Why Does Anger Exist?

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Author Richard F Holmes

I have been thinking lately that it’s about time I attempted a proper blog post, having hardly written at all for months. The reason for this is that I haven’t been firing on all cylinders for quite some time now, and this is why I decided to post my daily “thought for the day” on the blog, because it enabled me to stay in touch with all those who have been good enough to take an interest in my work. I am not overly worried about my lingering bout of extremely low energy because I know there is a good reason for it, and I had my thoughts confirmed by something that someone sent me on social media recently.

As a vast number of people are now aware we are going through a time of great change here within the Earth dimension; everything is shifting as the vibration of the planet is speeding up rapidly. As a result of this many spiritually aware people are now going through an awakening process. However, this process is not without its side-effects. I noticed around two years ago that I was experiencing unusually low energy levels. Me being me, I didn’t bother too much about it, but as it dragged on and on I did mention it to a couple of close friends. One of them said I should go and have a blood test. I tend to try to avoid doctor’s surgeries, but this time I listened to what my friend said and arranged for the test. To cut a long story short the very extensive blood tests revealed that there was absolutely nothing wrong with me. My GP said I probably had a mild case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, for which there is no known cure; the cause is also unknown.

Anyway, I’d heard that spiritual people all over the place were experiencing the same thing, and then a few weeks ago somebody sent me something on social media that gave me even more clarification. I received a list of no less than 54 symptoms that spiritually aware people are experiencing at this time due to the shift taking place. I was actually a bit relieved that I could relate to a number of them.

The reason for me telling you this is because lately I have been a writer that hasn’t been doing much writing, so it explains why. Also, it’s good filler for this (very) little blog post “Why Does Anger Exist”.

Plainly and simply anger exists because people get angry; it has no basis of its own and it is unable to sustain itself without the support of humans. Love, on the other hand, exists in its own right and is the basis for everything. In truth, when we get angry we do more damage to ourselves than others. This is because there are always repercussions in accordance with the laws of cause and effect, karma and personal responsibility.

So really it’s quite simple….. anger? Don’t do it!!!!

They Don’t Call Him The Dalai Lama For Nothing

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Author Richard F Holmes

A few days ago I was idly watching a morning current affairs programme when to my pleasant surprise an interview with the Dalai Lama was shown. He had been in the UK, and the good old BBC had recorded an interview that he gave with Andrew Marr. Mr Marr is renowned for taking no prisoners, especially when he is interviewing politicians.

Two things struck me about the Dalai Lama during the course of that brief interview. Firstly, I was really surprised that his command of the English language was not to the standard that I had assumed it would be. Having said that, I don’t speak Tibetan, so we can safely say that his English blows my command of his own Mother Tongue completely out of the water. The other thing was that he didn’t seem to have much of a personality. These are not judgements you understand, but merely observations. I was actually a bit disappointed that I could not imagine myself enjoying witty banter with him over a mug of green tea and a plate of Cadbury’s Chocolate Fingers.

Andrew Marr seemed to be having difficulty understanding him, and although more restrained than normal, he managed to ask His Holiness one very leading question during this all-too-brief interview. Well, I suppose he had to, didn’t he? Otherwise he wouldn’t have been Andrew Marr. Mr Marr asked His Holiness if it was true that he’d enjoyed a very cordial relationship with the late Mau Tse-Tung (or Chairman Mau as he was know), the Chinese Communist revolutionary and founding father of The People’s Republic of China. Mr Marr offered that it seemed rather unusual for the Tibetan leader of the Buddhist religion to be “snuggling” up with the leader of a country that was responsible for inflicting such terrible suffering on his own. I must admit that it certainly was news to me and I also thought it to be strange to say the least. Unruffled, His Holiness simply answered rather enthusiastically in the affirmative, and then went on to share an anecdote with the now rather bewildered looking Mr Marr. He went on to say that the relationship between him and Mau was so good in fact that when, on occasion, they met up for meals, he had food served to him by Mau personally. Not only that, the good Chairman would use his own chopsticks to put food in the Dalai Lama’s bowl. His Holiness went on to say that in his mind he would be privately horrified that the Chairman might also have been serving up some of his germs too. This little anecdote was completely lost on Andrew Marr who greeted the revelation with all the enthusiasm of a turkey waiting for Christmas.

