Raeal

Reverse Meditation Technique

Filed under: Columns — Raeal @ 12:56 am

Reverse Meditation Technique

Many people have tried meditation and most of them did not continue to meditate after a few tries. Others tried once and did not feel anything special to want to meditate further. Few people truly meditate regularly or at a deep level. I know this from talking to people I meet and surveying my clients from my past life regression practice. I always ask them if they meditate so that I have an idea how easily they could be regressed and whether they need a deeper and lengthier hypnosis.

People who meditate regularly are typically able to be regressed more easily because hypnosis and meditation are really very similar. What happen during both exercises is that our brain waves are slowed down from our normal awakening state of beta (12 to 30 Hz) to either alpha (8 to 12 Hz) or theta (4 to 8 Hz) level. If our brain waves are any slower, we would have fallen into delta (less than 4 Hz) level or deep sleep. This is science and brain waves are measurable by Electroencephalography* (EEG).

Do you daydream? Nearly all my regression subjects do. When we daydream, our brain waves are also at the alpha level. Our consciousness is somewhere else, thinking of the holidays while we are still sitting at the office desk or washing the dishes. This is also called the light trance level, and conscious channels often receive messages from their spiritual guides at this level. Theta level is also known as the deep trance level, and subjects are often unaware of time and space. When we lie down on our beds to sleep at night, we go through these two levels fairly quickly and fall into a deep slumber. Every morning, the reverse happens, i.e. we go from delta to beta level, and we never fail to wake up. So these two levels are really no strangers to us and very safe.

Instead of trying to still our mind and slow down our brain from beta to alpha or theta level, we make use of what we do most easily, i.e. to sleep.

Meditation is all about stilling our mind. The objective is to remove the clutter from our mind, such as the worries, burdens, fears and stresses of our lives. How are we going to pay our bills? How do I handle this or that situation? We want to put these thoughts aside while we meditate. The objectives of meditation are probably two-fold. One is to connect to the divine and another is to receive the rejuvenation effects of the alpha and theta levels.

Interestingly, the idea of stilling our mind or slowing our brain is actually a paradox. When we relax and slow down our busy minds, we actually improve our concentration. The more relaxed we are, the more focused we can be. This is how past life regressions work. Instead of trying to control the subject’s subconscious mind (which is really a myth), we try to make the subjects very relax through hypnosis so they could recall their past lives memories from the subconscious mind and absorbed them into their conscious mind. Otherwise, the ego would keep telling the subject that he or she is merely imagining things. The intense level of concentration allows the experiences to feel very real to the subject and emotions are often present.

Now, there is another way to “meditate” or to communicate with the divine. I would call this the “reverse meditation technique”. Instead of trying to still our mind and slow down our brain from beta to alpha or theta level, we make use of what we do most easily, i.e. to sleep.

Everyone knows how to sleep. The first step of reverse meditation technique is simply to fall asleep. The only next step and trick is to keep your eyes close when you first wake up after your sleep. Just as we slow down from beta to delta level in order to sleep, our brains quicken from delta to beta level every time we wake up. This means that when we first awake, we are still in a theta or alpha state.

That is why most of us tend to laze in bed and catch another few winks after we have already woken up or been awakened by the alarm, phone, or some noises. What happens is that our brains are still adjusting and transitioning from delta to beta level. It usually takes a few moments or minutes.

Have you woken up in the morning; yet to open your eyes; and find yourself unaware of your bedroom, bed, or your partner beside you? Sometimes, you may even feel that you have forgotten the orientation of your bed and your sleeping position. Other times, your dreams are so real that you thought you are still at your dream’s location. Yet, you instinctively know that you have already awakened. Only when you open your eyes and truly “wake up”, then you realize that you are lying in your bedroom. Well, that is the theta level.

Accessing the theta level is the idea behind meditation. While the traditional forms of meditation are very good practices, some people often try too hard to meditate. Many constantly struggle to quiet their minds, find their most comfortable positions, make the time, or find a quiet place to meditate. Others wonder why their meditation just could not “work”.

Well, an alternative is to try the reverse meditation technique simply by reminding ourselves not to open our eyes when we just awake and stay in the period of theta level. If you forget and open your eyes, simply close them again immediately, and you could usually return back to theta or at least alpha level fairly quickly. You would know you are in the theta level if you find yourself unaware of time and space.

All that matters is accessing the theta level before we fully awaken since it is one of the most creative times of our day.

During theta level, our higher selves and spiritual guides would be able to communicate ideas and messages in thoughts more clearly to us. They may feel like your own thoughts and ideas. But really, our guides are not interested in taking any credit for they know that we are all one. Or if you don’t believe in spiritual guides, then simply regard the source as your own super-conscious mind.

All that matters is accessing the theta level before we fully awaken since it is one of the most creative times of our day. By utilizing this short period well, we could get plenty of inspirations and great ideas from our super-conscious mind. With practice and increasing self-awareness over time, we could remain in the theta level for even longer periods. You could also try asking questions and see what thoughts come to you after that.

Personally, I have received many wonderful ideas and divine inspirations via this simple way. Of course, it is no surprise that the idea to write this article came when I just woke up and had yet to return to beta level. Once I woke up fully, I knew I had to jot down the idea on a piece of paper so that I would remember to write this article when I have the time later.

Having shared this “technique”, I believe our aim is really to “meditate” constantly and at all times. It is what I call the “walking meditation”. It is about achieving a level of self-awareness that every word becomes a prayer and every thought or period of silence a meditation. Then, we would have truly merged with our higher selves and become one with God.

Enjoy your theta and alpha moments. I hope many brilliant ideas and divine messages would come your way through the reverse meditation technique.

* Electroencephalography, Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eeg

This is my column for April 2009 issue in Cosmic Lighthouse Metaphysics Magazine.

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The Prophet’s Way

Filed under: Columns — Raeal @ 12:11 pm

Thom Hartmann Everything comes from God. We are all children of God, even the plants, the grasses, flowers, shrubs, and trees. As we, they have souls, and as we, they are happy when they are loved and when we demonstrate that and tell them that. Then they are so happy, that they stand straighter and healthier and more beautiful that they may serve us and please us. ~ Herr Gottfried Müller

I would like to introduce two men and an organization — Thom Hartmann, Herr Gottfried Müller, and Salem. They are the main characters of “The Prophet’s Way”, a memoir written by Thom Hartmann recounting his own fascinating spiritual journey. It was also a book recommended by Neale Donald Walsch as a further reading in his Conversations with God series.

When Thom Hartmann met his first spiritual teacher Kurt Stanley back in 1969, he was amazed by how the Coptic mystic could heal a man who was paralyzed from the waist down since World War II. He began to study under Kurt Stanley and eventually became a meditation teacher himself. However, he had never forgotten what Kurt Stanley had told him before passing away. Kurt Stanley had specifically told him that he would meet another teacher who would help unfold his destiny.

As Thom Hartmann would find out years later, this teacher is Herr Gottfried Müller, the founder of Salem International, a non-profit welfare organization that operates several social programmes around the world. The name Salem stems from the Hebrew word “Shalom” meaning “peace”.

What is especially worthy of mention is the family model for their children’s homes. A married couple would take care of a group of orphans and abandoned children acting as their surrogate parents, filling the gaps of their missing parents. Another wonderful initiative behind Salem is to promote and engage in organic agriculture. Everyone from the staff to children ate their own produce, keeping their mind, body, and spirit in balance. Their success is clearly evident as the grown-up children would often come back during Christmas to their “true” home to visit and celebrate the occasion with family.

Herr Müller resides in Stadtsteinach, Germany where they set up the Salem world headquarters. Every Saturday, he would take a walk along a mountainside path which he calls his “prophet’s way.”

