The Legend of the 33rd Sage - Chapter 9

Chapter 9 - Discipline is the Doorway to the Infinite Self

It was just after 4.a.m when the old sage shook the young man awake.
"Huo after what happened yesterday I want to change your training. Rather than continue to work on connecting you with your inner-self, which seems to be taking on a life if its own, I believe it would be best to work with your physical self. Today we will begin your lessons in martial arts and also in meditation. If you inner life continues to develop at the current rate it is important that you learn physical and mental discipline to be able cope with the changes."

"Master how will martial arts help with my inner life."

"Your inner world expresses itself in your outer world and unless we discipline, your mind, body and emotional responses then you will create your outer world based on your childish reactions to what you perceive as external influences. Everything in the outer world is only an expression of what it first created in the inner worlds. As you open yourself up to the inner worlds you will get messages from your higher self. If you are not a clear channel then these messages will be distorted by your ego and emotions. When the  message tells you to go forward your ego may tell you the opposite. It is only through discipline that we can quieten the ego and clear the subconscious mind of its previous programming.

The old sage moved into the horse stance; he took a deep breath and then closed his eyes. "Now Huo I want you to attack."
"But Master you have your eyes closed and you are so old. I am afraid that I will hurt you as I will be too quick for you."
The old sage smiled, the young man was much like he had been those many years ago. "Yes you are probably right but please do this as a favour to an old man. Attack me."
Huo faltered for a moment. Then he moved forward, dancing around the old man flicking out the odd punch, more to test if the old man would respond rather than trying to hit him.
The old sage never moved.

Huo's confidence began to grow. He would not hit the old man hard, just a light tap on his head to teach him a lesson and show him how fast he was. Before the fist reached its target Huo could feel himself being thrown in the air. As he struck the ground feeling every bruise, he replayed in his mind what had happened. His fist was about a hands length from the old man, when the old sage moved inside the fist, grabbed his arm and in what seemed an impossible move the sage went underneath him and launched him into the air. "Teach me," was Huo's only reply.

And that was when his Martial Arts training began. Each day well before sunrise the nocturnal animals would gather around in a circle to watch the old man and his young apprentice practice, using stances the animals themselves used and also working with the energy of the elements to understand how to read your opponent, but more importantly to learn how to understand and observe yourself; to move to that stage where there was no reaction. For it was in the reaction that the old sage knew that moved you out of the flow.

Month after month they practiced. First Martial Arts and then the daily meditation; one minute of meditation for each hour of the day. At first the young man could not hold his emotions in check, reacting to the strikes of the old sage which always ended up in him getting another bruise or landing on his backside. He was progressing well with the physical aspects of the training, but he could not move beyond his emotions; something he would need to do to move on to the deeper aspects of the old Sage's teachings.
The old sage was not worried, "for it was what it was, it was neither good nor bad." the young man would move beyond the ego in his own good time. It just meant that he would have to slow down on the inner work.

It was after a particularly bad session when the young man had received far more bruises than normal, the Sage's inner voice suggested they do the meditation by a stream which ran a few hundred meters from their camp.

As soon as he saw the stream he understood what his inner voice was trying to tell him. Even after all these years it was the inner voice from his Higher Self which was always there when needed. The key, as always, was to be open enough to listen.
They sat beside the stream only this time the old sage asked Huo not to close his eyes but to stare into the water and allow it to take him into a meditative state.
The young man watched the stream, not quite sure how this was going to help him to go into a meditative state. All the same after a few minutes he found himself very calm and he released the frustration he had experienced from the early training session, where once again the old man made him look stupid. It no longer mattered for he began to understand that he was not fighting against his Master but himself. That one realization released any anger he had stored in his body. At once his body healed itself, the bruises disappearing and along with it the aches and pains. He even noticed that his paralyzed left arm was now completely free from any pain and he now had full movement of it. He looked to the old sage for an answer but the old sage had disappeared. Unperturbed he looked back into the water for in that moment he knew that it was his teacher that morning.

