Moving Beyond the Ego - Higher Self Part 8

It has been a few weeks since my last post and I am not sure why. Everything was going brilliantly for me creatively and now everything has seemed to stop. Even my work on my first screenplay was going well. It seemed that every time I would ask a question, I would meet someone with the answer, or I would find it in a book I picked up or a bus passing by. It was like I had a direct connection to my higher self, but sadly over the last few weeks it feels like that connection has broken. Since the death of one of my old teachers Stuart Wilde I no longer feel the Higher Self in and around me. It has got to the point that even when I am about to go somewhere on a bus or tram they do not even stop for me any more. It has even got weirder with the first draft of my screenplay completed I am not even able to open the document and even my back up copy is corrupted.

Having been ranting and raving a bit since, having tried everything I know to open the document, I thought it was time to take time out and write this blog post. Interestingly the next part of the 'The Way of the Initiate,' I was to share was about moving beyond the ego. Perfect timing because I am stuck right in my own ego and that is why I cannot hear the voice of my Higher Self. They say we always teach what we need to know. Maybe spirit is telling me to take a step back and allow the next step in my journey to be unveiled.

Have a read of the short chapter below and I will hopefully meet you on the other side.

Moving Beyond

Before sitting down to dinner, the old sage sat cross-legged on the ground. He took a few deep breaths, holding each one for a moment, then released his breath, and with it energies from the day that he did not want to hold onto.
"What are you doing?" asked the young man.
The old sage smiled and opened his eyes, turning all his attention to his young apprentice. "I am moving beyond the ego. At the end of each day, I play the day back in my mind's eye, and when I come to an event when the flow of my energy is stopped by my ego, I take a deep breath, reflect on it for a moment, and then release it into the ether."
The young man returned the Sage's smile, but he was still confused, a state he was experiencing a lot since he began his journey with the old man. "What do you mean by the ego, and how does it stop your energy flow?"
"There are those that say that the Ego is the mediator between the conscious and Subconscious minds. There are others who say it is our identity, while some say it is what gives us our sense of self-worth or self-importance. In a way, it is all those things, but for me, its greatest weakness is that it stops the flow of information from our higher selves and disconnects us from everything else in this beautiful universe. Think back to the other day when you woke and found me gone. It was your ego that went into a panic. It was only when you calmed yourself down and reconnected with the spirit that you became part of all things, and at that moment you knew where I was."
"Sage, why do we have an ego if it limits us?"
"The ego gives us a sense of ourselves. It is important in our first few incarnations, when we are here to learn lessons of a more Earthly nature. It is only after our sixth lifetime, when we begin on our spiritual path, that we begin to move beyond the ego. The ego is the source of most of our weaknesses. Most of our weaknesses come from the various manifestations of the ego's fear of death. Fear is the ego's weapon that stops us from moving forward in our lives. The ego is lazy. It does not want to try new things. It would rather stay in the negative state it has grown comfortable with than take a chance on a better life. Change is the death of the ego. Once you start to realize that the ego is holding you back, then little by little you can move beyond it to a life where you are in the flow, where it does not matter what is around the next corner. Whereas the ego will stop you from living, being in the flow will allow you to experience opportunities you would never think possible."

As I thought I have allowed my ego to take me out of the flow. When I look at what has been happening such as the death of Stuie, and thinking about my own future I have allowed the fear of death and the fear of the future to creep into my own life. Time to have a chat to my ego and tell him kindly to piss off and open up to the flow that courses through all of us. Time to take my own advice and be open again to what the universe has to offer.

See you again soon.
Blessings and Peace and may the real you manifest what it needs, to take you where you need to go..

************


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

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 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

The Legend of the 33rd Sage - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - 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 aspect 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 when 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 the 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 panic, he looked around where they had camped over night but there was no sign of him. He looked over to the mountains and he could see 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 voluntarily he took a deal breath, held it for a moment and immediately he began to relax. He took another deep breath and held that for a moment and his attention moved from forest around him to a point deep within himself. In the deepness he could 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 and then followed the inner feelings, 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 are not creations of our own subconscious mind but inner promptings from our higher self which can truly can show us the way. Our ancestors, those who lived in touch with nature and the elements, had a sixth sense 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. 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 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 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. 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.

"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 which lies within.

"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. When you woke and found 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 quite 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 worth it.

"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 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 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.

"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."

**********

A special for all my followers, friends and blog readers. My publisher has offered a special either through my website or amazon of the ebook version of The 33rd Sage at $3.99. Take advantage of the offer. Apart from being a modern fable it is filled with teachings that you or your family can use for the rest of your life. Who knows if you are open to the possibilities an old Chinese Sage might just wander into your life?

Go to my website http://www.33rdsage.com/index.html and click on buy the book for this special offer to my friends or go to Amazon.

Take a look at my Book Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeNMGhfwtdg

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

Twitter @GeofSpalding
Official Author Blog - the33rdsage.authorsxpress.com/
Translatable Author Blog - 33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/

Website www.33rdsage.com

Travel Changes Your Life - Himalayan Yak Story

I wasn't sure about I would write in this blog; that was until I was telling the following story at a workshop I attended this week. We were sitting around a table discussing how travel can literally change lives. One of the group, a young man who had never travelled stated that he had always wanted to trek the Himlayas. When he found out that I had trekked Nepal, especially the Himalayan region he asked me to talk about it.

