Kala Speaks

MasterWorks International
A series of Articles from Kala Ka La Kahuna of the Huna Mua Tradition and author of the David Kala Ka La - MasterWorks International 2006 book The Way of The Flamekeeper
INDEX Aloha
The Beauty of Small Things Centre Your Significance Your inviolate self Dreams and Illusions More dreams and Illusions The Roots of Belief A Possible Truth Only Ask if You are Prepared for the Answer The Warrior Way An Essential Practice Release Transformation and Huna Mua Judgement and Criticism In Difficult Times Not Action Meditation Your body Death Into the labyrinth 3 4 6 8 9 11 13 15 17 19 23 25 27 29 30 31 32 33 35 36 37
All articles are copyright David Kala Ka La 2006 Kala can be contacted at: kala@masterworksinternational.com MasterWorks International 27 Old Gloucester Street London WC1N 3XX Tel: 011 353 (0)86 325 2645 (Ireland) David Kala Ka La - MasterWorks International 2006
ALOHA
ALOHA - perhaps one of the most well known of all Hawaiian greetings. What do you think it means? Most people would think of 'hello', 'greetings' or some similar sentiment. They would be correct. However it also means goodbye, affection, joy, sympathy, kindness, grace, compassion and behind all these - around, within and without - is above all one expression, that of LOVE. In the world today the word LOVE has become corrupted, sentimentalised, cheapened, almost exhausted because it is used so randomly and without thought, so much so that when it is used with power and integrity it is often dismissed and ignored. LOVE is all! LOVE, once properly acknowledged and understood, is the greatest force for change in the universe. It is never restricting or uses its power over others, it always opens the doors to a wider universe. LOVE is not some insipid sentimentalised nonsense, it is also not the sole attribute of the religious, in whom its power and sincerity is so often sadly lacking. In fact it is the ultimate power of transformation. Many truly spiritual teachings, which have now become sleep inducing religions and far distant from their sparkling beginnings, actually began in, and with, the incandescent transformative power of LOVE at the core of their teaching. LOVE does not just transform others, their circumstances and thoughts, but most importantly it is the true powerhouse for the transformation of yourself. Use the spirit of ALOHA for yourself as well as for those with whom you come into contact. Not only is ALOHA the genuine welcoming acceptance of another, the acceptance, face on and open LOVE of your fellow humans without deception or deceit but it is the true power of acceptance and open LOVE of yourself. For there is absolute truth in the saying that to truly LOVE another you must LOVE yourself first. Remember that within yourself are the secrets of the universe, and that by loving oneself the universe itself is consciously acknowledged, appreciated and imbued. LOVE is the power of connection, transformation, excitation and the meaning of life itself. LOVE is manifestation and creativity. It is the battle cry of the warrior heart. It is the power of your very own soul. So, ALOHA to you all.
David Kala Ka La - MasterWorks International 2006
THE BEAUTY OF SMALL THINGS

Lets face it, by far the vast majority of our time is spent in mundane, boring, life demoralising tasks, which usually if reflected upon, only lead to that dreaded feeling of dissociation from the great stream of sparkling consciousness that enlivens the universe. It is as if we sat in some distant and long forgotten cave, far away from the breathing centre of creation. It is dull but not dead, alive but demoralised, and can lead you to believe that you are ignored perhaps even to super inflate the ego to seek the attention you feel you are not receiving. Isnt it funny how we all carry images of how our well-evolved spirits will be greeted by the universe. Somehow that last shred of self aggrandisement and importance occupies itself with the thought that we cannot possibly be overlooked by whatever it is that places the signposts on the path for us; the reward must come soon and then everything will be magical, just like the lives of those who write the many books we read to fill up our ordinary lives. How is it that we are ignored? It must be because we are not living the life we should, that we are not good enough, that we are not important enough, we must do more work. But then we become panicked with the thought that we havent enough spare time to do the work, to concentrate, to adapt, to learn, to integrate. If only we didnt have to work in mundane jobs; why werent we born into a culture that supported our endeavours; why havent we enough money to support ourselves; why arent magical and fantastic beings hovering over our heads with instructions to guide and support our journey? But, as Im sure you know, this is not how the path really is. It is an inch by inch walk into the magnificent manifestation of the truth of your creation, surprisingly facilitated by these small, seemingly insignificant irritations of life, but only if you use them correctly. Do you really expect that the whole of the rest of your life will be spent healing magnificently, inspiring with well chosen words, altering consciousness, manifesting your absolute certain magnificence, and that everyday will be like that when you finally enter the supreme state? Let us get back to the nitty gritty of our everyday lives and the pursuit of the evolution of us as human beings, let us control our fantasies just a little bit. So how to begin? Well, of course, each of our lives, no matter how very important our position or our status, is filled to the brim with ordinary, everyday acts. What are you actually doing with your consciousness during these ordinary acts? Are you aware whilst you brush your amazing teeth in the morning, or is it an absent-minded act, born out of necessity not respect. Are you aware of your body at all as you rise from a chair, walk to work, sit at your workstation? Is there somewhere, small but still alight, which is conscious of the wind, and the clouds, of the earth, the massive fire radiance of the sun, the plants, all those secret and never to be discovered asteroids and comets flying just around our galaxy? Can you be conscious of these whilst sitting at your desk? Can you keep in mind the massive and the small at the same time? Whilst you stand at the photocopier are you absentmindedly looking into space or becoming aware of your posture, of how you are holding your neck and head, how firmly your feet are planted onto the earth? Are you aware of the different trance states you move in and out of all the time? Is there some conscious decision making about how you express your self when it comes to arguments and points you might want to make to your work colleagues? How true are you to
that unique and sparkling song that is your very own? Can you sing it simply sitting there, without a word? How many times during a day do you lose awareness of any or all of this? Am I being obsessive? Do you think for one minute that your ultimate integration only depends on the 20 minutes each day you spend meditating? In the world we live in today it is a very difficult task to live as we should do, and we have to take the teachings that would naturally have been taught to us pathwalkers in forests and mountains into the city, into our daily ritual at the office, the workplace, the bank, and the shops from which we buy our food. It is very, very hard to do this. And if anyone tells you different then they are not true pathwalkers. It is really hard work. But it is with these seemingly small and insignificant aspects of life that we can practice, practice and practice and set our knowledge into reality. All the time we have available to us the hard practical lessons of life to which our knowledge, if at all viable and relevant, must be applied. If it cannot be applied here, then it is irrelevant to your continued growth. Make no mistake about it, being a pathwalker involves a daily and perpetual struggle against sleep. You are in the midst of a battle between consciousness and unconsciousness, between those who would have humans stay as they are and those who wish humans to own and manifest our true magnificent potential. You are in the midst of that battle. You are a foot soldier, right in the thick of it. Maybe you always will be, but that is absolutely irrelevant. Your part is significant, even if no one else notices or acknowledges it. But if you want to stop yourself going to sleep and forgetting the battle, the possibilities that are available, the evolution, the growth, the consciousness, then you must try your best to practice with, and in, the everyday. It contains and encourages a secret strength, rather as a musicians daily practice refines and coordinates aspects of his/her physical being, which are undeveloped in other people, until they are second nature. This is the beauty of the small things in your life. They are the arenas within which you can test out your skills, your consciousness, and they will all too readily point out where more attention and practice is required. However, they can also become the strong roots that support the immortal tree. They are the raindrops that create the rainbow. They are the mirror that truly reflects the state of your consciousness. Use them for the benefit of your development, rather than feeling demoralised and defeated by their ordinariness. In this way your onward evolution can continue apace and you are in no way disadvantaged. Press on.
