Always Expect The Unexpected

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Author Richard F Holmes

A ridiculous statement really; how can you expect something that is unexpected? But, the unexpected did happen to me during the early hours of this morning. I call it the unexpected because it was something that I came to expect, as it was a semi-frequent occurrence, but then ended up wondering if it was ever going to happen to me again. Anyway… I’m aware that I’m rambling; I am, of course, talking about an out-of-body experience. Yes, apart from two very short excursions into the astral realms in the past nine months or so, I have been pretty redundant in that department. I chose not to write about the two aforementioned experiences because, aside from being quite short, they were also quite strange and I had a job getting my head around things. So, I took the decision to confine them to the archives of imaginary time.

My experience of this morning was also a little bit of an anti-climax but I am still going to share it with the world. Hey, can you believe that? I went on an astral journey and I’m describing it as an anti-climax. My, how times have changed. I remember how it was when I first started to experience this phenomenon; and now it would appear that I am turning my nose up if I am not suitably stimulated during the proceedings. How ungrateful can a man get? In truth, I have experienced so much over the years that I am fully aware that I have a much different reality to most people. Anyway, on with the story.

As is the case 99% of the time it started with a dream; then all of a sudden I realised I was out of my body, wide awake and on the move. For the first time ever I found myself being carried from the front. I sent out thoughts of gratitude to my companion and waited with bated breath to see what was going to occur. I was aware of entering a very old building and could just about make out some really old brick-work as we entered. I was still very much in the dark at this stage but I got a short but very clear glimpse of a building that would not have been out-of-place in an old black and white horror film. I should add here that this is simply my way of describing it and at no time did I feel that I was going to meet my doom, and I never felt threatened in any way. As we emerged from the darkness my companion set me down in a kind of narrow corridor. It was then that I got a good look at my young friend. In earthly terms I would describe him as being in his late teens to early twenties, he was wearing a yellow top and was quite fresh-faced.

We made our way down the corridor and my friend allowed me to lead the way. To the right I noticed a small room without a door and there was a very strange-looking character in there crouching down as though he was doing some kinds of exercises. I also noticed a rather flat looking dog laying on the floor of the corridor as we continued down. There was another room with no door a little further down on the right where I glimpsed two more strange-looking characters. My first thought was to think that these souls really needed help. But when I pondered this later on I came to the conclusion that I only thought this because in my human-ness I have great difficulty thinking outside the box, and it is a common human failing to believe that something or somebody may not be as it should be simply because it or they do not fit our idea of what is supposedly normal or right.

I continued down and paused to glance back just in time to see my companion disappear down through a bolt hole on the left hand side. This is quite normal; I’m assuming that my astral helpers are only permitted to accompany me so far for “reasons of the soul”. I did however manage to thank him again and say goodbye before he disappeared.

The next bit is quite difficult to describe but I shall do my best. I carried on and soon came to a point where the corridor veered off at a slight angle to the right, and in front of me, up above there was a gap between the wall and ceiling which was covered by a flap that looked like a piece of basic white sheet. I could see through the gap between the wall and sheet and it looked like an old fashioned barrack room on the other side. I now had to make a decision; do I carry on down the corridor or do I float up through the flap and see what’s beyond. Strangely, without making a conscious decision, I simply floated up and through the white sheet. On the other side, immediately on the right, was a couple of old-style army-type bunk beds. I should also add at this point that the whole complex of corridor and barrack room seemed as though it was underground.

I just floated on past the bunk beds and realised that the whole place was open plan and quite huge. There was a lot of souls wearing military-style uniforms, but they did not bat an eyelid as I floated past above their heads. I realised too that the area where the bunk beds were sited was actually quite small; probably a rest area, and as I made my way out into the open space it seemed more like a huge workshop, or even an aircraft hanger. Even though it looked decidedly military I was not surprised to note that there was not a single gun in sight; astral weapons simply don’t exist. Of course, my assuming that this was some kind of military area could also have something to do with not being able to think outside the box; this is simply how it looked to me.

