It’s What Being An Author Is All About

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

I’ve been back from my working trip to West Wales for just over a week now and thought it was about time I checked in. Ah.. the trip; well, it started off quite spectacularly; during the early hours of my first night there I had two (yes, two) out-of-body experiences AND a visitation from Swami, Sri Sathya Sai Baba. It was quite unexpected to embark on astral adventures, especially during the first night, but they were not the kind of adventures that I felt necessary to write about. The second one in particular was a little strange to say the least, but neither held any significance for me, hence I decided to confine them to the annals of time. However, it was lovely of Swami to pop by.

I’ve got an article brewing in my mind for publication in the near future, but what I want to particularly share today is, for me anyway, what really makes being an author worthwhile.

Being an author can be a frustrating old life, but somehow, we simply keep going; even if we do take the odd sabbatical here and there. The other day however I got a real boost. A lady thousands of miles away in America contacted me and told me my books have put her son back on the right pathway. She said that he was going in the wrong direction until he read my work. She went on to say that I am an inspiration to them both. Then, later the same day I received an email from a man much closer to home, although I have never met him, who told me he had acquired some of my books via his mother and that they had helped him greatly. He asked permission for a poem that is in one of my older pieces of work to be copied and read at a friend’s funeral. I was more than happy to allow this (I’m sure most people wouldn’t have bothered to ask!)

It just goes to show, that sometimes we question ourselves and wonder if we are doing the right thing; and all of a sudden we get confirmation that we are! It is a really great feeling to know that I can make a positive difference, through my work, in other people’s lives; and little things, like those two messages, really are what being an author is all about.

By the way. The photo is of the harbour at Aberaeron; I took this pic on a previous trip a couple of years back.

Be My Baby!

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

On the morning of 12 May 2014 I awoke having found myself out-of-body whilst having a “not so nice” dream. I tend not to have nightmares these days, but sometimes I do have dreams where “weird stuff” is going on. The curious thing here was that I was definitely out of my body, but I was still dreaming. A part of my consciousness was not very happy with being in astral form whilst still having a weird dream and I immediately returned to my body. I then found myself in a situation where I was wide awake and disappointed that I’d let the experience pass me by. Bearing in mind what happened during my last escapade (see previous article The Journey Continues – Part Two) I decided to send out my thoughts and asked to be taken off somewhere “nice”.

Almost immediately I felt myself being lifted from my body and I felt myself moving through the ether at speed whilst being carried by an unknown companion. I reached around and held the soul’s hand; half expecting it to be my dear friend from the last journey, however, it was not to be. The hand felt very small, like that of a youngster. As usual we had some telepathic communication, but I cannot remember what pleasantries were exchanged! What happened next was very brief, but like most of my astral adventures these days, turned out to be another uniquely different experience.

We arrived in a very small room, where to my amazement, I found a BABY; would you believe? I would actually describe it as a toddler, and it was engaging in what most toddlers are very good at; namely, having a good old toddle. I don’t remember seeing any doors or windows; but they are not necessary on the astral planes as you just pass through whatever is in front of you. The toddler seemed quite happy and content as it toddled around and I felt quite excited having been taken to meet an astral baby. However, my expectations soon turned flat when I found myself almost immediately back in my body.

As ever, I’m just glad of the experience, and the timing couldn’t have been better, because that little jaunt has given me a reason for a final blog post before I set off on my working trip to Wales. I leave on 16 May and come back on 26 May. Hopefully my little trip will give me something to write about!

See you soon!

The Journey Continues – Part Two

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

Here is the account of my out-of-body experience that occurred about a week after the one I wrote about in Part One of “The Journey Continues”. Just in case you did not read my previous post, here is the link; so you can read it before carrying on with this article. https://richardfholmes.org/2014/04/29/the-journey-continues/

As usual I awoke in the middle of the night and lay in bed, fully aware but with my eyes closed. I wondered what would happen if I actually requested an out-of-body experience. I’d often pestered my friends in spirit when it seemed I was having to wait ages for my next astral adventure, but I had never actually asked for one whilst laying in bed. To my utmost joy, it was not long before I felt the familiar presence of spirit around me, and before I could blink, I found myself being lifted from my body and carried off into the ether. What followed was a fairly short astral experience, but a very significant one nonetheless. Although I did not actually see who my companion was on this occasion, the energy, plus my intuition, led me to believe that it was the same female soul from the previous week. However, I have no way of knowing if it actually was.

