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

Ricky’s Raw Recipes #12

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

Hello raw food slurpers! It’s been a few weeks since my last recipe so I thought it was about time to raid my fridge again and see what I could knock up. This recipe really is a concoction because, as things stand, the cupboards (and fridge) are a bit bare.

So, I started as usual by adding a large glass of water to my blender. I then added an apple, a stick of celery, half a green pepper, a piece of cucumber and a good quantity of spinach. I topped this off with the juice of half a lime. The end result was just about palatable, however, I’m including this recipe for a good reason. Had I not been out of fresh root ginger and been able to add a large chunk to the mix, I’m sure it would have been a great raw food concoction. It didn’t make me grimace when I was drinking but there was definitely something lacking. Try it yourself, but make sure you add the ginger, and if the taste doesn’t transport you immediately to juice heaven I’ll eat my blender! Laterz…

Love Expressed In Words

Quote

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

I recently came across a beautiful piece of poetry by the wonderful Rabindranath Tagore. It is too long to share in its entirety, but this is the opening verse from his work entitled “Gitanjali”; so utterly profound in its beauty that I could not but share it with my blog followers. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

“Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life.
The little flute of a reed thou hast carried over hills and dales, and hast breathed through it melodies eternally new.
At the immortal touch of thy hands my little heart loves its limits in joy and gives birth to utterance ineffable.
Thy infinite gifts come to me only on these very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill”.

Rabindranath Tagore

The Dance Of A Thousand Friendships

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

It seems like only yesterday when one of my favourite pastimes was to mock social media and the aficionados thereof; after all, why on earth would anybody want to take a photo of their breakfast and post it online? To me, social media was the virtual playground where fools would vent their anger and abuse others, whilst hiding behind a computer screen hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away. It was the vehicle used by unscrupulous people to groom and exploit their victims; it was how people with more time on their hands than sense whiled away their days.

One day, somehow, I opened a facebook account; and for the best part of two years it lay dormant. I had no more than a handful of “friends” and I didn’t even have a pic on display. One evening whilst visiting a friend, we somehow got on the subject of facebook and her son decided that I needed a profile pic and proceeded to use the webcam on his laptop to snap me. Then in the very early part of 2011 another friend’s son told me of the importance of global networking and made me realise that social media could be used for things other than announcing to the world that you are munching on a piece of cake or nursing a stonking hangover; and so it began, “The Dance of A Thousand Friendships”.

At the time I decided to use social media to connect with like-minded people all I had was an unused facebook account with around 15 friends (not one single post I tell you) and as for twitter, well, that was another universe entirely. Now three years have passed since I gingerly put my toe in the water, and what an incredible bunch of people I’ve connected with. I have found that spirituality works in its own way, independently of us humans, and will do whatever is necessary to connect people.

For me, what has been the outstanding factor of social media and what has had the biggest impact on me is how it has taught me to examine myself, my thoughts about myself and my thoughts about any particular situation I find myself in. When I’m having one of those days when I’m thinking along the lines of “doom and gloom” my online friends help me to put things into perspective.

I have been privileged to connect with, and even meet in the flesh, some incredible people. Social media has taught me that there are some amazing people in the world; survivors, entrepreneurs and inspirational people from all walks of life. I’ve met various cancer survivors (one particular lady is a five-times stage four survivor), I’ve met people who have made great sacrifices for the love of their families, I’ve met people who have made great successes of their lives and who rub shoulders with the rich and famous, but who remain firmly grounded and mindful of where they came from. I’ve even met a man who was on hunger strike outside 10 Downing Street and who was prepared to lay down his physical life for the cause he believed in.

Yes, most certainly, there is a link between spirituality and social media.

My incredible friends, you all know who you are; and I salute you!

Why The Quality Of Our Food Is So Important

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

Food, like everything else in our universe, is three-dimensional. We have the seed from which it takes form, we have the form itself and we have the subtle energy of Divine Spirit that flows through it. But how many of us have ever pondered what happens to our food once it is consumed? The ancient spiritual texts of the East, and the sages that introduced them to the world, told us thousands of years ago of the importance of what we put into our bodies.

The physical body may itself be nothing more than an aspect of the illusion of duality. However, if we have created for ourselves a temporary reality that requires that we dwell within this illusionary form for a period of imaginary time, then we ourselves are responsible for its maintenance; the body being “The House of God”.

