PUNCH IN THE FACE

Mike Tyson said 'Everyone thinks they have a plan until they get punched in the face'.
He is good at what he does because he keeps going despite the blows.
Have you noticed in life you are happy one moment and then get punched in the face for no apparent reason?
People say nasty, terrible, untrue things about you.
Or something goes wrong with that fool proof plan.
Or 70 million people die in 2 world wars http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm.
Mans inhumanity to man.
You try and rationalise them and you become lost and confused. You grow heavier and entangled. Everything becomes hopeless. Why go on? You stop trying. You give up.
And then in the darkest hour you relinquish control.
That is when it happens.
You see a glimpse of your true nature.
Love, compassion and humility.
You rise. And you talk about your new found land to others because you want them to have it too.
But they have their problems, ideas and troubles. Most don't believe you. They don't believe there is such a magnificent place, there is only what they see; pain and scant hurried patches of pleasure.
It makes them mad that you are happy. So they try to drag you down into the dark world of troubles.
And it works.
The cycle of blind suffering.
Then something clicks. You see the cycle. You see you are not dead. You see the illusion, the daymare.
You give up the cycle in one simple decision.
You don't wait for the weekend to do it. Or next year when you are made Chief Undermanager of Corporateness. Or when the Queen recommends your genius as an undergarment maker.
You do it now. From moment to moment.
Forever.
You are home.

'Try Not! Do or Do Not! There Is No Try!' - Master Yoda
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PcjnbIF1yAA

HENDRIX

Guru Jimi was telling me this morning how he likes to stand up next to a mountain and chops it down with the edge of his hand.
I know how he feels.
He once told me that he has been imitated so well that he has heard people copy his mistakes.
Jimi has made some beautiful mistakes, I am so glad he didn't get it right the first time.
I was trying to copy Hendrix last night on my Epiphone Les Paul. I can't get anywhere near his mistakes.
Jimi laughs at this, as he finds he can't get anywhere near my mistakes either. And not just the musical ones.
Keith says I should be using a Gibson at least and not a cheap copy, and that anyway Jimi used a Strat. If you must use an Epiphone use the vintage FT79 acoustic guitar that Hendrix used for songwriting in the late 1960's, that was sold at auction in 2001 for $77,000.
I refuse to blame my axe.

'I don't give a fvck if you boo, as long as you boo in key... ' - Jimi Hendrix.

SIN

'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.'
So if the Virgin Mary rocked up and launched a piece of flint right between the eyes, would that count?
Or if Jesus decided to have a go would that be a fall from grace?
Everyone has sinned does that include Mary and Jesus?
And so the arguments rage.
You can see the futility of over thinking the message, debating the scriptures, as words are inadequate.
We end up missing the point.
Better to understand the sentiment, the chord it strikes within. The answer you get from the silence.
Keith thinks I am a big sinner and stones me regularly. He can't forgive, he can't forget. He's a rascal. A devil.
The beatings don't come as often or as severe now.
That is because I've learnt to treat him with love and compassion.

'So many come to me that talk about love and peace, that know all of the great quotes, that pride themselves on their spiritual knowledge. Yet they are the meanest people that you will ever meet. They say the meanest, nastiest things about other people. They do not understand the laws of correct living. These actions transgress the laws of happiness. And so it goes on. Until we realize the Truth. That everything we say and do will have repercussions. That not only are we the part and parcel of Supreme Love, Supreme All Perfect Reality, All Embracing Compassion, but so is everyone else. And we treat them as such.' - Robert Adams

'Be gentle with yourself.' - Guru McGod.

THE WORLD

Guru Monty went climbing yesterday.
He is very good for a 2 year old (1 year 11months to be exact).
He is also very quick. And I couldn't get to him before he fell off the sofa and bumped his head on the floor.
He started to cry with the pain. Then he noticed Iggle Piggle on the TV jumping up and down and dancing. So he decided to stop crying, start laughing and join in the dance.
The world has been with us forever. There will be calamities.
It is not going to get any worse, and it is not going to get any better.
How you think of these things determines what happens to you.
In this world pain is unavoidable but suffering is optional.
If you step on a cats paw it hisses and spits for a couple of seconds, and gets out of the way.
It doesn't bitch and moan for 40 years and hold a grudge against you.
The world exists to train you, to polish your spirit, to draw you higher, to make you shine.
How you do anything is how you do everything.
Fall over seven times, stand up and dance eight.

