Connecting with the Wisdom of your Higher Self - Part 5

Fear And Feeling Tones

On the next step in learning how to connect with our Higher Self I thought it would be appropriate to look at fear and what I call our feeling tones.

Fear is such an amazing emotion. In small doses it stops us from walking into situations where we can be harmed. It would have been great for Neanderthal man as it would have stopped him from being eaten by a lion or a poisonous snake, but in those days fear came with a certain amount of inner knowledge. Our ancient ancestors lived in touch with nature and the elements and so when they went into situations where the fear hairs stood up on the back of their neck they had a reason to listen.

Today it is a different story. The fight and flight reactions that were hard wired into us in the past are not needed as much and yet when you look at the people around you, there seem to be more fears today in our safer world than there ever was. Why is this? I believe it is because we are out of touch with nature and the cycles within nature. Those who still live on the land are still in contact with these cycles and for the most part seem to have less fears than us so called civilized people that populate the cities. I am not suggesting that we all pull up stumps and move back to the country or take up a nomadic life, but I am suggesting that we get back in touch with the cycles within ourselves and within nature. Most people seem to have forgotten that we are made up of these cycles. There are our biorhythms, our sleep cycles, women's menstrual cycles and even the greatest cycle of all, our conception, birth, death and rebirth and many more. All of these are natures cycles and yet many of us seem so divorced from nature and our own cycles.

How can getting in touch with these cycles allow us to reduce or move beyond our fears? I believe that once we reconnect with these cycles that an inner or innate knowledge starts to come alive and we begin to see and feel things before they happen. In my books and some of my blogs I talk about using a molecule of your feelings to send into to situations where you are not sure and allow whatever returns to guide your next move. It starts with a stillness and being able to open yourself up to the answer which lies within. This one technique has given me more information than I could ever have received from a mountain of books.

All life is energy; so when you meet someone new or meet a new situation then it will have an energy. Get in the habit of stilling your mind chatter and allow the feelings to come forward; these inner feelings will always steer you in the right direction. These feelings are not emotion like anger, frustration etc, but a feeling tone that comes up from deep within. As I was writing this blog I came to a full stop. I quieted myself for a moment and saw in my minds eyes two roads representing different ways the blog could go. The first road was where I talked about the fear itself and the second where I talked about the energy underneath all things. As I wandered down the first road I could feel an energy that was stuck. I immediately knew that this was not the road to go down. Like many of us I would normally have been inclined to continue down that road not trusting the inner voice, blaming it for being lazy or wanting to take the easy way out. These days my inner voice seems to be louder and more insistent when I ask it these questions.

It is hard to describe to anyone who hasn't experienced it, but let's have a play with it. Let's have a play with the energy in the universe. I want you to look at an area of your life where you have at least two choices on how to move forward. As you begin to practice, probably not such a good idea to look at major changes in your life, something smaller to start with. It could be as simple as looking at a menu and decided what to eat. Start small and don't give up. In the early stages of anything new it will feel weird, silly and uncomfortable, but if you have discipline and a little bit of good old tenacity then your efforts will be worth it.

To begin with have you options metaphorically or physically in front of you. I used the technique this morning when I was deciding what to write. My first thought, not a feeling, but my first thought was to work on my third novel The 33rd Sage and the Ancient Ones. I opened the file and sat there looking at the empty page and there was nothing. I typed a few words but soon deleted them. There was just nothing there. It was then that I sat for a moment and stilled my mind. It helped that I was sitting in the garden surrounded by plants and trees and a beautiful blue sky. Still winter in Melbourne it was a bit chilly but I was in touch with nature and I find it easier to still the thoughts of the mind when I am surrounded by trees. It even seems to keep out the noises of cars, trucks and building projects going on in my street. After a few seconds my mind started to become still. If it takes you longer that is okay as I have been doing this technique for many years. Once my mind was still I allowed the feelings to come up from within. In moments a picture appeared of a blank page. My first reaction was that a blank page was what caused the problem in the first place. Then I sent a molecule of my feelings into the blank page and what returned was a feeling of new life. In the early days of my metaphysical training I would have just pushed the feeling aside, not realizing that it was the answer I was looking for. When these feelings come forward try not to judge them because this engages the ego and blocks these wonderful gifts which come from your higher self.