As we travelled at speed, I asked telepathically to be taken somewhere exciting. I also touched my companion’s hand and tried to kiss it, but when my lips met the hand they just passed straight through. I learned something from this, specifically; even though I have known for some time that all energy (spirit) is solid in its own realm of existence, individual intelligences have the ability to be fluid or solid at will. This is one of the many, many things that have been taught to me since my adventures began back in 1999.

In a short space of time we arrived at a very small cinema; there was a few people milling around and a few people seated. It was rather strange as far as cinemas go, because the screen was the portable type that people used to play their home movies on. This truly was something new for me, being taken to an astral cinema. But in no time at all we were off and I was back in my bed but not in my body. What happened next was also a first, and quite incredible experience.

My companion lay with me for a while before departing. She lay behind me and continued to hold me as she lay with me. I still could not see who it was, but this wonderful soul felt very soft, and even though I can only describe the whole experience as very loving, it was not sexual in any way. It was simply the coming together of two souls who have obviously known each other for eons.

I don’t know what film was showing and there was no popcorn; but hey! I’m not complaining!

The Journey Continues

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

Having not had any significant out-of-body experiences of note since August 2013, I was beginning to wonder when the next one would come along. Then just like London buses, having waited for what seemed like an age for one, two came along in quick succession. Both were quite incredible in their own unique way because they followed the trend of all my significant astral adventures of the past few years, in that they seemed to go that extra bit further in teaching me something new.

At the time of writing it is almost two weeks since the first one. I remember waking up in the night, and as I lay in bed, my third eye became active. I could see what appeared to be a very posh rest room (Yes, that’s what it looked like on the surface, but I don’t think it was) tiled throughout with very pale green tiles. I was laying there looking at this scene playing out within my brow chakra, when I got that familiar feeling I get before an out-of-body experience. I left my body but appeared to return straight away. Then I was off again.

I could feel myself being carried as usual, and as I was enjoying the journey something happened that I had not experienced before. As if I was responding to subconscious commands, I reached around and held my companion’s hand and also turned around to see that I was being carried by a lovely female soul. I have done similar things before but only from conscious thought; this was completely new to me. Her hand felt very soft and smooth.

I remember conversing with her via our thoughts but I cannot remember what was being said. As the journey continued I was aware that we had arrived at a destination and there was the sensation of appearing to be travelling along on what I can only describe as a conveyor belt. As we moved along there was small blue hand towels hanging at intervals on rails on the right hand side, along with small wooden cabinets with drawers; there was no symmetry whatsoever and the whole space seemed cramped but surprisingly comfy. Then we left the conveyor belt and arrived in a corridor.

We were walking one way in among a line of other souls, and there was also a line of souls walking past us in the opposite direction. Again, it all seemed very cramped but comfortable; there was hardly any room at all separating the two lines of souls, but the whole process was very smooth and hassle-free. It seemed like we had arrived in a kind of factory and there was a man in a white coat who seemed to be a supervisor; I ascertained that his name was Merv. My intuition told me that the line I was in was going for a break, and the line walking in the opposite direction were returning from a break. I then asked, what in hindsight, was quite a stupid question. The lady was still walking with me and I asked her if it was true that time doesn’t really exist. I know that time most certainly does not really exist, but my curiosity prompted me to wonder if there was some kind of astral system of time measurement, in the same way that we have seconds, minutes, hours and days etc here on Earth. The lady replied, “it’s ten to one”, which I thought to be a very strange reply. I’m sure there is a deeper meaning in this for me to work out, but the penny hasn’t dropped yet.

We then started to descend down some rather steep stone steps; the stone was very slate-like. We reached the bottom, and just as I was really starting to enjoy myself and really get into the adventure I was back in my body.

Watch this space for the next installment.