CENTRE
At the centre of each and every human is an incandescent centre of radiating joy. Its light cannot often be seen because the clouds of everyday life obscure this sun. Its source is infinitely distant, yet closer than your breath; yet for all of this often cold and deathly life we lead it is just behind it, so close and yet so very far. A cold life because this joy does not warm and percolate into the everyday, and deathlike because we forget the part of us that is ageless, timeless and limitless. So, is this joy the same as love? Actually this is my experience, this joy, you may call it love, or light, or perhaps it is limited by such names. It is as if something had instantly removed all constraints that are imposed by the everyday world and the light with which we are created had shone forth. As on a rainy day, after the dark and rain heavy clouds had suddenly cleared, it is the shaft of sunlight that reflects and re-reflects on the washed clean and clear surfaces of the world. It is like that. The light within the sparkles. And at that time it just sits there, this whole/hole in the fabric of my being; it sits there radiating out joy, joyfulness; life. Just like the sun at the centre of our solar system makes all things possible, but is not in any way concerned with anything other than the actual life of being, so is this joy. It is the essence of, and the radiation of, aliveness. Sometimes, when this opening appears it is quite possible to feel it being overcast from my limbs, inwards: as if something dark and damp repulsed it, something opposite and opposed. Yet it can re-appear and re-occupy the same places by awareness. By allowing that radiance to simply be, to occupy it, to become inside it, to slip into that whole hot light and stand there, there is still one, still me and yet so much more. It is the actualisation of our real inheritance. Without the stupefying and stupid life deadening rules and constraints we are born into there is just this: joy. This joy is different, it is so different from what you expect, that it is a shock to realise its difference. And it is a shock to think about how long you thought you knew what it was. Perhaps because it is immediately real and solid, not a nebulous thing, not ephemeral, not something that you can be unsure about, or misinterpret, not something to be searched for and wonder if it is found. It is the sun at the centre of our being. It is like the real touch of a real human on your real skin after years of loneliness of putting up with superficial relationships and sex, of all the superfluous connections, the meaningless of it and then those eyes, that touch, that love and inside that love is joy. There is this absolute and definite appearance that is so inspiringly new; and yet at the same time there is sadness that it should be so new. Carry on walking your path under each footstep is joy, joy and joy. So dont force it and dont worry, it is there and you are walking within it at every conscious step. If it appears it will not be your ever-conscious companion, although it is here, all the time: life will get in the way. That is fine, that is nothing to fret about. Whether you are conscious of it or not, whether you have gone years without experiencing it or not, it is still here. This sun at the centre of your being. It appears without beckoning. It cannot be enticed or seduced or pleaded with. It is like
an unexpected gift: one that wasnt asked for, but one that you never knew you couldnt do without. Like the gift of your breath, or the gift of your heartbeat, day after day their rhythm keeps you alive, yet this joy is what is behind them both. Behind all of it. Imagine you had thrown off all inhibitions, both self imposed and imposed from the outside. Imagine you could fly in a sea of sparkling energy. Imagine you had no borders. That there was no constraint on being who you actually are. Imagine that every direction was available to you. Imagine that. The only thing left is radiating joy. But joy is my name for it, what is yours?
YOUR SIGNIFICANCE
It may be that for many of you the task ahead seems almost insurmountable. To be a path walker, walking the way, is the hardest task one can undertake. Added to this there is usually the concomitant endeavour to improve the world. To leave this world a better place than it was before we decided to seek for true self knowledge and share our discoveries with the world; we want to make a difference. And, because we also have this idea of the size of the changes we hope to bring to bear on the world, the task can seem far too much for one human to bear. You see, we can give up for the simple reason that we have misunderstood what is required of us during our daily life. It may be that for a minority of the total population of the earth there is a daunting task ahead on their path but for the vast majority of us the task is not so grand, however it may well have just as much, if not more, impact. It is the small acts during the everyday that amount to something far more than the parts. The little kindness, the genuine concern and feeling, stopping work for a few minutes to share time with someone, helping someone across the road when the traffic is roaring by. There are numerous ways to show our humanity during our day to day existence. I am not advocating looking for opportunities to be good. No, definitely not. What I am describing is the events that happen during the normal life of any of us. If, and only if, the opportunity arises to help or assist, (to be human!) then do it with good grace. Sometimes this is not so easy, in front of us we see the huge task of saving the world and here someone is asking for our oh so precious time for an insignificant act, how could they not realise we have far more important things to occupy ourselves with. Dont forget in your headlong rush to save the world that you are a humble human being and, whether you like it or not, belong to this amazing creative impulse which can literally change the world. By helping another across the road we help the world across. By listening to another who needs to talk, to be recognised or acknowledged, we acknowledge the whole world. The small thank you card fills the world with thanks, and the acknowledgement of love for even one other person on this earth adds to the sum total of love in the world. Your acts are absolutely significant. A summer storm that clears the air is nothing more than a collection of individual raindrops. Each grain of sand contributes to the paradise beach. Each plant contributes to the oxygen of the world that we all need to breath. Each of the planets holds the earth in place. A forest consists of individual trees. The year contains the seasons, which in themselves consist of individual months, weeks, days, hours, minutes. Do you see? The pattern is produced by individual lines, dots, dashes and waves. And if we have enough perspective it is not difficult to see that your little contribution is as it should be. You are not asked to do it by yourself, you are simply asked to be part of the movement towards love and light which with just one more act, one more contribution, could tip the scales to its opposite, the world that all of you reading this article would prefer. So, you see, you do make a difference. Your simple beautiful acts do count. One of the truths of this life is that we rarely if ever understand or have knowledge of the full importance or ramifications of our actions in the world. Imagine that human life, is a massive complex machine where the end result is the progression of the human race, the future. Imagine that each human is a cog in that machine, you are an individual cog. Now do you see how important you are. The smallest, seemingly most insignificant acts can have profound ramifications and repercussions. Tinged with love, all acts glow. Add all this light together and a sun is formed. And of course the sun lights the world.