He watched as the water flowed on by kissing the bank and givings its life force to the plants and animals who lived along the stream. He looked into the middle to see a large rock rising out of the water. The water did not seem to fight against it, but simply flowed around the rock. It did not need to react, it just found another simpler course. He understood that in time the water would defeat the rock but that it would be done in a calm balanced way. The water had so much power and yet at the same time it gave life to everything around it. He had never looked at the elements in this way before, but from that moment on he would begin to observe more, for there was far more to this world than he had previously thought possible.

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My new book the 33rd Sage and the Initiate is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and many other wonderful bookstores and online sellers. If you want to read more about 'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' have a look at my website on www.the33rdsage.com or my translatable blog at http://33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/

The Legend of the 33rd Sage - Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - Nothing is Ever Lost

"Nothing is ever lost. Everyone who has ever lived and everything they have created," said the old sage, as he reached out his open right hand, "Is there for anyone. Nothing is gone. All you have to do is open yourself up to the vibration and you become a channel into the past, present or future. When you go into your inner self you connect with everything that has been or will be. All the geniuses or masters are waiting for you to tap into their energy. If you want to be a great artist all you have to do is imagine in your inner being that you are that great artist and then allow him or her to open up their genius to you.

"When I was studying to be part of the 33 Sages of the White Brotherhood I would sit for hours and open up myself to the sages who had come before me. I would learn in days what would have normally taken lifetimes to understand."

"Teach me," said the young man, whose mind was already opening itself up to the Cosmic Mind which held the memory of all things. The young man soon found himself wandering through the hallway of a large castle. At the end of the hallway was a doorway. From beyond the doorway Huo could see a blinding light forcing its way around the edge of the wooden door which framed the doorway. His ego mind was telling him not to go any further. He hesitated for a moment and then continued walking. His ego spoke louder, almost screaming for him to stop. In that moment he understood what the old sage had taught him about the ego's fear of death. He took a deep breath and stepped through the door. He was immediately enveloped by the light and transported to another place and time.

Once Huo's eyes become accustomed to the light, he was aware that he was surrounded by thousands of people, many who looked exactly like him. One young man came towards him. At first he pulled back, for a moment not realizing that it was another part of him from another dimension. The shock sucked him out of his body and back into the present where he was sitting by the fire with the old sage.

At first he could say nothing, for he was truly in shock, a part of him now existed in the other world and he could feel it pulling on his being. He was no longer sure what was real. Until a few minutes ago he believed the world he lived in was reality, but now he was no longer sure. He had been to a world where there were thousands of being just like him. In his feeling self he knew they had all come from different dimensions and worlds to meet together in the world which existed beyond the doorway. Would he be able to go back there? Did he want to go back? For that matter did he have a choice; for he felt like there was a part of him which now existed totally in that other world and he was not sure whether he needed to go back and retrieve it or was that the way it was meant to be. Was he in fact drawing from his others selves all the time, or maybe it was a way for him to experience other worlds and other parts of his eternal self?

He looked across at the old sage who was quickly making a pot of herbal tea. He had never seen the old sage rush with anything. Huo sat there experiencing his own infiniteness; he no longer felt shock, no now what he was feeling was a sense of calm, but beneath the calm was another feeling, it was the sense of wonder. No longer could he look at anything the same way again. He picked up beetle that was scurrying beneath his feet. The beetle stopped scurrying and looked into the young man's eyes and for a moment they shared a piece of each other.