Once I opened a blank page and allowed the feelings and thoughts to flow I was soon looking at these words now before you.

It really is as is simple as that to engage your real feeling centre and allow the higher self to show you where to go. Practice it. Play with it. Make a fool of yourself. Once you get to the stage when you accept the information that comes forward, something happens and you open up a doorway for your higher self to come through more often. To others you may seem like you are in a dream world, but you are in bliss. My partner notices when I go there and she just smiles and lets me be as she knows that I am in my special place and when I return I will be in very positive state.

As with all these techniques practice makes perfect. Don't spend all day practicing them as this would out of a balance. Don't talk to others about what you are doing until you feel comfortable with the technique as it will dissipate the energy.

Have fun with it. Share your experiences on my blog.

Blessings and Peace and may you higher self whisper to you and share its beauty.

****
I have included the chapter on Fear and Feeling Tones from my upcoming book the Way of the Initiate. Much of what I have written above comes from this book but for some of us the best way to learn is through story. I hope you enjoy the story of Huo the young disabled boy who begins to walk the path of the Initiate.

The Way of the Initiate
Fear and Feeling Tones


The young man's night was filled with dreams of old sages sitting around a table, each one of them coming forward to teach him about their individual aspects of the thirty three. Of course, when he woke in the morning, he would remember none of it other than a queer feeling in his stomach that would stay with him forever, appearing whenever a deep teaching came forward from the Tao or one of the 33 sages.

When he woke, he looked around but could not see the old sage. Something wasn't right; the uneasy feeling he had in his stomach made him feel uncomfortable, and at the same time he began to feel fearful. Had something happened to the old sage? Had he done something to upset him? In a panic, he looked around where they had camped overnight, but there was no sign of him. He looked over to the mountains and could see that the sun was already peeking over the range. He had slept in; it was well past the time they were meant to be on the road. Had his lack of discipline caused the old sage to leave him behind?

He was becoming more anxious and overwhelmed. What if he never saw the old sage again? Almost involuntarily, he took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and immediately began to relax. He took another deep breath and held that for a moment, and his attention moved from the forest around him to a point deep within himself. In the deepness, he could see the old sage in the forest, no more than five hundred meters from where he was now sitting. He put his belongings in his pack, put the long staff through the pack, and tossed it over his shoulder, then he followed the inner feeling, sure that it would lead him to the old sage.

He found the old sage in a clearing, where he was sitting around an open fire. The old sage gave Huo a cup of of tea and motioned for him to sit on a log beside him.

"Fear is such an amazing emotion," he said. "In small doses, it stops us from walking into situations where we can be harmed. If we are really in touch with these inner feelings, the fear or energy that comes forward is not a creation of our own subconscious mind, but inner promptings from our higher self, which can truly show us the way. Our ancestors, those who lived in touch with nature and the elements, had a sixth sense; so, when they went into situations where the fear hairs stood up on the back of their neck, they had a reason to listen. Everything in the universe has a feeling or feeling tone, a vibration, if you will, that you can tap into or feel.

"Today it is a different story, as more and more of our people live in villages and cities. The fight-or-flight reactions that were hard-wired into us in the past are not needed as much, and yet when you look at the people around you, there seem to be more fears today in our safer world than there ever was. Why is this? I believe it is because we are out of touch with nature and the cycles within nature. Those who still live on the land are still in contact with these cycles and for the most part seem to have fewer fears than us so-called civilized people that populate the villages and cities. We need to get back in touch with the cycles within ourselves and within nature. Most people seem to have forgotten that we are made up of these cycles. They are our biorhythms, our sleep cycles, women's menstrual cycles, and even the greatest cycle of all, our conception, birth, death, rebirth, and many more. All of these are nature’s cycles, and yet many of us seem so divorced from nature and our own cycles.