'You will be on this earth a short while. Everything that you do determines your state of consciousness. What you will experience. Be very careful to surround yourself with Truth. Discern wisely.' - Robert Adams.

TREE HUGGING

I went to a tree hugging seminar at the weekend http://www.releasetechnique.com/page.php?page=live-classes#UK.
It was well attended - sign of the times.
There I met Guru Billy - another Scot.
We were releasing on worry and really powering through the exercise, incredible energy rising. We both became worry free very quickly and where wondering what to do next with the 30 minutes remaining.
'What is stopping you from being free all the time Andy?'
'My mind Billy.'
'Why don't you be free now? Like you said in your Love letter. Right now.'
I felt a rush. Keith kicked in straight away. Confusion. Real horrible crippling confusion. Rabbit in the headlights. Panic.
'You can't go free in front of him! It is bad enough that you do it quietly on your own. He'll think you an idiot. A hippy tree hugger or worse a fake. You will look really stupid. What you going to do to prove that you are free? Levitate? Shine like a God? You left your halo at home. You'll have to prove it to him. Or he wont believe you. And then you will be scorned. Don't look into his eyes. Look away!'
Frustration, tears rising, terrible fear. Terror.
Then laughter and the stupidity of it all. Push through the joy, because that is another trap. Look into Billy's eyes. Now! You can do it.
'Don't you dare! He is a freak, he's worse than you. Look at the way he releases, all serious and full of himself. He's a fraud too. Don't look into his eyes! Don't!'
I let Keith have his rant and then calmly looked into Billy's eyes.
And there I was staring back.
I am you Billy.
Peace.

'Peace is non-resistance, complete acceptance, identification with all, everyone, everything' - Lester Levenson.

STUFF

KISS. Keep It Simple Seeker.
Wanting stuff, trinkets, baubles, gadgets. The latest thing.
For men the stereotype is fast cars and expensive watches, for women shoes and chocolate.
It is the wanting that is the problem. Wanting keeps you from having. You cannot want and have at the same time.
Stop wanting and start having.
The Truth is you have everything.
When a want is satisfied you feel happy. You get a promotion, a new car, the diamonds, the recognition, the film deal. But this happiness does not last, and you want again, to be happy again.
The next want needs to be bigger to get the same hit. You achieve it, feel happy, happiness wanes and so the downward spiral progresses.
Like a drug addict forever craving that one last fix.
Why not be happy all the time?
If you get in touch with your true nature, you actually stop wanting.
You begin to know the happiness that you really are is far more intense, satisfying and wonderful than the happiness you could feel from worldly achievements.
You could suddenly become the richest person in the world by inventing the chocolate shoe. (An item that confuses women into remaining silent and peaceful by focusing the chattering mind on the question 'Should I eat it or wear it?').
But the happiness felt would still only be a small glimpse of what is available, of what you really are, if you would only remove the clouds of the world illusion.
So why not concentrate on getting in touch with the happiness inside and leave alone the spiral trap of worldly wanting? Why not have happiness constantly no matter what happens in the world?

" Truth is very simple. A flower does not try to be beautiful. It's True Nature is Beauty. It exudes fragrance, beauty, perfection. Just by its very Being. In the same way, when you Awaken to your True Nature You will naturally exude Love, Compassion, Beauty.
It is all you. For it is your True Self. " - Robert Adams.

THE TRUTH

The Truth never changes. Anything that changes is a lie. There is a popular belief that the atoms in your body turn over on average every seven years http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Does_the_human_body_regenerate_every_7_years).
So very few atoms in your body if any are original. And yet you look much the same and you can remember things from your childhood.
The body is a lie.
People change their mind all the time.
The mind is a lie.
The World changes constantly.
The World is a lie.
This is very comforting because if you know something is a lie it should no longer offend you. But most people let it.
Keith thinks I am just being clever with words. He is right again. Because words change, ideas change and they are a lie too.
But all lies point to the Truth.
So use them as a guide and experience the Truth.
Don't talk about the Truth too much, or write about it, or think about it, or dance about it too much.
Experience it.