Just as I was really looking forward to exploring I got that all too familiar feeling, and within what seemed like a micro-second, I was back in my body. So, as far as astral adventures goes it wasn’t that eventful. Did I really just say that? You must think I’m REALLY spoiled… well I am… AND extremely lucky.

Nothing Has Changed

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Author Richard F Holmes

If you take a close look at the statement “Nothing Has Changed” you will see that it is not simply declaring that “nothing has changed”; it actually contains a much deeper and profound message. If you now read the same statement as “nothing HAS changed” you will be well on the way to understanding the hidden meaning.

In the early 1970’s rock guitarist, Pete Townshend penned a song called Let’s See Action. Within that song is the line nothing is everything, everything is nothing is. Pete is a life-long devotee of the guru, Meher Baba and many of his songs over the years have had spiritual overtones; and for me, that lyric in Let’s See Action is one of the most significant lines ever written. You see, everything REALLY is nothing is. The world of form (everything) emerged from the formless (nothing), and will one day merge back, thus completing the cycle. Because all form is ultimately an illusion, all that really exists is nothing (or particles of nothing), hence everything is nothing. Which brings me back to where I started…

Because creation, as particles of nothing, is constantly in motion, its very nature is change. So we can safely say that nothing most certainly HAS changed. In fact, nothing is in a constant state of flux.

Life has a way of being so completely and utterly mind-boggling; but in such a truly wondrous way.

The coast at Mandria, Cyprus

Aum A Bit Confused

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Author Richard F Holmes

The Vedic sound of Om, also known as Aum and Pranava, is considered to be the most powerful and significant of all mantras. It is The Sound Of The Universe, The Holy Spirit of vibration holding the entire creation together. It is pronounced in the same way as the “om” in “from”. Even though it is a single syllable, it has what I can only describe as three sub-syllables; A – U – M. It is for this reason that Om is sometimes incorrectly chanted as “orm” or “awm”. The letters A – U – M are, in fact, highly sacred and symbolic in that they represent the three “states” of being for humans encased in flesh, having a physical experience; namely waking state, dream state and deep-sleep state.

“A” represents waking state; because it is considered in the Vedas to be the first state of consciousness. “U” represents dream state because the “U” is next to the “A” in the order of sounds and dream state is considered to be the second state of consciousness; lying in between being “awake” and “asleep”. “M” represents deep-sleep state because it is the closing sound of the Om and deep-sleep is said to represent the final stage of the mind in rest. When chanting the Om there will inevitably be a slight pause between each single chant, and it is this brief period of silence, known as the “turiya”, that completes the cycle and does itself have a highly sacred and symbolic meaning.

Om represents the “Self”; encompassing the Self as a whole. The A, U and M represent the realm of the relative, the world of form or the illusion, whilst the turiya represents the formless, The Universal Absolute or God. Because all is God anyway, the Om as a whole represents the totality, the Oneness and the simple truth that “All and Everything is God”. Sound only exists because of silence, so the Om emerges from the silence, moves through the sub-syllables to the M where it reaches its peak. It then subsides into the silence; the state of perfect bliss; thus symbolising the world of form merging once again with the formless.

Since ancient times the Om has been used as an aid to meditation and medium with which to connect the spiritual aspirant to God. It is also called ‘Pranava’, meaning, that it is something that pervades life, or runs through prana or breath. There is a passage in the Vedas that states “In the beginning was the word and the word was Om (Aum)”, thousands of years later this ended up in the Christian Bible as “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God”. Om (Aum) is also the origin of the Christian “Amen”.

Life After Life

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Author Richard F Holmes

We can never understand life unless we understand death, and we will never understand death until we see it for what it really is. Death is an illusion; only existing within the mind. Like all illusions it will only hang around for as long as we give it credence. The dissolving away of the illusion of death will represent, not a door closing, but a door opening; revealing a previously forgotten truth. The truth that there is indeed no such thing as the afterlife; there is only life itself. Life in all its glory; experienced in one single and equally glorious eternal moment.

Don’t Kill Yourself; It Will Be The Death Of You!