……. And then it was all over. Mr Marr said “thank you” and The Dalai Lama, ever cordial, raised his hands towards him in the namaskar position as they exchanged polite goodbyes.

The whole thing seemed a bit surreal to me, and I actually felt quite disappointed that the holy man was not how I imagined him to be. Not only that, he was also prone to “doing lunch” with a tyrant. Let’s face it, China’s record on human rights, to this day, does leave something to be desired. However, it was either the next day or the day after when I had one of those eureka moments. The penny dropped! How could I have been so blind to have missed what was actually going on right before my eyes. One of the most important and basic fundamental principles of Buddhism is non-judgementalism. The Dalai Lama was simply demonstrating that he was true to his religion and himself. It reminded me a bit of what Gandhi said just prior to India gaining independence. There were those who wanted to go down the terrorist route and were trying to encourage Gandhi to side with them. But even though he had been beaten and unjustly thrown into jail on countless occasions by the British, he said “no, we want the British to leave as our friends”.

What the Dalai Lama did during that interview was actually to demonstrate why some people (him for instance) are spiritual leaders, and others (me for instance) are spiritual aspirants. He of course was, and is, well aware of the plight of his country and its people, caused solely by the actions of the Chinese. But he did not pass judgement on Mau Tse-Tung. Instead, he accepted the friendship of someone he simply saw as another human being. Yes, they don’t call him The Dalai Lama for nothing.

If you can cultivate the right attitude, your enemies are your best spiritual teachers because their presence provides you with the opportunity to enhance and develop tolerance, patience and understanding – The Dalai Lama

There’s Always Rumi For Love

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Author Richard F Holmes

For my Thought For The Day #89 I decided to post a love poem by the wonderful Rumi; a 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic. I only got to hear about Rumi fairly recently, having noticed some of his beautiful poems posted on facebook by my great friend in New Zeeland, Lynne Marie. As I was reading this particular poem I realized just how deep it went and how insightful it was; and an interpretation started to unfold within me as I read. I of course acknowledge that the following is only my personal interpretation, and I in no way profess to be an authority on the works of such a great poet.

The beauty of the heart

is the lasting beauty:

its lips give to drink

of the water of life.

The heart is the bottomless pit of pure bliss that can be found within all human beings. It is eternal and is the source of all creation; the food and drink of life itself.

Truly it is the water,

that which pours,

and the one who drinks.

All three become one when

your talisman is shattered.

Creation (Love) is ever flowing at its own pace. Only when the water, the pourer and the drinker (Holy Trinity or body, mind and spirit) are in harmony can we be free of our talisman (attachment to the ego). The word “talisman” describes a lucky charm that symbolizes the “stuff and things” of the ephemeral world that humans tend to chase in the deluded hope of finding happiness. The world is in a constant state of flux and any happiness found is simply the interval between two periods of sadness and vice-versa.

That oneness you can’t know

by reasoning ~ Rumi

When we reach into ourselves we can connect with that oneness that “passes all understanding”; that ocean of Love or God. We are then in tune with who we really are, and the ego, mind and senses cease to exist. In that moment we are completely liberated; completely free from pleasure and pain, sweet and bitter, joy and grief, tomb and womb etc. etc.

Unfortunately, this is a state of being that most of us, me included, can only flit in and out of. But what an amazing goal to aim for!

Thought For The Day #57

Quote

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Author Richard F Holmes

“Embodiments of Love!

Spirituality does not mean a life of solitude. True spirituality lies in understanding the unity of the entire humanity, and giving up the sense of attachment and hatred. The principle of atma is the same in everyone. What is the form of the Atma (spirit)? Sugar has a form, but can anyone describe the form of sweetness? Sweetness can only be experienced, it cannot be explained. Similar is the case with the atmic principle too. It is ancient, eternal, attributeless, formless, pure, unsullied and immortal.The sweets such as mysore pak, gulab jamoon, burfi, etc., may vary in name and form, but sugar is the same in all. Likewise, names and forms are different, but the principle of atma is one and the same.” ~ Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Spirit Guides; Just Who Are You?????