"By reconnecting with these cycles, an inner or innate knowledge starts to come alive, and we begin to see and feel things before they happen. Whenever you go into a new situation or meet a new person, send a molecule of your feelings into it or them and allow whatever returns to guide your next move. It starts with a stillness and being able to open yourself up to the answer that lies within.

"All life is energy, so when you meet someone new or meet a new situation, it will have an energy. Get in the habit of stilling your mind chatter and allowing the feelings to come forward; these inner feelings will always steer you in the right direction. These feelings are not emotion like anger, frustration, etc., but rather a feeling tone that comes up from deep within. When you awoke and found that I was not there, your initial reaction was to panic and become fearful; that was just your subconscious mind, your ego reacting to the unknown. When you took a deep breath and began to quiet the mind you were tapping into, the energy of the situation and your higher self allowed you to connect with the feeling of where I was.

"It is hard to describe to anyone who hasn't experienced it, but when you begin to play with the feelings, you will be lead to deeper understandings than your rational mind could give you, for your rational mind is trapped in the matrix created by your ego. I want you to practice using your feeling tones whenever you have a decision to be made. In the early stages of anything new, it will feel weird, silly, and uncomfortable, but if you have discipline, your efforts will be rewarded.

"To begin with, have your options metaphorically or physically in front of you. After a few seconds, take a deep breath as you did earlier and allow the mind to become still. If it takes you longer, then that is okay, as I have been doing this technique for many years. Once your mind is still, allow the feelings to come up from within or simply send a molecule of your own feeling self into the situation. In the early days of my training, I would have just pushed the feeling aside, not realizing that it was the answer I was looking for. When these feelings come forward, try not to judge them because this engages the ego and blocks these wonderful gifts, which come from your higher self.

"It really is as simple as that to engage your real feeling centre and allow the higher self to show you where to go. Practice it. Play with it. Make a fool of yourself. Once you get to the stage where you accept the information that comes forward, something happens and you open up a doorway for your higher self to come through more often. To others, you may seem like you are in a dream world, but you are in bliss.

"As with all these techniques, practice makes perfect. Don't spend all day practicing them, as this would push you out of a balance. Also, don't talk to others about what you are doing until you feel comfortable with the technique, as it will dissipate the energy."


***********

The 33rd Sage and the 33rd Sage and the Initiate are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Watersons, Xlibris and a number of online book stores.

The Way of the Initiate will be published mid 2013

Twitter @GeofSpalding
Official Author Blog - the33rdsage.authorsxpress.com/
Translatable Author Blog - 33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/
Book Websites 'The 33rd Sage,' at www.33rdsage.com
'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' at www.the33rdsage.com

Connecting with the Wisdom of your Higher Self - Part 4

The Concept of Flow

Today I want to talk about the concept of flow or being so open to the universe that you always seem to be in the right place at the right time. In my book The 33rd Sage and the Initiate the lead character Conway begins to understand the meaning of being in the flow and it leads him further and deeper on his quest.

The concept of flow is fascinating; right throughout the universe there is a conscious energy that is to connected to all things. It is this concept that allows faster speeds than the speed of light or the ability to remote view through time and over amazing distances. Some have called this non local. I would prefer to see it as a local effect because everything we do and are is connected to the great flow that occurs within this and other universes. Even the concept of an expanding universe which occurred after a big bang is a scientific understanding of something far greater. The difficulty for scientists is that they try and reduce things and it is only the genius of an Einstein who has the ability to step back and see what is really there. Have you ever thought of the idea that the universe is not so much expanding but is in the breathing out process. Having breathed in over fourteen billion years ago and then then started to breath out. From our limited perspective we would see an expanding universe. Do this, stop for a moment and take a deep breath and then breathe all that air into a ballon and what you will see is what is happening to the universe. The universe is a living thing and it expresses itself in the breathing in and out of its own energy. This cycle continues over and over and from our limited ego selves we cannot see the truth that lies before us. If human beings are so smart then what of the energy of the universe; surely it's consciousness would have a depth and knowledge far beyond our own.