The ancient Vedic texts informed us that our food maintains its three-dimensional status once consumed. Its gross form consisting of waste products, its middle form merging with the body as flesh and blood and its subtle form consisting of the mind. What this tells us is that we most certainly are what we eat with regard to our physical and mental self. Therefore it stands to reason that if we are not mindful of the food we consume we are very much inviting trouble into our lives. We think it’s fine to consume the meat from animals that have been reared in appalling conditions, fed on artificial diets, pumped with steroids and then slaughtered in terror; oblivious to the fact that the terror of these animals has its own energy that remains within the meat. We think it’s fine to consume processed food products that have been laced with chemical additives, and then we wonder why our kids are going crazy and sickness is rife.

This article is not a platform for vegetarian moral high ground, but more of a simple reminder that we owe it to ourselves and all our fellow creatures to be more sensible about what we consume as food.

My Biggest Fear

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

My biggest fear is not of death or dying. My biggest fear is to leave my body never having lived. I fear that, having been given another chance to reincarnate into flesh, I do not take the opportunity to use the time here (albeit imaginary) to create something unbelievably magical. I imagine there is nothing worse than leaving the body, and then realising that I am unfulfilled, that I did not achieve my soul purpose; my very reason for being here in the first place.

Out Of This World

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Author Richard F Holmes

In recent months this blog has attracted a number of new followers, so I thought I would wind the clock back a bit for the benefit of my new friends and recap on why I blog and the things I blog about. Essentially, I write about spirituality, spiritual subjects, and in the main, my own actual life experiences. I also like to write articles that contain messages of inspiration and upliftment. In recent months I have introduced the “Ricky’s Raw Recipes” series, (mainly because my spiritual experiences dried up and I needed to write about something!) but even though those articles are just a tad tongue-in-cheek, they are nonetheless valid, informative; and the juices themselves are very nutritional and detoxifying. However, the subject I’m going to concentrate on for the purpose of this article is out-of-body experiences and astral travel.

Back in the late 1990s I started to have strange experiences in the middle of the night; quite often these experiences would involve the sensation of being pinned down and unable to move (this is also a common symptom of psychic attack). At the time I was in a very dark place; I’d suffered with depression for years and also had a penchant for alcohol, which took me down into the pits. At some stage I went to seek advice from a lady medium, in Swindon, where I was living at the time. She explained that I was experiencing the first stages of astral travelling and that I should allow myself to go with the flow instead of resisting; she also said that I would enjoy it.

Inevitably, soon after the meeting with the medium I experienced that old familiar sensation in the middle of the night. This time I allowed myself to be taken on what turned out to be the first of many amazing journeys. Since those early days I have now had so many astral adventures that it would be impossible to say how many. This is something that I didn’t go looking for; it’s something that came looking for me and I’m so grateful. The pattern always used to be the same. I would wake in the middle of the night and be unable to get back to sleep. After what seemed like an age of tossing and turning I would enter a kind of limbo state; neither awake nor asleep, and it was at this point that I would get taken from my body and embark on an amazing experience. Yes, you did read that correctly; I get taken from my body, and in astral form, I am taken on the most incredible journeys. I know they are not dreams because they are all tangible experiences (although sometimes they are preceded by dreams) and on one occasion I even came back with an astral bruise.

I never know who the souls that carry me off are; I just trust them. In the early days there were a few hiccups and on a few occasions I became quite stroppy and demanded to be back in my body. These days however, the journey is always extremely smooth and the astral experiences themselves seem to be constantly evolving and becoming even more incredible.

In the early days I very quickly learned that I could will myself to move in any direction I wanted once I had reached my astral destination. I also very quickly learned to pass through solid objects. Incredibly, the experience sometimes becomes a bit tedious, and when this happens, I’m able to will myself back into my body. There was only one occasion during the last 14 years or so when I found it difficult to get back.

I’m sure you will all be very happy to hear that once we are free of the physical body we are also free of stress, strain, worry and any other negative feeling you may be able to think of. It is a sensation of complete and utter freedom and it proves to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that life within the Earth dimension really is nothing more than an elaborate illusion. Please feel free to ask me any questions you want!

I wish you all love, light and peace.