I have come to the conclusion that, for me, writing a blog is a self-indulgent waste of time. I had never intended to write my blog for my own self-satisfaction, as I can think of better things to do with my time, but, rather, to cultivate a dialogue on various aspects of living this very challenging human life. However, disappointingly, the result has been a stone wall of silence and total lack of interest.
So, I have decided to go back to writing a perodic e-newsletter for all my Reiki friends instead. And, if dear soul wishes to join our little band of Reiki life pilgrims, you will find us initially on www.reikiway.com
Namaste,
and love,
Wrio
Monday, 5 October 2009
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
A lesson from my address book
Time at last to write to the air waves again. For weeks, now, blogging has been low on my list of priorities but when your internet address book is hijacked by some unscrupulous nogood somewhere, all you can do is clean everything out and start all over again. So, I have potentially lost touch with many of my friends and ex-students and I am sad about that. If you are one of them and you wish to keep in touch, do get typing and let me have your address again. I would value that so much. And, by the way, my two email addresses remain the same.
This whole affair has led me yet again to reflect on human nature and on how enormously selfish and silly we humans can be. We can rise to the heights and we can plumb the depths. We have such potential to do both good and bad and it is our egos which play such a part in this. The ego itself is only a problem when we allow it to be because, of course, we always have choices in the actions we take. In the same way as we mistakenly say 'money is the root of all evil' (when we should of course be saying 'the love of money is the root of all evil', which is rather different), so we blame the ego for all our ill-doings. Yet, it is not the ego per se, it is our use or misuse of our ego which determines our actions. Whoever hijacked my address book had the choice whether or not to do it and he or she made the wrong choice. The choice was, sadly, not just wrong for me but for him or her as well as the choice made will accumulate as bad karma and will rest in that person for the rest of their days in this lifetime. Pity. And, equally, it is incumbent on me to have compassion for that inconveniencing person. Oh dear, that's the choice I now have to make. And in fact I do feel sorry that someone feels they have to 'steal' someone's address book in order to promote their own business, which is what they were trying to do. I just hope, now, that they can find an honest way to market their goods in the future.
And, I hope, too, that I can receive back all your email addresses and build up my address book again. Good old human nature. It never ceases to shock and amaze.
This whole affair has led me yet again to reflect on human nature and on how enormously selfish and silly we humans can be. We can rise to the heights and we can plumb the depths. We have such potential to do both good and bad and it is our egos which play such a part in this. The ego itself is only a problem when we allow it to be because, of course, we always have choices in the actions we take. In the same way as we mistakenly say 'money is the root of all evil' (when we should of course be saying 'the love of money is the root of all evil', which is rather different), so we blame the ego for all our ill-doings. Yet, it is not the ego per se, it is our use or misuse of our ego which determines our actions. Whoever hijacked my address book had the choice whether or not to do it and he or she made the wrong choice. The choice was, sadly, not just wrong for me but for him or her as well as the choice made will accumulate as bad karma and will rest in that person for the rest of their days in this lifetime. Pity. And, equally, it is incumbent on me to have compassion for that inconveniencing person. Oh dear, that's the choice I now have to make. And in fact I do feel sorry that someone feels they have to 'steal' someone's address book in order to promote their own business, which is what they were trying to do. I just hope, now, that they can find an honest way to market their goods in the future.
And, I hope, too, that I can receive back all your email addresses and build up my address book again. Good old human nature. It never ceases to shock and amaze.
Friday, 10 April 2009
Staying Still
We move around too much; we're never still. And, you know, it doesn't do us any good because our feet are never planted firmly on mother earth and we never really get to know the plot of land upon which we live, let alone the people living around us. We are never rooted. I know because I have been a persistent offender in this for many years. There I was, hankering to leave the shores of this favoured island in order to find paradise somewhere in the glorious sunshine of Italy. And what did I discover? A very different culture which is rather difficult to fathom and a potentially beautiful tumbledown old farmhouse, much too big for me, that I couldn't afford to restore. Yes, the countryside there is quite glorious, the sun shines in summer, the winters are cold, the wine is cheap and the people are warm and friendly. Yet, in Sussex, the countryside is also appealing, although not so grand, and, when you get to know them, the people are generally warm and friendly, too. That leaves the sun and the cheap wine. Well, all we have to do is drink less and praise the day when the sun does show his head and see it as a wonderful blessing. (I must admit, there is one thing I do miss, though, and that is the Italian eye for beauty. When buying a house there, for a moderate price you can purchase a home of real aesthetic pleasure whereas here in Britain most of the cheaper housing is aesthetically displeasing and an offense to the eye. And, in any case, the English house prices are ridiculous) Yet, that apart, I do now feel that, if you are living in the English countryside, the grass is no greener anywhere else, even in Italy or Thailand.
