx

Thursday, 30 October 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 207

So, getting into love mode has some special advantages. The primary positive effect is that you will feel good, and that is not a bad thing. I mean, even a private smile softens the worlds hard edges...

And, it can be extended, into more than a moment, into 2 moments even...

Relaxing the body, into the breath, aligned with love, is medicine, a medicine that can temporarily and possibly permanently, heal our pains, help our worries to cease, and enable us to let go of all the inner tensions that prevent relaxation.

I'm now opening up the meditation group I lead, based in Brighton, that will be held in the chapel, at the Sussex County Hospital, on Wednesdays at 12.30. The class will last around 30 minutes, so just a short, but hopefully positive half hour.

Maybe see you there. x

Tuesday, 28 October 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 206

So, these songs of love...

We whisper from within our hearts, those issued carried by the breeze, afar forever until reached, in universal cycle's breath, encircling all, but in one dream, that meets at heaven's open doors, not closed to those who choose to sail, upon that fulsome billowed cloud, but with an ever widening path, that leads within again once more, the realisation sees within, that dawn is love, forevermore...

Each breath holds the power and potential to transform..

x

Monday, 27 October 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 205

Can anything stand in the way of love?

No, it has the power to connect and communicate at all levels. We may think that love is an abstract, a non-tangible construct of poets and dreamers, but it is the single connecting substance of all.

The substance of love cannot be physically grasped (though a bunch of flowers does the trick), nor subtly grasped (though a look into another's eyes can do the trick), but underlying both there exists that which is the very essence of existence, that which connects all, a unifying very subtle state, which, though rarely discerable, draws us to others, unites all humanity, totally and perfectly.

Some through choice, and others due to obscurations, deny this, but do you, do I, truly believe that love cannot connect and heal? For, this love can manifest as compassion, the sincere mental and emotional response to others suffering. Are we not all touched by images of pain, privation, in all its manifestations, be they theatrical, historical, undeniable or even simply possible?

Our heart strings, plucked by love, tuned to others, singing the songs of care and consideration... xxx

Sunday, 26 October 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 204

The relationship of the mind to the body is one of great wonder and mystery, simplicity and sophistication...

Through meditation, focus and concentration, an objective view of the body can be ascertained and from this position an analysis and consideration of bodily mechanics, functions and faults can be witnessed.

This is rather like a mechanic looking into the engine bay of a car, looking for leaks, damage or rust, and then raising the car onto a ramp to look at the running gear, breaks and bearings.

A trained mechanic can see quickly what and where the faults lie.

We are not given this information, guidance or maps to our own bodies, what the mechanic might call a 'service manual', and we tend to offer our own bodies to the understanding of others.

But, really, who actually knows more about our bodies than ourselves? Who is closer? Who has a more detailed history?

Those to whom we entrust our bodies, well-being and health, look for signs and indications with their eyes and to some extent their hands, and also some internal diagnostic systems, from probes to x-rays to scans, but these, extremely coarse methods, lack the capacity to understand the relationships of gross and subtle manifestations of illness, and their relationships with other organs and parts of the body, and their histories, and perhaps most importantly, the emotional relationships with each part of our body, and its relevant emotional histories.

Through meditation, the capacity to gain insights into the totality of the body, in its many levels... muscular, structural, functional and energetic become accessible. And through this process an inner diagnostic facility illuminates, drawing upon all our personal, and sometimes very private, histories...

For even those things which we cannot reveal to others about our histories, can also be, by some faulty and frightened internal filing system, lodged and locked within our minds and bodies, creating a blockage or diversion of the free flow within ourselves.

And, I am suggesting that many causes of our illness arise from these knots, of historic and self-deceptive origin, arising from a denial or burying of events, both 'real' and imagined...

With a desire to look, and a still mind, an apparent objectivity of the body can be 'seen', witnessed and experienced, facilitating a healing experience...

Yes. The healing of one's self, in both the emotional and physical.