Miracles Do Happen – Part Two

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

Continued from Part One. If you have not read part one or want a refresher, please click on the link below.

https://richardfholmes.org/2014/03/31/miracles-do-happen-part-one/

“Quite remarkably, within a few days things started to change”

The first thing I noticed was that even though my actual situation had not changed, my perception of it had. As you can imagine, I was still feeling quite frustrated at not being able to get about, but I was no longer worried. I could tangibly feel myself growing out of the situation; I could feel myself moving away from it. I could also feel the expansion of my soul beyond my physical body, although this is quite commonplace after the whole business of 2012. It also turned out that while all this was going on I only had to cancel one booking relating to my work as a medium. A couple of friends ferried me around to engagements and flatly refused to take any petrol money from me. Then, what I consider to be a miracle happened.

Out of the blue, someone just gave me £1000, yes it’s true; I was given £1000 and told I did not have to pay it back. So, with the bit of money I already had, I now had enough to buy a car that would be a bit better than just a runaround. Then something else happened that was more than just a coincidence.

I was now in a position where I had the means to buy a semi-decent car, but I still had no semi-decent car, and there was the little matter of my income. At this point I should add that for the previous two years I had been working as a volunteer complimentary therapist for a few hours here and there at a day services hospice not far from where I live. I decided at the outset that I wanted a job on the permanent staff and I was prepared to do any job that was going; it’s such a wonderful place, I just wanted to be more involved. The hospice closes over Christmas and New Year, and even though I had made it known that I wanted a permanent job there, it was not expected that there would be any vacancies until we were well into 2014, after an evaluation had been carried out.

So, I had a half-hearted look on the hospice website just prior to Christmas and sure enough there was no vacancies, except for a couple of jobs in the charity shops. By now it was Wednesday, January 10, and my first volunteer day of the new year was on Friday, 12 January. The journey is only a little over six miles, so with a bit of care I could use my car to get me there. On the Wednesday night I had another half-hearted look on the website and to my amazement, not only was there was a vacancy, but the vacancy was in the department where I worked as a volunteer; however, the closing date was Friday. I suddenly became frustrated; I’m not the greatest lover of application forms and decided that I was not going bother. It was too short notice and I was not going to rush the application. The next day though, something inside me told me to print off the application form and get it filled out. So with my new-found lease of life, I printed off the form and got most of it filled in. I completed it on Friday morning and handed it in when I went to do my volunteer work. I did not even expect to be called for an interview because I have no healthcare qualifications and I knew that fully qualified healthcare professionals would be applying.

About four days later I got a letter saying “come for an interview”. So, I thought to myself that I would go for the interview, but I would have no chance of getting the job. The interview date was also my next volunteer day. I had the interview after doing a therapy and left the building believing I’d made a complete hash of it. I was told that it would probably take 3-4 days to let me know the result as there was more applicants to interview. So I went home.

Two hours later I got a phone call; “we would like to offer you the job”. I was so surprised, the lady on the line had to ask me twice if I was going to accept; I just couldn’t believe it. Within a few days I got a letter of confirmation giving me a start date of 26 February; all I needed now was a car!

Just under two weeks before I was due to start work, my friend’s son took me to Bristol to look at some cars. The cars we went to look at were not suitable, but whilst we were there we “accidentally” saw a sign on a car parked on the side of the road as we were driving by. On the way back we stopped on the off-chance and rang the number displayed in the car window. Enter Marcus. He turned out to be a decent sort and we returned the next day to look over a selection of cars that Marcus was selling. I chose one (see Gladys below) and it was a case of alls well that ends well!

It’s amazing how life can take you down one day and lift you up again the next. It must be awful for people who do not have a spiritual understanding; I find life’s shenanigans stressful enough, so what must it be like for those who have no understanding of how creation functions? A couple of months previous I had finished reading the book When Everything Changes Change Everything by Neale Donald Walsch. It speaks of how the universe is in a constant state of flux and that by our very nature we are beings of change, because all is energy and in constant motion. So, having read that book I knew I had to simply accept that situation as being part of the latest phase of change in my life, in the knowledge that it was impossible for it to stay the same and would eventually be resolved. Compared to what others have to endure my situation was nothing, but in context to the way my life is at the moment it was potentially a huge problem; indeed, the old me would probably have had a breakdown.

Remember that we are always in control of our lives and it is not the situations we encounter that determine whether we are happy or not; it’s our perception of them!