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Author Richard F Holmes

Think about this…

It is considered wrong to commit suicide, say by hanging yourself or taking an overdose, and it is illegal to assist someone in taking their own life. However, the society in which we live seemingly thinks it’s OK to kill ourselves as long as we use a slow method. What I mean is, humans knowingly poison their bodies by smoking cigarettes, taking drugs, drinking alcohol and consuming food that has been contaminated with chemicals.

In truth we cannot die because there is no death. I just find it mildly amusing that sanctimonious, self-righteous society deems it OK to subject ourselves to a slow and often painful demise by abusing our bodies, but, dare to get a gun and blow your own brains out, and boy, are you in trouble!

PS Before I get accused of saying that society says it’s OK to take drugs…

I was actually referring specifically to the act of taking one’s own life. If you think about it logically; quick or slow, it’s all suicide.

Little Devil

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Author Richard F Holmes

Organised religion has got such a lot to answer for, and for so many reasons, but one of the biggest confidence tricks ever pulled by religious leaders in the entire history of the human race, is that somehow, they have managed to convince the great unwashed that the mythological character we affectionately know as “The Devil”, actually exists. It is truly incredible how many millions of people over the centuries have succumbed to this ridiculous notion. The word devil comes from the Spanish “diablo” which means “little devil”. Over time, many other names have been coined for this mythical character, such as Lucifer, Beelzebub and Satan; to name but a few. In truth, the word “Satan” is actually a symbolic term used to describe anything that causes us to stray from our spiritual pathway, such as the ego, the mind and the senses. Many centuries ago, religious leaders brainwashed people into believing that there really was a character called The Devil who would lead them to eternal damnation in the flames of hell if they were not careful. The character was eventually written into the Bible as a means of controlling the ignorant by their own fear.

In truth, heaven and hell are not places that we go to; they are places that we create for ourselves, and our heaven or hell will be anywhere we want it to be at any time we want. It would be accurate to say that “hell” is what we experience in the mind whenever we believe that we are separate from God. This feeling of separateness occurs when we are experiencing something that is not in line with who we really are. By the same token, “heaven” is exactly the opposite. It is the inner bliss we experience when we are One with God. If we examine the whole concept of hell, what it actually states is that if we do not behave in a certain way we will be separated from God for eternity. This is actually impossible. If we are individualised particles of the whole that we call “God”, how can we ever be separate? Why would God banish a part of himself to eternal damnation? It simply does not make sense and can never happen.

The ultimate reality is “All That There Is”, which in its natural state is empty space, or particles of emptiness that stretch to infinity and beyond. The astral and physical worlds are simply “All That There Is” manifested as form. So in reality there is nothing; nothing is all there is. But as individualised souls we have the power to create, and this is why we have a habit of creating sub-realities, like hell for instance, for ourselves whilst we are experiencing the physical world.

Yes, hell may not exist but it sure can be a little devil at times.

Synchronicities; don’t you just love ’em

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Author Richard F Holmes

Synchronicities never fail to amaze me and I’m going to share with you one such synchronicity that occurred in the last week. I had been visiting a friend in Swindon for a couple of days, and just prior to setting off on the journey home, my friend and I had a brief conversation about my nephew, Steve. However, before I carry on it will be necessary for me to give you some background information.

Stephen was my older brother’s second child, but the first by his then wife; and also his first and only boy. Steve and I had a magical relationship when he was young. But for reasons that are not relevant to this story his childhood was neither stable nor happy. We continued to be close and then in 1976 I joined the army. We saw each other sporadically whilst I was in the army, and it was apparent to me during my visits, that his living conditions were less than ideal. The army, however, was not for me and having bought myself out just before Christmas in 1979, I went off to work in Germany in March 1980. By the time I came back to England in 1986 Steve was a teenager and into drugs. I was quite disturbed by what I saw; mainly the changes in him, but I had no idea back then as to what would eventually transpire. I had also gone through a drug period but I’d never taken anything serious and I was quite saddened by how my nephew had evolved from a beautiful baby smiling up at me from his pram, into someone I didn’t even recognise.