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Author Richard F Holmes

This is another one of those articles that sets out to educate in a simplistic way and explode a few myths at the same time.

First of all, and contrary to popular opinion, the astral planes are not full of souls running around dressed as Red Indians, Egyptians, monks and oriental gentlemen etc. The truth is that spirit guides will project these images because they know, that in our human state, we want “boxes ticked”, and our logical minds demand tangibility. I shall clarify this more as we go along.

Spirit guides most certainly do exist; we all have them whether we like it or not. But they do not exist in the way that many believe they do. It’s true to say that we all have a certain number of highly evolved souls and celestial beings who watch over us. But by and large the guides who work with us on a day-to-day basis are pretty much at the same level as us, or in some cases, not as evolved. The only advantage that they have is, that being discarnate, they have a view of the bigger picture and are able to help us in ways that are conducive to our long-term spiritual growth. They are usually spirit/soul family members who have known us for eons. They will be souls that we have encountered many times before, both in this world and beyond, and the work they do for us is also beneficial to them because it is a form of service that enhances their own spiritual growth.

Quite often they will take on the form of Native American Indians or some other culture generally associated with high levels of spiritual wisdom. Of course, it goes without saying that in some cases these souls may have indeed embraced that particular culture during an incarnation into flesh, but the main reason for projecting the form is so that the person being guided has something on which to focus. We also have what are called “helpers” who are generally departed souls whom we have known in this lifetime (those I affectionately refer to as “Auntie Doris” and “Uncle Charlie”). Your average person attending a spiritualist church does not have a great understanding of spirituality and desperately needs to know that the likes of “Auntie Doris” is right there helping them to unload their burdens. Helpers can also be other members of our soul families who simply want to do their bit to help us along. The guides and the helpers are generally supervised by souls who are more evolved.

I remember some years back whilst I was still sitting in a development group in Gloucester. I had a portrait of a guide painted for me by a psychic artist. I didn’t recognize the guide, but he was in the form of a monk with his cowl up over his head; with big eyes and a soft, kind face. Some other members of the development group also had portraits of guides painted by the same artist, and this particular evening we brought our portraits with us and meditated on them. Group members said that mine looked like a Tibetan Monk and some days later I was at home meditating when the guide appeared. I asked “are you Tibetan?”, and the answer I received was “why? Do you want me to be?”. That just about sums up what I was saying before. The guide was telling me that he would project any form I wished; it was just a form.

In the early days I was just like most people. The first guides I knew of were Great Chief White Feathers; who apparently was from the Blackfoot tribe and an Egyptian who flatly refused to give a name but informed me I could call him Abdulla if I really had to. In time I learned that those two fantastic souls who helped me through some dark times were not the highly evolved beings I thought they were. They were simply loving souls who knew me and were doing their best to help me. These days I am simply aware of energies around me. Those energies have intelligence and they are able to project any form they want to. I very, very rarely see “form” these days when it comes to guides, because they know that I now understand that pure spirit is formless; it simply IS. I know and trust those energies and feel them around me constantly, form is irrelevant and not necessary once you reach a certain understanding.

To finish I will just say this. The greatest guide any of us could ever have is our inner guide; the light of love; the God that resides within our hearts.

More Insight Into Spiritual Stuff

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Author Richard F Holmes

I remember when I first started to develop spiritually. I was still in quite a dark place and didn’t have the understanding that I have now. It was whilst I was off work with an acute stress related illness that I started doing my own version of meditation; and looking back, I suppose it was right for me at the time. I had been going to a local spiritualist church in Swindon, where I was living at the time, on and off for a number of years, but unfortunately, I only ever felt despair and frustration with this church and the religion it represented. My period of illness actually turned out to be a time of great reflection and “seed planting”; the fruits of which I am now benefiting from. Now before I go any further I should just explain that this article DOES have a meaning and purpose, and I’m sharing my experiences so that others may also learn from them.