When one of us mere mortals has a religious moment or that beautiful moment of being connected to the all that is, what we are doing is tapping into the flow that is the universe. The experience and the beauty does not last because we try to rationalize it with our ego mind, rather than accept the experience for what it is, a moment of being in the flow, of being one. It is something that cannot be explained; it can only be experienced and once having experienced it you cannot put words to what you have felt, but you know in that moment you have been changed forever. Even though your ego will again take control, there is a bit of you that will stay forever connect to the all that there is and it is this little part that makes it easier for you to connect with the all that is in the future.

The more we live in the flow the more the universe reveals its secrets. To others you will appear that you are drifting through the day without a care or a purpose but you will have never have been so connected. You will see the magic in the mundane. You will pick up a flower, a child, an animal and see the greatness of what some of us call god flowing through it. Everything has this beauty and life force in it, it is just that not all of us have the eyes to see it or are not connected enough with our hearts to feel it. I wrote in another blog how I believed that creativity was the way to God and that is because when we are  creative we open up ourselves to the experience of creation and is those moments we can experience momentary glimpses of the One, the all that there is.

The key is to be open to the experience. For me writing or travel has been the touchstones which allowed me to connect with the One. As a male I was a little slow and it took many years of meditation before I began to experience the connection. These days the connection can happen at anytime. Today I am writing this as I sit in the beautiful sunshine in the garden and it is as if my heart has simply opened and these words and thoughts have flowed onto the page. At my feet is my gorgeous little dog Beatrice whose name means bringer of Joy and she has certainly been that in the five years she has been with us. She is not the sharpest tool in the shed, unlike our other dog Horatio, but these is a sensitivity and a beauty that I have never seen in all my previous dogs. When we first got her she should have been put down because she was incredibly unwell, but even then there was a beauty that I still can't describe. I find if I look into her eyes I am still brought to tears by this one of the most sensitive of God's creatures. Over the years of good food, exercise and countless homoeopathic remedies she now has almost perfect health and there is not a day goes by where she does not repay us a thousand times for our kindness.

Having never been blessed with children of our own I wonder what an amazing thing it is for parents who can see the act of creation at work in their own children. For the rest of us to feel and connect with the one, a creative outlet is another way to go.

There are other ways to begin touch with the flow and one of the best is meditation. There are many forms and practice of meditation; for me the easiest is more relaxation rather than meditation. There are some meditation practices where they have you practice by  focusing on a candle or a single object or thought or chant; these are all helpful but I find for most people when they stop saying the chant or focusing on the candle that there mind is once again full of the mind chatter that they had before the meditation. For me the object  of meditation or a relaxation technique is to still the mind to allow the higher self to come through and enlighten your day.

The easiest way to do it is to listen to relaxing classical music or sounds of water or even better than that if you can listen to the sounds of an alpha or theta meditation. Rather than try to focus your mind I would prefer you trust listen to the sounds and allow the mind to relax itself. Initially your mind will be full of a thousand thoughts, but then just imagine that these thoughts are actually sitting on a river and rather than focusing on them allow them to float on by. Your ego will want to deal with them and every now and again they will come up again for your attention, but just allow it to be and let it float down the river. Now I don't want you to spend time concentrating on the river; it is just an avenue for your thoughts to float away. You will find over time that there will be spots in the river where there is no thoughts and then eventually feelings, impressions or pictures will come from your higher self to inspire you or lead you on the next part of your journey.

You will know when you get input from the higher self as there will be a change in your feelings; for some it will be a few moments of complete calm, for others a smile might break out across their face and occasionally that moment when you know you are One. They won't last because your ego will try to hold onto them because it wants to feel special.  Don't fight the ego, just allow it to be and in time it will not feel threatened by these moments of connection with the One or the higher self. In turn these moments will come more often and for longer periods of time; although the concept of time will definitely feel irrelevant.