Why not? Tell me, why not? Why can you not see exactly what is happening within yourself? Just by making the decision to look, to be open to the possibility that this is possible, actually opens up the pathway to healing, initially releasing the emotional tsunami that lies behind our wall of rigidity.

And this privacy of release allows the waves of inner vision, of self healing, to commence....

This is the start of looking within.

Thursday, 23 October 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 203

My life seems to be accelerating at the moment, the time of stasis seems past, and action and event are rapidly appearing.

This may be a seasonal thing, as I know that I feel energised and inspired in the Autumn time before, but this time it does appear to have a more powerful aspect than before.

The possibilities of life are increasing, the event horizon is broadening, and the sense of communication with the future is drawing clearer, and thereby the options of choice, though unchanged, have an almost magnetic quality, and the choices are clarifying to direct and linked events, facilitating the appearance of being above to have my wishes come true.

So, with this being possible, what might I wish for, and how might I affect the outcomes I desire?

This is where I feel most fortunate. I spent 12 years looking at, understanding, fixing and clarifying my intention, and as such have gained insight into how the outcome of a thought, or wish, is closely related to the intention behind that wish.

The desires and wishes are powered, or fuelled by the intention, as the intention is the motivating force or power behind the wish.

There is a common saying 'be careful what you wish for', and this saying arises from the experiences of those whose wishes have been (ahem) less than ideal...

Wishes do come true, every moment...

Tuesday, 21 October 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 202

I was thinking over the weekend, pondering what it is that we conceal from ourselves.

Much of what we conceal, is really what we vainly attempt to conceal, and that self-deception, that which we consider we master, manifests, visible to others.

In this way, others can know more about us than we might wish for them to see. And, why not? What is that we do not wish to show?

I am going to make a general guess here.

Underlying our fixed projection of ourselves lies a perfected being, who, as afraid of being perceived to be 'weak' attempts to issue a rather cool, perhaps even cold projection, to prevent possible exploitation.

Now then, how often have we heard... 'Oh, he/she is such a beautiful and loving person, but it takes a long time to get to know them'.

Defence mechanism, tsk.

So, how about the option of showing those loving, caring, generous, compassionate sides of our personality, without fear of exposure or exploitation.

Or. Is it a case of 'I will show you mine if you show me yours'.

So, how about an amnesty. An amnesty of false ego, a chance to hand in our false and frightened identities at the desk, and bare our souls to each other.

I will show you mine first. Take that attitude, show the way, create the difference, be unafraid. As, you may think that you will be percieved as weak, but that is not the case, you will earn the trust and respect of others.

Or, how about this? An International Day of Open Hearts.

Suggest a date please.... xxx

Monday, 20 October 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 201

We sit, we exist, we live, on the brink of the unknown, the unexplored, and also upon the brink of chaos.

The next moment of our lives, hitherto unknown, holds a myriad of potentials that meet, blend and interact in a swell of experience that holds the both the security of experience (letting us know that things will be as we expect), but also the chaotic and seemingly random arrivals and events which bring that which we could not have anticipated.

And, every now and again, the system of our lives meets an event that has no precedent in it's magnitude or impact, and at these times we encounter, the chaos...

But, I am going to suggest that the chaos is actually the 'norm' whilst order is the rarity.

From the turbulence of any motion, and the interactions of both gross and subtle energies, amid the cauldron of movement, in which we sit, arrives the infinite ebbs and flows of appearance.

We can always expect the unexpected. It will arrive.

I am not however about to abandon all to the chaos, as I can know, that at the very heart of things, is my mind, and in that I can find stillness, a position which knows that the chaos cannot be controlled, but can be witnessed, and with experience, can be shared, in the same way that a surfer can ride an immense wave, powerless against the might of change, but able to remain in balance...

That balance we can find, in our minds, and in our minds alone.

But, there is an interconnection with others, and this connection, that exists within the mind, is that of love. A shared experience of open hearted love, upon which we all depend, and if we can find it within ourselves, unafraid, it wil connect with the love of others.

