Tag Archives: awakening

The 40 Watt Lightbulb Analogy

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The 40 watt lightbulb analogy, what is it? Well, it’s actually something I’ve written about before, but not for many years. What has prompted me to revive this concept is the state of the world and where we as a race appear to be heading (not that old chestnut again, yawn!) When I first read about this analogy, probably around 12 years ago, it made a lot of sense; but, it is probably even more relevant today. At the time, there was a lot of crazy things going on in the world and you just wouldn’t have thought that things could get any crazier; how wrong can you be? To quote Neal Donald Walsch, our species seems to be going to Hell in a handcart. There is untold suffering going on in our world, and it isn’t just our species that is suffering, it’s also the animal kingdom and our very planet, Mother Earth. The craziest thing is that most, if not all of the terror, is being inflicted by humans.

Right, let’s get back to the actual analogy.

Imagine you had a storeroom, lit only by a 40W bulb. For years you were happy with this rather dim light, doing its best, but struggling to light up the space. Then suddenly, one day, you decide to brighten the place up and you change the 40W bulb for a 100W bulb. You flick the switch for the first time, and to your horror, you now see that the storeroom is filthy; it’s covered in dust and cobwebs. The reality is, that the dust and cobwebs were always there, it’s just that within the light of a 40W bulb they could not be seen. The 100W bulb hasn’t by some miracle created a mess, it’s simply highlighted the mess that was already there. And so, it is the same with what is happening now.

All of this crazy stuff has always been going on. Humans have been inflicting pain and suffering on humans since the beginning of time. The reason it seems so much more prominent these days is because our species is evolving…fast, it would seem. The light of Consciousness is awakening within humankind. Of course, there has always been ignorance, and I’m sure there always will be. But, the level of consciousness within our species is being raised; even as I type. A big difference I have noticed since I was growing up is that back then, you were told “this is how it is and there is no other way” and people just accepted this. A good example is religion. Of course, I can only speak from my own experience, but at school, we were indoctrinated in a particular way. When you became old enough to think for yourself, you either carried on with what you were told or you rejected it. Back then, it wasn’t easy for younger people to “seek” and there didn’t seem to be any alternative. Nowadays, people in the main do not accept this, and we have given birth to “The Seeker.”

I am of the view that some religions have shot themselves in the foot. So many different factions and even different holy books within one religion, all the factions interpreting their scriptures differently and all claiming to be the only truth. People are just not having it anymore and are seeking out there own pathway.

Because the general level of awareness is gradually rising, in other words, we are getting closer and closer to experiencing our true nature, we are noticing more and more all the horrors that exist in the world. Because our true nature is that of Love, these horrors affect the way we feel in a negative way, because they are the polar opposite to who we really are. Things are not helped by the mass media that seems to delight in sensationalising negatives. I personally believe that our world is full of wonder and beauty, and there are lots of positive things happening all over. Unfortunately, this is not newsworthy.

The 100W bulb (light of Consciousness) has replaced the 40W bulb (ignorance) in so many people now, worldwide. Also, if you consider relativity and the fact that our planet is a living, breathing paradox, I think it is safe to say that we are going in the right direction.

 

 

The Lightbulb Analogy

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Image by Susan Cipriano from Pixabay

Here we are then, the last day of 2019, and with 2020 peering over the parapet, I thought I would provide you with some food for thought to take into the new year.  Many of you reading this, particularly if you are from the UK or the USA, will be wondering what the hell is going on with, and in the world.  I’m not going to mention any particular politicians or political parties, but there appears to be millions of people experiencing great hardships, with no foreseeable signs that things will improve.  I also, find this very difficult to comprehend, especially when I allow the world’s dramas to influence my thoughts.  However…

There are a couple of things I’m going to share with you that will give what is happening a bit of perspective.

Imagine that you had some sort of hideous boil on a part of your anatomy.  You would obviously want the boil to heal up and go, but you would also understand that before the boil can heal, all the poison in the form of puss has to make its way to the surface and ooze out.  This is what I feel is happening now as I type.  How long will it take?  Who knows?  The process will probably not be complete in my life time, but at least it is underway.  What we are seeing is the outer reflection of the puss that the collective consciousness of the human race has allowed to poison it’s soul; “as without, so within.”

Another thing to consider is this great analogy that I came across some years ago, but it seems so apt in relation to what is going on today.  Imagine you had a warehouse that was lit by a 40 watt bulb.  One day you get fed up with trying to find stuff in such a dim light, so you decide to replace the 40 watt bulb with a 100 watt bulb.  All of a sudden you can see all the dust and cobwebs that you couldn’t see before.  It’s not that they were not there, it’s not that they have suddenly miraculously appeared; it’s just that you now have a stronger bulb in place that is highlighting all the dirt.  The aforementioned puss was already there, and indeed, has been with us for a very long time.  However, now that the human race is waking up, now that people are becoming more enlightened, now that the light of consciousness is illuminating our planet, we are now noticing the negative stuff more.  Why?  Because it no longer resonates with who we are; we are evolving (or simply awakening to our true nature) and it does not serve our soul purpose; or purpose for Being.