The old sage had never seen anything like it. He quickly poured the cup of herbal tea in the hope the events of the last few minutes would not send the young man mad. It was more than anyone could stand without years of meditation and discipline. But he need not have worried. By the time he offered the tea to the young man he was calm and serene. In fact he was more than that. The old sage watched as the young man connected with the beetle in a way that he would not have thought possible. The old sage stood in awe as the beetle and the young man became one. It was not in a philosophical sense; for they had truly become one. The aura of the young man and the beetle had entwined and now the energy and memories of each were now available to each other; although he was not sure how the beetle would cope with the memories and teachings the young man had given him. The old sage was not sure anymore who was the teacher. The old sage was trying to teach him that he could draw from the teachings of the masters in previous times, but the young man had gone beyond that and he was showing the old sage he could learn from his infinite selves and even from the insects of the earth. He knew the young man was special when he had seen him in his dreams those many years ago, but now he was beginning to see how truly special he was.

It was now important for him to speed up the teaching he was giving the young man, as he was growing far quicker than he would have ever thought possible. Which in itself was a wonderful thing, but it also had its downside. Did the young man have the mental capacity to cope with what was occurring?

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My new book the 33rd Sage and the Initiate is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and many other wonderful bookstores and online sellers. If you want to read more about 'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' have a look at my website on www.the33rdsage.com or my translatable blog at http://33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/

The Legend of the 33rd Sage - Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - 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 and then releasing 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 minds 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 it's greatest weakness is that it stops the flow of information from our higher selves and disconnects us with 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 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 knew things. It would rather stay in an negative state that it has become 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 opportunities that you never thought possible."

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My new book the 33rd Sage and the Initiate is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and many other wonderful bookstores and online sellers. If you want to read more about 'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' have a look at my website on www.the33rdsage.com or my translatable blog at http://33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/

The Legend of the 33rd Sage - Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - I Am What I Believe I am

After a night filled with dreams of the 33 Sages who are in charge of the 33 dimensions beyond the earth-plane, Huo woke tired, as if he had been traveling all night. And in many ways he had been traveling, as the old sages of the Plum Red Robe were preparing him for his future, but that was still a way off and he woke with little or no memory of their teaching.

Rising from his bed he was welcomed by the old sage who passed him a cup of herbal tea. The smell and flavor of the tea struck at his every sense. He could see in his mind's eye a man on a small farm picking the very herbs that he was now experiencing. He looked to the old man for an explanation. "You will understand that ability to be anywhere in the world as we continue your teaching. Much of what you have to learn has to unfold naturally, as you are your own best teacher. It is my role to give you a gentle nudge when it is appropriate. For the next few days I would like to stay where we are as you begin to search deeper in yourself for the teachings to occur."

Before he could finish the young man interrupted. "I am sorry Sage, but I am not sure that I am ready to teach myself. I am still trying to understand what you taught me last night at dinner. I am not sure I believe that I would have chosen the life I have lived and the concept of the subconscious mind creating my life is just too much to comprehend. I thought that in every instant of my life I could choose what I want to do." 

"That is true my son if you have a clear mind, but so many people are just a product of other people's beliefs."
"What do you mean?" The young boys face was scrunched up, trying once again to come to grips with the meaning in the Sage's few words.

"What we believe to be true has been in many cases borrowed from someone else. Look at your beliefs about the old people in the village or the people of the cities, or about foreigners or even the foods you should and shouldn't eat. Where did they come from? Did you just wake up one day and say that the people of the cities were rich or that they think they are better than the people of the land. Of course not, these beliefs have been fed to you over time from your parents, people of the village, either directly to you, or even in whispers of conversation. Your subconscious mind takes in everything and then creates the world as you expect it to be. When you were born your subconscious mind recorded all the impressions from everything around it. It also recorded the emotions, feelings, attitudes  and language that came from your family, friends and all the other people in the village. But more than that you were born with the inherent vibrations of many previous generations. In fact the only way to be yourself is to start to peel away the thought, feelings and behaviors that are not yours. These same belief patterns are here to protect us and for those who are not spiritually advanced they do a good job of that. As you start to grow spiritually you reach a point where it is necessary for you to release many of these beliefs, so that you can become a spiritual being with your own spiritual destiny. That is the reason we have come together, so we can work with each other to release your beliefs to follow your own quest."