As Thom Hartmann explains, “He calls his path the prophet’s way because along this path he can call out to, and feel the presence of, the ancient prophets. In both the physical and the spiritual world, it’s his path for meeting divinity.” It was also along this path that Thom Hartmann would learn various powerful lessons from his teacher and friend which he detailed in his book.

Their success is clearly evident as the grown-up children would often come back during Christmas to their “true” home to visit and celebrate the occasion with family.

One of the lessons Thom Hartmann learnt from Herr Müller was trust (which is really a major lesson for many of us too). When Thom Hartmann was the director for the New England Salem Children’s Village in New Hampshire, he came across an opportunity to purchase land to build a permanent village for the project. The fantastic deal meant that he could pay only a fraction of what it was worth. However, he needed to cough up with US$40,000 of which he only had about $10,000 in their account. As there was a deadline for the deal, he paid the deposit of $10,000 with what they had then, thinking that Herr Müller and the Salem headquarters would help fund the rest if he couldn’t come up with the money.

As the deadline drew nearer, Thom Hartmann went on to raise donations of about $2000. After deducting some miscellaneous expenses, he still needed to find $29,000 to pay the remaining amount. Every week, he would call Herr Müller to give him progress reports. When it was D-day, one week before the deadline, just long enough for a check to arrive from Germany by air express and clear their bank, Thom had already exhausted every resource he knew of except Herr Müller himself. So he called him for help.

“Unfortunately”, unbeknownst to Thom Hartmann, Herr Müller had a problem over at the headquarters and needed money too. But Herr Müller told him not to worry, “It’s all God’s will. It will all work out.” Yet Thom Hartmann had every reason to worry. He wondered if he would lose the ten thousand dollars non-refundable deposit which was the entire New England Salem’s fund for operations, and how he was going to face his staff and children. Herr Müller offered an advice, “You must learn to trust in God. That land has its own destiny as a Salem village. Only your lack of faith can prevent it.”

The next morning, a scruffy looking stranger turned up at their Salem centre and made himself very comfortable at the center’s sauna. When Thom Hartmann arrived later and thinking he had no time to waste, Thom almost wanted to get the man to leave. But he remembered Herr Müller telling him about the biblical story of how Abraham fought with three men only to realise that they were actually angels. “Never judge another man,” he’d said. “You can never truly know his motives or power, and he may even be an angel.”

So instead of chasing away the stranger whose name was William, Thom Hartmann took time to show the man around the program, introducing him to the staff and a few children, and spent an hour introducing Herr Müller’s work. Before William left, he pressed a $20 bill into Thom Hartmann’s hand for the children, and thanked Thom for taking the time with him.

You must learn to trust in God. That land has its own destiny as a Salem village. Only your lack of faith can prevent it.

Two days before the deadline, William suddenly called and invited Thom Hartmann to drop by his place to discuss Herr Müller’s work. Thom readily agreed, thinking that he would rather spend time anywhere than to hang around Salem, not knowing how to face others. When Thom arrived, he found William living in a messy bachelor’s apartment. William started sobbing and explained that he was divorced from his wife as their marriage did not survive the shock of losing their precious son Aaron to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. When he had discovered his son’s dead body, he promised to God that he would do something worthy of Aaron in his name. But he didn’t know what that would or could be.

William went on to explain how he was walking down a street in Boston one day when he came across a magazine, Vegetarian Times, and felt drawn to buy it for no apparent reason. He was not a vegetarian. The magazine sat on his office desk for three days before he picked it up to read while waiting for a meeting. The magazine fell open to a page with a little article on this vegetarian children’s home in New Hamsphire. He did not understand why but he picked up the phone and called Salem and Thom Hartmann had answered it. After visiting Salem and meeting up with Thom Hartmann, William had the strangest dream. In it, his son Aaron visited him and said he remembered his father’s promise and that he should keep it now.

William wondered about the dream and fought it for a couple of days. But Aaron appeared in another dream and said “If you wait even one more day, Daddy, it will be too late.” So here they are in the apartment. William then handed a Chivas bag with gold coins and $10,000 worth of hundred-dollar bills to Thom Hartmann, “For your children.” Thom immediately proceeded to sell the gold coins and got $20,000 for them, just enough for him to pay up for that land in the nick of time and made the Salem village a dream come true.

I could imagine if I were to interview Thom Hartmann about this amazing story of his, he would readily answer with confidence, “Trust. Have faith, and never lose hope till the very last minute.”

Check out Salem International and their programs at www.saleminternational.org

This is my March column at Cosmic Lighthouse Metaphysics Magazine.

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Organisations and Spirituality

Filed under: Columns — Raeal @ 10:49 am

Krishnamurti

Jiddu Krishnamurti was born in the year 1895 into a Brahmin family in India. During his adolescence, he met prominent theosophist C.W. Leadbeater by chance at the Theosophical Society grounds. As a clairvoyant, Leadbeater believed Krishnamurti would become a great teacher and â€œvehicleâ€ for an expected World Teacher. Krishnamurti was subsequently raised under the strict tutelage of the leaders of the Society for his â€œroleâ€.

When Krishnamurti grew up into a young man and took over as the head of the Order of the Star, he stunned everyone by disavowing the idea of the coming of the World Teacher, and dissolving the worldwide organization established to support it. As a young man, Krishnamurti already understood that spiritual truths cannot be organized or imposed upon people.

In his dissolution speech, he said:

Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or to coerce people along any particular path. If you first understand that, then you will see how impossible it is to organize a belief. A belief is purely an individual matter, and you cannot and must not organize it. If you do, it becomes dead, crystallized; it becomes a creed, a sect, a religion, to be imposed on others. This is what everyone throughout the world is attempting to do. Truth is narrowed down and made a plaything for those who are weak, for those who are only momentarily discontented. Truth cannot be brought down, rather the individual must make the effort to ascend to it. You cannot bring the mountain-top to the valley. If you would attain to the mountain-top you must pass through the valley, climb the steeps, unafraid of the dangerous precipices.

Ironically, many members of the Order could not understand Krishnamurtiâ€™s intentions and some even turned against the man they believed to be their guru or messiah.

But Krishnamurti maintained:

Because I am free, unconditioned, wholeâ€“not the part, not the relative, but the whole Truth that is eternalâ€“I desire those, who seek to understand me to be free; not to follow me, not to make out of me a cage which will become a religion, a sect.

Krishnamurti spent the rest of his life traveling the world as an individual speaker, speaking to large and small groups, as well as with interested individuals.

Eventually after all the questioning, I realize that truth is simply love expressed on the earth plane.

I first encountered the transcript of Krishnamurtiâ€™s brilliant dissolution speech (www.kinfonet.org/Biography/dissolution.pdf) not long after we started Cosmic Lighthouse. What Krishnamurti said left an indelible mark on me. He might be blunt in his speech but his words still question our complacency and deepest motives in our spiritual quests today.

Is forming an organisation a bad thing? Not necessarily so. Sometimes, when two or more gather, the effectiveness and creativity resulted from the collaborations could be more than the sum of its parts. It is perhaps the intentions of the people who formed the organisation that matters. Krishnamurti apparently dissolved his own organisation when he realised that the members are creating a guru out of him and not following their own inner divine guidances.

Every now and then, I would ask myself the same kind of questions Krishnamurti had raised. Why have we started Cosmic Lighthouse? What are we trying to do for the readers? Are we trying to create a following? Am I addicted to spirituality or any teachers? Am I being spiritual for the sake of being spiritual? Am I stuck in my spiritual path? Do I even need to have a spiritual path? Am I a more loving person today than yesterday?

Eventually after all the questioning, I realize that truth is simply love expressed on the earth plane. When we are true to ourselves, it is an act of love to ourselves. When we do something for others in love, it is truth in action. When we respond to others in a truly loving manner, it is because we see their true nature as God in incarnations. Spirituality is thus simply a journey to rediscover and become unconditional love.