However, there is something even more fundamental than always chasing illusory dreams of finding Shangri La. If we are to be truly contented, we need to be grounded and to stay still, wherever it is that we choose to plant our roots. We need to till our plot of land and to commune with our neighbours. We need to belong. And it is when we fail to stay still and belong that we wire our neural pathways on a circuit of restlessness and neurosis that leads us to frustration and suffering. We forget how to be still and what it is like to have peace of mind. We forget what it is like to see the dormant tree bud and then flower and to feel part of that endless enduring cycle of birth, life, death and continuity. We lose touch with our souls which are the only enduring part of us and then we wonder why we feel lost. We've left our souls behind and we end up floundering about in this world of restless illusion.
Isn't it time to stay still and feel the ground beneath our feet? Surely, we need to dig the soil, plant seeds and see them grow. And we need to talk to the birds and animals... oh yes, and the neighbours, too. Or am I getting old?
However, there is something even more fundamental than always chasing illusory dreams of finding Shangri La. If we are to be truly contented, we need to be grounded and to stay still, wherever it is that we choose to plant our roots. We need to till our plot of land and to commune with our neighbours. We need to belong. And it is when we fail to stay still and belong that we wire our neural pathways on a circuit of restlessness and neurosis that leads us to frustration and suffering. We forget how to be still and what it is like to have peace of mind. We forget what it is like to see the dormant tree bud and then flower and to feel part of that endless enduring cycle of birth, life, death and continuity. We lose touch with our souls which are the only enduring part of us and then we wonder why we feel lost. We've left our souls behind and we end up floundering about in this world of restless illusion.
Isn't it time to stay still and feel the ground beneath our feet? Surely, we need to dig the soil, plant seeds and see them grow. And we need to talk to the birds and animals... oh yes, and the neighbours, too. Or am I getting old?
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Taking Charge of our Health
During my winter sojourn in Thailand I became sadly aware of how grossly overweight, not to say obese, many Westerners are as they flaunt their ugly flesh to the hot Thailand sun. It was a gross reminder of how greedy and irresponsible we have become and of how little self-respect so many of us have. Why are we so unwise? A recent article in The Guardian pointed out how cases of cancer are set to rise in epidemic proportions in the next few years as obesity turns to disease. And there is not only cancer: there is heart disease and diabetes, too. What are we doing to ourselves and, worse still, what are we doing to our children? A doctor told me three years ago how he had treated two young children in a week for the first signs of diabetes. And, of course, they were both overweight.
Another article recently told of how fast food outlets and processed food manufacturers are using MSG and its derivatives and that these ingredients act not only as flavour enhancers but also cultivate addiction to these unnourishing, useless foods. Like drugs and cigarettes, so many foods are undermining our health. Not only that, but the illness being caused by obesity and unhealthy foods is costing the taxpayer millions, if not billions, of pounds and this will rise dramatically as the incidence of cancer, diabetes and heart disease rise over the next few years.
What is being done about it? Not much, it seems. Many people are quite patently incapable of disciplining themselves to exercise and to eat sensibly, even though advice is forever being given out. Sometimes our self-destructing human species behave like sheep, yet sheep have farmers to feed them food that nourishes them while we have governments who do nothing of real value to curb the stupid habits of those who are incapable of living their lives wisely. Why cannot government monitor fast food outlets and processed food manufacturers for suitable ingedients and ban such harmful substances as MSG? Why can they not be more highly taxed to help pay for the ever-increasing demand for expensive treatments of such conditions as cancer, heart disease and diabetes which are set to rise? And, why cannot we, the people, get a grip of ourselves and take more responsibility for our health? With the recession, we are now living in straitened times and more and more people are resorting to cheap, unwholesome food in an effort to cut costs, not thinking that if they get ill their costs will go up extravagantly to pay for their recovery. Somehow we need to be cajoled and frightened into giving up our greed and our physical and mental flabbiness and take charge of our lives. The most important thing we can spend money on is our health and the health of our children. The reward will be freedom from the suffering and horrifying costs that emanate from a life-threatening disease. In other words, it is worth doing. But it requires a massive act of will on behalf of both government and people. We have too much freedom and too much choice and maybe a little bit has got to be taken away, right now, for our own good.