Universal Law: An Idiot’s Guide – Update

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

I’m proud to announce that Universal Law: An Idiot’s Guide is already available as a paperback in the US. It should also show up on Amazon UK within the next couple of days. I have not formatted for Kindle yet; and the official launch date remains 22 April, but the Kindle-ready cover can be seen below.

An Idiot’s Guide is a short book of only around 60 pages, hence the low price, but the aim of the book is to provide an insight, by way of a simple and concise guide, into how creation and the universe functions. It does in no way claim to be definitive, but it will be a valuable tool in helping you to attract more abundance into your life.

Buy in the US https://www.createspace.com/4327851

Universal Law: An Idiot’s Guide – Extract #3 And Cover

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

My latest book Universal Law: An Idiot’s Guide is moving along very quickly and very near completion. So, I’m really pleased to be able to post this short extract AND, at the same time, provisionally reveal the cover to you. I have already tweaked it slightly and there may be one or two further tweaks before I publish. But for now, here it is!

The Law of Perspective

This law really is simplicity personified. We are all always right from our own perspective, whatever the situation. What we believe becomes our reality. However, our perceived reality may not always be in line with our soul purpose; and this is where things can get tricky.

We have already stated a number of times that all the laws are interlinked in one way or another. So, if for example, our perceived perspective is quite bigoted then we are responsible for the vibration these views create and will one day have to deal with the consequences.

Things are never as they seem; always look beyond the surface for a truer picture.

Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion – Democritus

Miracles Do Happen – Part One

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

I’m going to share an experience with you that proved to me (as if I needed any proof) that miracles most certainly do happen. Over Christmas 2013 I found myself in a situation that seemed impossible; in fact I just didn’t know what I was going to do. There were similarities with situations from years gone by, and I really couldn’t believe that I now found myself seemingly trapped in a scenario of pain and despair, having turned my life around (or so I thought) many years ago. What I couldn’t understand was, that I was no longer the angry and resentful person I was back in the day; so why was I now faced with this situation? I’ve made no secret of the fact that the way I lived my life when I was younger has made things quite difficult for me at times during this stage of my life. I’ve also made no secret of the fact that I choose to live my life in a certain way that can at times produce hardships. But by and large, my needs have always been met so I just tend to plod along and take things as they come.

Throughout December I had not had much work; very little really, and there was not much on the horizon for the new year so I had very little money coming in. It was difficult enough already with the cost of living spiraling out of control, when all of a sudden my car died on me. The mechanic I use managed to get it going but the outcome was that it was going to cost such a lot of money to get it repaired that I would be better off scrapping it and buying a new one. The only problem was, how? I had just about enough money to buy an old runaround, but I know nothing about cars and I’m easy pickings for unscrupulous car salesmen. Also, how would I get out and about in order to buy one? The car I had was still driveable, but only over short distances; it was too dangerous to contemplate journeys of more than 6-8 miles because the engine kept overheating. My mind went into overdrive…

I had a serious case of “what am I going to do” syndrome. I told myself that I would have to register as unemployed, but that I would not be able to look for a job because I would have no way of getting anywhere. Tetbury is not exactly remote, but the bus service is very limited and very expensive. I told myself that within a few months I would be a sad case sitting in my little bungalow in the depths of despair and that my gas, electric and phone would be cut off because I had no means of paying my bills. I didn’t sleep very well for two nights; and then I came to my senses!

I knew that by constantly churning out all those negative thoughts I was only going to create more misery further on down the road; I told myself that it was about time I started to put into practice the principles that I speak about so often during the course of my spiritual work. I started by reminding myself of a few things. In no particular order I reminded myself that I am not a body; I am Divine Consciousness and the world I find myself in is only an illusion; therefore, at worst, my situation is only a part of that illusion. I reminded myself that I, and no one else, am the creator of my reality within this illusion and that it is impossible to die. I reminded myself that if I am responsible for creating my situation, albeit an illusionary one, then I also have the power within me to create circumstances in my life that are more favourable. Finally, I reminded myself that if I am Divine Consciousness at my deepest level, and if Divine Consciousness is the only reality, then if, to the best of my ability, I am able to experience myself as who I really am, then my problem would go away; after all, it was only a problem because my mind said so!