Play with it and don't expect to see God in your first meditation; like all new skills it takes practice. The practice here is to let go. In time you will be able to quickly go deep in your meditation and then you can begin to ask questions which will often be answered in the meditation itself in the form of symbols, pictures and feelings or the answer may come in the hours after the meditation in the form of a chance thought or a moment of synchronicity when the actual question you asked is answered by a comment on the radio or a sign on a bus going by. The more you accept that we are all connected the more you will see these connections and begin to be a part of the flow. It is a courageous to give your life over to the concept of flow. Never knowing what is around the next corner but being truly open to the beauty of life and truly living your life as it was meant to be lived.

My old teacher taught me that it was like being a warrior sage or silent warrior, because it is in the silence, in the stillness that the universe reveals itself to you. I won't say the journey is easy, that is unless you can simply let go of any preconceived thoughts and ideas; yes then it will be simple and easy. For most of us it will take discipline as we release the thoughts that don't allow us to see the beauty of the world and every creature in it.

Blessings and Peace and may your connection with the higher self bring a smile to every cell in your body and reflect it in the world around you.


Here below for your enjoyment is the chapter on Flow from my upcoming book The Way of the Initiate.


The boy woke after sleeping for eighteen hours with little to no memory of what had happened the day before. After waking, he stretched both arms above his head as if to welcome in the day, little realizing that his partially paralyzed left arm was no longer paralyzed; there was still some scarring, but during the night it was as if the withered muscle in his shoulder had come back to life. The healing had begun, but there was no need for the old sage to acknowledge the changes - for that would be living in the past, and there was only the now. He would one day teach Huo about the reality of time, but for the moment he would just allow him to exist in this moment in time. The healing had occurred because he had begun to release the pain from the fire, a pain that he had caused himself, but there would be time enough later for revelations.

The old sage greeted his young apprentice. "From this time forward, Huo, we will rise at 4 a.m. and walk in the dark and allow our energy to go forth in the day before the animals in the forest or the people in the villages wake and fill the day with their energy. Each day, we will let our feelings lead the way. We will rise in silence and stay silent for the first hour of our walk. As part of this exercise, I would like you to silently ask the Tao a question you want answered in that day. If you are open to it, the answer will come to you in any one of a hundred different ways. It could be a word or vision that comes around your subconscious mind, an answer from nature, or someone we meet along the path; be open, and the answer will come. Having the courage to give yourself over to the beauty of the higher self allows your life to enter into the dynamic spontaneity of the flow of the universe. It is about taking life as you find it, rather than forcing it into your preconceived notions of the world. By giving the infinity within you credence, you empower that same infinity to come into and be a part of your life. Let's now be silent for the next hour while we let our spirit be our guide."

The young boy packed up his pack, put his long staff through it, and tossed it over his shoulder. There was much he did not understand about the old sage, but if there was one thing he was sure about, it was that his life would never be the same again. Until this journey with the old sage, much of his time had been spent talking to the elders of the village because they were the only ones that did not seem to be scared of his looks. He would sit and talk with them for hours. Most of them were uneducated and simple people, but if you delved deep enough, you would find that they had a deep understanding of the cycles within nature and a knowledge of human nature that could not be found in the few books the village possessed. Each of the elders was like their own little library of information, and Huo had consumed whatever they taught him. Even as a young boy, he was well versed in the art of fishing and carpentry, and his understanding of farming was not too shabby either. Not too shabby. He laughed at that last thought because if he had a mirror, he would have looked pretty shabby in his worn out clothes.

What question would he ask the Tao to answer? He mulled over that for about an hour, although for the most part it was at the back of his mind while he enjoyed the bounties of nature. It was cold when they first started out, but he loved the cold; in many ways, it allowed him to bring forth his own nature. Even as a very young child, he had a way of bringing up the fire from within his own being. He was never cold, even on the coldest winter night; all he had to do was imagine a fire, then he could draw the heat of the fire to himself. It was as if he could heat himself from within at will. Of course, the ability was a two-edge sword, and this ability had been at the heart of the fire that had killed his parents. He had learnt early on that the element of Fire was either a boon or a curse, depending on how you used it. He wondered momentarily about the other elements, but that soon passed and the element of fire, his element, returned. For the first two years after the fire, he stopped using the techniques until he realized that it was not the Fire that was the problem and that he would need to be careful when he used the element because he never wanted anybody to suffer at his hands again.