Another article recently told of how fast food outlets and processed food manufacturers are using MSG and its derivatives and that these ingredients act not only as flavour enhancers but also cultivate addiction to these unnourishing, useless foods. Like drugs and cigarettes, so many foods are undermining our health. Not only that, but the illness being caused by obesity and unhealthy foods is costing the taxpayer millions, if not billions, of pounds and this will rise dramatically as the incidence of cancer, diabetes and heart disease rise over the next few years.
What is being done about it? Not much, it seems. Many people are quite patently incapable of disciplining themselves to exercise and to eat sensibly, even though advice is forever being given out. Sometimes our self-destructing human species behave like sheep, yet sheep have farmers to feed them food that nourishes them while we have governments who do nothing of real value to curb the stupid habits of those who are incapable of living their lives wisely. Why cannot government monitor fast food outlets and processed food manufacturers for suitable ingedients and ban such harmful substances as MSG? Why can they not be more highly taxed to help pay for the ever-increasing demand for expensive treatments of such conditions as cancer, heart disease and diabetes which are set to rise? And, why cannot we, the people, get a grip of ourselves and take more responsibility for our health? With the recession, we are now living in straitened times and more and more people are resorting to cheap, unwholesome food in an effort to cut costs, not thinking that if they get ill their costs will go up extravagantly to pay for their recovery. Somehow we need to be cajoled and frightened into giving up our greed and our physical and mental flabbiness and take charge of our lives. The most important thing we can spend money on is our health and the health of our children. The reward will be freedom from the suffering and horrifying costs that emanate from a life-threatening disease. In other words, it is worth doing. But it requires a massive act of will on behalf of both government and people. We have too much freedom and too much choice and maybe a little bit has got to be taken away, right now, for our own good.
Monday, 19 January 2009
Loving Kindness
Whether we like it or not, we are caught in nature's web... day flows into night flows into day, relentlessly, without fail... and then we die. And, if we are born again and come back to Mother Earth, nature takes us by the hand once more and subjects us to her will. Yet, no one day is the same as the others, each has its own character, in the same way as no one person is a replica of me. We are each one of us little waves dancing along in the ocean of consciousness. However, we each have our own individual identity, our own character. What a kaleidescope of humanity that makes for, what a patchwork quilt of character and personality and shape and size and hope and despair wandering the surface of the Earth. Yes, we surely are individuals, ever changing, which is why Western medicine is so often ineffective. It doesn't understand that and too many doctors are unaware of who we are as human beings. But that is another story.
The point is that, bound at a deep level by a common consciousness, we are all different, with each one of us conditioned by a whole range of unique experiences which have helped to make us who we are. So, how can we know, completely and utterly, from the standpoint of our own experience, what is making our neighbour tick? We simply cannot. Therefore, how can we judge others? The answer is we cannot, at least not accurately or fairly, and so it is better not to try. Observe but don't judge as we'll too often get it wrong and then all sorts of trouble will bubble up. And no judgement is better than wrong judgement. In any case, we cannot know what someone else's karma is and surely we have enough to cope with in dealing with our own. Instead, it is far better to put all our efforts and energy into developing loving-kindness (metta) for others by awakening our hearts, rather than sliding down the slippery slope of conjouring up subjective judgements.
If you take a coin with positive on one side and negative on the other, you will find that loving-kindness is also written on the positive side and judgement normally on the negative side, together with gossip, because we very often make judgements of other people for no very constructive reason except to gossip. Newspapers are often doing that, to boost their sales by appealing to the worst in us. Judgement and gossip are worth millions of pounds and dollars, whereas compassion doesn't sell newspapers. So what? We don't live to sell newspapers. We live to diminish suffering and to cultivate a peaceful and fulfilling life. Therefore the cultivation of unconditional loving-kindness becomes of much more value to us as individuals than bothering about newspapers. We are not in the business of diminishing our humanity but of enhancing it and seeing it grow by awakening our hearts bit by bit until they become as big as the sun. And each time we practise loving-kindness the more we will accumulate good karma which will stand us in good stead in the future.