YOUR INVIOLATE SELF

Inside, there is a definite and real place where we do not have a need to forgive. No need to forget or heal, no need to rescue or be rescued. Inside every one of us. It is not damaged by insulting and derogatory comments. There is no injury sustained by betrayal and it is not fragmented by shock. It is a place where these petty human concerns havent the remotest resonance. Rather as if a grain of salt were to hit a mountain: the mountain would hardly register the impact, let alone be affected by it. It simply is. So what would be the point of suggesting searching for this treasure, of encouraging it, what is the point of identifying it at all? When you have fed this place with your attention there will arise a certain resilience to the slings and arrows that will assail you. This does not mean that you will never shed tears again, that you will not fret or become depressed: you will feel all that humans can feel. It isnt that you rise above being human - why would you want to do that - it is simply that you will become more human, more real and more whole. It is important not to confuse your search. It will be easy to find the ego version of this aspect of your being but it is nothing to do with this. It has nothing to do with self aggrandisement, with appearing a particular way. That is not what will be your primary concern your external appearance or how others are affected it will be a very simple certainty. At first it is as if you had caught a fleeting glimpse of a mystical creature and then it had disappeared without trace. Then, maybe a long while in the future, out of the blue another sighting will take place, but this time it will awaken that long forgotten memory and re-infuse it. Again and again you will remember until there comes a time when the real substance of you overpowers that part which already knows that it will itself begin to shrink in importance if you pay attention to this magical creature. It is afraid of losing its influence. I must emphasis that your human qualities will be just as human. Put simply it is their residence in your being that will become temporary. More and more and this will take many years to manifest properly your upsets, depression, your bitterness and jealousy, your pain and resentment will begin to clear naturally, just as the sky moves freely between the rain storm and the blue sky. Gradually there comes into being an aspect of yourself which cannot be injured and indeed is totally unconcerned with such ordinary issues. Simply put, it will be the radiance of your true nature in all its completeness and that radiance is not in the least interested in daily affairs which, in truth, are only concerns whilst we live physically on the earth. Think for a minute how much of your daily activity is truly part of your beingness and is not just activity which we have to do to be part of the society we have created. Much of what we regard as important is so only with respect to our society, not the great and awesome reality that is the real: that from which we arose and to which we will return, whether whole or fragmented. This can only be experienced and it would be particularly impossible to manifest permanently without years of attention. However the experience is important to your development, to your
pathwalking, for it gives a glimpse of a human being without pettiness and small concerns, without the fear of abandonment or derogatory action or comment. There is an inner resilience to the sometimes awful and thoughtless actions of others during your life. As I have already stated you will still feel hurt and upset during your life, just as you would expect, but you will be utterly and confidently aware of your inviolate, immutable self. And why would a man or woman really search for this magical human within? Simply put, it is proof of the magnificent being that each one of us really is. Not in competition with others, simply as a single and unique manifestation of creation. You, no matter how well it is hidden, have this aspect of yourself within. So, next time you are hurt, offended, belittled, angry, spited, diminished in the view of yourself or others, look for the eyes of that aspect of yourself that shines as it always has done, that smiles peacefully, that cannot be hurt in any way and is passionately radiating beingness. Suddenly there will be a choice. Ignore what I have said or not, but you cannot pretend that you havent been alerted to, and informed of, its existence.