As humans we always want the spectacular; if it ain’t got knobs on we don’t want it. Unfortunately, the same can be said for the spiritual pathway in the early stages of development. I remember that I used to go to the “open circle” up at the church. We would do meditation guided by the circle leader, and I could never do it. Whilst others seemed to have weird and wonderful experiences seeing all kinds of amazing things, I just drew a blank. I think I may even have invented the odd “experience” or two just so as not to feel left out. But, as I have said, I didn’t have the understanding that I have now so I remained frustrated in my ignorance; because I wasn’t seeing crystal caves and Native American Indians I believed I couldn’t do it. What I didn’t realise was that these establishments are always rife with “barrack room mediums” people who have never quite made it as mediums and like to be a big fish in a small sea. So I would listen to these people relating all their “incredible” experiences and think that they were something special. However, I persevered with my own version and also started to read a bit and this proved to be an adequate stepping stone.

When I first started communicating with spirit I would occasionally have a friend round and they would let me experiment. I remember back in those early days (around the year 2000) I would see the transfiguration of the spirit face onto my friends’ faces and I would also on occasion hear crystal clear telepathic voice communication. When I eventually met my mentors my awareness just exploded out of nowhere and I developed very quickly. Indeed, within nine months I stood up for the first time in public to demonstrate mediumship, and within 17 months I was out on my own. When you experience this kind of thing for the first time, it’s very easy to get carried away with it all. When you see and hear clearly and vividly you think that you have hit the heights. But now it’s time to explode the myths and share with you why a lot of people come unstuck.

The reason that things seem so clear and vivid in the early stages is because the energies we are communicating with are on a level of the astral plains where the rate of vibration is not that much higher than it is within the Earth dimension. Because we ourselves are not that highly developed at this stage it doesn’t take much to forge a link with this particular realm. Unfortunately, what many learn the hard way is that this level of the astral planes houses many mischievous discarnate souls who like to play tricks on us incarnate souls. They also attach themselves to the auras of unsuspecting incarnate humans and cause all sorts of problems. It is very easy to fall into this trap because you are very obviously communicating with spirit, there is no doubt about this whatsoever. But there are many misguided would-be mediums and psychics out there who believe that, just because you get a communication from the astral planes, it is gospel and set in stone; the reality is that nothing could be further from the truth. This is why it is so important to have good, experienced and disciplined teachers who will impart their wisdom and sense of discipline to you. I’ve even known mediums to work whilst drinking alcohol; that is an absolute no-no, in fact it’s suicidal; rather like trying to put a fire out with a can of petrol. All alcohol does is dull your senses, make you lose your discipline and allows mischievous souls to home in on you. Whilst it’s true to say that at that level you can see fantastic images and hear crystal clear voices, it’s not a place where those who are pure of intention would wish to dwell; which brings me to the crux of this post.

It’s very common for budding mediums to think that they are losing it because their clairvoyant images suddenly don’t seem vivid, if at all they have any. Also, they may suddenly find that their clairaudience seems to have stopped working. What this quite often means, in fact, is that the person has grown in spiritual awareness; and I shall use a simple analogy to explain. Cast your mind back to when you were in the final year of the infants school; you were one of the big kids in the playground. Then you find yourself in the first year of the juniors; you’ve been promoted, but all of a sudden you are no longer the big kid. You are scared because you have gone from being big kid to little kid, and it takes a bit of time for you to feel your way around and find your feet. Well, it’s the same principle with spiritual growth. As we move to higher levels we leave lower levels behind. As we are making the transition from one level to another the clairvoyance may well disappear or at least seem unclear.

Some people become firmly fixed at the first stage, unable to let go and move on. These are the people you encounter who are always trying to force a message onto you, who are always saying they’re seeing incredible things and are in constant communication with their “guides” who also have weird and wonderful names.

In truth mediumship and all things psychic are simply one of many, many facets of the Self. There is no one on the planet who is not a medium, because we are all, in essence, eternal beings of light, Divine manifestations of God with no limitations except those we impose on ourselves. From a personal perspective, I am neither a new ager or a spiritualist; I am simply a soul on a mission, a messenger, witness to the Divine play we call life. I view mediumship in the same way I view making a cup of tea, or tying my shoelaces; it’s just something I do from time to time because it’s a part of who I am. So in the same way that on occasion I have to make a cup of tea or tie my shoelaces, so do I also have occasion to work as a medium.

Remember, hands that serve are holier than lips that pray. It matters not what you do, as long as what you do benefits the human race in some way; all work is sacred. God bless.