The old sage stopped for a moment to allow these ideas to seep into and start to work their magic in the young boys mind. The old sage knew that a mind once changed could never go back to its old form. It may for a moment try to move back into its old comfort zone, but this would not last as once a mind can see that it is creating its own world it can never again be truly happy with being a victim. He knew the next few days would be a struggle for the young man as he broke free from the beliefs of others which he had made his own. It was now time to create his own life. The old sage knew that it would be difficult to remove all the negative belief patterns but it was necessary if the young man was to become who he was meant to be.

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My new book the 33rd Sage and the Initiate is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and many other wonderful bookstores and online sellers. If you want to read more about 'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' have a look at my website on www.the33rdsage.com or my translatable blog at http://33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/

The Real Me - the person behind the 33rd Sage

The Real Me

Hello All,

I have been writing these blogs for a over a year now and in that time I have had thousands of readers from over fifty countries. Firstly I would like to thank you all for dropping in to spend a few minutes reading my blog. I write the blog in the hope that I can share some of the wonderful teachings I have received during my own spiritual quest over the last thirty years. If you have read my first book 'The 33rd Sage,' you will get a feel for what happened to put me on the spiritual path and in the second book 'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' you will gain a deeper insight into my life and journey.
Today I am not here to flog either of my books, although I guess a writer still needs to eat and somedays I like a second Decaf Latte, today I want to give you my dear reader a deeper insight into who I am. I am doing this because of a couple of conversations I have had of late. The first was a person I have known for seven years; someone who I would call a dear friend and someone I could talk to about anything. The funny thing was that when she read an early draft of 'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' she said she learnt more about me in a few short hours than in our seven year friendship. The second person was someone who I still call a friend although I had not seen him in twenty years. We caught up for coffee and after a few minutes of reminiscing about the old days we both shared what we had been up to since we last saw each other. It was in talking about a journey that we took together twenty years earlier; a journey in the search for an indigenous medicine man. We jumped in his car and drove for many hours before arriving at the site where hopefully we would meet our medicine man. Of course we never found him, that was not spirits intention. Later that evening something strange happened in a meditation that still affects me till this very day. Over coffee I shared what had happened to me that evening and my old friend was shocked. He was one of my close friends and he had shared that journey with me and I had not shared with him what had happened.
Both these episodes made me reflect on on why I hadn't shared the real me to even my closest friends.
This story may be about me, but in reality it is about all of us. How much of yourself do you share with those who are closest to you. Do you not share because you are scared of sharing who you really are? Do you think that your friends will think you are mad or if you share everything there will be nothing left? All of these are good reasons, but what if not living in who you are is holding back your spiritual growth. Each of ushas an individual spark of the godforce and I believe it is our duty; more than that, it is our imperative to be who we are in every moment of our time on the earth. I guess that is why I spend a lot of time in my blogs talking about understanding yourself and releasing the beliefs in your subconscious mind that are holding you back from being the beautiful being that you incarnated on this earth to be.
Stop for a moment and ask yourself if you are living the life you always dreamed of living? If you are answered no, then it is never too late. Some of the greatest, writers, painters and inventors did their greatest works in their seventy and eighties. Whatever age you are Spirit is still there to guide you on your way.
A year ago I gave up a well paid job doing something I loved to follow the yearning of my inner spirit to just write. My first book had just been published and I felt proud of my achievement, but there was something missing. People who red it loved it. Many people red it a number of times, each time learning and seeing ideas and concepts that were not there the first time they red it. The interesting thing for me was that when I first wrote it I had not even planned to put many of the concepts in the story. It started out as a nonfiction book about the teachings that I received from an old Chinese teacher. A few hundred words in and there was a change as a character came into my mind and began to tell me the story that became 'The 33rd Sage.' It was not the book that I wanted to write, it was a book that almost seemed to be written through me.
Just before I gave up the job to write I was seeing a couple of naturopaths who were trying to help me sleep better. I had not had a full nights sleep in over twenty years. I would sleep for about ninety minutes and then wake up, soon I would go back to sleep only to wake up another ninety minutes later. It was while treating me that the work they were doing was having a profound effect on me, but not in the way I planned. I still don't sleep any better but that is not why spirit drew me to see them. I started to share with them and others what I was really feeling and stories about my spiritual journey that I had kept hidden. Not only did these stories free up a part of me that was stuck, but they had a genuine affect on the lives of the people I came into contact with. Rather than think I was mad it allowed them to find there own voice or courage to make changes in their lives. It was in the telling of story that I realized I could have the greatest impact with my journey and the more I opened my heart to people the more at peace I became.
It was after their treatment that I had no other choice but to leave my job and write. The second book 'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,'  was the easiest story that I have ever had to write because it was my journey. Once again I started to tell the story as nonfiction with early title of 'My Other Life,' being the life that I had never really shared with people. This time I was about twenty thousand words in when Conway the main character from my first book took charge and made it into his story. He is a cheeky controlling bugger, but I like him anyway. I fought with him for a few chapters but he seemed to have a better memory of my life than I did and in the end I let him tell the story.
When I write now I check in with the heart to see what about I am feeling and allow whatever is within to come out and express itself on the page. It was difficult to express these feelings when I was young because I was dyslexic and had difficulty sharing my stories or thoughts on paper. My old Chinese teacher helped with the dyslexia, but the greatest change in my life came in 1989 when I was given, a very early version of a laptop. It was the most freeing experience of my life. The beauty of the computer was that, although I was only a one finger typist, I was able to keep in memory the thoughts that I wanted to share. This was so different from when I tried to write on paper, when the very act of writing switched off my mind and I could remember nothing of what I wanted to share.
Thanks again to all the readers of books and blogs a you continually inspire me to continue writing and wandering on my spiritual adventure.
Blessings and peace. I only hope my blogs and stories inspire and encourage  others on their own journeys.