When we look around us, we find that many people are not involved in any form of spirituality. For instance, my wife is very new to what I do and the idea of spirituality. I also havenâ€™t told her much about my work. She certainly does not think of herself as a spiritual person at all. Nevertheless, she is less judgmental of my own father whom I find much difficulty living with. I hardly communicate with him but my wife, on the other hand, is clearly more loving and understanding towards my father. This made me realize that all my spiritual knowledge and wisdom still falls short when compared to the simple acts of unconditional love she did for my dad.

I believe one does not have to be spiritual in any way â€” to follow any spiritual path, join any spiritual movement, or form any organisation.

If we pay more attention to our surroundings, I believe we would also find many other examples. I would occasionally come across homeless old men and women feeding abandoned stray dogs and cats. My 6-month old baby niece smiles happily at everyone who plays with her regardless of our background or self-worth. There are also many kind-hearted volunteers who are not religious, unlikely to ever read Cosmic Lighthouse, and donâ€™t know a thing about metaphysics, yet they care unconditionally for the orphans or destitute. United States prisons today use dogs for prisoner therapy, and the canines are never shy of showering their love for anyone â€“ murderers or petty thieves.

Spirituality is ultimately a label we put on ourselves or others. I believe one does not have to be spiritual in any way â€” to follow any spiritual path, join any spiritual movement, or form any organisation. If a person has a lot of love and gives it freely, he or she is already a demonstration of God in action. Having said this, it is really a paradox since we are spiritual beings having temporary human incarnations. We are already spiritual in every sense. It is only our fears that prevent us from fully expressing the love that we truly are. I believe everyone of us who has carried out an unkind or selfish act, did it out of fear in one form or another.

Who amongst us could say he has never hurt or judge another one in words or actions? Who could claim that she has utterly no fear of anything? Evidently, the majority of us still have a lot of inner work to do to heal ourselves in order to unclog the fountains of love that have always existed within us. Krishnamurti knew that very well when he said, â€œMy only concern is to set men absolutely, unconditionally free.â€

When we are truly free to express who we are, I believe we would be so overflowed with such intensity of love that we could not but pour our love out to everyone and everywhere. We would then once again reacquaint ourselves with the feeling of home â€“ a state of absolute unconditional love.

This is my Feb column at Cosmic Lighthouse Metaphysics Magazine.

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Unsustainable Living vs Infinite Abundance

Filed under: Columns — Raeal @ 2:10 pm

consumer

In recent months, the world is facing an unprecedented financial crisis since the Great Depression. When we watch the news or read the newspapers, we are bombarded with calls from various leaders and economists to spend our money. They argue that spending is the only way to revive the economy, or at least prevent it from deteriorating further. Many nations have since launched various schemes, incentives, and even cash handouts to encourage their citizens to spend.

It is rather ironic to have to remind people to spend. If you ask people what they do for their pastimes, many will tell you that shopping is one of their main pastimes. A history professor declared not too long ago that the â€˜Great American Pastimeâ€™ is shopping.1 He counted 11,000 shopping malls in the United States thirty-five years ago. In 2003, that number has more than quadrupled, to 45,000. From the Mall of America to the strip mall nearest you, these American cultural phenomena occupy some 5.5 billion square feet of space and generate more than a trillion dollars in annual sales.

Stuck in a senseless pattern of consumption, we have created a God of Consumerism and handed him our powers.

Itâ€™s numbingly strange how our society functions. We spend most of our time at work producing goods and services to earn an income. Then we leave our workplaces, patronize the other stores and services, and hand them back our salary. This seems to go on and on in an endless cycle.

Stuck in a senseless pattern of consumption, we have created a God of Consumerism and handed him our powers. The world economy today revolves around this unforgiving god and his laws of profits, sales, and growths. When sales are down and profits dip, the first to go is disposable human employees. The God of Consumerism is increasingly more powerful, and our consumerist society today is producing and consuming more goods than ever to worship him.

By year 2000, global wood consumption has increased 64 percent since 1961. World cereal consumption has more than doubled in the last 30 years, and meat consumption has tripled since 1961. The global fish catch has also grown more than six-fold since 1950 to 122 million metric tons in 1997.2

Carter Roberts, president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund-US noted in his latest report:

â€œGlobal consumption of natural resources far exceeds the Earthâ€™s regenerative capacity. We are borrowing from our natural capital at an entirely unsustainable rate. And, as is evidenced from the current economic crisis, unsustainable borrowing is not without profound consequences. To raise the stakes even further, there can be no bailout if the Earthâ€™s systems collapse.â€3

According to an EU-commissioned study, the global economy is also losing more money from the disappearance of forests than through the current banking crisis:

â€œWhereas Wall Street by various calculations has to date lost, within the financial sector, $1-$1.5 trillion, the reality is that at today’s rate we are losing natural capital at least between $2 - $5 trillion every year.”

Alarmingly, the total net loss in forest area each year is about 73,000 km2 â€” the size of Ireland or Panama.4 Reforestation projects are barely keeping up as we simply could not regenerate an Ireland-size of forest in one year. We are certainly not replacing what we take away.

Indeed, author Thom Hartmann reminds us that the ancient sunlight is running out. In his book The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, he explains how ancient sunlight was captured millions of years ago by plants, and compressed into oil deep under our soil and oceans.

According to the International Energy Agency, humans consume 1,631 kilograms of oil equivalent per capita in the year 2001.5 In other words, the entire world uses up two million Olympic-sized pools of oil in a year. If we line up the pools end-to-end along the equator, they would stretch 2.5 times around the world. It is taking us merely a few decades to use up what nature has spent millions of years to produce.

How do we connect this seemingly unsustainable way of living with the infinite abundance that many spiritual teachers have spoken of? Could we consume all that we want, and still manifest the reality to support it?

Maybe. But I suspect our access to infinite abundance is proportional to the amount of love or level of consciousness that we possess. The more love we have, the higher level of consciousness we obtain, and the more abundance we could experience.

There is easily plenty for everybody on the earth if we live in a space of love.

For instance, cars that run on water or air are already a reality.6 Yet why are they not replacing the oil-guzzling cars on the road today? That would have been a great leap forward towards infinite abundance.

Our limited level of mass consciousness is perhaps our biggest stumbling block. There is easily plenty for everybody on the earth if we live in a space of love. But if we live in a place of fear, grasping, hoarding and self-centeredness, there will not be enough.

Today, fears and separation permeate many pockets of consciousness as people look for short-term gains at the expense of others. Oil producers, for example, are only interested in reaping maximum profits from oil while they can. Complicated chains of self-interest relationships, lobbying, and political agendas thus prevent the proliferation of clean energy sources and technologies. Large sums of money are spent in building risky nuclear reactors instead of developing tidal and underground thermal energies that are free and clean. Cars that run on water and air are already there for our taking, and yet most humans are probably not even aware of them.

Nevertheless, these fear-based behaviours are really a reflection of the level of our mass consciousness. Take the presidency of George W. Bush for instance. People are ultimately responsible for the leaders they elect. It is inconsequential if Bush won the presidency fairly or stole the election from Al Gore as some have claimed. If Bush is sitting at the White House, it is because our mass consciousness had supported this man and his agenda, allowing him to take office.

Thankfully, nothing is wasted. The soul that is George W. Bush in this incarnation played a wonderful job in awakening humans to the consequences of their choices, and a sufficient shift in consciousness has led to the successful election of Obama and new principles of being.

However, I doubt Obama and other well-intentioned leaders could do much by themselves. As I have pointed out, consciousness must shift further to a positive polarity if we want to find our way to infinite abundance.