Rather than talk about the Himalayas themselves which I told him was impossible to describe because of the size and scale of the mountains. I suggested that I would talk about one episode during my trip that showed the beauty of travel. For me travel has changed my life and I believe it changes everybody who travels.  For the most part these changes have not occurred because of the wonderful sights I have seen but the people and the experiences I have had.

The first part of that day’s journey was all downhill. It was like God put thousands of steps in the side of the mountain. We started the day at eleven thousand feet and would finish it much closer to sea level. It wasn’t a day for enjoying the view, as a false step would see us falling thousands of feet to our death. We’d all heard about the stones that were piled up in recognition of Trekkers who had died along the way. By the end of the trip, we would all realise how many Trekkers had died in the Himalayas; it took just one false step.

After four hours of walking, all downhill, we stopped for a well earned lunch. The bread and peanut butter were eaten with great hunger after the exhausting morning's walk. The Sirdar spoke to the group during the lunch about yaks, expounding on how they were one of the main dangers in the Himalayas and how many Trekkers had been pushed off the mountains by them. The key, he said, was to always take the high side of the mountain when the yak comes towards you. The difficulty was that they were stubborn animals, and if they sense any fear on the Trekkers’ part, they’ll push them out of the way. Some have even gored Trekkers.

I could see that Isaac was getting nervous. He had told me that he was scared of animals, especially dogs and cattle, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to handle the yaks. As we walked through day, we came across a herd of yaks, and Isaac immediately tried to walk around them. The yak herder came towards me and held out the whip in his hand. "He wants you to herd his yaks, "said a local, who was walking with the group this morning. I took the whip, which brought a grin to the yak herder's face. I didn’t have a clue what to do, so I looked to the herder for advice. His only reply was a motion to flick the whip and wave his hands.

One of my fellow Aussie Trekkers, came over to join me. "Why don't you use the trick you showed us last night and imagine you’re the yak or the herder? Then you’ll know what to do." I knew that he was half-joking and half-serious, but why not? I used the technique to understand people's intent or feelings, so why not a yak? I took what I imagined to be two molecules of my feeling self and put one into the herder and one into the lead yak. I quieted his mind and opened up to any impressions that were returned. My first impression came from the lead yak, and I soon learned the yak had been with the herder since he was a calf and had become the family pet. He was always looking to the herder for what to do, and whatever he did, the others normally followed.

When the molecule of the feeling arrived from the herder, it brought with it a great sense of calm. The yaks were his pets. He may have looked like a gruff old man, but he loved his animals. They responded more to the soothing sound of his voice than the whip or the waving of his hands, and the old man knew that; the whip and the waving arms were more a show for the others. I couldn’t understand what words the old man used, but I could hear the tones he used when he wanted them to do something. I walked close to him to show the yaks that the old man and I were friends. Then, while walking with him I started to speak using the tones I’d heard the old man use. The yaks didn’t respond at first; they were confused. Soon, though, the yaks responded to the soothing tones that I was using. I was soon guiding the animals with only the sound of my voice.

Although I may have appeared confident, I was more surprised than anyone. I continued walking with the animals and the old man. When we walked down a narrow path, the old man and I immediately took the high ground, and the animals took the lower ground. The old herder must  have impressed with and he gave me a pat on the back. I walked with the yaks for most of day after which the old man took back the whip, a whip he rarely used, then gave me a hug and continued on the journey with his yaks. This was the one thing that I enjoy most when I travel: the ability to be open to new experiences. It was the reason I met most of my teachers, and it was the reason I could see each day as a new day and always be open to what life had in store for me. It is always harder to have these experiences when I am was back in the so-called “normal life”, but maybe it was because I was not as open in the normal world.
   
I could see that Isaac was a little down, so I went over to join him, taking a hot drink and sitting down beside him. Neither of us spoke for a long time, then Isaac opened up. "I was scared when you started to walk with the yaks. I started to get all hot and sweaty, and I could feel myself go into a panic. How could you just take the whip and start herding his yaks?"
"Not sure, really. It just seemed like something I’d never have the opportunity to do again."
"I could never have done that. I would have been scared that they’d gore me or push me off the mountain. I don't like to do anything when I’m out of control."
"Isaac, I said, "this whole trip is about being out of control. We’re in a third world country, trekking through some of the most dangerous territory in the world. Each day, we come across areas where Trekkers have died. The food, the water, or the altitude could make you sick. I don't quite understand how you can do a trek like this and still feel like you’re in control.”
Isaac replied, "Before coming on this trip, I researched who were the safest companies, the food  they served, and their record of keeping people safe. This group was the best and safest, and that’s why I booked with them."
         