The thing is our humanity has its duality coin, too, with its dark side and its light side. If we succumb to our dark side then we fall into the abyss of sub-humanity, as we see happening so tragically in Gaza and Zimbabwe these days. If, on the other hand, we live in the light then we are opening our hearts to our pure humanity which we express through our loving-kindness to others and to ourselves as well. Most of us succumb to our dark side every now and again in small ways but even when we do we can always learn the lessons that accrue from the experience. However, we must always expect to carry the karma of all our actions, good and bad, and the karma from our dark side can sometimes give us considerable pain. And there is certainly often a dark side to judging others. So, if it is our wish to realize our pure humanity, then it is better to focus on observing but not judging and on giving out loving-kindness whenever we can and wherever it is needed. That way everybody benefits and the light shines.
I wish you an abundant and joy-filled New Year. With metta.
The point is that, bound at a deep level by a common consciousness, we are all different, with each one of us conditioned by a whole range of unique experiences which have helped to make us who we are. So, how can we know, completely and utterly, from the standpoint of our own experience, what is making our neighbour tick? We simply cannot. Therefore, how can we judge others? The answer is we cannot, at least not accurately or fairly, and so it is better not to try. Observe but don't judge as we'll too often get it wrong and then all sorts of trouble will bubble up. And no judgement is better than wrong judgement. In any case, we cannot know what someone else's karma is and surely we have enough to cope with in dealing with our own. Instead, it is far better to put all our efforts and energy into developing loving-kindness (metta) for others by awakening our hearts, rather than sliding down the slippery slope of conjouring up subjective judgements.
If you take a coin with positive on one side and negative on the other, you will find that loving-kindness is also written on the positive side and judgement normally on the negative side, together with gossip, because we very often make judgements of other people for no very constructive reason except to gossip. Newspapers are often doing that, to boost their sales by appealing to the worst in us. Judgement and gossip are worth millions of pounds and dollars, whereas compassion doesn't sell newspapers. So what? We don't live to sell newspapers. We live to diminish suffering and to cultivate a peaceful and fulfilling life. Therefore the cultivation of unconditional loving-kindness becomes of much more value to us as individuals than bothering about newspapers. We are not in the business of diminishing our humanity but of enhancing it and seeing it grow by awakening our hearts bit by bit until they become as big as the sun. And each time we practise loving-kindness the more we will accumulate good karma which will stand us in good stead in the future.
The thing is our humanity has its duality coin, too, with its dark side and its light side. If we succumb to our dark side then we fall into the abyss of sub-humanity, as we see happening so tragically in Gaza and Zimbabwe these days. If, on the other hand, we live in the light then we are opening our hearts to our pure humanity which we express through our loving-kindness to others and to ourselves as well. Most of us succumb to our dark side every now and again in small ways but even when we do we can always learn the lessons that accrue from the experience. However, we must always expect to carry the karma of all our actions, good and bad, and the karma from our dark side can sometimes give us considerable pain. And there is certainly often a dark side to judging others. So, if it is our wish to realize our pure humanity, then it is better to focus on observing but not judging and on giving out loving-kindness whenever we can and wherever it is needed. That way everybody benefits and the light shines.
I wish you an abundant and joy-filled New Year. With metta.
Friday, 26 December 2008
Christmas reflection 2008
Yesterday was Christmas Day and the realisation came to me that, in spite of all the consumerist hype and nonsense, this is an utterly sacred day as it honours the birth of a holy man, a great teacher, mystic and enlightened being who eternally offers us his guidance for living life in a profound and meaningful way. If we don't treat Christmas Day in this way, then we have failed to grasp its true meaning and we might as well just go to the office. I realised this when I went to the mass and observed the undignified behaviour of some of the congregation. Why were they there? What does Christmas mean to them? Is it just the claptrap of Father Christmas, jingle bells and the endless shopping? Is it a belief in the myth of the Christmas story that is okay for us when we are children but becomes blown apart when we become spiritually of age and have learned the truth of it all? Is it the mythical historical Jesus or the reality of the Cosmic Christ whose birth we are honouring, if indeed we are honouring anything? Does Christmas mean anything profound at all to those who attend a Christmas service or is it human beings just being like sheep as they are wont to do and going through the motions because it is the done thing? Are we searching for the Truth or do we just bury our heads in the sand and remain spiritually dead?
Personally, I am no longer a Catholic but I honour the birth of the Cosmic Christ with gratitude as someone who came to help show us the way. He was a Buddha and Buddhas have such a spiritual meaning for us as they radiate unbounded compassion and wisdom and understanding. They are beacons of light in a world of darkness and if we have any heart, or any spiritual sense, at all we should honour them on their holy day. Acknowledging this will help the development of our own compassion, wisdom and understanding.
With all my heart I wish you all a happy and holy Christmas.