Paradoxically, a higher level of consciousness could also lead us away from wanting more, and we could become more appreciative of the natural abundance that surrounds us. Such abundance could come from the sacred view of all creations, universal love for one another, enjoyment of the beautiful nature, sharing of what we have, time to do what we like, space to express our creativity, and freedom to be who we are.

In the recent hit movie, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Klaatu (alien representative played by Keanu Reeves) learns towards the end that the human mass consciousness would only have the willpower to change when a global crisis occur. It is no coincidence the movie gets remade at this critical point of time. Perhaps the current global economic crisis could be our best chance to move in a new direction?

References:

1 Professor Jim Farrell, One Nation Under Goods: Malls and the Seductions of American Shopping

2 World Resources Insitute, How Much Do We Consume? (http://earthtrends.wri.org/features/view_feature.php?fid=7&theme=6)

3 Living Planet Report Details Dangers Of Living Beyond The Environment’s Means (http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/press/2008/WWFPresitem10439.html)

4 Green Facts (http://www.greenfacts.org/en/forests/l-2/2-extent-deforestation.htm)

5 Data by International Energy Agency, World Health Organization (http://earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_library/data_tables/ene1_2005.pdf)

6 BBC News: Air Car Running on Compressed Air (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov4t1P9bdGw)
Drunvalo Melchizedek, Water Car is Now a Reality (http://spiritofmaat.com/sep08/water_car.html)

This is my January 2009 column at Cosmic Lighthouse Metaphysics Magazine

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Great Teachers Share, Not Teach

Filed under: Columns — Raeal @ 2:06 pm

Teacher

In the latest Lanto channeling by Suzanna Axisa that I was transcribing, they said â€œGreat teachers do not teach. They share. They share their experiences. Thatâ€™s what we ask of you. Share your experiences with others. This is how you become a lightworker.â€

What Lanto conveyed reminded me of something I have wanted to write about.

As I review many articles for the magazine, I cannot help but notice two different kinds of writing styles. The first kind is what I would call the â€œteachingâ€ style. The others are what I would categorise under the â€œsharingâ€ style.

Some articles would probably be a mixture of the two styles since we do not live in a black and white world. So what are these two writing styles I am talking about?

Articles that are written in what I call the â€œteachingâ€ style tend to make many statements or assertions, and tell people what to do. In such an article, we often see lines after lines of statements taken to be factual without any supporting arguments, references or examples. The authors typically give an impression that they know what is best for the readers.

For the sake of this discussion, let me give some examples of statements that could possibly be found under such a context:

1. There are 333 dimensions in the universe.
2. It lowers your vibration to eat meat.
3. Do not live near the coast as the tsunamis may come.

Okay, I am making them up and they may not represent the actual context very well, but allow me to use these examples to illustrate a few points.

Looking at the first example, we certainly do not know for sure if there are 12 or 219 or 333 dimensions from our narrower perspectives as incarnated humans. The writer could be right or wrong, we wonâ€™t know. I am not saying there is a correct way of writing. But I like the way how certain writers would put it, â€œAs far as we know, there are 12 dimensions.â€ I think this is a good way of suggesting something without being presumptuous.

Good writers and teachers, in my opinion, should aim to empower others to use their own inner guidance rather than telling them what to do.

Then there are writers who may unwittingly impose their truths on others. For example, perhaps a certain author would feel uncomfortable eating meat and thus advise others against taking meat. But the same adverse reaction to meat may not apply for others. Each human body is unique and reacts differently. Only the person would truly know what is good for him or her. I know of people who have tried vegetarianism and needed to revert back to meat consumption in order to stay healthy and balanced. We also cannot tell Eskimos to be vegans for practical reasons. Vegetarianism, it appears, is not for everyone perhaps at this stage of human evolution. Writers would be prudent to refrain from making assumptions.

Another caveat of writing is to avoid interfering with the free will of others. I believe every writer is guilty to some extent as judgment is a foremost function of our human mind. It is really a very fine line since writers write to make a point. Nevertheless, it is possible that writers who have not resolved certain fears themselves could be discouraging and fearful in their â€œwell-meaningâ€ advice to others. This is illustrated by my example of the tsunami threat.

Metaphysical literature has generally acknowledged that each individual has his own powerful intuition system to guide him along a path for his highest good. Good writers and teachers, in my opinion, should aim to empower others to use their own inner guidance rather than telling them what to do. Instead of making a sweeping statement that coastal living would be unsafe, the writer could instead remind the readers to use their own intuition on whether a physical relocation is necessary.

Personally, I would also steer clear of “teaching” articles that make a lot of assertions. Such authors, dominated by their ego or lower conscious mind, make statements that foster separation, control, exclusivity, or competition; read like declarations; or put themselves on the pedestal.

Their writings are often dogmatic, judgmental, and likely to create blind followers who see the authors as gurus. Then again, it seems that every seeker on the spiritual path is bound to encounter such authors until the seeker has developed discernment, and learnt not to give his or her power away.

In the other “sharing” style, writers present inclusivity and empowerment, and tend to use suggestions backed by strong reasoning, convincing evidences and supporting references. Most importantly, they give many real-life examples of which the best examples often come from the writersâ€™ own life experiences.

Some time ago, Margaret and Alan McElroy were in Singapore to teach a manifestation workshop which I attended. The excellent workshop was filled with their own life examples. First of all, both of them are self-made millionaires. So they literally teach manifestation of abundance from what they have learnt themselves. Margaret once pointed out, â€œWe teach only what we have gone through ourselves.â€ Before she made her first million, she was once so broke that she had only one dress in her possession. She could clearly identify with people suffering from lack, and truly teach others to manifest their own abundance effectively.

They (Jesus and Buddha) led by their own examples and taught us we could also accomplish what they have done.

Another example is Matt Brauning, a coach, trainer and author of the best-selling book, Total Freedom from Addictions. Before he becomes an authority on overcoming addictions, he went through a devastating period as an alcoholic and drug addict himself. His unique background gives him understanding and access to the inner worlds of addicts. Matt could share with other addicts his own experiences in overcoming addictions. This makes him a more effective help than counsellors who could not identify with addicts at a deeper level.

Looking back in our history, Jesus and Buddha were two wonderful teachers who empowered others by sharing their wisdom. They do so by leaving plenty of anecdotes, parables and metaphors for the future generations. They led by their own examples and taught us we could also accomplish what they have done.

Jesus once said, “As I do these things, so shall ye do them, and greater thingsâ€¦â€ (Bible, John 14:12) He was simply trying to say that we can all achieve anything that he had done and even surpass him. Jesus was a man who had done the most incredible things and yet he said we could exceed his achievements. This is empowerment at its best.

While Jesus could guide us, it seems that wisdom is something that cannot be taught directly. We could attend hours of lectures about life but only knowledge is received, not the actual wisdom. The deepest wisdom is gained perhaps only by experiencing life itself. Hereâ€™s a little anecdote of how Buddha helped a woman become wiser:

Once, a distraught woman came to Buddha carrying the corpse of her son, asking him to give it life. The Buddha said that he could do so only if she had found the necessary medication.

Buddha asked her to find a mustard seed from any house where none has died. She immediately started running from house to house but to her dismay, everyone told her that they had experienced at least one death in their family. Finally it dawned on her that death is inevitable.

This is how Buddha taught self-realization. If he had merely told the woman that the sonâ€™s death was fated, she probably could not have accepted it in her grief and denial.

How about modern-day teachers? Eckhart Tolle clearly shows why he is a best-selling author with this parable from his book “The Power of Now”:

A beggar had been sitting by the side of a road for over thirty years. One day a stranger walked by. “Spare some change?” mumbled the beggar, mechanically holding out his old baseball cap. “I have nothing to give you,” said the stranger. Then he asked: “What’s that you are sitting on?” “Nothing,” replied the beggar. “Just an old box. I have been sitting on it for as long as I can remember.” “Ever looked inside?” asked the stranger. “No,” said the beggar. “What’s the point? There’s nothing in there.” “Have a look inside,” insisted the stranger. The beggar managed to pry open the lid. With astonishment, disbelief, and elation, he saw that the box was filled with gold.