DREAMS AND ILLUSIONS

At some point during the early years of your walk you will have tried to obtain information from many sources. It is highly likely that you read many many books on the various aspects of pathwalking, though all were connected in that they seemed to have some information that you thought may be of benefit to help you to struggle out of the shell of your sleep. Not many of us have had the opportunity to talk with someone who is a true pathwalker, and practically all of us began to get some idea of how someone who was on the spiritual path would behave and think - how they would appear to us - from these books. It is an interesting exercise to imagine yourself as an evolved and integrated human being, further along the path than you are now and embodying to a larger extent your true nature. I know you have wondered about this, it is absolutely usual and human to do so. Bring that image to the fore now and look at it with honest eyes. How are you acting, what are you doing in your life, where are you living; what are you thinking? Now look at that image again and imagine that the appearance of your external self is none other than the external image that you have now. Maybe your job, your relationships, your actions, is little changed and the only difference is internal, invisible to those that do not have eyes to see. What I am trying to point out is that we each have erroneous ideas about how the 'spiritual' appear. It is so important to rid oneself of these false images because it is quite possible that you are chasing after an impression of yourself that will never exist and actually has nothing to do with you as an evolved and integrated human being. We have to rid ourselves of the idea of holiness, religiousness and saintliness: allow them to exist for others, but you must find your own way to manifest your birthing integrity and to integrate it into the real world that we all live in. Are you trying to be another Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Lao Tsu, perhaps a powerful wizard, or witch? Or else someone that others can't help but be impressed by. Or have you another image in mind? Whoever it is, you can of course allow their teachings and life to inspire you, if that is what you wish. It would be arrogant not to acknowledge their impact on the world we live in today. And they all had something to say about the human condition. But I think you should simply try to be yourself: maybe you will be ignored by the rest of the world, maybe no one will ever acknowledge how much hard work and endurance it has taken for you to integrate yourself. Imagine that it will never be known, other than by the immortals. How would this evolved you appear now? Of course, it could be very different from this. I am simply saying that any precondition you have about your evolved self may well be stifling your very real development. After all, we are not the only humans evolving. Out there, a few independent people are trying their very best to integrate themselves and to manifest their humanness. From my point of view, they haven't the luck to have encountered Huna Mua, and to have a very real explanation for the various stages of their development. However, it doesn't stop the fact that they are evolving human beings on the spiritual path. You could encounter them anytime in your daily life: walking, sitting on the
bus or train, when shopping, in the office or your place of work. But they wouldn't appear to be any different from every other human being out there. Perhaps subtle differences would be evident for you who are developing the eyes to see, but for others they may be invisible, or even attract derision and negative comments. That could be you: invisible, never seen for the human being that you are, or as one of those trying to manifest their potential. So where is the difference? Nowhere but inside us. Inside us is where our reaction to the outside world originates and is formed. Inside us our thoughts and feelings are born. Inside us is the perception of our consciousness, that most precious attribute: the equipment without which we could not even begin our walk. And more important than all this is that small quiet room in which you have ignited the flame. Whatever its size, whatever its luminosity, whatever its heat, it is in existence. What your birthing integrity must first do is to protect and nurture the flame's existence, its life. Feeding it as often as you are capable will enable it to grow, to take up permanent residence in your consciousness and your life. I want you to imagine that the light from the very flame that you are feeding and protecting at the moment will at sometime begin to shine through your eyes, permeate your actions, and illuminate your words. Its heat will begin to incinerate those aspects of your self that are not true. Once this process begins then the flame will never go out, although life will occasionally drive it back into that small protected room until it is encouraged once again to engulf your being. Do not be afraid if this happens: it will retreat until your life, once again, becomes fertile for its growth. What I am talking about is the real spiritual path. Now, how that manifests in your life will be a mystery that you cannot foresee. Most likely it will be invisible to all but those who themselves are awakening. I cannot possibly predict its effects on your life. However, I can promise you that you will know you are changed, that you are no longer asleep and have awoken to an aspect of human consciousness that is available to all who wish to evolve. Rid yourself of your preconceived ideas about you as an evolved human being and allow the real human being to manifest. It is the surprise of this new and unsuspected self that will be one of the most enjoyable aspects of your journey. It will be unique and will never have been seen before. Surely, that is the point?
MORE DREAMS AND ILLUSIONS

In a previous article you will have read my comments about the dreams and illusions that can pollute the image you have about your own evolved self. There is one other arena in which all pathwalkers can be subject to such illusions that of beliefs and concerns about the natural world and our place in it. It seems to me that it is incredibly important for us to fully appreciate, to comprehend and realise the kind of physical universe we live in and to eradicate any dreams and illusions we may have about it. The earth is a finite and enclosed system as far as anything living here is concerned. It is also a predatory one. Even though you are evolving as a human being you are not immune to the vicissitudes of daily life. You cannot rely on your shining spirit to protect you from the imminent car crash, from the loss of employment, from violence at the hands of another. All these can be mitigated against by your blossoming integrity, however you are still subject to their attentions, just as any other human being would be. What I am drawing your attention to is the importance of eradicating from yourself the feeling that just because you are evolving you will naturally be supported and protected by the life on this earth or that you can rely on - or warrant - protection from the evolved beings who surround us. You will not. Death breaths down your neck just as much as it does the next man or woman. Even at your origin there was death. Remember that your very body was born at the same time as thousands of sperm cells were dying. The tree produces thousands of seeds yet only one or two will grow to maturity. At this very moment bacteria and viruses are being ruthlessly killed as your body protects itself on your behalf. Innocents die everyday for lack of food or shelter with absolutely no justification. All around us there is the magnificence and awfulness of life. When viewed from our very human perspective the world can be an extremely cruel and heartless place. One only has to watch any nature film to see the young fawn eaten by the lion, watch the hyenas drag down and eat alive another animal. Severe weather can kill many forms of life without a second thought. I am only bringing this to your attention because it is so easy from some of the writings of enlightened individuals to suppose that the earth is a magnificent and benevolent planet on which to live. Certainly, each is offered equally the conditions of life on earth. The sun and wind and rain make no distinction between the saint or sinner. But to the discerning human mind it is not a great leap in understanding to see, from our perspective, how unfair this can prove. This unfairness will also apply to you, whether you are evolving or not. Do not rely on others to protect you from the inevitable difficulties that life brings. You must take it upon yourself to protect and nurture the flame within: the very flame that embodies everything that you have come to know as the light and love of your creation. The body that holds that fire is yours to support in a way you see fit; but support it you must. Protect it you must. Acknowledge it you must. And you must also acknowledge its vulnerability and fragility. I do not wish to unduly alarm you with these thoughts, simply to alert you to the fact that if you are asleep to the real nature of life on earth, you could find yourself in difficulties because of an illusory idea about the good being protected and supported and only the bad being injured and
defeated. This is clearly not the case. Look around you with clear eyes, not with eyes coloured by anothers thoughts no matter how authoritative their words seem. Look at physical reality as it really is, not how you wish it to be. There were millions of beautiful sunrises and sunsets before eyes of any kind could see them. Thousands of plants and animals have lived and died that humans have never seen. Mass and terrible extinctions have already taken place on this amazing earth and there is no reason to think that this could not be the case again. Let me leave you with this thought: that when you truly realise the nature of physical reality, of life on this earth and in this universe, the fact that humans evolved at all is absolutely and mysteriously magnificent; that the awfulness and staggering beauty of this planet is beyond all art and words. Mysteriously, whether you are a spiritually aware being or not, it brings us closer to the awe that should really be at the heart of all humans when confronted by this perplexing, staggering, beautiful, terrible, glittering jewel that we call earth. The fact that we are here at all is enough reason for you to investigate and fulfil your unique human potential. You are so lucky to have the chance to live and experience this magnificence. And all this could so easily be taken away from you by something that has no idea you are on the path or something that does. Take care of yourself; keep alert. You have no idea how rare and precious the flame you are cultivating within really is.