While walking silently and looking back on his life to date, he felt a gentle wind come around him; she caressed him with her icy fingers, not yet touched by the morning sun. He stopped for a moment to fully experience the wind when he realized that the wind was coming from within him. He reached out his hand and watched as the feeling of the wind, from within, wrapped itself around his fingers, then progressed up his arm until it came all the way up to his head and gently caressed his face. He looked deeply into the energy that surrounded him and knew at that moment that he was the wind. He was not sure yet whether he had created the wind or if he had become one with the wind; it did not matter, though, for in that moment he realized that the illusion of separation no longer held him in her grasp. He had only been with a the sage a few days, but in many ways he seemed years older than the young boy who left the village. He had seen the energy behind the form, and no longer would he feel separate from anyone.

He took a moment to sit by himself and experience the connection with all things. First it was the Elements dancing around and through him, then it was the forest and the animals who were becoming active; not only could he see them all, he could feel them all and had become them. It was then that it struck him, and tears began to escape from his eyes as he realized: if he were connected to everything, then he was still connected to his parents. He began to understand what the old man had meant when he said, "Nothing ever dies."

With tears streaming down his face, he realized that the Tao had not only given him the answer to his question, it had done more than that and allowed him to see a deeper connection, a connection he had with everyone and everything that had ever existed or will ever exist. The concept was too much for his young mind, which was being stretched in a thousand different directions.

He looked across at the old sage, who was watching the young man with an enigmatic smile on his face. "Welcome to the flow. It is something you will never be able to describe, for to describe it puts barriers around something that is infinite. It is like trying to hold an ocean in a tea cup. The beauty of the flow is to experience it and to know that you are always connected. Now, let's take 24 minutes to meditate and reflect on the lessons we have both received this morning."

The young man and the old sage put aside their packs and sat with their backs touching an old tree as they reflected quietly on what they had experienced that morning. Each of them was in their own world, but they were both connected in ways that they were yet to understand.

Blessings and peace and may you begin to see how you can connect with the flow in every moment of your life.
Geof

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The 33rd Sage and the 33rd Sage and the Initiate are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Watersons, Xlibris and a number of online book stores.

The Way of the Initiate will be published mid 2013

Twitter @GeofSpalding
Official Author Blog - the33rdsage.authorsxpress.com/
Translatable Author Blog - 33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/
Book Websites 'The 33rd Sage,' at www.33rdsage.com
'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' at www.the33rdsage.com

Connect with the Wisdom of your Higher Self - Part 3

The Illusion Of Separation

How did you go with practicing seeing the energy that exists in all things and playing around with the exercises and concepts in Part 2? I did the exercises myself and allowed myself to experience them as if it was the first time. What I noticed was that in allowing all preconceived ideas to fall away I could truly experience it like it was the first time. It was with childish glee that I saw my etheric dancing between my fingers, but then I noticed something else, not only was the etheric connecting my two fingers it also spread out to the tree that I was sitting next to. It was a cool moment when I experienced again the connection with all things. Today I am going to share with you another excerpt from my upcoming book The Way of the Initiate, in this section the young boy learns about the illusion of separation.


After a restful night’s sleep, the old sage and the young boy enjoyed a breakfast of rice as they hung their feet in the winter chill of the stream. The moment they put their feet in the water, an icy spike shot up both their bodies. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling because they both felt truly alive. As their feet became acclimatized to the chill of the water, the sun had risen higher enough in the sky to warm their bodies. It was early winter, but the element of Fire from the sun was very much alive and giving its gift to them both. A whisp of air caressed them as they filled their bellies with the rice flavored with miso.