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My new book the 33rd Sage and the Initiate is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and many other wonderful bookstores and online sellers. If you want to read more about 'The 33rd Sage and the Initiate,' have a look at my website on www.the33rdsage.com or my translatable blog at http://33rdsage.blogspot.com.au/

Oprah, Paul Coehlo and Jessie

Oprah, Paul Coelho and Jessie have been three of the greatest influences in my life. In many ways it has been their influence that has made me the man I am today. One who I am only just starting to enjoy. The first two are well known, but who is the Jessie that I refer to? I will put her aside for a moment, although she is the glue that holds this little story or window into the me, the writer, together. We will meet her a little later and the wait will be worth the effort.

Oprah and Paul came to me at a similar time and they both inspired me in oh so many different ways. I was suffering with a disease which today would be called Chronic Fatigue, but in the early 1980's it was barely known and poorly understood. It was at the time when I had only recently met the Old Chinese teacher who I write about in my first book the 33rd Sage. It was a time when I was barely able to move, for the old man's remedies had not cured me physically but they were certainly having an affect on me spiritually.

It was during this period when my spiritual journey was just starting, its first tentative steps, that Oprah and Paul came into my life. They never knew me, but like millions of others I was affected by them. Sitting on the couch, not able to do much else, I turned on the television to be confronted by a young black woman called Oprah. She intrigued me. Over the next few years she inspired me, not only to go beyond my illness, but to make a difference in the world.