So I set about hatching a master plan!

I decided that I would meditate before going to bed. My thinking behind this was, that if I could experience myself as pure consciousness before retiring for the night, it would be like giving my mind a shower and I would be able to sleep better. Now, I always try to be thankful on a daily basis for all my blessings, but in my current situation I felt that an extra strong “attitude of gratitude” would go a long way towards helping me. In other words, instead of whining and moaning because my car is terminally sick and my whole world is doom and gloom, it would be much better to be consciously grateful for the abundance I already have. So, I made a point of thanking God for the bed that I sleep in, the roof over my head, my food, my clothes, my fresh drinking water and for things that are taken for granted, such as being able to look up into the night sky and gaze at the stars. Quite remarkably, within a few days things started to change.

Part Two coming shortly.

Universal Law – An Idiot’s Guide Extract #2

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

Here are a couple of extracts from my up and coming book Universal Law – An Idiot’s Guide, which as I type, is still on schedule to be published by the end of April. Hope you enjoy!

An Overview of Universal Law – What Exactly Is It?

Universal Law is the means by which the universe functions. Also referred to as Spiritual Law, The Laws of the Universe, Natural Law or the Laws of Nature. It is a very precise and finely balanced mechanism that appears on the surface to be extremely complicated, but is in fact very simple.

The laws themselves can be split into three categories, each one a mirror image of the other; but unique nonetheless in its own way.

The first category of Universal Law is the laws that govern how we go about constructing the life we will lead once we take on the physical form. These laws are known as the Foundation Laws, and in the same way that foundations on Earth must be laid before a structure can be erected, so must we lay the Laws of Foundation before we incarnate.

The second category of Universal Law is the Redemption Laws that enable one to resolve outstanding issues from previous births and purify the spirit en route to Self- Realisation.

Finally, the third category of Universal Law is the Progression Laws. These are relevant to the level of progress one makes during each incarnation and ultimately determine if one attains liberation or remains within the cycle of birth and death.

The Law of Miracles

In our humanness we perceive a miracle to be the occurrence of a seemingly impossible event; for example, someone who is paralysed as the result of a terrible accident or debilitating illness, and who has been told they will never walk again, defying all the odds and doing just that. Of course, this is true; however, miracles are all this and much more.

Since the whole 2012 business (see my book Wisdom Bytes ISBN 978-1493614226) millions of people all over the planet are tangibly experiencing their own spiritual awakening, and it is only when we start to awaken that we understand that literally everything is a miracle. Simply being able to breathe or look up into the night sky and gaze upon the stars is truly miraculous. The more spiritually aware we become, the more we realise how the whole of creation is one huge miracle. We realise more and more that all is indeed God, and there is an almighty power beyond the scope of our human minds that is pulling the strings.

But the miracle of miracles is that there is nothing in the universe that is impossible. We only think in terms of the impossible because in our humanness we are unable to detach from the ego (duality) and embrace our Divinity. At the core of the Law of Miracles is the truth, that with an understanding of how creation works, all of us have the power to manifest our own miracles into our lives.

An Extract From My Up-Coming Book

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

Here is an extract from my up-coming book Universal Law – An Idiot’s Guide

The purpose of the book is to explain how the universe functions and how this functionality affects the day-to-day lives of human beings. Of course, in line with all my other publications, it is my intention to make it as simple as possible to understand. Hope you enjoy this extract.

The Law of Karma

Another very, very simple law to understand; “karma” is a Sanskrit* word, meaning action. The action in this case is the action of cause and effect. Of course, the age-old adages of “what goes around comes around” and, “you reap what you sow” are other ways to explain the Law of Karma. However, the trouble with those sayings is they imply that karma means punishment; and nothing could be further from the truth.

A more correct way to explain this law is that we are responsible for all our actions in accordance with cause and effect. Because creation moves in cycles it stands to reason that whatever we create through our actions, be it negative or positive, will at some point return to us and we will have to deal with it.

The universe functions in a very non-judgemental way, in the same way that a tree will give shade and bear fruit for anyone, regardless of race or social status, therefore karma is simply the action of cause and effect as applied to humans.

*Sanskrit – The ancient language of India