THE ROOTS OF BELIEF

There is a fundamental aspect of your nature which must be constantly addressed if your evolution is not to be unnecessarily corrupted: the clarification of the origins of your beliefs and opinions. That sentence has major implications and consequences: what I am trying to shed light on is that you need to have a very clear perception of the reasons for your opinions and beliefs as they determine your behaviour during your life on earth. Fundamentally you need to constantly search out the real motivation behind your actions. In essence I am asking you this question: do your actions arise from your true, integrated self, or is there, even in the smallest part, the idea of consequences, retribution and/or praise from the creator, from those you may call the Gods or God, for your actions? On an obvious level you should be able to identify any contamination in the substance of those beliefs or opinions but it is not such an easy task to look deeply into the roots of your behaviour as they are naturally buried deep in the beginnings of thought. As the root system of a tree is hidden to view, so are many of the impulses manifesting as beliefs and opinions that drive your behaviour. How early did it all begin? No matter how you were bought up by your parents or guardians no matter how freely - there were of course influences from your society, culture and the media that surround us. So what I am asking is how certain are you of your motives for acting in the way that you do? How sure are you that your generosity, kindness, loving; your compassion, your charity, are not motivated by the ideas of reward, of correct behaviour for the spiritual aspirant, of karma; because your God or the laws of nature reward and/or punish you for behaving in such a way? Likewise, is the reason you dont show anger, resentment, lust, jealousy, bitterness or hate, because you fear the continuing gaze of the all that is? How much do you pretend not to have or have these qualities because the eye is on you, an eye that sees everything, every thought, every action? Do you even pretend not to have or have these qualities to the outside world, even to your fellow men and women. Or, do you acknowledge them? Do you see them arise and watch them? Do you shine the light of the best aspects of yourself onto the reality of your mind, not how you believe it to be? Do you endeavour to clarify your opinions and beliefs with your clear light? Or is it your ego that cant take the fact that you need to change, that you are not as pure, clear and bright as you would like to think you are? A strong ego is good, not bad, but only if it is based on the template of your soul. When you express an opinion or belief it must come from the deep pool of your being, not from the shallows. It is so easy to express an opinion and yet not so easy to create one; likewise a belief can take a minute to hear, but many years before you are able to express in words what you have learned from your own self. It is this underground work - just as a seeds activity is invisible - that makes the flower so beautiful. But the work must be real, not the stolen phrases
and sayings, the pilfered admonishments and criticisms of others, no matter from where they are supposed to have been originally uttered. They must arise from the depths of your very own being. Your direct input and experience is paramount in becoming whole and integrated. For, in the depths of your own being is the gateway to universal experience - but it has to be opened by oneself alone, only by your own hand can the door handle be turned. Then you will have access to simple yet profound universal truths, and in that light is the consciousness that was meant to infuse your being; your mental being included. This is why, when true beliefs are expressed - ones that arise from the depths of the universe - it is hard to resist the consciousness they are infused with. They have real consciousness, they have mana. But, even if this is the case, you must still search for the place inside which resonated with those truths. Spiritual growth is always a case of re-inventing the wheel. No where else in life is it so true, no where else does it apply so clearly - every one of us has to advance through our own efforts, listening and even following anothers teaching can only help us if we integrate them into our own being, and only then if those truths are real. In this way you will never blame another for the consequences of what you have spoken. Justify each one of your beliefs and opinions with thorough and convincing arguments from the reality of your own experience and your life, never with what has been told to you. Even if blasted with a firestorm until you flesh drops from your bones you will stand resolute in the knowledge that you were true to your own self, to that self which the creator gave to you as a gift. Accept no other truth than that which you find at the foundations of your own beingness. You must ruthlessly uproot the weeds and enticing but illusory plants and flowers that have taken up home in the garden of your mind: they threaten to stifle and obscure from view the real and magnificent oak that is at this very moment struggling to establish itself in your mental world; resonating with the great tree of life from which everything arises. Only in this way will you develop enough internal power, enough strength of character and inner conviction to enable you to survive the arduous life of the true path walker, the true flamekeeper.
A POSSIBLE TRUTH?