After a couple of years of being inspired by Oprah, Paul Coelho waltzed into my life. It was a humble beginning. A friend, who noticed I was changing, gave me a copy of the Alchemist. At first, it lay on a pile of well meaning books given to me by my friends who wanted to help me live a more fulfilling life. I wanted to change; needed to change. Oprah was helping and each day her dose of inspiration kept me going. One day after watching a program about people overcoming their weaknesses;  they encouraged others to take action. I was inspired but I did not know what action to take. It was then that I looked at my pile of books. Maybe that was the place to start, I thought to myself. I picked up the top book because it was the book on top, not for any other reason. It just so happened to be the Alchemist. When I started to read, I was captivated by the young shepherd Santiago and his journey to Egypt, after having a reoccurring dream of finding treasure there. I could not put it down. After a few short hours I sat stunned. When you want something bad enough the universe conspires to help you get it. It was as if the universe was conspiring with me to help me change. I wanted to change. I wanted a more spiritual life and it was occurring. I had not even noticed it occurring. In a matter of a couple of years I had met a number of wonderful teachers and now I was on my own quest, the quest for inner truth. It is a wonderful journey that continues today. A journey which has taken me to over 25 countries and allowed me to meet some amazing people.

What of Jessie I hear you say. Don't worry I have not forgotten her. I was hoping you were hearing her voice through this whole story. Jessie was my mother. She was not famous, but she influenced me in more ways than I could ever describe. It was her that always gave me the courage to fight on, even at my worst times. It was her that gave me the great respect for women; no it was more than that. It was Jessie that showed me how powerful women were and yet most men don't see it because their power is on the inside. One short story that will show the courage and conviction that my mother gave to me was the story around the birth of myself and my twin brother. A twin brother, yes there is two of me running around. We look the same but god made us the mirror image of each other. We were born very premature at about thirty weeks and we were not thriving. In fact one of the daycare nurses told my mother that we would be lucky to survive, let alone thrive. My mother did not argue with the nurse but in her heart she knew she would do everything for her twins. One of her greatest joys was twelve months or so later taking us back to the daycare nurse and showing her two bouncing baby boys. That was the kind of woman my mother was. Whenever things were tough, she would simply put her head down and silently push a little harder.

In my life I have been lucky to have been surrounded by strong females. That is why in my books I always have a strong female character. In life, as in my books, the male character could not achieve his goals without the support of the women in his life.

Nearly everyone of us has heroes that inspired us in our adult lives. It is easy to remember what they taught you. But what of your parents and especially your mother; what did she teach you. If you sit quietly for a moment you will realize that who you are today is a result of what your parents taught you. Your mother or father may never be an Oprah or a Paul Coelho, but look, in the mirror and you will see them in every ounce of your being.

Thanks Oprah, Paul and Mum.

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My new book the 33rd Sage and the Initiate has now been released and is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, good book shops or on my website at  www.the33rdsage.com

The 33rd Sage and the Initiate

“It was 3 days before the Solstice and the sage must prepare him;” was the beginning  of the stunning first spiritual novel by Geof Spalding. In The 33rd Sage and the Initiate, Geof Spalding once again weaves into this story profound elements of spiritual teaching. This modern day fable allows the reader to access worlds and dimensions which have been previously hidden from view, except to those who have been initiated into the mysteries.

Conway's journey begins when he meets an old hermit who allows him access to the teachings of an ancient brotherhood who guide the evolution of the planet. The brotherhood send Conway off on a quest to discover the true story of Jesus and the Holy Graal. On the quest Conway meets many strange characters who help him on his journey; including an old hermit, a Chinese Sage, a Buddhist Monk, the keeper of the Garden Tomb and a being from another dimension. The quest allows Conway a window into his own soul and the discovery of who he had been in a previous life and the reason he incarnated into the planet at this time and place.

“The 33rd Sage and The Initiate,” takes the reader on the ultimate journey of self-discovery; the journey to find their own inner truth. The key to finding other worlds is to first find them within yourself.

This transformational novel is a must read for anybody who has ever asked the big question why am I here and where am I going? Readers will make the journey with Conway as he walks the path of the initiate and is transformed to a person who has a deep understanding of his place in the universe. In a similar vogue to the Celestine Prophecy and the Alchemist this is a story that changes lives.

