Reincarnation Simplified

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Author Richard F Holmes

It’s a subject that is quite often pondered; reincarnation; do we or don’t we? There are a number of arguments for and against, but for me, the simplest way to explain this conundrum is as follows. The Self is all there is. It exists in an eternal state of bliss as infinite consciousness. The entire creation, and all the drama that goes with it, is simply consciousness projecting itself while at the same time imposing temporary limitations on itself. The Self is ever-present and changeless and has neither birth nor death. So we should ask the question:

Who is it that reincarnates?

The answer is that it is only the ego that reincarnates.

The Unreal Reality

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Author Richard F Holmes

Reality, as such, doesn’t exist. What we perceive as reality is simply our interpretation of vibration. A flower, for example, exists as vibration within infinite consciousness, not as a flower. We see the flower because that is our mind’s interpretation of that particular vibration. The reason that, by and large, we all see the same thing is because we are all precipitations of energy within the same field of infinite awareness.

Passing Clouds

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Author Richard F Holmes

In the physical sense, human beings do share quite a lot together; information and food are two examples that immediately spring to mind. But this only relates to the illusion that is life on this dreamland stage we call the earth. In truth, we are all just passing clouds regardless of our relationships with each other. Whether friends, siblings, parents, offspring, work colleagues, or even so-called enemies, we are all nothing more than ships that pass in the night. The only thing truly shared between humans is the experience of being.

Our true nature is that of infinite consciousness, which is all there is. The experience of “being” is the experience of our true nature; all else is an illusion.

Why Psychic And Clairvoyant Powers Can Be A Barrier To Spiritual Development

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Author Richard F Holmes

Contrary to popular opinion, having psychic or mediumistic abilities is no indicator of spiritual advancement; in fact, it can actually be a hindrance to spiritual development. What many do not realise is that psychic and clairvoyant experiences take place at a level which is well below the plane of Self-realisation; therefore at best they can be nothing more than an illusion; just another game in the play of life. Most people who know me will be aware that I have worked as a platform medium for many years, and so may find that statement very difficult to comprehend; a medium saying that mediumship is nothing more than an illusion! What next? I’ve been aware of this truth for several years now and I realise that all I’m doing is going through the motions for the sake of appeasing the logical minds of those who wrongly believe they have “lost” loved ones. I suppose I’d better explain my thinking…

Firstly, I’m going to use an analogy my good friend, Michael Walters, coined a few years back. Michael says that life is like an onion; consisting of many layers. As we evolve, every now and then, one of those layers peels away and reveals a truth that was always there, it’s just that we couldn’t see it. As truth reveals itself, old, stale mindsets and beliefs simply dissolve away. They dissolve away because they are illusory and not true. They never were true; we simply made them our reality because we believed it to be so. With this in mind it’s fair to say that the onion, which is my life, has been peeling away layers in the last few years at an unbelievable speed.

So, what is clairvoyance? It is a series of temporary experiences that occur in the mind. This tells us that in order to experience clairvoyance we have to engage the mind. The mind is the ego, which falsely identifies with the body therefore what we experience is an illusion; it is transient and not true. If you have a clairvoyant experience there must be an object (your clairvoyant vision). If there is an object, there must also be a subject (the one having the vision). This is separateness (duality), which is an illusion. In infinite consciousness the object and the subject are one and the same; in ultimate truth nothing exists except infinite consciousness, which is One.

We also need to understand that in order to have a clairvoyant experience, the experiencer must be in communication with the astral planes. The astral planes are a vast, kind of extension, to the physical plane and are subject to the same natural laws. This means that the astral planes are subject to relativity, which in turn means that your experience of clairvoyance may be negative as well as positive. Similar conditions apply with regard to mediumship. You have a messenger, the one receiving the message and the message itself; this is another example of duality; in infinite consciousness the messenger, the receiver and the message are one and the same; there is no separateness.

As for psychic powers, they simply relate to the karmic pathway and like clairvoyance and mediumship, they will only exist when the mind falsely identifies with the body. Of course, it is true to say that if you are reading this and you have experienced any kind of psychic phenomenon, it is an indicator that you are starting to wake up to the reality of who you really are. Problems occur however, when people start to have these experiences and wrongly believe that they are the be-all-and-end-all. They develop attachments to the experiences and want them continuously, oblivious to the fact that such experiences are only ever going to be a stepping stone to Self-realisation. When we develop such attachments, and remain in the psychic and clairvoyant planes, it forms a barrier and keeps us in ignorance of our true nature.

Is it not a no-brainer? Why would you want to settle for a lettuce leaf when you can have a whole salad?

Why Art As Therapy Is So Important

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Author Richard F Holmes

Art therapy is an amazing activity; for everyone, but especially for people with a life-limiting and/or terminal illness. All the great souls who have ever incarnated into flesh for the sake of bringing a message of love and truth to the human race have all advocated the importance of “killing” the mind; and art therapy is a most effective way of doing this, albeit on a temporary basis. Art therapists have an uncanny skill of being able to put their clients in touch with themselves at soul level. Because the soul has nothing to fear, in those moments when they are engrossed in their creativity, those who are afflicted are completely oblivious to their predicament.

The soul has nothing to fear because there is actually nothing TO fear. In ultimate reality the soul, as infinite consciousness, is all that exists; there is nothing else. It is who we are, and in truth, there is only One of us, and we exist in a state of perfect bliss. This is the ultimate truth. So, it stands to reason that if you empower someone to experience themselves as who they really are, in those moments, all their fears will dissolve away.