Let me propose a scenario.. There is a parent. Through will and desire children are born. The children grow and leave home, they can cope by themselves without any assistance, thank you very much. They move away and communicate infrequently. The parent gets on with his/her life as well. Soon enough there is less and less communication and the parties separate. The parent sits at home, the children build a world for themselves and exist quite happily, becoming more and more entangled with their lives, their loves, their careers, their fun and enjoyment. In fact, even if the parent visits then he/she will find that they have very little influence: what could you possibly know about my circumstances, what help are you to me, so are you going to bail me out? And, in fact, the parent can look at the children and find it very difficult to find anything in common with the life they have made for themselves their concerns are different, their desires; in fact it is as if they lived in their own separate worlds. Even if the parent tries to give advice the children just will not listen. The parent and children communicate less and less until they both get on with their lives totally separately. They do not relate. In fact the parent recognises very little of the world his/her children have created. Why would they even want to live in such and such a way - leading to the well known response I dont understand you, I dont even understand your life anymore, when the obvious possibilities hadnt manifested as they were expected to possibilities that the parent had provided for in the first place. What do you think of this scenario? In one view of this universe you could replace parent with creator, and the dimensions are the worlds created for us by the creator. Until a certain point there was direct communication between the creator(s) and this physical world. However, out of the physical world sprang the mental world, provision for which was made, but in which we were never supposed to live. The creator has no influence in the mental world because the vast majority of its thought forms are man made, they are absolutely nothing to do with any original set-up. These thought forms then have a life of their own and can only be related to, altered or changed by the physical beings who made them. It is, if you like, a whole new branch of the tree that has been grafted on to the original. Just as grafts in the plant world can actually be mistakes the graft outgrowing the rest of the original plant so too could you view the mental world as just such a creation: it has become this monstrous, out of control animal with a voracious appetite and an even more seductive appearance. The physical and mental worlds are fundamentally so well structured now that even if the creator wanted to change anything without destroying it absolutely it couldnt we are metaphorically too far away. It has become too solid and impervious to interference. We are so far away now that only those who choose of their own will to try to communicate again are going to facilitate any change. Thus, only by a child, or children, re-establishing communication with the realm of spirit (or, of course soul) are they able to re-introduce thought forms into the mental world that are actually in harmony with impulses from the creative forces of the universe, or to change those that exist to a more congruent form. Rather as we try, in our own personal journey, to facilitate the integration of our three bodies to a congruent and integrated whole, so too will the mental dimension need to be bought in to line with the soul and physical dimension if that fundamental creative will is to be reintegrated with our reality. From
this it is possible to see that the creator might not be able to effect change in this physical world at all any more, and that the only way for change to take place is through humans who decide to re-establish links to the gods and to the creator via their soul body or their immortal spirit body. In other words it is up to us! By humans in this physical dimension creating thought forms in the mental world congruent with the consciousness of the gods, and then again those thought forms beginning to exert pressure or force on other thought forms will the physical world change, or rather the manner of our society and civilisations change to be more in line with the soul impulse, which of itself has a connection to the creator via the transpersonal gateway. Maybe we have now moved too far away from the original creative impulse; maybe the world truly is our own; maybe this really is a free-will universe, literally. Then no matter what your view point it is up to us anyway. Why are we talking about this? Just to keep you aware of the way that things may be. That this may be one of the reasons why there seems to be so little intervention in the world from the creator, or even the gods. That may be why sometimes we feel so alone and that the path seems so difficult we are not just struggling to deal with our own personal integration, but the whole weight of thought forms that continually pressure us to conform, to tell us that we are wrong. Perhaps it also explains why the world seems so absolutely unrelated to what we feel it should be. As pathwalkers perhaps we are seeking to re-establish communication; to re-create strong and durable thought forms (by our own personal integration) and for this to influence the mental world and hence the world at large. Not in the sense of evangelism, to narrow the human experience, but real alignment of the self with creative intention. Rather than an exclusive and small-minded view, an inclusive and expansive view of human potential. Perhaps it is absolutely up to us. The only way that gods can have a real effect in this world is through us. Hence the reason for ritual, for communing with nature, for the perfection of the integration between mind, body and soul. In this way you are not a cowering servant, the gods would not use you like that remember they were and are human you are acting as a mouthpiece for their very simple message, most of which you already know anyway! However, real immortal beings who have decided to stay around the earth (though I believe there arent that many) are trying their best to help those interested with their evolution to align themselves with a direction that has little to do with the current forces holding and moving our society. Do you realise how different that could be? Maybe thats why real spiritual truths are so very different from what we expect. Maybe that is why we are occasionally really disappointed with the truths that we cant ignore, when we have that innate feeling that we cannot be any clearer because there are no clouds obliterating our vision of that particular area of the sky and yet we are not very happy with what we see. However, whether we like it or not, maybe this is the truth and if this is the case it makes it even more imperative for you to proceed onward for everyones sake.
ONLY ASK IF YOU ARE PREPARED FOR THE ANSWER

Grey overhead, clouds, already early afternoon the weather was unlikely to change from this dull, cold, day. He walked quickly along the street with his coat pulled around him and his hands plunged deep into the pockets. The bus had dropped him off a few streets away, he knew the house was somewhere near here. Then he stopped, 201, that was the number he had been given. The man with the wisdom lived here, the knowledge of such being confined to those men and women interested in acquiring information on subjects less material, about the more intangible and thoughtful ways of the earth. This is why he had come. He knocked on the door. After a short time a middle-aged lady answer. She asked him his name and then beckoned him inside. The man noticed that she looked rather plain, disinterested in preening herself to suit the tastes of others. He approved of this. A cold day, he said, trying to the friendly, Yes it's certainly is. Now wait here a minute. Her response was a little impersonal, like that of someone who had known many like himself. She answered in the way that people who are accustomed to helping others always seemed to do; polite, knowledgeable, but perhaps tired of a life lived such as this, preserving, inside, a little love for themselves. The hall was like that of many a small house, leading off were the living room and the front room and the stairs lead upwards to what he presumed was a bath and bedrooms. She knocked on the back room door, looked inside, then asked him to follow her. The room was in darkness. Thick curtains had been pullled across the windows and, but for the light shining from a single candle placed near the door, the air would have been pitch black. It was cold in here to. He could just about make out a seat where he presumed he was to sit. By the side of the seat was a large black net curtain, hung from the ceiling to the floor and almost the entire length of the room. The woman lifted up the net at the side and walked through. Sit down please, she said. He did. Through the net he could see the outline of what, he presumed, was the Adviser, who he had been told was a man, but he could make out nothing of his features and could only conclude from the shadowy figure that he was sitting down and perhaps a little small. No one had ever seen the Adviser, indeed his life only seemed to be of significance to the people who consulted him. In here though he was powerfully present. The man sat still and kept quiet. The lady spoke again, Please tell us your problem. He had thoroughly prepared his question, ensuring that there was no confusion concerning the answer he required.