Come with Conway as his quest takes from the beaches of Bali, to Portugal and the apparition, to Glastonbury and the Graal, to the Himalayas where he finds love and the ancient manuscripts, to Jerusalem and the tomb of Jesus, to another dimension and to Macchu Picchu where he meets the ancient brotherhood and finally understands the reason for his quest.

Earth and mankind are currently going through great changes. The old mystics called it the quickening. It is now more important than ever to take the journey within because during times of transformational change, your infinite spirit will be your best guide on this magical journey.

The Legend of the 33rd Sage - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 To be Connected you need to Detach

"You have had enough excitement for one day, so we will set up camp for the night. You collect some wood and I will get some water from the stream so that I can prepare tonight's meal."
The young man only nodded. It had been a tough day. When he woke this morning and found himself on his own, he panicked. He thought he was alone again, but this time many miles away from the village where he lived. Of course living in the village had been no life, for most of the time, because of his disfigurement, he felt like he was on his own, but he had got used to that way of living. Although he know understood that he was not really living, merely waiting to get older and die the slow horrible death of boredom which he had become accustomed to as his life. There was a moment when he woke when he would have been happy to have gone back to that life. What had happened? It was hard to describe, in fact he could not describe it. There was a moment when he went deep within himself and felt connected to all things. It was while he was going with the feelings that led him to the old sage. It was a strange feeling. In the moment he knew where the old sage was, there was a feeling of joy, such as he had never experienced before in his life. At first he thought the joy was caused by knowing that he would be safe, but on reflection he realized that it was deeper than that. The joy came from knowing that he was truly connected to all things. He had glimpses of it in the few days he had travelled with the old man. He thought the old sage was the reason he had received these glimpses but know he knew that he was the source of this connection to all things.
"How is the wood coming along Huo?"
The young man looked up into the face of the old sage, which was creased with a smile. "You deliberately left me this morning? You knew what what would happen?"
The old sage sat down beside the young man, for it was no longer right to call him a boy, for he had grown so much in the last few days. Not so much physically, although there had even been some changes there, he had grown up spiritually and emotionally. The young man had seen beyond the veil and the energy from beyond was now increasingly flowing through him and giving him insights that would have been impossible with his mindset only a couple of days before.
"Let me tell you a story. 'In Old China an emperor stood upon a very high hill. Spread through the valley below him was all of his great army. He could see where a battle would be fought and where the other armies waited. He had developed an intricate system of commands for the generals and officers of his army and the battle began
'The emperor could signal to the right, and the right would attack. He could signal to the left, and the left would attack, or the middle. With another signal, each would retreat then attack again. The battle went on for hours. When the emperor saw a weakness he sent troops to that area and eventually they overcame the other army.'
"This analogy fits your conscious and subconscious minds. Your conscious mind is the emperor and your subconscious, the army, does not see what is going on. When we are talking of healing, what we are really talking about is the subconscious mind. For it is our beliefs that we store in the subconscious mind which determines our future. The subconscious mind is a wonderful, natural force. It is how we exist in this world. It allows us to have memories of past situations and it is the place where the conscious mind implants all it's beliefs and knowledge. This can can either be a positive or negative experience. If we place in our subconscious the thought that the world and it's people are filled with great beauty, then that is what we will see. On the other hand if we focus on the pain and suffering in the world all we will see is pain and suffering.