Now it is also worth mentioning here that I was always considered to be a bit of an oddball in the family. The Holmes’ have never been that close anyway, and as time has gone by, it’s now reached the stage where I have no contact at all with any remaining family members. It was difficult enough before, but once I found my spiritual pathway I was considered to be even more of an oddball. Steve was always my closest ally, but in the mid 1990’s things changed drastically. He had a promising career as a footballer and was on a Youth Training Scheme at Blackburn Rovers, who at the time were in the second tier of English football. He even played twice for the first team, but having been caught with drugs outside a night club in Blackburn, they let him go. He then returned to London where he drifted from club to club in non-league football, playing for some famous old clubs along the way. Then in an effort to get away from the London drug scene he moved down to Swindon, which is where I was living at the time; my mother was also living there. It turned out to be a bit of a disaster, because all he did then was swap the London drug scene for the Swindon drug scene. During this period he was playing for Marlow Town, another famous old non-league club; he even appeared on BBC Match Of The Day once, after Marlow had been drawn against Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup. At one point things seemed to be going well. I thought he was off the drugs; he was getting paid by Marlow and also had a full-time job. He met a girl and they ended up having a wonderful Christmas baby. However, things took a dive just prior to the baby being born.

Steve broke his leg playing football and was never the same again. He did recover but he was not able to play to the same standard. I had no idea that he was still heavily into drugs until 1996 when things came to a head. He had a serious mental breakdown and ended up in a place called Seymour Clinic, a well-known Swindon mental institution. It was an awful depressing place, which I am happy to say no longer exists; in recent years it has been replaced by a more modern facility. Over the next few years he would periodically find himself in Seymour Clinic and another similar establishment, not always on a voluntary basis.

During this period he fell into the clutches of a Swindon based Christian Fundamentalist group that had a reputation for preying on vulnerable people; with a mental illness Steve was an ideal candidate. As a few more years passed by Steve relapsed into his illness a number of times. Also, because of all the medication he was on, his weight ballooned and he became very disheveled; a shadow of the athletic young man he’d been just a few years prior. Unfortunately, when I found my spiritual pathway he decided that I was “in league with Satan” and we ceased to have regular contact. In 2003 I moved to Wales, but when my mother became ill in 2005 I moved back to Swindon. I saw Steve sporadically during this period but since my mother’s funeral in May 2009 I had bumped into him just once, one evening in a shop in Swindon, whilst on a visit to the same friend I mentioned at the beginning of this story.

Steve lives a very short walking distance from my friend, and she was telling me that she had seen him a couple of times recently from a distance, and had indeed seen him that morning whilst on a trip into town. We both agreed that for all his troubles and faults, he had done a fantastic job with his son. The relationship with the child’s mother had broken up back in the 1990’s but Steve was a doting father and he made every effort to support his son over the years. My friend and I agreed that he had learned wisely from his own childhood experiences and had done his son proud.

Soon after we finished our conversation I said my goodbyes and set off on my journey home. I had only driven a very short distance when I saw an unmistakable figure, yes it was Steve. My first reaction was just to carry on with my journey, as I had no way of knowing how he would react to me. But something told me to drive up to the end of the road, go around the roundabout and come back. This I did, and as I drove past him again I tooted the car horn and noted that he recognised me straight away. I took the first right and pulled over by a bus stop. Steve was really glad to see me, he jumped in the car and I drove around to where he lived. We only had a short chat in the car but during the course of our discussion he told me that he was now working full-time with???? Yes, you’ve guessed it, people with mental health problems. I was so pleased for him; it’s the first proper full-time job he has had in some years.

I could see the face of a man racked with guilt, pain and sadness because of the past. He is obviously still in a great deal of pain because of what he experienced when he was growing up, and I’m sure that was behind him going off the rails. It is also apparent that he feels a lot of guilt for the way he has conducted himself over the years and let his life go the way that it did. But it was great to chat with him and I felt the connection there once again, albeit briefly, and I was happy to be able to give him encouragement. He was also pleased for me with what I am doing and he took my telephone number. I am still waiting for a call, but it has only been just over a week. Synchronicities eh! Don’t you just love ’em?