'My problem, he said is a great problem for me and I am troubled continuously by. It. It may seem like nonsense to you and others but to me it has called real distress. I feel an unrelenting pressure to find the secret way of life and living in that will give me that knowledge and wisdom to follow the correct path from me. I am aware of life in and around the, but I do not know how to tap into this energy that I might keep up an exchange or rapport between myself and the life force in order to direct the course of my life. I am worried that although I realize I gain wisdom as time passes by, I am still no closer to understanding why my life runs as it does. What should I do? In what ways should I think and act in order to arrive at the correct way of life for me? That is my problem. The question had been asked and he prepared himself to listen to, and remember, any advice he was given. The room fell silent. All of a sudden the air seemed still like a great sea whose wind rippled surface had suddenly flattened into a dead calm, into a massive double sided mirror. Glass smooth, it reflected all that was above and below. The air had no outer edge or circumference, it was open. He could almost here the candlelight igniting the darkness. Then there was a crack, as if somebody had smashed the silence and broken through the thoughts which lingered in the air. It was the crack of the Advisers voice, calm and deep. Your problem is not a small problem, it is one which many, but certainly not all, share. It is difficult enough to live life but to want dialogue with something which seems invisible and to some not even to exist, is a desire which only a few can fulfil, if even they do. Life is hard, but we make it harder still by asking questions when the path that we must follow his self evident. It is easier to take the right path rather than the wrong one. It is easier to do that which is right for us at that time than to do it at another more inappropriate time. Generally your response will be determined by the make up of your personality, your past experiences and the stage of advancement of your soul. These all colour your decision. It is the victor of the battle between what you think you should do and the guilt attached to you if you do not act in the certain way, that ultimately decides your fate. I was myself confronted by this very problem when I was young. There was much that I wanted to do and experience but, because of events out of my hands, I was unable to follow other paths which may have led me to other lives. I am old man all and in the end, I have to say that it seems from this vantage point I was always destined for this end. Much of the life we live is thought of as chance incident and own decisions. I think, after my life and the experiences I have had, that we are little more than leaves floating on the stream of life. If we can, occasionally, stop our flow along the surface, but the under current is something which runs without our interference and is not open to manipulation, desire or entreaty. It is rather like that love we have all shared, the love of a single person in our lives who was not interested in us and which stays with us forever. Someone for whom we would have given our very heart away, to feel their hands on our skin, their lips on our lips and hear them whisper in the middle of the night 'I love you'. Yet it does not happen. We try to bargain with whatever powers the universe has but to no avail. In the end we have to surface from the dream and realise reality to be different from our desires.
Sometimes we think a move in a certain direction to be a major achievement, that we have struggled and passed tests which give us a sense of having conquered fate itself. But, if we look closely at the situation, it will be found to have been the only path open to us at that time. Another person may well have made another decision but to you, at that time, there was only one way of acting and still remaining true to yourself. That person, at that time, had only that option open to them from life; from that which is to be lived. You come to me and ask how to strike a bargain with the life energy; I say to you it cannot be done. We can only learn to sense its direction and not interfere with a destiny which, I'm sure, was meant for us. The only benefit we obtained from the lessons of life is wisdom, gain wisdom from whatever befalls you, accumulating riches which no amount of study or emotion could otherwise give. In this way although you cannot control life, an ability is developed which will help you to cope with life wisely, and thence to advance further. In the end we arrive at the destiny decided for us at our birth. Tread water and swim against the current if you must, but we all end up where we were meant to be originally. The room collapsed into silence. The man could hear the Adviser straining to catch his breath. It was time to leave. I have to think deeply about what you have told me. I know you to be wise but I need to test your advice against reality. Thank you for your help. The Adviser answered: That is the way my friend. Goodbye. Take care of your life. The woman walked through the curtain, led the man out of the room and showed him to the door. Thank you, he said, Goodbye she answered as she closed the door. He greeted the daylight with squinting eyes, walked out of the garden into the streets and made his way to the bus stop. ************* Let us fly back to the house, float through the closed door and hover in the back room. The curtains at the window are drawn back now, the net taken down. This is our first sight of the Adviser. It is the shell of a man. His eyes glint and glimmer with his wise shining soul, but his flesh is tortured and gnarled, he is stunted and deformed. He whispers to his wife that he needs to sleep. She lifts the light frame of his body easily, having become accustomed to carry him over many years. It is no task for her anyway; she loves him. At this moment she walks upstairs with her husband in our arms, pushes open the bedroom door with her foot, and puts him gently onto the bed. Soon he is covered by the sheets and his head rests on the pillow. She pulls the door to as she leaves.
In here, inside the covers, he has dreams of the way he would have liked life to an ended for him. As he drifts of to sleep, which always takes him awhile, he uses the time to think about the people who visit him, about their lives and loves. He wonders about the advice he gives to them and which they seen to take deeply into their hearts. Life has being very hard for this man and his advice, he knows only too well, must be coloured by the manner of his own life. That is the way of all knowledge. In his opinion, we can only judge and advise others with a wisdom obtained from the personal perceptions of our own lives and loves. Wisdom, to him, never ever comes from a place not allied to this life. How could this man's life have been any different? Magic has died inside, magic from without therefore cannot affect him. His breath is beginning to deepen and slow, soon he will have the dreams that he wishes were real life. Are they life? Nowadays he thinks that perhaps his dreams are reality and it is easier for him to think of life as unreal. He has the ability to control the images in his dreams. Inside his head, as direct body sleeps, he can walk and run, he can play and stretches body tall. His skin is soft, his face kind. His fingers can perform any intimate wish that he desires. In his dreams he is taller than his wife and as she approaches him, their skin touches in all the places that it should, he cradles her in his arms and holds her tightly. He can touch her gently, touch her face and neck, her breasts, arms, legs, her stomach and her back. He kisses her, as he moves up and down her body, giving her delights, because it gives him pleasure to see her in pleasure, this is how he wishes life could be. Sometimes, when they are in bed together and waiting for sleep to fall upon them, he tells her of these things he wishes he could do. Then he begins to cry because he cannot. Tears well up in her eyes because he wishes that he could. Even with his knowledge and wisdom he cannot change his life. He can only influence anothers and help it to an easier conclusion. He sleeps soundly in the bed upstairs. She puts on her coat, picks out a shopping bag and closes the door behind her. The man has by now caught the bus. He is sitting on the top decked looking out of the window at his side onto the world below. He is at once depressed and secure. If he floats on the water then perhaps he will come to no harm, unless, that is, it is his fate to be hit by a stone and sink to the depths of the under current and then he realises that the under current will support him and push him on his way to the wide open sea.