'The key to good technique is to keep your hands, feet, and hips straight and centered. If you are centered, you can move freely. The physical center is your belly; if your mind is set there as well, you are assured of victory in any endeavor.' - Morihei Ueshiba

THE ANSWER

Guru Challis asked me this morning if I had got the answer yet.
I replied 'Oh yes - I got that a while back.'
The truth is I always knew it. It had never left me. I'd just forgotten and covered it up with a lot of stuff.
And I still do. I get glimpses then get distracted. The pull of the world is very real.
Like a dog digging for a bone, sees a cat and chases it. I have yet to see a dog catch a cat. It is almost as if they don't want to.
Guru Basil couldn't sleep last night, he was fighting it all the way. So we did some 'Imagination'. We lay down and let go of the body, and let the mind chatter, let the thoughts come up and watched them.
'Don't think of an elephant!'
And the elephant appeared and we watched it. And then we soared off into the Universe and pretended to swallow all the planets into our body, then the Sun and the stars, then the milky way and the galaxies until there was nothing left.
And we sat in the silence, knowing that everything was inside us. We didn't have to be concerned about the past or worry about the future, we were enjoying the now.
'I'm in the now Daddy'
'How do you feel?'
'Relaxed and sleepy'.
He had stopped chasing his cat, stopped digging for his bone.
He was himself. Love.

'One does not need buildings, money, power, or status to practice the Art of Peace. Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to train' - Morihei Ueshiba

JOY

Can you feel it? Just beneath the surface, that feeling of happiness.
Feel it!
Let it up, it wants to come up.
Stop pushing it down with thoughts and worries.
Feel it. Let it up. Go on!
You have no worry big enough to stop it. Nothing in your life is so catastrophic as to keep that feeling down, if you would just recognise it, stop thinking, and let it up.
Let it up!
That is your natural self. Everything else is just a projection on that, a cloud covering it. Illusion.

PERFECTION

Guru Basil is a perfectionist. He was getting frustrated with his Lego. It was his 5th attempt to get the truck roof to stay in position. It just kept coming unstuck. He gave in and asked me for help. I followed the instructions and after 4 attempts Keith was telling me to throw the truck in the oven and turn the heat up to gas mark 8. 'That will make it stick!'.
I decided to apply life lessons to Lego. I went back several pages in the manual to see if the foundations were sound. Sure enough a tiny brick acting as a key stone was missing. That in place and all was well.
Guru Basil finished playing with his Lego and bought me the Meccano... I suggested we went for a walk to the park instead.

'Return to that source and leave behind all self-centered thoughts, petty desires, and anger. Those who are possessed by nothing possess everything. ' - Morihei Ueshiba

TAKE NOTHING PERSONALLY

2 weeks ago 5 year old Guru Star had come around from surgery. Her withered kidney was out and all was well. I joyfully told everyone and the messages of relief and kind wishes came flooding back. Then I received this one:
'Before you tell me how your child is, tell me how sorry you were to hear that mine died.'
I phoned to offer my apologies and to explain it was not my intention to cause pain. I listened to a torrent of abuse and anguish, bile, defamation, contempt and condemnation. Keith was telling me to retaliate and defend, to say all sorts of things to stop the tirade. Shut up Keith and help me send her love, can't you hear her pain?
Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves. All people live in their own mind, their dream, they are in a completely different world to mine. If I take things personally then I make the assumption that they know what is in my world. I have no right to try and impose my world on theirs.
“If the end result of Illumination is Love, Compassion and Humility,
What if we were to do that now?’ Robert Adams.