Having had the good fortune to have seen some of these wonderful people in action, I can honestly say that it is a skill I greatly admire.

Ticking All The Boxes

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Author Richard F Holmes

I was browsing on facebook one day when I noticed that a you tube video by a man called Rupert Spira had appeared on my wall. I was attracted by the title and decided to give it a go. To say I was blown away is an understatement and I am now a Rupert convert. This man really ticks all the boxes as far as I’m concerned and he is my current “man of the moment”, relegating Neale Donald Walsch down to #2. He has a very calm, almost deadpan, manner about him and explains potentially complicated subject matter in a way that is mainly easy to understand. In the last video of his that I watched the point of discussion (and this is not word for word, it’s simply my way of explaining things) was about how our true nature is always present but the mind, or ego, prevents us from recognising it. He used the analogy of a cinema screen and a film; how the film is simply a series of images that masks the screen, but whilst it is showing, the screen is ever present although not visible. When the film is over the screen remains.

It is the same principle as our true nature (the screen) being ever present before and after we take birth in the world (the film). Many people still do not understand who they really are simply due to ignorance of their true nature. In the video an audience member asked a question regarding this and Rupert gave the following explanation:

“Ignorance is a point of view; it’s not something that is really there. It’s a way of seeing, it is not something that is seen”

There are many ways to describe our true nature; and they are all accurate. Truth, God, Bliss, Awareness and Consciousness are just a handful of ways to describe who we really are. In the following example Rupert referred to us as “happiness” and he said to the same audience member:

“Happiness is not a state that comes and goes, it is the true nature of consciousness and is ever-present. It reveals itself when the layers of ignorance periodically dissolve away”.

He also referred to:

“the dissolution of thoughts”

as being the cause for happiness to reveal itself. Of course, it has been stated many times before that the infinite, creative force that we know as “God”, of its own will, splits itself into billions of particles and experiences the physical life in order to know experientially what it previously only knew as concept. So, in other words, the infinite voluntarily becomes the finite on a temporary basis. Although the finite is always only an illusion. Rupert describes this phenomenon thus:

“The finite mind is infinite consciousness modulating itself”.

Rupert Spira is one of many wonderful souls on the planet right now who truly are a fountain of wisdom and wonder. I’m not on a commission; honest! but you could do a lot worse than check out this man’s you tube channel. God bless!

Rupert’s you tube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/rupertspira

The Social Effect – Video #2

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQS5Y8cia7w

This is the second in my series of videos entitled “The Social Effect”. I am aware that I said in my last post before going off on my trip to Wales that my next communication would be a video showing how we can use our own voice to enhance our general well-being. Well sometimes “stuff” just takes over. The good thing is, that particular video is still on the horizon and I WILL get around to sharing it with you. In the meantime I hope you enjoy The Social Effect.

Yoga v Self-Enquiry

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Author Richard F Holmes

In the last few weeks I’ve been reading a book called “Be As You Are – The Teachings Of Ramana Maharshi”. It’s a very interesting book; although a bit difficult to grasp at times. In a nut shell, Sri Ramana Maharshi advocated a spiritual practice called “Self-enquiry” as a direct means to Self-realisation. It works on the principle that all that exists is the Self (infinite consciousness), and if you constantly enquire “Who Am I”, and go to the source of where the thought arises, then you destroy the mind and realise this Self. However, it’s not as simple as that in practice; or so it would seem. But before I go into more detail I want to touch on Sri Ramana’s views on yoga (I should probably say my interpretation of the great master’s views on yoga).

Sri Ramana did not recommend yoga as a means to realise the Self. He said that yogis simply suppress the mind through their yogic practice, as opposed to “killing” it. The thinking behind it is that if you suppress the mind in your meditative state, once you come out of your meditative state thoughts will once again arise; therefore, through the practice of yoga one can only flit in and out of Self-realisation. Whereas, through the practice of Self-enquiry the mind is obliterated and the Self is realised.

Self-enquiry is very simple in principle; and it makes a great deal of sense. If you go to the source of the “I” thought, or ego (this refers to the false “I” that states “I am this body”) the mind will simply disappear. Does it not stand to reason that if the false “I” arises out of the Self, if you go directly to Self, then this is what you experience; Self, or who you really are. This is why Ramana called it the direct means, because it meant bypassing all the other “stuff” in between. He said that meditation and mantras etc. are OK, but they cannot ultimately take you to Self-realisation because to practice them is to engage the mind and you cannot use the mind to destroy the mind.

He said ask the question “Who Am I” and go directly to the source of the thought, without actively seeking it; because to seek something means to engage the mind. This is where it gets complicated for me, but the great man assures us that it is possible. It would also be possible here to ramble on and on and on because there are so many permutations and possibilities depending on how you interpret Self-enquiry. But instead of rambling on I’m going to get to the point of this article.

It’s quite common for people to develop spiritual snobbery; even if they don’t realise it. You find that followers of certain gurus and teachers get feelings of superiority because their teacher is “more spiritual” than yours etc. But I saw this business of Self-enquiry versus yoga as an opportunity to make a point. Contrary to popular opinion, yoga has got nothing to do with sticking your foot behind your head! The word “yoga” means “union with God”. Therefore, if Self-enquiry is a proven means to Self-realisation (union with God) it is simply another form of yoga.

God bless you all and I’ll see you when I get back from Wales. I haven’t forgotten that I posted recently that I have another video project in mind, “Using The Voice To Enhance Your General Well-Being”. I’ll probably get this underway during the first week in June. Bye for now!!