Britain’s Got Rabies


woolwichI don’t normally write posts such as this; and indeed I have been putting it off for nearly two weeks for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it means entering into the murky world of politics, and secondly, I’m not 100% certain that I can write this article from the standpoint of an observer as opposed to one who is passing judgement. But, I feel that it is the right thing to do so here goes.

At the time of writing it is now two weeks to the day since a young soldier was hacked to death in broad daylight in close proximity to the army barracks in Woolwich, South East London; the same barracks where I did my basic training as a Royal Artillery soldier in 1976/77. This appalling atrocity was perpetrated by two fanatical extremists who had been apparently radicalized by what the British press likes to refer to as “preachers of hate”. I will not refer to anybody involved in such a despicable act as a Muslim because it is an insult to Muslims the world over to be compared with such people. However, the two perpetrators claimed to have carried out this act in the name of Islam. The unfortunate thing in these situations is that it gives vile organisations such as The English Defence League (EDL) and Muslim haters in general a reason to crawl out of their cesspits and spew their own brand of bile. The last time I looked there had been over 160 reported reprisal attacks on Muslims and mosques; this includes at least two attempts at burning mosques down.

The likes of the EDL do not have any place in society. The motives for their actions are so blatantly racial and their members appear not to share but one brain cell between them. Correct me if I’m wrong, but when the IRA carried out a sustained campaign of terror over several decades, during which hundreds of people were killed and maimed, nobody went around torching Catholic churches did they? After all, the IRA were apparently representing the Catholic community of Northern Ireland, and when they started blowing up mainland Britain, surely that would have given justification to the torching of the odd Catholic church here and there. Wouldn’t it?

woolwich 2I am actually writing this article as someone who is quite disturbed. Disturbed by the fact that in 2013 a young man can be hacked to death on the streets of the country in which I live, after the perpetrators first of all mounted the pavement in their car and ran him down. Disturbed by the fact that in 2013, organisations such as the EDL are able to operate quite legally in the country in which I live. Within hours of the incident the EDL were on the streets of Woolwich stirring up their own brand of hate.

From a spiritual perspective these incidents always remind me of the Law Of Reflection, or “As Within, So Without”. It gives us a chance to see first hand exactly what is still going on within the collective heart of mankind. Heaven help us!

Wisdom From Chief Tecumseh


I came across this on the internet and thought it would be worth a share. I especially like the passage “When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself“. Hope you enjoy it!

Chief Tecumseh“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home”

~ Chief Tecumseh (Crouching Tiger) Shawnee Nation 1768-1813 ~

It’s Just Like Waiting For A Bus!


544965_242122179232987_1867947155_nThis is not the post I was intending to write today; in fact, the post I was going to write was not the one I originally intended either. However, events have dictated that I am now writing about what was a most unexpected and extremely pleasant experience I had this morning. What was it I was saying recently about expecting the unexpected? (See link below).

https://richardfholmes.org/2013/05/06/always-expect-the-unexpected/

So, out-of-body experiences… Just like waiting for a bus really; you wait for ages, seemingly in vain, and then two come along at once. And so it was; I seemed to go for an eternity without having an astral adventure of note, and just when I thought I would never have another one, I have two in the space of a few weeks. This particular one, although not spectacular, was in fact quite significant. I awoke at about 05:50 relishing the fact that I did not need to be up early, and duly turned over and went back to sleep. I don’t know how long I was asleep, but in what seemed like a short space of time, I felt myself being lifted from my body and then the familiar feeling of travelling through the darkness. As usual, I sent out my thoughts of gratitude to whomever my companion was.

After a short journey we landed in a place that I took to be of this earth; for some reason I had a feeling of a town or city in Northern England. I’m not saying that this is so, but that was the feeling I had. We seemed to have landed in some sort of cafe, although we were not actually in the cafe, more like a covered yard to the right of it. I also noticed that my companion was a young man who looked rather like the young soul from my previous adventure.