I am that stranger who has nothing to give you and who is telling you to look inside. Not inside any box, as in the parable, but somewhere even closer: inside yourself.

The gold in the box is a metaphor Eckhart Tolle uses to represent the spiritual treasures that have always been within our soul. Like other wonderful teachers, Eckhart’s teaching is empowering. He puts the emphasis back on the readers and reminds them of their own divinity.

Every one of us is a teacher, often teaching silently by our own examples and behaviours to people around us.

Every one of us is a teacher, often teaching silently by our own examples and behaviours to people around us. Writing takes this to another level as the author reaches out to people beyond his acquaintances. With the pervasiveness of the Internet today, words and ideas could travel many miles and cross physical boundaries.

Words carry vibrations and they can take the readers to another dimension or world beyond their reality. Words can inspire others to greater heights, but also create crippling fears. This is the power of writing. And as the saying goes, power comes with great responsibility. Conscientious writing and teaching are not easy but definitely rewarding.

In the same channelling that I was transcribing, Lanto explained the following to a questioner who had asked about her specific life purpose:

You limit yourself by thinking that there is one job. We wonâ€™t tell you how many this channel has, but far too numerous really. She goes from one thing to the next to the next, whatever brings her joy. But someone says, â€œWhat’re you going to do with that?â€ She says I donâ€™t know. I donâ€™t care, itâ€™s not important for me to know. I am doing it because it brings me happiness. That is the way to live.

Lanto obviously mean what they say by using the channel as an example. And that is great teachers do not teach. They share their experiences.

This is my December 2008 column at Cosmic Lighthouse Metaphysics Magazine.

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Spiritual Journey

Filed under: Columns — Raeal @ 12:52 am

When we speak of a spiritual journey, the common understanding is that human beings are on a journey to seek God somewhere out there in the heavens and that they are trying to reach a destination or place such as heavens or a higher realm.

Perhaps many have got it in reverse?

While we cannot comprehend the magnificence of our soul as human beings, try imagining putting yourself in the shoes of your higher self â€” your soul â€” in the realm that we call Spirit.

Fly with me.

Visualize the brilliance, unconditional love, powers and grandness of the angel that has your face on it. You have unlimited potentials. You are pure consciousness and light. You simply need to hold your thoughts on something and you would manifest it in an instant. Transcending time and space, you swim in the sea of consciousness and explore the infinite universes with the ease of a seasoned captain steering his ship.

You are a part of the God energy. You are in oneness with the God family that comprises of all other souls, energies and everything that exists and yet to be.

Somewhere in the now moment and in your exploration of the infinite universes and dimensions, you stumbled upon a most sacred and mysterious place called Earth and you paused for a moment, wondering what this most beautiful planet is all about.

You see billions of other souls walking on the surface, wandering on this blue planet in search of something, pretending that they are lost.

There would be many obstacles known as â€œfearsâ€ and you know the hardest of them all would be to conquer separation â€“ to see the God in other players.

You stopped and asked the guardians of this planet, â€œWhat is this place? What are they doing?â€

The guardians send the answers in thoughts to you and you immediately have an â€œAhaâ€ moment. You get an epiphany of what this exciting project is all about and you already know that you want to be a part of it. You have played in many realms and planets but there is nothing like Earth.

Rolling up your sleeves, you agree to put on a veil and forget your own divinity. Classified as a journey because it has the elements of time and space, you are keenly aware of its difficult challenges as you have been used to an existence without these elements.

It has other rules like duality, birth, death, karma and reincarnation. There would be many obstacles known as â€œfearsâ€ and you know the hardest of them all would be to conquer separation â€” to see the God in other players. It would feel very real and promise the most intense of emotions. Still wearing the shoes of your higher self, you are without fears and feel very brave in taking on this game. You also know it is but a short excursion given the eternity of your soul.

What are the objectives and rewards of this game? We could perhaps say it is about applying your knowledge, going through the experiences and collecting the wisdoms that will push the evolution of your soul and everything forward. We could also say that it is about experiencing contrasts so that you would know light from dark, love from fear and compassion from judgement. But there is really no whys. You do it simply because you could. We could say your curiosity got the better of you. You wanted to know yourself better by experiencing what you are not.

It also does not matter what choices are made. There are no wrong choices, only different consequences and experiences. Each consequence is simply another experience and they all add to your wisdom bank that in turn expands the magnificence of your soul and all that is.

In oneness, all the souls have the knowledge of all others. Being interconnected with the sea of consciousness, we know everything there is to know in all that is. However, not every soul has the direct experiences. You have watched your friends engaged in various activities on planet Earth and like watching movies, you can understand what they are doing as well.

However, there is no substitute for the direct experiences. For instance, you may know all the rules of football and how to play it. You may even know the various strategies. Nevertheless, you could not partake in the essence of the game itself and how it really feels like to be out there in the field â€” the joys of winning, pains of being tackled and the disappointments of losing.

As a new member of project Earth, you wonder excitingly about all the possibilities ahead. While waiting patiently in the queue for your turn, you started chatting with other souls.

You learn that one soul was a mother in an incarnation and she reminisces how beautiful her children were and the immense satisfaction she had from seeing them grow up. Another soul behind you shares with you the passion she felt in being a part of a symphony orchestra and you can only imagine the splendors of the concerts she had played in. Another soul recounts the warmth and gratitude he felt when another soul gave him food and shelter during a disaster. This time round, he is going to be wealthy and he would repay kindness to that soul.

In this game, you have guides â€” experienced and graduated players â€” to assist you in case you get very lost in the complex journey. Together with them, you plot various scenarios of your incarnation and choose your gender, birthplace, race, parents, friends, life partner, children and many other aspects.

As you make plans to meet various souls who will play different roles in your life, you mull over the various ways you could meet and also promise to forgive each other if the game gets too difficult.

Once in a while, a soul will hesitate in playing a difficult role that could possibly hurt or harm you. â€œItâ€™s too much! I canâ€™t do this.â€ They protested. Fearlessly, you reassure them that they are loved dearly and you need them to play the villains in order to help you learn. Out of unconditional love, they finally agree to these challenging tasks and you bid your temporary farewells.

After some last minute plannings, it is time to say goodbye and put on the veil. After adding layers of dross-like energies to your pure light body, you buckle up your earth space suit, step forward and signal that you are ready.

Then with an extremely strong magnetic pull, you find yourself drawn towards the gravity of planet Earth in a flash.

Total silenceâ€¦ Total darkness… Amnesia has already set inâ€¦

“Who am I? Where am I?”

You could barely open your baby eyes as you catch a glimpse of several strange faces.

… …

One day, after many trials and tribulations, you will once again rediscover your identity. You would learn that you are already divine, a master and perfect as you are. You are the human expression of the divine energy.

And this journey through time and space known as life is your spiritual journey, your pilgrimage. Every moment of it is treasured as a unique and useful experience. Every choice adds to the definition of who you want to be and the wisdom gained from this spiritual journey priceless and forever a part of you.

There is no destination. We could say we are returning to home if we really want to put a destination to this journey. Home has always been around and we are but on a brief excursion to planet Earth. The journey is really all it matters here.

So perhaps, my friends, could this be our real spiritual journey? And if so, every one of us is already embarking on it regardless if we are aware.

Be joyous!

This is my October column at Cosmic Lighthouse Metaphysics Magazine.

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Love Triangle

Filed under: Columns — Raeal @ 2:58 pm

Recently, a friend of mine is embroiled in a love triangle. The ex-boyfriend of his girlfriend has come into the picture and asked her to go back to be with him. For the sake of anonymity, allow me to use pseudo names to address my friend as John, his girlfriend as Jane and the ex-boyfriend as Frank in this column.