We should also understand that there is so much positive stuff happening in the world too.  This however, is not newsworthy and therefore comes a poor second to all the sensationalist stuff we see and hear in the mass media.  If we simply shine our light wherever we happen to find ourselves in the world at any particular time, and never miss the opportunity to give a helping hand when it arises, then we will not be going far wrong.

I wish you all peace, love, happiness and abundance for 2020.  See you next year!

Without Blinking An Eye

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A long, long time ago in Japan, it was quite normal for marauding armies to ransack villages, with the villagers having to flee or be killed.  In one such village an old Zen master sat peacefully in his very humble abode as chaos reigned outside.  All of a sudden, a fearsome soldier kicked the master’s door open and stood menacingly in the doorway; the master was unmoved.  The soldier sneered and said, “what are you still doing here, are you not afraid?  All of the villagers are either dead or have fled, yet you remain here.”  The master replied, “what have I to fear, and besides, where would I go?”  The soldier became angry, and drawing his sword raged, “don’t you know that I am a man who can run you through without blinking an eye?”  The old master looked at him and said, “don’t YOU know that I am a man who can be run through without blinking an eye?”

With a body or without a body; it is all the same to one who has realised.  Live or die; the master knows there is no death and therefore remains unmoved.  There is also the paradox here between the polar opposites of “doing” and “being”.  The soldier wants to “do” (kill) the master, but that in itself is a fruitless task, as the most he can achieve is to be the cause of the master’s body evolving (effect) into a different form.  You cannot kill anything in reality as all is consciousness and is in a constant state of flux.  What would happen to the body?  If buried it would eventually decompose and merge with the earth.  If cremated, the cremation process would cause the flesh to evolve into heat energy and be absorbed back into the total energy mass.

The master remained in a state of pure knowing, enlightenment, awakening, bliss or whatever description you wish to use; all are just terms for “Being”.  The master remains blissful regardless of which action the soldier chooses to take.  He says, “besides, where would I go?”  Indeed, where would the master go?  There is only here and now; it is all we have.

 

He Who Knows

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The title of my forthcoming book has changed already!  It is now called “The Road to Nowhere – embracing the totality”, and here for your pleasure (I hope) is another extract to be…

A group of disciples were in the temple one morning awaiting the arrival of their master, Lao Tzu.  As they waited, they pondered the meaning of one of the great master’s teachings:

He who knows

Does not speak

He who speaks

Does not know

 

When their master appeared, they asked him to elaborate on the meaning. Lao Tzu responded by asking them if they had ever experienced the fragrance of a rose.  Every single hand went up.  He then asked the question, “who among you is able to explain it to us?”  No hands went up.

And this lovely little parable aptly demonstrates, that for some things, there is simply no explanation.  Just how would anybody describe the fragrance of a rose to any degree of accuracy?  There are simply no words in the dictionary to describe such beauty.  The same can be said of enlightenment, which for me is the meaning contained within this teaching.  I do not for one minute claim to be a fully realised soul.  However, I am going through a tangible awakening process that has been happening to me in stages for some years now.  There are many words that I could use to describe my experience; emergence, awakening, eureka moments to name but a few, but none of them would come anywhere near an apt description.

I have heard people use the expression, “I am awake”.  But ultimately, this is only the ego speaking.  To make the statement “I am awake”, or “I am enlightened”, implies the existence of opposite states of being asleep or unenlightened.  This is duality.  In consciousness there is no duality; there is only One, therefore, a truly awakened individual would not offer any explanation of being awake or otherwise.  They would simply abide in the true nature of their Being; infinite consciousness.

Ramana Maharshi also has a take on this, which I find quite beautiful.  He said that “truth has no words” and that “silence is the eternal flow of language, obstructed by words”.

You Are Wisdom Personified

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859554_3785224328665_1595273250_oDon’t be fooled into thinking that wisdom is something that exists outside of you, and that it is something you have to go looking for. More and more people around the planet are waking up to this NOW; it is this awakening that the whole 21/12/2012 thing was about. Many people were so engrossed in waiting for something that was never going to happen, i.e. the world ending, that they missed what actually did happen. Many of us, all over the globe, are experiencing the drastic changes that spiritual awakening brings. Nobody, anywhere on the planet, needs an imaginary spirit guide to speak through them in a silly voice. The only channeling anyone needs to do is to channel the God within. You yourself are wisdom personified. You yourself are a magnificent eternal being of light that already has “the knowledge that passes all understanding”. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.