God Goes Home

Posted on September 3, 2026 by Author Richard F Holmes

Here is a bit of nostalgia… I realised that I’ve been writing this blog since 2011; where has the time gone? I’m not the best when it comes to IT and social media etc. but I’ve stumbled along to the best of my ability and I find myself where I am today, over 15 years later. I thought it would be a good idea to look back through the archives and retrieve my very first post, and what a poignant post it was. I’ve decided to give it a fresh airing. So my dear friends, for your interest (maybe) here is, once again, my first ever blog post from Sunday 24th April 2011, untampered with, word for word in all its glory.

Laideeeeez an’ gennelmen… I give to you…

God Goes Home:

Easter Sunday 24 April 2011 started off as a normal day. I was in no hurry to get out of bed, eventually doing so at around 09:20. Whilst having my first cup of tea of the day I went about my morning routine of going online and posting my thought for the day on Facebook and checking other online stuff. I went into one of my email addresses and there was one solitary email, from my friend V in South Africa. It was very short and to the point; it said quite simply “Swami has left”. I was quite numb at first. My beloved Swami, Sri Sathya Sai Baba had left his physical body. There had been signs for some time that Baba was getting ready to go, and in recent weeks it became increasingly apparent that devotees were going to have to accept that this was the case. It was still hard to believe though; you don’t expect Swami to go, simply because he has always been there. For a number of hours I cried intermittently; not out of grief, for I know there is no such thing as death, but for the sheer love of Baba and the realisation that he gave so much to us, yet took nothing for himself. His love was, and still is, boundless and I am truly blessed to have been touched by Baba’s love on many, many occasions.

I count my blessings that I received the call to go to Baba’s ashram, Prasanthi Nilayam (abode of the highest peace), on two occasions in the 18 months preceding his physical departure. It was during my second visit in February 2010 that I got my first hint that “Divine Mother Sai” may be preparing to leave. I was chatting to an American guy who had an apartment in Puttaparthi, where the ashram is situated. He was saying how Swami’s physical health had been going rapidly downhill and that he had made an unprecedented gesture. Baba had made an announcement formally inviting devotees from all over the world to attend the ashram during 2010, on a pilgrimage basis. My friend told me that this had never been done before in all the years that Baba had been resident at Prasanthi (since the 1940’s). My friend went on to say that he felt Baba was getting ready to leave his body and this was his parting gesture of love to devotees worldwide. Because of the sheer volume of people the pilgrimage was organised with the utmost precision and only so many countries at a time could attend, for periods of ten days only. Of course, this only applied to the organised pilgrimages; anyone can go to Prasanthi as long as they receive the inner calling

“not even 20,000 horses can bring you here if you are not called” ~ Baba

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 Does Anger Exist?

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Author Richard F Holmes

I have been thinking lately that it’s about time I attempted a proper blog post, having hardly written at all for months. The reason for this is that I haven’t been firing on all cylinders for quite some time now, and this is why I decided to post my daily “thought for the day” on the blog, because it enabled me to stay in touch with all those who have been good enough to take an interest in my work. I am not overly worried about my lingering bout of extremely low energy because I know there is a good reason for it, and I had my thoughts confirmed by something that someone sent me on social media recently.

As a vast number of people are now aware we are going through a time of great change here within the Earth dimension; everything is shifting as the vibration of the planet is speeding up rapidly. As a result of this many spiritually aware people are now going through an awakening process. However, this process is not without its side-effects. I noticed around two years ago that I was experiencing unusually low energy levels. Me being me, I didn’t bother too much about it, but as it dragged on and on I did mention it to a couple of close friends. One of them said I should go and have a blood test. I tend to try to avoid doctor’s surgeries, but this time I listened to what my friend said and arranged for the test. To cut a long story short the very extensive blood tests revealed that there was absolutely nothing wrong with me. My GP said I probably had a mild case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, for which there is no known cure; the cause is also unknown.

Anyway, I’d heard that spiritual people all over the place were experiencing the same thing, and then a few weeks ago somebody sent me something on social media that gave me even more clarification. I received a list of no less than 54 symptoms that spiritually aware people are experiencing at this time due to the shift taking place. I was actually a bit relieved that I could relate to a number of them.

The reason for me telling you this is because lately I have been a writer that hasn’t been doing much writing, so it explains why. Also, it’s good filler for this (very) little blog post “Why Does Anger Exist”.

Plainly and simply anger exists because people get angry; it has no basis of its own and it is unable to sustain itself without the support of humans. Love, on the other hand, exists in its own right and is the basis for everything. In truth, when we get angry we do more damage to ourselves than others. This is because there are always repercussions in accordance with the laws of cause and effect, karma and personal responsibility.

So really it’s quite simple….. anger? Don’t do it!!!!