For the next six days, each day of the journey was like the one before: early breakfast of porridge, toast, and peanut butter, washed down with a hot cocoa, followed by a four-hour walk in some of the most beautiful country in the world. Stop for lunch, then four more hours of walking before setting up camp, having dinner, then sitting around the campfire under the stars, drinking rum punch. Of course, the rum punch was now a treat, rather than something that was over-consumed. We didn’t need another reason for a headache; the altitude was starting to have an effect on most of us. It was only minor, but it needed watching.

It was on about the tenth day that things began to change - especially for Isaac. I woke at about 7:00am, and as usual, Isaac was already awake and outside the tent. I put on my gear, and walked out of the tent. Surrounding the tent was a herd of yaks. My first thought was, Where the hell was Isaac? I scoured the campsite; Isaac was nowhere to be seen. Then I saw him cowering in the distance behind one of the tents. Before I could get to him, Isaac had made a run for it, only to be chased by one of the yaks. He tried in vain to get away, and in the end he turned towards the yak and screamed at it. This only stirred the animal up even more, and it ran at him, goring him in the stomach. He fell to the ground, and the yak continued to stand over him, excited by his anxiety and the blood oozing through Isaac's T-shirt.

I moved quickly and stood between Isaac and the animal. One of the other trekkers rushed with her medical kit to the aid of the cowering Isaac. She didn’t give any thought to the animal attacking her – and of course, it didn't. I tried calming the animal down using the same voice I had used with the other yaks, but it wasn’t working. The animal had all its concentration on Isaac. It was fixated and couldn’t see that Isaac was no longer a threat. By this time, all the camp was awake and out of their tents. The yak herder had rounded up all the other animals to ensure that they wouldn’t get out of control, but this one couldn’t hear anything. The herder called out to it, but it didn’t move. It stayed fixated, pawing the ground with its hoof. I knew he had to do something and do it quickly because the animal was getting itself ready to attack. I had no idea what to do. The words didn't work. The feeling tones didn't work. I had to get the yak away from Isaac. I remembered the trick that Crocodile Dundee had used in the movie by the same name. I was certainly grabbing at straws. Then, in a flash of genius I punched it in the head, directly between the horns. Confused, the beast tried to shake off the hit. It had lost focus on Isaac, and now its concentration was all on me, I turned calmly and started talking to the animal in the tone of voice of the yak herder and walked it towards the herder and his herd of yaks. The animal now seemed calmer and was happy to follow me back to the herd. The herder took control of the animal, shrugged his shoulders and led the herd away from the camp.

With the commotion of the morning and Isaac's injury, very little ground was covered during the day. After dinner, everyone sat around the campfire with the obligatory cup of rum punch. That even included Isaac, who until this evening had always gone to bed after dinner to get enough rest for the next day’s trek. There were smiles all around when Isaac took his first sip of the nasty concoction. The further we went on their journey, the more the quality of the local bought rum deteriorated - and with it, the quality of the fruits we used in the punch. To be honest, it was bloody horrible. But tonight was a special occasion; it was winter solstice, and it was good that we all came to join in the celebration. The look on Isaac's face was priceless. Everybody laughed;  it was good to have him as part of the group after the day's challenges.

Everyone wanted to know how Isaac was feeling, He replied, "The day has been tough, and I’m still a little sore, but I learned a great lesson. Upon reflection, I realized I wasn’t unluckier than anyone else. I focus on the wrong things; rather than focus on the fear, I’d be better focusing on the experience. In the past, my fears have brought exactly what I feared, and today was the prime example. From this moment on, with your help I would like to be more open to the experiences in life. Forty years of living in fear is long enough. Today is the first day of my new life."
       
We all gave him a cheer and for the rest of the trek Isaac was not the shy introvert who began the journey in Kathmandu.

The beauty of travel is that it forces most of us to live outside our comfort zone; the place where all change can occur.

Blessings and Peace - may travel on any level lead you to a deeper part of yourself

A special for all my followers, friends and blog readers. My publisher has offered a special either through my website or amazon of the ebook version of The 33rd Sage at $3.99. Take advantage of the offer. Apart from being a modern fable it is filled with teachings that you or your family can use for the rest of your life. Who knows if you are open to the possibilities an old Chinese Sage might just wander into your life?

Go to my website http://www.33rdsage.com/index.html and click on buy the book for this special offer to my friends or go to Amazon.

Take a look at my Book Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeNMGhfwtdg

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

Twitter @GeofSpalding
Official Author Blog - the33rdsage.authorsxpress.com/
Translatable Author Blog - 33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/

Website www.33rdsage.com

Fear and 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.

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.

****

A special for all my followers, friends and blog readers. My publisher has offered a special only through my website of the ebook version of The 33rd Sage at $3.99. Take advantage of the offer. Apart from being a modern fable it is filled with teachings that you or your family can use for the rest of your life. Who knows if you are open to the possibilities an old Chinese Sage might just wander into your life?

Go to my website http://www.33rdsage.com/index.html and click on buy the book for this special offer to my friends.

Take a look at my Book Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeNMGhfwtdg

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

Twitter @GeofSpalding
Official Author Blog - the33rdsage.authorsxpress.com/
Translatable Author Blog - 33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/

Website www.33rdsage.com