Now, Frank has known Jane for nearly ten years but they had parted some years back. My friend John has only got to know Jane for a year before he proposed recently. Before the proposal, everything was, in his words, â€œperfectâ€. They saw each other almost every day and have so much to share that they sometimes chatted overnight in 24 hours cafÃ©. To friends, they were very close and almost the ideal couple. John mentioned that they have so much similarity in their lives; I have no doubts they are soul mates.

After all, if he cannot love himself, how can he truly love another?

After the proposal however, things seemed to change for the worse. John could not help but noticed a difference in his girlfriendâ€™s attitude. Jane was becoming more distant and upon further pressing, she pointed out that they were seeing each other too much and she was losing a life of her own. John did recognize the problem and he was determined to improve the situation but the relationship deteriorated further.

It was after this time that John first revealed the situation to me. Thinking that this is a very common problem among relationships, I suggested that he should try to love himself more. I felt then that he might have come to base his own happiness on his girlfriend. After all, if he cannot love himself, how can he truly love another?

Similarly, many relationships today are unbalanced, including my own past relationships.

Another friend of mine is so â€œcontrolledâ€ by his wife that he has to ask permission to meet his friends. It sounds absurd but this seems to be much more common than we have probably realized. In this case, his wife has a dependency issue. She has come to base and weigh her happiness around her husband. â€œWhat do I do when you are not around?â€ She retorts and “declares” that her husband is responsible for ensuring her happiness.

This is such a misunderstood notion in our society today.

Firstly, many people firmly believed that a marriage must last forever. And my parents struggle till today in an abusive roller-coaster relationship because they try to conform to societyâ€™s expectation that marriage must continue no matter what. Yet, marriage is a man-made institution and there are couples who are never married but live more happily than many married couples ever were.

When we are done with our lessons and experiences or when relationships no longer serve us, we move on.

Besides, we are really genderless souls who have reincarnated hundreds to thousands of lifetimes on planet Earth alone. We have been male, female, gay and lesbians. We also have had countless boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, flings, affairs and other lovers. There is simply no such thing as living happily ever after, in the most literal sense.

Much metaphysical studies and teachings have shown that we planned to be in relationships to learn from each other. When we are done with our lessons and experiences or when relationships no longer serve us, we move on. Each relationship, romantic or not, is there to mirror our own magnificence and perceived flaws. All the love we have ever wanted is already within ourselves.

… we need to recognize that we have many soul mates and we enter and leave relationships for various reasons.

I am not saying that we cannot attempt to form a lasting relationship with our partners till death (or more accurately, a transition to spirit). But we need to recognize that we have many soul mates and we enter and leave relationships for various reasons. It is also that some of us may not choose to experience one-life one-relationship situations but form several meaningful relationships instead.

Secondly, men and women alike, have this misconceived notion that they will have happiness and joy once they have found a partner. Or to put it another way, people expect their partner to make them happy. We can often see in men and women magazines with headlines like â€œTen ways to make your partner happyâ€. In addition, advertisements promise their products will help you win the hearts of your partner. Too many humans have come to believe that their happiness is derived from external sources. And then man and woman start to blame each other for their lack of happiness.

Back to the love triangle story, John did not feel any improvements as time went on. He began to suspect that there could be a third party.

In the meantime, he felt much stress, went through intense emotions and started developing problems with his stomach. I was not too surprised when he told me about this. Our solar plexus chakra is found around our abdominal area and this chakra is where our emotional energies are held. Energy must flow. It has to be released or transmuted in one way or another. In Johnâ€™s case, he has kept pretty much to himself and the blocked energies could have manifested physically as the stomach problems he faced.

After some time, Jane finally confirmed Johnâ€™s suspicion that her ex-boyfriend wanted her back. She has feelings for both and does not know who to choose. By most â€œstandardsâ€ and especially among romantic die-hards, this turn of events may make John look like a victim of circumstances and Frank as the â€œbadâ€ guy who should not have broken up a couple. Yet, my friend managed it quite well and even offered some understanding that Frank and Jane have after all, known each other much longer than he did.

I also shared something interesting with John.

As a part-time past life regressionist, I once had a lady client who had problems with her husband. There was a third party - another woman who had come in between the two of them and she had wanted to know why.

My client had regressed to a lifetime during the medieval times when she was a male soldier. She found â€œhimselfâ€ being chased in the woods by troops. To find out why “he” was being hunted, I asked the client to go back to an earlier scene in time. She then saw that as the soldier, he had flirted with his captainâ€™s wife and the captain had ordered his capture and killed him eventually.

Interestingly, my client was the third party in that past lifetime, the captain the third party today and the captainâ€™s wife her husband now. The three of them have come back to replay the drama in this lifetime but in switched roles. The complicated problem did not resolve immediately for my client but through the session, she had gained a better understanding and more acceptance of the situation.

I suggested to John that his situation could be something similar. As a joke, I even suggested that Frank could have been a couple with him in a past life. In this lifetime, they might have agreed to come together again to resolve and release this energy.

I feel that the way to move forward is that each of them must base their next decision on love and not from fear.

Like a light bulb went on, John immediately recalled that the three of them had just been in the same area together the previous night and he had found the coincidence most amusing. He was at a petrol station to refill his car when he bumped into Frank. And John also realised that Janeâ€™s car was parked nearby. She was apparently in another friendâ€™s house visiting and yet all three of them did not realise the others were going to be there beforehand. There is clearly more to this fate that surrounds them.

As I am writing this, John and Frank are still waiting for Jane to decide who she wanted to be with. What should he do? John had asked and I was looking for the words to comfort him. I was then accessing my higher self when I received an insight.

My feeling is that in order to move forward, each of them must base their next decision on love and not from fear. This is the only way to ensure that the energy is completed, released and not replayed again in another painful love triangle.

I believe the three souls know each other in spirit. Out of love, they had planned to incarnate and play the various roles in this difficult situation in order to resolve certain energies.

How will this story end? Is Jane going to choose John or Frank or perhaps nobody? Maybe the three of them will end up as good friends?

I do not know but I am glad John has the answer himself: â€œI already told her to go back to Frank if she is happier that way. I just hope she will be happy.â€ And my dear friend, John, has made his choice out of love. We can only hope that the others will do the same and the consequence the highest good for all involved.

I also tried to cheer up John and made him see that he has really nothing to lose. Either Jane chooses to stay with him or perhaps he will meet another woman who is more suitable and loves him the way he wishes for.

And when the three of them return home to spirit, they will probably pat on each otherâ€™s back and marvel at the drama they have played out, for whatever reasons.

This is my September column at Cosmic Lighthouse Metaphysics Magazine.

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Soul Evolution

Filed under: Sharing — Raeal @ 4:33 pm

Here’s an excerpt from the Charles Darwin chapter of the book Talking with the Leaders of the Past and I thought it explains soul evolution very well.

Charles Darwin (from spirit):

The energy that a new soul has is all of the knowledge of all of the souls that exist, but it does not have the wisdom that can be gleaned from the knowledge, because it has not had any experience. It is like a person who watches a rugby match, who knows all the rules and regulations, knows all about the scoring, and may even know all the dirty tricks, yet until they engage in the game, they will not feel it and it will not become part of them. So the new soul at Home has the knowledge, but not the wisdom of what it feels like, what it can accomplish, how the soul can expand within that knowledge.

So the soul learns by coming down to Earth.
The important part of the equation is Earth, because it’s the physical experience which turns the knowledge into wisdom. It is like apprentices first using their studies in a practical manner.