This connection, this experience, is where our own healing, and the healing of others dwells. An uninhibited experience and expression of love. x

Friday, 17 October 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 200

Over the weekend we shared two coming togethers of friends and family.

On the Saturday lunchtime around 30 members of my family met for lunch, to eat, drink and share, on the 3rd anniversary of my Mum's death.

So many bright, funny and beautiful people, sat around a large table, alongside the sea, in the bright October sun.

Then, following the sunset, we headed East to meet our rare and special friends.

Some arrived spontaneously and others by arrangement, but in the magical synchronicty that arises on these occasions, every one who should have been there was there.

Never in my life have I experienced such clear, loving, healing and beautiful energies, and these, raised together, under a moonlit sky, around the log fires, created a spirit of harmony and sharing.

Each individual contributed their own special qualities, and these merged into a common goal, that of preparing for the futures, clearing of the pasts and increasing the power and energy of the moment.

With no guidance or agendas, the most extraordinary events unfolded, including a walk through the mists of pre-dawn, to the high ground of the mysterious mount, past the oak encircled ponds, to sit and pray for the healing of our beautiful friend Chris, who has stepped out of the dark of cancer into the light of healing.

We sat, and awaited the sun's warmth and greeting to symbolise the dawning of Chris' rebirth...

A gathering of loving hearts and pure souls, sharing our special and rare occasion. Everybody essential for the completion.

Things simply could not have been more harmonious, and I shall quote Chris' mantra.... 'It's all Good'.

Monday, 13 October 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 199

Open your heart. Release the power of your love and understanding... out into the world.

Just by imagining this process, affects will occur, within your own mind, and within the minds of others.

Silently, without grimace or affectation, imagine all the love you have ever experienced, gathered into a single outflowing, radiating and filling your body, then the room, then the area, and on and outwards.

This is a simple healing meditation for the body.

Short, and simple. x

Saturday, 11 October 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 198

Joy, determination and courage, all mental attributes.

Each carrying the potential to bring life's experience into the realms of heightened and individual capacity, enabling the overcoming of obstacles, worries and difficulties.

And combined, holding the power to achieve our dreams, our wishes, fulfil our aims and desires, but... with a positive ripple effect, and a non-harmful deflection. In other words, we get what we want, and others are helped in the process, a win-win.

This is not far removed from the ideal.

Joy, a happy and positive outlook on the situation, a view that chooses to exude a radiance, and whose light can overcome any potential shadow.

Determination, a will to pursue an ideal, to be willing to view obstacles as opportunites, and not be swayed or tempted into inaction.

Courage, a fearlessness of the conviction we have that our goal is both achievable and holds the potential for benefit, and therefore courage carries the wish from the realms of the imagination into the reality.

Do not hesitate to imagine, and achieve. x

Thursday, 9 October 2008

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SPIRITUAL ORGANIC 197

How deep can one enter the mind in meditation?

It is such a subtle process, the blending of mindfulness and alertness, when concentrating on a thought of meditation. Too much focus causes the mind to tighten, and become distracted from the thought, and too little can cause the thought to slip away.

One is like squeezing a bar of soap that slips our of the grasp when over-tightened, or simply crushing a butterfly in an over zealous grasp, and the other is like allowing the butterfly to escape from between the fingers of an over loose grip...

So, the subtle focus of the mind, whilst in absorption can be tricky, as, there is also the excitement that arises when meditation starts to 'go really well', as the elation of success can be a distraction too, so a level of abstraction, whilst relaxing and focusing are required... as well as some understanding of the object of meditation.

It can appear, when meditating, that the entire universe ceases to exist, and the mind's inner trajectory, like some sub-atomic animation, gathers inward towards an infinitely small inner positioning, where all ceases other than the mind's illumination, known as clear light.

The profundity of peace and clarity at such times is astonishing, and once visited and experienced, never forgotten. An absolute understanding of the relationships of mind, body, truth and existence become part of the mind's awareness, an understanding or realisation that pervades all subsequent thoughts.

Do try to learn your own mind through meditation, the rewards are infinite......

Monday, 6 October 2008

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