Although not very communicative he was an enthusiastic participant in whatever it was we were supposed to be doing. There was several people milling around in very close proximity to us but it was obvious that they could not see us. It seemed that the young soul was trying to show me something about his life; it was as though he took me to this place because it was somewhere that he’d visited regularly or even where he’d been an employee. Now the significance of this journey was that from the moment we landed I felt that I was in complete control. I’d never experienced being in control whilst out of my body to this extent before, and I got the impression that even though the young man had brought me there, he was looking to me for guidance. The next bit is not 100% clear but I seem to remember being inside the cafe and it was the kind of place where the waitresses would have worn some sort of traditional dress; rather like a tea rooms. Anyway, just as I was starting to enjoy myself the inevitable happened.

I felt a backward pull and in no time at all I had returned to my body; slightly disappointed that I didn’t get to see more. Yes, it was just like waiting for a bus, but one of these days I hope to do the complete mystery tour; watch this space!

Back On The Scene


Dear friends, am back from my trip! Watch this space for a new post soon…

Always Expect The Unexpected


616828_3084981623035_2102591458_oA 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.

Hot Off The Press


My second new CD release of the month. This time it is the “Sound Of The Universe”, Om or Aum. Complete with musical backing track and once again recorded, edited and mixed at DB Studios in Stroud, Glos, UK; just about ten miles from my front door! Here is the cover; just click on the link for all the info.

Aum

http://ow.ly/kzfe0 

Nothing Has Changed


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 everythingeverything is nothing isPete 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

The coast at Mandria, Cyprus

Another Blockbuster From Author Janice G Ross


April 16 saw the release of Damaged Girls II by Author Janice G Ross. Janice is no stranger to reader’s of my blog and I am proud, not only to welcome her back, but also to showcase her wonderful books. Janice’s latest book is the follow-up to Damaged Girls I and you can check out both books via the links below.

DG CelebrationJanice was born in Guyana and has lived in the US since 1980. Although now a US national, Janice considers herself a “citizen of the world”, and to quote her own words “sure I have not physically been around the world and back, but I have travelled in my mind and in my dreams”. She enjoys writing about social issues and personal experiences and her debut novel series, “Damaged Girls” is about emotional, physical and sexual abuse. It is about the type of life many of us might not know exists, and the type of life many of us might not want to admit exists. Janice has been asked whether of not the novel is based on her own life; she says, “no, although some of the characters have traits that were found buried inside of me at some point in time. However, the experiences are not real to my life, but they are to someone else’s life”.

SYNOPSIS TO DAMAGED GIRLS II

SONY DSCGet excited, cry, curse, hate, love, and despise! If you’ve already read Damaged Girls I, then these emotions should be familiar. The Damaged Girls Family & Relationship Series began with an introduction to the complex love triangle of Steven Briggs, Jillian McConnell and Jessica Rodney. In the second book of the series, Damaged Girls II, get pulled deeper into the trauma and gain valuable knowledge of why Jillian and Jessica might be such easy targets for a womanizer such as Stevie. Jillian has to come to terms with the crumbling idea of love that she desperately needed to find in Stevie. And Jessica is forced to grow up and away from the man she so badly wanted to keep forever. Stevie even realizes that he needs to get a grip on the drama he created years back; while his decisions and behaviors continue to spiral deeper into selfishness. Unfortunately, Stevie’s insatiable appetite has not diminished, only causing him to become less likeable. Will the three ever learn? As life progresses, we must confront our past, move into our present and plan sensibly for our future. How will Stevie, Jillian and Jessica cope, when life just can’t seem to smile in favor of their original desires? Damaged Girls is not a romance novel outlined in love. It is not pleasant and idealistic, but very cruel and extremely unsavory. In fact, it is deep and rather dark at times. The story focuses on emotional, physical and sexual abuse, and how easily its effects can cause some to own the title of Damaged Girls.

Buy on amazon.com http://ow.ly/kfG09 

Buy on amazon.co.uk http://ow.ly/kfFVd

Check out Damaged Girls I

DG I Updated Cover

Buy on amazon.com http://ow.ly/kgOet 

Buy on amazon.co.uk http://ow.ly/kgOis 

A Much Needed Break


Off to Cyprus. Back on the 19th……