Why do we need the physical experience?
All Souls at Home (spiritual realm) live in the energy of unconditional love, where everything, as you would say, is perfect. If you are blind and you never see the light, you do not know how fantastic colors are. If you are deaf and never hear, you do not know of the magnificence of an orchestration. You can theoretically understand it, but you have to experience for it to become a part of you.

So, the all-knowing soul may not be wise and it can lead to so-called “mistakes” or more correctly “undesirable experiences” during the incarnations when the veil is on.

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Time for Clean Energy

Filed under: Columns — Raeal @ 1:02 am

In recent times, people from all over the world have been reeling under the effects of increasing energy costs. Fuel prices have doubled in many places in just over a year, sparking protests from drivers and the common people alike.

Everything in this world is really much more interconnected than we like to believe, both within and without. The increase in fuel prices have driven up transport costs and in a domino effect, it has pushed the prices of everything up, resulting in record inflations over the world.

In a way, I feel that the majority of the governments are rather powerless as they are held hostage to the increasing oil prices, besides having to cope with higher demand as their population becomes urbanized. United States is a net importer of oil and its representatives responded to the crisis by repeatedly calling for an increase in oil production from OPEC.

Nevertheless, we are also willing participants in handing over our money to the oil producers.

On the ground level, many of my car-driving friends including myself could also feel the impact of higher petrol costs and resulting inflations. I was in a cab one day and chatted with the driver about the recent adjustment in cab metering. He explained that the increase in cab fare was good for a while but the ever-increasing fuel price is driving him crazy and he is making lesser every month. He wondered how he is going to cope. Similarly, my friends curse and swear at the petrol companies for revising the price upwards 14 times in a few months. The petrol companies are so greedy, they say.

Nevertheless, we are also willing participants in handing over our money to the oil producers. For most of us, we chose and elected to be in a free economy driven by capitalism. Everything is therefore supply versus demand. One party provides a good and sets a price for selling and another party willingly pays at the price for it. Nobody pointed a gun at us to pump our petrol at Shell or Esso. Even though they fix and control the price as an oligopoly, we can always choose not to drive.

The way I see it, humanity is facing a global lesson in this crisis and we will emerge better from it.

While I said earlier that governments are powerless in this energy crisis, that is because governments are largely reactive rather than being proactive. Most governments fail to anticipate future demands and problems.

For example, a city might have doubled its energy consumption in a decade and what does the city government do? It builds another conventional power plant to cope with the increase. Now that the power plant is in operation, the pollution increases because of the additional plant, more industries and higher emissions from more vehicles.

What does the governor then do? He responds by starting a green campaign to try to reduce the pollution. We have seen too many of such examples in real life and we can largely predict their results. It will be too late, too difficult to reduce the pollution, in part being hampered by self-interest lobbies and citizens who are resistant to change.

Our world is putting in so much energy in â€œreactingâ€ to events, rather than solving problems at their roots.

I sometimes feel that certain environmentalists are very much like some of the anti-war participants. While both groups have good intentions and serve a role in making the world a better place, some of them focus so much energy on fighting pollution and rallying against war that they forget about creating clean energy and peace respectively.

Mother Teresa was once asked to attend an antiâ€“war rally and she refused, responding to those requesting her attendance by saying, â€œBut if you ever have a peace rally, let me know and I will attend.â€

Similarly, we need to focus our energy on creating the world that we would like to see instead of fighting problems. When we focus on what we do not like, the more of it we experience. This is the law of attraction. The universe is absolutely neutral and reflects to us what we focus our creative energy on. That’s why we are co-creators.

Let us examine some of the â€œreactiveâ€ measures taken in the current energy crisis.

Changing to smaller cars with lower fuel consumption
Raising or lowering air-conditioning temperatures (depending on your climate)
Developing energy-saving home appliances
Researching energy saving measures, such as making engines more fuel-saving or cleaner engines
Switching to alternative depletable energies like compressed natural gas (CNG) or bio-fuels

While helpful in the short term, these measures do not really solve the energy crisis in the long run. Fuels are still being consumed and with increasing demand from rising economies, the reduction in energy consumption per product is going to be balanced out, if not overtaken by an increase in overall energy consumption due to more goods manufactured and used.

Here’s a rough example to illustrate this idea. Let’s say we develop a car which achieves 20% better fuel consumption. While the car is now more fuel-friendly, increased demand may see another 20% increase in the number of cars put on the road in the same period. The energy consumption will still end up being higher. We still lose by trying to play catching up.

So why are we spending so much energy (and money is energy) on reactive measures? Should we not be putting our money at solving the root of the problem and creating complete solutions? That is, to develop and use clean energies that will eliminate pollutions instead of fighting pollutions.

As it is today, the proportions of funds put into researching clean energies and the number of such projects are way less than projects on saving energy. The general public is increasingly aware of the energy issues thanks to media coverage like television, newspapers and magazines. Governments and NGOs are also busy running campaigns on cutting energy consumptions. All these create awareness and it is a good thing. Yet how much media coverage or actual efforts are on developing clean energies that will eliminate the depletion and pollution problems once and for all.

If we flow and work with nature, everything is pretty much sustainable.

On the other hand, the oil producers obviously do not want you and me to use clean energy until they can make all the money from oil while they can. But we are really allowing them to do so ourselves by taking reactive measures. Do you see from my earlier example that saving energy makes no difference to oil producers as long as there are more goods put out into the markets that require oil to power them? We are only slowing our demise if there should ever be one.

I believe the universe is full of abundance, including any energy sources we need to power our fantasies. Why can’t we have our cake and eat it too? I don’t believe we created earth to be a limited planet, such that we can only live on it for a limited period. If we flow and work with nature, everything is pretty much sustainable.

A recent message from Kryon (channeled by Lee Carroll) has reminded us of free energies already available that do not create any pollution. One source is tidal energy and another is underground thermal energy. Both are freely abundant and very clean energy sources. Kryon mentioned that tidal energy technology is already viable and three plants are already operating in the northern hemispheres. I did a quick check on the internet and there are indeed some projects going on in the world, a few commercially. One webpage is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_power, outlining several projects in Italy, England and Canada.

Inspired by Kryon, I had written an email 3 years ago (in 2005) to one of Singaporeâ€™s government ministries to suggest that they explore into tidal and underground thermal energy. To my surprise, I actually received an email reply that was copied to several people from the ministry, including some department heads. I was pleasantly surprised by how I was taken seriously but the reply itself led nowhere. They thanked me for the suggestion but simply said the technologies were not viable. Perhaps they should take a look at the current projects going on and some of them apparently started from 2001.

Interestingly, Singapore is one of the leading countries in alternative water technology with a successful waste-water recycling plant that produce drinkable water from waste water. Yes, I had tasted it myself before. One listed company, Hyflux, is now a multi-national company working on various water projects around the world, helping other countries to cope with water shortages.

In this scenario, Singapore does not have enough drinking water and is forced to buy fresh water from our neighbor, Malaysia, yet we face the daunting prospect of the tap being turned off if relations should ever sour. Given the immense pressure from the shortage of water, Singapore has no choice but to put in the money and embarked on developing alternative water sources, hoping to achieve self-sufficiency in the long run.

Likewise, it seems that our planet is going to be pushed to the brim of this energy crisis before we finally get our act together and put our full focus on researching and developing clean energy sources.

We could make this transition smoother and easier if we start focusing our energies on developing clean energies now.

Like what Kryon said, if there are those of you who are far-sighted and have the deep pockets, itâ€™s probably very wise to invest your money in these clean energy technologies. It is probably still very new and there could be many issues to iron out. But are we going to wait until the oil hits US$200 per barrel or when oil starts to run out before we start doing anything?

Look at the automobile, computer, mobile phone and internet industries and see how fast they grow. If humanity is willing to join forces and focus our energies on developing clean energies, we can solve the energy crisis and pollution problems in no time.