The Art Of Life

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Author Richard F Holmes

As an occasional painter, and someone who recently dusted the cobwebs of his oil paints and brushes after what seemed like an eternity, it occurred to me recently that not only is life itself a work of art, but the people in it are also living, breathing Picassos’. Literally everything on the universal canvas that we call life is an intricate work of art; created to perfection by the cosmic artist. It is with this thought in mind that I will share a story with you from my recent past.

In the last six years I have on occasion worked with adults and young people with learning disabilities on a part-time basis. Now, people in general have an annoying habit of looking at someone else and forming a judgement based on what they can see; and I believe that to an extent we are all guilty of this. Also, if you were to hang a painting on a wall and ask a cross-section of people what it represented to them it is highly likely that you would get many different interpretations of the same painting. What this shows is that we all view things from our own perspective, and this includes life in general.

It is quite uncanny in this day and age that some people still look on those with learning disabilities as “mad”. I, however, have a completely different view. I actually had two stints of employment in one establishment where I worked, and the little story I want to share concerns an incident that took place at the beginning of my final shift at the end of my first stint. I turned up at the required time in the unit where I was due to work, and on finding that the day staff had already gone home, I thought it best to nip downstairs to the office to see if there was any messages for me. I had a quick scan of the kitchen but did not see the keys. What happened next was quite amazing. The kitchen was entered via the lounge, and diagonally and to the right of that door, was another door leading out of the kitchen to a corridor where some of the residents had their rooms. The distance between the two doors was minimal; no more than a metre and a half.

In the split second that the thought “I wonder where the keys are” entered my head, one of the residents (I will call him Paul) entered the kitchen en route to his room. Now Paul was a very pleasant and boyish man in his 40’s. Indeed there was something very child-like about him. However, if he did not know you well he was not a good communicator, and given the fact that I was only employed part-time and on a “bank” basis, I had only ever had minimal contact with him. It would be true to say that Paul and I had never had a conversation and that he had never actually spoken to me properly before. So I was astounded when in the very moment that the thought entered my head, Paul walked through the kitchen, paused momentarily, pointed to the worktop and in a voice as crystal clear as a mountain stream said “Richard, keys” and just walked off in the direction of his room. I was left gobsmacked; it all happened in the blink of an eye and all that went through my head was “how did he know I was looking for the keys to the office”. But sure enough, as large as life, there were the office keys sitting on the worktop; my initial scan having somehow missed them.

To me people like Paul, indeed all human beings, are works of art, because you can never know their intricacy just by looking at the surface. I have felt for many years that people with learning disabilities are not simply living out their karma. But in many cases I believe them to be highly evolved souls who incarnate into this realm of opposites in an effort to try to educate us and remove our ignorance. Of course, I am not saying that everyone with learning disabilities is a highly evolved soul, but who am I to judge. Regardless, they are all wonderful teachers, because we cannot but have our lives changed in some way by interacting with them; and as we change we also evolve, and as we evolve so does our perspective of the great canvas of life.

The Truth, The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Author Richard F Holmes

It seems like a long time since my last blog post, so I thought it was about time I got my fingers tapping again. I have been struggling with my energy levels again lately so it has made concentration difficult, and therefore made writing nigh-on impossible. But I’m here now, and I thought I would use a personal experience from years ago as a kind of parable in order to illustrate a spiritual concept.

I grew up in a place called Harringay in North London and my street was very close to the old Harringay Stadium, where as a kid my older brother would take me to watch Stock Car (Banger) racing. Alas, the old stadium was raised to the ground many years ago and replaced, I believe, by a shopping centre. But I remember one day, many years ago, being down on the High Street and seeing a couple of Red Indians on motor scooters heading along the road and into the stadium. I couldn’t believe it! My tender young mind was telling me that Red Indians didn’t exist today (they had all been butchered by the cowboys) and certainly not in Harringay.