MAYOR OF MONKEY TOWN

Guru Raj was chatting to me about the pull of the world - 'You do enough releasing/meditating and the world becomes too appealing and this delays making THE decision.'
That is the TRAP. Life becomes effortless, abundant, nothing is out of reach. Nothing is impossible. But these are worldy things, baubles, trinkets, fast cars, big houses, attention, ego inflation. Golden chains.
I'm fed up of being Mayor of Monkey Town, time to go home.
I read in Autobiography of a Yogi - Paramhansa Yogananda, "Whenever anyone utters with reverence the name of Babaji, that devotee attracts an instant spiritual blessing." - Lahiri Mahasaya. I found this marvellous piece http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rabSOIP9i-c and then later that night I meditated on Babaji.
A tiny mosquito started buzzing near my ear. I sent it love as I do with all insects. They usually leave and bother someone else, but more recently they have been landing on me to have a rest. This little beauty landed.
Babaji, Babaji.
I carried on with the meditation and sent it more love. It had landed between my eyebrows.
Babaji, love, Babaji, love.
I felt its proboscis pierce my skin.
Babaji, love, Babaji.
This little feller was having a nice sit down and a cup of tea.
I opened my eyes and could see his out of focus outline. I laughed.
The next morning there was no mark, gentle creature. The following morning I noticed a small spot where the insect bit. It was the precise middle, exactly inline with the centre of my eyes. Perfect symetry. Marvellous. Third eye? meditation point? Some sort of sign? What does it mean? I asked Guru McGod.
'STOP TRYING'
He told me to stop trying to work it out. Ping! All signs are meaningless. It happened, it was interesting to the mind. Thats it. Move on.
'You cannot see or touch the Divine with your gross senses. The Divine is within you, not somewhere else. Unite yourself to the Divine, and you will be able to perceive gods wherever you are, but do not try to grasp or cling to them. ' - Morihei Ueshiba

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC

Monday 6th October - Guru Monty entered the room with the guitar held on his shoulder. He strummed an unusual chord sequence and sang his heart out. No discernable words, it was a chant. It was the best piece of music I have ever heard. It was not skilled by western standards, but he put his all into that song, it was from his being. Learn and forget. Guru Monty will be 2 years old in November.
'Music is the space between the notes' - Claude Debussy.
Space, nothing is important. Nothing is important. Physicists have shown that the human body is almost 100% space. The distance between atoms being so vast compared to their size. And in side the atom there is even more space. Buddhist have known this for 2500 years, Hindus even longer 5000years.
Keith thinks this is semantics and a clever word trick and should be dismissed. Keith is right. We should not think about it and label it, because if you label nothing it becomes something and then you loose it's pure essence. You should experience nothing instead. Use the words as pointers and experience the peace. Look for the spaces in conversations, in the motion as you walk, in your thoughts, in the music - silence without, stillness within. Enter the space, feel the power and the peace, the silence and the enormous potential.
You will wake up. At first it is subtle, imperceptible. Allow it to expand. Allow yourself to drop it if you get afraid, knowing that its always there whenever you need it.
I applauded Guru Monty and urged him to play more, as did everyone in that room. He dropped the guitar, scowled as if to say 'I am not Monkey Boy, that is your lot', and went off to talk to the fish in the next room. Good lad.
'Ultimately, you must forget about technique. The further you progress, the fewer teachings there are. The Great Path is really No Path. ' - Morihei Ueshiba.

DEATH

I listened to a friend today - Guru Heart. His wife died yesterday after a 11 month battle with motor neurone disease. 40 years together. He loves her dearly.
Can you remain positive despite what is happening around you?
The last 2 weeks he sat by her side in hospital, caring for her. Sleeping in the chair beside her bed. Washing her, shaving her legs, cutting her hair, paying particular attention to the back of the neck. He manicured her nails. Perfumed her, polished her glasses, they really suited her. He made her look beautiful. She died looking beautiful. She is beautiful.
Do we die? Are we the body? Are we the mind? - Yes.
Do we die? Are we the body? Are we the mind? - No.
Both are right.
'Tell him about your experiences with death, Andy.' Shut up Keith and help me send him love.