Let me end by quoting Kryon:

Did anyone ever ask Spirit, “Why do we have a moon?” I’ll tell you why: So that you could power your cities!

This is from my monthly column at Cosmic Lighthouse Metaphysics Magazine

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Placebo Effects

Filed under: Columns — Raeal @ 10:24 pm

Placebo Effects

I was preparing an article on Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) for our Healing Series when I came across the Wikipedia entry on it. Wikipedia, if you do not know, is a free online encyclopedia that is contributed and edited by anybody who wants to. It is also very much reflecting the current human consciousness since it is an open project participated by all.

Back to the entry on EFT, I saw something that caught my eye:

â€œThere are two studies which appear to show positive outcomes from use of the technique, but another study has suggested that it is indistinguishable from the placebo effect. Critics have described the theory behind EFT as pseudoscientific and have suggested that its utility stems from its more traditional cognitive components, such as distraction from negative thoughts, rather than from manipulation of energy meridians.â€

The exact words that grabbed my attention are â€œplacebo effectsâ€. It set off a chain of thoughts in me. This is not the first time the more scientific or left-brained people have brushed off something as a placebo effect. In other cases, they simply use the word â€œfakeâ€. It seems that our world is so left-brain centric and logical that most people have declared that they wouldnâ€™t believe something unless they see it with their own eyes. Others would be afraid to acknowledge what they feel to be right in order to conform with society.

In an excellent video made by the founder Gary Craig on EFT, a medical doctor tested a group of subjects and showed the laboratory results of their blood flow before and after 5 minutes of EFT. Before using EFT, the blood cells were stagnant and clumped together under the microscopes. In the medical field, this is usually explained as health issues that need to be addressed. After 5 minutes of EFT, their blood cells are starting to flow again. This doctor is convinced but unfortunately, she remains the minority.

In Japan, Dr Masaru Emoto discovered a way to photograph water crystals. He realized that high vibrations produced by words such as â€œLoveâ€ and â€œThanksâ€ or beautiful soothing music like Mozart and Beethoven or prayers will cause water samples to form beautiful and exquisite crystals. On the other hand, negative thoughts of a low vibration such as the word â€œHateâ€ or certain heavy metal music would cause the water crystal to be deformed or simply not formed at all.

Dr Emoto was in Singapore to give a talk and I bought a copy of his book after I attended his engaging talk. Later, I went to meet some friends and they saw and asked me about the book I bought. However, none of them was interested to browse the pictures in the book as I eagerly shared the amazing work done by Dr Emoto. At that moment, I was thinking that metaphysics is finally having a tangible proof and yet the problem with many people is that they refuse to look or study the evidence in the first place, even when you put it in front of them.

A parallel example would be the crop circles phenomenon. Hectares of crops are literally transformed into sophisticated patterns within a very short time with almost perfect geometry and yet many people just simply discounted them off as hoaxes. My friend, a very left-brained guy who works in the IT industry rebutted, â€œYou know it was shown in the Discovery Channel that a group of students from MIT were able to duplicate a crop circle.â€ He is convinced that crop circles are fake and man-made.

One personâ€™s truth may not be anotherâ€™s.

I have been mulling over this and after some time, I arrived at some observations. One of these observations is that we cannot ever make another person see our truth

Many teachers have taught that truth is relative to each individual. One personâ€™s truth may not be anotherâ€™s. My friendâ€™s truth is that crop circles are man-made hoaxes. I am convinced that it is the extra-terrestrials or UFOs who made crop circles. But then again, we could both be wrong.

Like what Seth (channeled by Jane Roberts) and Bashar (channeled by Darryl Anka) have suggested, people, objects or extra-terrestrials in this case could even be manifested by our own thoughts. They are saying that some things we see are illusions manifested by our own thoughts. Not that there are no UFOs but not every UFO vision is real. Sometimes, we wanted to believe in something so strongly that we created it ourselves as the immensely powerful creator that we are.

In quantum physics, scientists found that the observer affects the observed. What if the water crystals appear beautiful because we have subconsciously wanted to associate beautiful crystals with â€œgoodâ€ thoughts, words or music? And that water crystals should appear deformed if we think â€œbadâ€ thoughts. After all, what is good or bad, light or dark and right or wrong? In the oneness theory, everything is of one source, energy or God as some prefer to call it. Everything emanates from the one; only that labels are put on things.

Nevertheless, my next thought is this. Does it really matter whether EFT heals negative emotions, good thoughts create beautiful water crystals or extra-terrestrials have created the crop circles?

What is more important if we look closer is that our intentions are perhaps key and everything. Perhaps EFT doesnâ€™t work at all. Frankly, I am of the opinion it does. And another skeptic may not agree with me. But does it make any difference?

What the skeptics overlook on their side of the argument is that they have actually agreed, perhaps unknowingly, that there is an unexplainable power within each and every one of us that allow us to do what is beyond the norm or explainable. And we direct that inner power with our intentions as creators. When we believe in something deeply enough, the universe will reflect that belief to us and it becomes reality.

In other words, people only want to see what they wanted to see.

Think of the Hindu fire-walkers in India, how do they cross the red-hot burning coal pitch or pierce themselves without the pain and injuries that should have been there? How did Brandon Bays, founder of The Journey, heal herself completely of a tumour the size of a basketball when her doctor had originally given her a few months to live? How did many people, including a woman with AIDS, get healed by John of God, the miracle healer from Brazil?

Does it matter if someone is healed by John of God or by their own faith and determination? Skeptics are missing the point. They have already fixed their conclusions and focused on the negative aspects by citing cases of people who were not healed. They fail to see or attempt to explain why the healed were no longer sick. They can’t explain the unexplainable and so they focus on debunking because they can. In other words, people only want to see what they wanted to see.

Besides, our society prizes people who can explain things, not for faith in the unseen or unexplainable. Perhaps that is why the MIT students who thought they have successfully debunked the crop circles phenomenon are hailed as televsion heroes globally. On the other hand, the crop circles film-makers can only sell their DVDs in their own web stores because no distributors or studios will distribute or screen them.

We simply cannot teach others about life by writing a long essay or pointing something out. I am not saying that it is impossible but that it is perhaps very difficult to do so.

Have you wondered why we have always heard of karmic stories of abusers reincarnating as victims and vice versa? Why is it that a soul cannot learn immediately after they review the incident and often needs to reincarnate to play the other role to know how it really feels like?

And we wonder why others fail to see what we have already learnt.

It seems that lessons must be experienced in order to be learnt. This is perhaps why lessons can often take lifetimes to complete or release. In a past life workshop I attended with Margaret McElroy, she channeled Maitreya and pointed out the biggest lesson each participant faces in this lifetime. Interestingly, most of the participants have issues that are carried over for a few lifetimes.

And we wonder why others fail to see what we have already learnt. It is sometimes like a father telling his son not to follow in his footsteps and yet the son will still end up doing it.

So how do we teach others? I am of the opinion that many teachers have hit the right note when they say that we must be examples ourselves. After a year of hard work on Cosmic Lighthouse, I can tell you that my friends are beginning to believe in what I am doing. A year ago, they thought I was crazy and misguided. Today, one of them jokingly offered to invest one thousand dollars in Cosmic Lighthouse. It is probably a joke but thatâ€™s beside the point. What I am glad is that his attitude towards my work has changed significantly. And I do not feel that my words have changed his opinion but the actual work produced and our testimonials are there for him to see.

So I say, we should all stop becoming teachers in the old sense and start becoming examples. Words or lectures may not change or convince the world of how a new world can exist in love and peace but our actions and examples may start having a chain effect on the rest of humanity.

Be in joy, love and peace!

This column first appeared in Cosmic Lighthouse Metaphysics Magazine at http://www.cosmiclighthouse.com/jul08/columns/joyouschee

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