Personally, I am no longer a Catholic but I honour the birth of the Cosmic Christ with gratitude as someone who came to help show us the way. He was a Buddha and Buddhas have such a spiritual meaning for us as they radiate unbounded compassion and wisdom and understanding. They are beacons of light in a world of darkness and if we have any heart, or any spiritual sense, at all we should honour them on their holy day. Acknowledging this will help the development of our own compassion, wisdom and understanding.
With all my heart I wish you all a happy and holy Christmas.
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Keeping Positive
It's amazing how the media, especially in Britain, love to focus on bad news and to try and make us feel that the world as we know it is falling apart. Prophets of doom, they are, catylists for negativity. And it's amazing, too, that the British prime minister can have a smile on his face as he tries to make out he is saving the British economy when, in fact, he is more responsible than anybody for it being in the mess it's in. Yet, when we look at the broad picture of what is happening globally, we can see it as being the karmic retribution for monstrous, excessive greed by the banks and society as a whole and utter incompetence by governments on both sides of the Atlantic. We're getting our cumuppence because we're all to blame in some way and the consumerist pack of cards is tumbling down. Hurrah, let's start again. Economies are cyclical, they go up and down and this time they're inevitably going a long way down. But we're still alive, we've got a roof over our heads and food on the table, and we've got minds and the value of our varied experiences to help us work out how we can live our lives in a more sensibly sustainable way. So, let's get it all in perspective and find a way of simplifying our lives and not living on money that isn't there. Indeed, we can see this as an opportunity for cultivating a bit of wisdom and focusing our attention on what is truly important in our lives. After all, nothing is for ever.
If we are feeling blown apart by how this economic downturn is affecting us, then we can find a way of lessening the stress by focusing on our necessities rather than our unnecessary desires. Remember, we can always change our perception of anything in order to genuinely suit our needs better. We have the ability to make choices. So, let's now make the right choices, the ones that are truly good for us and for our families and friends.
Let us also simplify our lives by cutting out what is not for our highest good. This is such a great opportunity for us to reflect deep and long on how we have been living our lives and on the changes we can create to make them more sustainable and therefore more joyful. We can cut out what we don't need. Yes, simplify.
For so many people this has become an annus horribilis. At least, thst is one way to look at it, to feel a victim and to be sorry for ourselves. Yes, we can do that. Or, instead, we can see it as an opportunity for change. Choices again. I remember during the last Asian 'crash' seeing television footage of a former millionaire Thai car dealer from Bangkok who was laughingly cleaning a car with hose, bucket and sponge in his new role as car valeter. Yes, he was staring all over again with a smile on his face... from the bottom. The human spirit can be indomitable.
So, let's laugh at the press, and at Mr Brown, and instead we just keep and open mind and remain clear-headed and deeply intuitive and know that there is always a way if we'll just allow the universe to speak to us. Trust in man-made institutions has flown out o the window because the motives have all been wrong. Instead, we need to trust ourselves and our natural power and wisdom and also to trust in the universe to guide us. Upwards and onwards... into 2009.
With love,
Wrio
If we are feeling blown apart by how this economic downturn is affecting us, then we can find a way of lessening the stress by focusing on our necessities rather than our unnecessary desires. Remember, we can always change our perception of anything in order to genuinely suit our needs better. We have the ability to make choices. So, let's now make the right choices, the ones that are truly good for us and for our families and friends.
Let us also simplify our lives by cutting out what is not for our highest good. This is such a great opportunity for us to reflect deep and long on how we have been living our lives and on the changes we can create to make them more sustainable and therefore more joyful. We can cut out what we don't need. Yes, simplify.
For so many people this has become an annus horribilis. At least, thst is one way to look at it, to feel a victim and to be sorry for ourselves. Yes, we can do that. Or, instead, we can see it as an opportunity for change. Choices again. I remember during the last Asian 'crash' seeing television footage of a former millionaire Thai car dealer from Bangkok who was laughingly cleaning a car with hose, bucket and sponge in his new role as car valeter. Yes, he was staring all over again with a smile on his face... from the bottom. The human spirit can be indomitable.
So, let's laugh at the press, and at Mr Brown, and instead we just keep and open mind and remain clear-headed and deeply intuitive and know that there is always a way if we'll just allow the universe to speak to us. Trust in man-made institutions has flown out o the window because the motives have all been wrong. Instead, we need to trust ourselves and our natural power and wisdom and also to trust in the universe to guide us. Upwards and onwards... into 2009.
With love,
Wrio
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