"When we incarnate into our bodies before birth or shortly after. What is it that incarnates? Some have called it the Soul others have called it the Subconscious and I would guess that if you look into many of the religions it will be known by many other names. For me I will call it the Subconscious. It is my belief that our higher self sends off aspects of itself in the form of the Subconscious to inhabit a body to increase its experiences in this plane. When the subconscious takes residence in the vehicle it is blank and has no knowledge of other lives or of the Higher Self. This is done so that when it incarnates it comes without any knowledge, so that it can work through the issues that it came here to experience. It is not a hit and miss exercise, as the higher self and the aspect which incarnates understands what are the probabilities for it in the first thirteen years of its life. It understands the parents weaknesses and strengths; it understand the culture it is being born into and it understand what is happening on the world at this time. Yes for it's own experience it chooses to live in a village, in a palace or in a slum. It is only our misunderstanding of the wonderful opportunity that we call life, that we judge people for where they are born, the colour of their skin, their culture and their parenting. Mark my words it is the choice of the incarnated to where and when they choose to incarnate and it is only our lack of understanding that makes us judge others to be different or less than we are."
Huo had a million questions; it seemed like the old man was taking his mind and stretching in a hundred different directions at once. Before he could ask a question the old sage was stretching his mind and beliefs in more directions.
"When we incarnate," said the old sage, "we even choose what Element we will incarnate into as this elemental bias will allow us the best opportunity to experience what we came to earth to experience. When people start to learn about the Elements or deeper understandings of the Subconscious mind it is because they are ready for it. It is time for them to go beyond their Subconscious Mind.
"But what is there to go beyond and how do we do it? Although our subconscious is an empty book when we arrive it comes programmed with our elemental perspective. We have even chosen what health and disease patterns we will experience. Incarnation into the Earth-plane is all about experiences; whether we are human, animal, plant or mineral. If you are attracted to these teachings then you have done at least six lifetimes as human and many in all the other dimensions.
"Even before your were born your subconscious was taking in impressions from your world. The Subconscious mind takes in everything; hundreds of thousands of inputs every minute. Before you start feeling guilty for the garbage that you have fed yourself or been fed by your parents or the world around you. Stop for a moment, breathe and understand that with regards to yourself you can become like the Emperor in our story and start to take control of your Subconscious mind through the Conscious Mind. You choose all the crap that the world has given you. You understood what you were coming here to experience; you chose it; there are no victims. This is one concept that I have had the most difficulty understanding as I watch people in pain and suffering."
Huo was trying take in everything the old sage was telling him. But surely it wasn't possible. Why would he have chosen to lose his parent's in a fire? He looked down at his withered arm; 'why would anyone choose that,' he asked himself? He turned his attention to the old sage. "Why would anyone choose to go through the things that I have been through?"
"That is the reason that you are with me. To find out who you really are, why you have chosen to incarnate into the world at this time and then go beyond it." The old sage went quiet for a few minutes, allowing the young man time to digest everything he had said.
"The subconscious mind has the ability to create in your world whatever you program into it and whatever you program into it is what you will get in return. The key if you want to change your life is to start taking care with what you program into your subconscious.
"Begin today by becoming the observer. Watch how you respond to people and situations. When you meet someone new do you react positively or negatively and why?
"When you get angry. Why are you angry, is it something they did or are you projecting your weakness onto them? Often I find it is when we meet someone who shows what we don't like about ourselves or a weakness we have that we react.
"Over the next few days observe your reaction to everything; take your awareness outside of yourself and watch yourself. If you are reacting negatively to something don't stop yourself but observe and try to understand why.

"If something makes you sad - why?
If you judge something or someone - why?
If you are fearful - why?

"Don't be too tough on yourself; just observe; as you begin to become the observer you start to understand why you respond and then you can rise beyond it. Sometimes it can be a great challenge when you have believed these things for many years. Remember you are here to go beyond your Subconscious mind and have it work for you. It is time to understand your Element and then go beyond it to the Element of Ether.
"We live in amazing times when all of us have the opportunity to be the creative essence we were meant to be. It is your duty to find out what it is that you are meant to do in this life. This is what your apprenticeship is all about. It is called the Way of the Initiate, but by know I hope you have realized that it is an inner journey; a journey few have the courage to make. Let's eat."And so as the sun set, the sage and his apprentice enjoyed the bounty provided by the elements. It was a quiet dinner as they journeyed within to reflect on the day.

**********

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