I went running home as fast as my little legs would take me, and burst into the house announcing with great excitement that I had seen Red Indians on motor scooters heading into Harringay Stadium. My heart sank when my dad accused me of making it up, and my mum didn’t believe me either. No matter how vigorously I argued my case, my father especially, was unmoved. I remember being deeply hurt by that because I knew I wasn’t lying.

It later transpired that there was a carnival and that I had indeed seen some men dressed as Red Indians heading into the stadium, albeit that they were not the real thing.

The spiritual message in this little story is that we all view the word from our own eyes, we all see different things; yet we are all always right from our own perspective. I had told the truth, but so had my dad in denying me. Yet not only were we both right, we were both technically wrong.

In the world that we can see, all is nothing but illusion; a play of the mind. Yet at the same time it is a temporary reality that we have created for ourselves; thus seemingly real. Even though I was but a child my senses picked up the information from the external world (the indians on scooters) and fed it to my mind. My mind then drew a series of conclusions from that information. When I was accused of lying after expressing those conclusions my ego then caused me to experience great pain. So I suffered because of something that didn’t really exist. This just about sums up how most people live their lives within this dimension.

Reality can change by the second, but Truth is eternal and changeless. By looking beyond the surface and delving into that great ocean of divinity we will find our truth; that which passes all understanding and delivers to us a state of bliss. Whilst it’s also a fact that reality can be enjoyable and exciting, it can also be very painful; this is the nature of the human experience.

Apocalypse Not Now Dear I’m Washing My Hair

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Author Richard F Holmes

Well, it’s here, the dreaded 21 December 2012, and as far as I can see the world hasn’t blown up; also, as the headline suggests, I am far too busy washing my hair to be able take part in an apocalypse; maybe next time. Of course, the world never was going to end; it was just a combination of media sensationalism and the thoughts and theories of the misguided that created the whole affair. In commemoration of this “event”, you may have noticed that I wrote a number of spoof articles over the last few months, with equally spoofed headlines. For those of you who maybe didn’t understand what was meant by these articles, it was just my way of expressing how ridiculous I felt the whole idea was. Oh, by the way, the Corgis are back at work now; they opted for a compromise, the matter has been put to kennel, and militant NUC leader, Ruf Growlington has gone back to Newcastle.

I would now like to take this opportunity to put the lid on the 2012 thing and to give my final views.

There has been a shift, but it is subtle and ongoing. Personally, I have never bothered to read up on the whole Mayan Calendar thing, but I would stake my life on it that the Mayans, at no time, said that the world would end on 21 December 2012. We know that creation is a series of cycles and 21 December 2012 simply heralds the end of the current cycle. People all over the planet have been experiencing a spiritual awakening as we enter the next phase, but we are all at different stages of evolution, therefore we will not all experience the same thing at the same time.

I consider myself very fortunate to have been on the planet at the same time as The Kali Yuga Avatar, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and even more fortunate that Baba made himself known to me and allowed me to experience him in the way that I did. Now, as the new Golden Age dawns and religions continue to compare Gods, in an effort to see whose God is best, and bickering within individual religions continues between the different factions, the underlying fundamental principle of spirituality remains the same:

There is only one religion – The religion of Love,

There is only one language, The language of the heart,

There is only one caste, The caste of humanity,

There is only One God, He is omnipresent ~ Baba

The reason for human birth remains the same; to realise the Divinity within ourselves and others. But as man-made religion has made the spiritual pathway so complicated over the years, Baba with his simple teachings gives us a very straightforward path to Self-realisation. For all of you spiritual aspirants out there who may come across this article, here is your simple formula for spiritual awakening. So, if you follow this formula and at the same time “see good, do good, be good, NOW” you won’t go far wrong.

Start your day with Love,

Fill your day with Love,

Spend your day with love,

End your day with Love,

This is the way to God ~ Baba

And finally:

Seen on a notice board in Tetbury today…

FOR SALE

Bunker (may need a bit of an airing) – Excellent condition, one previous owner. Comes with an aeon’s supply of baked beans (ring-pull cans), 750 back copies of The Beano, a torch (batteries included), a CD of Des O’Connor’s Greatest Hit and a partridge in a pear tree.

Reason for sale: The world didn’t blow up…