'Real love should be the basis of marriage. Real love has no element of needing the other one, or possessing the other one. Real love wants only to make the other one happy' - Lester Levenson

TRAIN ON THE TRAIN

Monday Morning 6th October.
It's a slippery slope this Self Enquiry malarkey. It started off with a few drops of lavender oil in my bath because I was feeling a bit stressed, and now I'm writing a blog about Parabrahman and ego elimination. Commuting is great. An excellent place to train. The practice I use is to send everyone love. Every agitated, angry, sad, happy, beautiful face love. I shared this technique with one of my Italian Guru's - The Iron Goddess - she asked even the ugly ones? Even the ugly ones. If you do it right they no longer become ugly. I was practicing this on Monday morning because an angry man reminded me by shoving his very sharp elbows into my ribs. I sent him love, he calmed down. I sent the rest of the carriage love and all was well. I was remembering Thursdays experience, rooted firmly in the past, trying to figure out how I did it. Going through the head knowledge. It points in the right direction, makes me feel safe.
It is just a decision. Do or not do, there is no try.
Ping!
I woke up again. Lovely. Walking out of Liverpool St. Station seeing it for the first time. Such detail. The McDonalds selling it's wares 24/7 - no attachment, no aversion. Wonderful peace.
I got that wanderlust feeling again - wanted to roam London just to experience it from this perspective. No attachment, no aversion. But the mind immediately jumped on that want and told me that would be utterly foolish and to snap out of this nonsense. You are right Keith. I can feel this anywhere. So I carried on as usual, observing myself go through the motions whilst Keith sulked and subtly worked his black magic to bring me back into the world.
It didn't last as long as the evening session, more distraction, more forms jostling for attention, more ego provocation. I'm definitely getting the hang of it though.
Spring forth from the Great Earth; Billow like Great Waves; Stand like a tree, sit like a rock; Use One to strike All. Learn and forget! - Morihei Ueshiba

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH FEAR

THURSDAY 2 OCTOBER. I've had many peak experiences in my life. We all have, but we forget to remember. Beautiful view, birth of my children, getting caught in and surviving a bomb blast. But they have all been short lived. Mind takes over and I start thinking again.
I was staring into a friends eyes listening to his fear - 5 kids, credit crunch, huge mortgage, passed over for promotion all these years and now going to lose his job, reputation in tatters. I do that all the time. Beat myself up and don't look at what is real.
Can I remain positive despite what is happening around me?
I was due to meet up with another set of friends but I could feel the onset of another peak experience, and whilst I love them dearly what would you choose - Another set of fear stories or potential bliss?
I meditated on the train. Then picked up Eckhart's Tolle 'The Power of Now'. This is a book I have been resisting for some time. I know why now. My ego hates it.
It was recommended to me by one of my Gurus. I have many gurus - bizarrely mostly Scottish. I also have many Rugus. This is a term I use for people who annoy me intensely. Gu - dark, Ru - light. So my Guru's take me from the dark and lead me to the light. My Rugus take me from the light and lead me to the dark. I love Guru's and Rugu's equally. They are both excellent teachers.
My most powerful Rugu is my ego. Great teacher, fabulous task master, evil little rascal. I call him Keith.
He is also my most powerful Guru.
My Scottish guru - Goddess McBeautiful - recommended PoN several years ago. I ignored her, knew better - anything that popular can't be good etc.
I read the sentence 'It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living.' Which brought to mind a host of similar quotes culminating in the Zen 'If not now, when?' . And then I realised I had all this head knowledge and just wasn't doing it.
Then another one of my Scottish Gurus - McGod - popped into my head and reminded me of something he had said the day before 'Don't read about it, do it.'
Ping! I woke up.
Words can't describe the experience. They can hint at it. Awaken something in the reader/listener - and then that person should follow that personal path. The more words you use the further away from it you become. I texted McGod ' Hahaha! I've just woken up! Mate it is now!'
The experience lasted into the night and most of the next morning. I sat up marvelling at everything, simple stuff was the best.
It is not for everyone. You have to be utterly fearless. Most people surround themselves in fear. You have to give that up. Very difficult - until you do it.
'When an opponent comes forward, move in and greet him; if he wants to pull back, send him on his way.' - Morihei Ueshiba

HAPPINESS

I've been having increasing glimpses into freedom/awareness/parabrahmen/choiceless, effortless, perfection/happiness/the thing without description, so I thought I'd write down how I got to these states. Useful reminder for me and it might be useful to some seekers to have a raw account of ego elimination too.
I'll detail the events as they happened, conditions, preparation and all that. What was the school thing? Method/Results/Conclusion?