The young boy was not aware of it, but the old sage was having him experience the elements through his five senses. It was to be the beginning of another teaching, which on some level was being guided by the young boy's higher self, a teaching that the old sage had the ability to tap into. After so many years of training, it was just as easy for him to tap into the higher self of another as it was to tap into his own higher self. There was never any thought of judgement or manipulation when he tapped into the mind of another. His days had taught him that we are all connected, and to do something to someone else was really only doing it to yourself.

After breakfast, he took Huo over to a plum tree and told him that today they were going to practice mindful meditation. When the young man gave him a weird look, he just smiled. "Don't worry, my boy. It’s as easy as holding this plum in your hand." With that, he gave Huo a plum and asked him to sit under the plum tree. "I want you to close your eyes and focus all your attention on the plum. Think of nothing else; the key to this exercise is to learn all you can about the plum."
Huo closed his eyes and started to put his attention into the plum. This is ridiculous, he thought to himself as his mind began to wander. He could hear the wind whistling through the trees and the river babbling in the background, and he could feel the warmth of the sun on his skin; in fact, the only thing that he could not focus on was the plum in his hand. He opened his eyes, only a little bit, to see firstly if the old man was watching him and secondly if the plum was still in his hand.
The old sage grinned back at the young boy and mouthed the word 'Focus.'
Huo closed his eyes again and tried to focus on the plum. It was still not working, so this time he held the plum in his left hand while he explored it with his right. He knew what the plum tasted like, but being a child, he had never held a plum long enough to understand what it felt like. At first, it felt shiny; no, that was how he expected it to feel. He explored it again, this time letting go of any expectations. The skin was tight, but underneath he could feel the liquid, the softness. He began to explore with his feelings rather than his fingers, for he realized that his fingers were showing him what he expected to see. The first feeling that came back was the word ‘refreshing’; he went deeper into that feeling and saw a picture of himself in the future as a young man enjoying the juice of the plum as it ran into his mouth. Then his feelings changed, and so did the picture in his mind. The feelings had now taken him to the orchard where the plums were grown, and he could see - no, it was more than that: he could feel - the orchard existing in this one plum. Then his feelings went deeper into the plum, and he experienced all the elements that went into making the plum: there was the Fire of the Sun, the Water of the stream, the warmth and coldness at the right time of the Air, and this all took place in the minerals of the Earth.
His consciousness was expanding too quickly; he had become open to everything, but his mind was not ready to cope with what he was experiencing, and he shut down and fell into a deep sleep under the plum tree with the plum still held in his left hand.

The old man moved over to him and placed his pack under his head. The boy had gone far deeper than he had expected, but he would soon recover, and he knew the young boy would never look at a plum the same way again. Although the young boy may not yet realize it, he had learnt that we are not so much what we think, but more what we feel. He had begun to experience the Godforce/Tao in all things, and just as it had been in all things, it was in him; he was just another aspect of the Tao. Of course, it had all been too much for his young mind, a mind that was not ready to accept that there is only One.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the teachings imbedded in it. For next couple of days why not practice putting your focus into the world around you; start to truly experience things for the first time, whether it be your morning coffee, a sunset, the food that you eat or even the touch of your lover, allow all of your senses to be fully alive and see if you can experience the feeling that everything exudes. When I first tried this with a cup of coffee it was like I had never drank coffee before, it gave it a freshness and a vitality that the thousands of coffees that I drank before did not. There was even a point in my mind's eye where I caught a vision of where the coffee was being grown. This may sound a little weird but over the years I have discovered that there is an infinite level of information that you can receive when you become one with all things. In my second book The 33rd Sage and the Initiate the main character Conway has many such experiences while on his quest. I would like to think that we are all on that quest, but only that our journeys are different.

Blessings and peace and may you begin to see the infinity in every experience.
Geof

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The 33rd Sage and the 33rd Sage and the Initiate are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Watersons, Xlibris and a number of online book stores.

The Way of the Initiate will be published mid 2013

Twitter @GeofSpalding
Official Author Blog - the33rdsage.authorsxpress.com/
Translatable Author Blog - 33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/
Book Websites 'The 33rd Sage,' at www.33rdsage.com
'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' at www.the33rdsage.com