THE WARRIOR WAY

There is no lack of information about warrior styles of living. There is advice available from how to act, what to think, down to what to eat and drink! So where, if at all, does the attitude of a warrior fit in with following the path of light, with that of a flamekeeper? Much of the spiritual path of growth and development does require you to be strong in the face of adversity, to endure difficulties after others would have given up, and to be quietly controlled when circumstances become confused. These are, of course, what we would expect of any mature human being. Having endured the difficulties and vagaries of an ordinary life it is obviously necessary, if you are to maintain a certain state of harmony with life, to have developed these qualities. So, in a spiritual context, what does the warrior attitude require of you. All of the above qualities are absolutely necessary. This does not mean that without them, or for them not to be evident during such and such an incident, you have failed or you are not expressing warrior qualities. The general trend of your life though must move towards being brave and strong when life becomes difficult, to endure through disappointments and tribulations and to a certain containment and self possession when uncertainty is in the air. To these I would add self responsibility for ones actions. Do not blame others for the results of your own actions. Even if you find yourself doing so please try to gradually draw away from this habit, for it is only with self responsibility that you can ever hope to direct your life in a positive direction towards light. For me the true expression of the warrior tradition as far as it applies to spiritual seekers is to go forward. This is exemplified by someone who is confronted by a situation, pulls back and assesses the positive and negative possibilities of that situation, and in spite of the fact that the outcome is far from certain will proceed forward. This in no way implies that in all circumstances you should proceed, you will have to assess what the possible outcome could be and whether it serves you and your growth, and of course there is always the impact on others and their life to consider. In a way I find it difficult to describe what the feeling is when you know you should advance. Perhaps it should be this: try to be aware when you are pulling away from a situation because you are mentally scared or in fear, when you are worried for reasons that have little to do with your growth and all to do with your ego. Nowhere is this attitude more evident than in the field of love: in my opinion this is where you can exemplify the path of a true warrior. For instance, suppose you had been deeply hurt during the break up of a relationship. It had taken you a long while to process all the issues surrounding the relationship and you had once again established a certain equanimity in your daily life. Then another person appears, someone who attracts you, who offers, once again, that fall into love with another. However you look at the possible outcomes and realise that this relationship could just as easily fall apart, even with your increased wisdom (hopefully) gained from the last disaster! What should you do? In such an instance it is so easy to turn away, to settle for something that is at least relatively stable, it is known and comfortable. If you decide not to proceed then that is your decision and is fine. No one is asking you to do otherwise. Taken in the full light of clarity and self responsibility there can be no criticism of you or your actions, a conscious awareness of why you have made that decision is all that is required. A decision made in such a way is itself an expression of warriorship. The alternative is that you proceed. You do not
know the outcome, but with your integrity intact and your honourable intentions clear it is a wonderful decision to proceed. It is brave and graceful. It is human and filled with light. Once again you give the love of one human for another the chance to transform you and your life, and of course the other person and their life. Even if the outcome is not the desired one, as long as you have clarity and do not find yourself doing anything that goes against your spirituality and your true nature, you cannot lose. In retrospect there is always some positive contribution to your nature that comes from expressing true love even if it is the confirmation that you can survive the terrible loneliness and disappointment if the relationship breaks down! You will endure and live to fight another day. Do you see how in this instance you would be acting like a warrior. In truth if you can maintain and support the flame of light and love in your daily life, in the oh so very difficult life of us all these days, you are acting like a warrior. Do not be too concerned about the implied covert subtext to the word warrior. Do not be overly pre-occupied with other peoples ideas about how to behave like a warrior. And certainly do not be troubled by the dictionary definition of the word. We are using the word in a modern context and yet bringing back to the world the true meaning of a warrior life where the battle is more to do with your inner self than it is to do with the external world. Change yourself and the whole world changes. It is a more subtle and difficult battle. You are only fighting your own limitations, your own beliefs about yourself, you are fighting ignorance and prejudice within yourself, and in many cases you are fighting the true light within, your true nature; wishing to remain in the comfortable illusory world of half truths and soothing platitudes. Have you no real desire to find out how things really are? Remember the truth is that you are only enhanced by a true perception of yourself. No matter how bad you think that is, at least you know the place from where you can commence your inner transformation. Now let this phrase sink deeply into your warrior consciousness, let battle commence: with the only possible result that you will begin to discover the truth, the light of knowledge, there seems little point in maintaining the comfortable illusory world that the majority of people live in. A warrior who bears the emblems of love and light on their shield can always stand proudly in the face of adversity.
AN ESSENTIAL PRACTICE
The manner in which some instructors talk about the way often bears little resemblance to the real growth and transformation that you and I experience. From their words you would think that after using the slash and burn techniques advocated to fight your way through the jungle of your mind, you come upon a scene of utter perfection and paradise. No weeds trouble the perfect grass, no predatory animals stalk you, nor are there any rain clouds to spoil the perfectly blue sky. Most of all, and more important than any of these, there are no traps or snares, or anything to trip or slip on as we walk into the sunset. Strange isnt it, that many of those who are well known to us all, admit no fault in their path which, of course, you havent followed religiously if, in any way, you fall short of this sunset glow. These five minute cures, for the overgrown and uncontrollable forest we call human nature somehow never seem to work, because every single one of us on the path never experiences this permanent peaceful scene for very long before realising that the shrubs and weeds and traps have once again appeared, unnoticed until now, and have grown to obscure your view of peace and truth. You see, to ensure our continued evolution, what we should really be looking for are fine, sharp, adaptable - and above all, access to - tools which will help us to control the ever present and continuous threat of this re-growth of the jungle that we fought so hard to control. The roots of these troublesome and sometimes disabling plants can never be eradicated for good because they are absolutely part of the potential of human nature, of your very humanness. They were potentials in each individual seed of human uniqueness; they had to be or there would be no completion available to us during our life. Until we fully realise this fact, we have no hope of permanent and sustained evolution. This realisation is actually one of the true foundations of real growth and transformation. Again I will come back to a metaphor that I often use: we must leave the light on and the door ajar to every room, every cupboard, every nook and cranny, of the mental mansion that we call self. This is absolutely essential if you are not to suddenly find yourself felled by weeds that have grown around your feet whilst you looked at the beautiful vista before you; pestered by nagging biting animals that are invisible to the sight; or else fall asleep in this warm paradise and awake only to find oneself lost and disorientated in a new jungle of unknown proportions. So what can we do about this very real problem for those on the path? I wonder if you perform any kind of short daily ritual? This is the whole purpose of personal ritual. It has nothing to do with the elaborateness of it, or the sequence or offering, it has nothing to do with beseeching the gods for favour or transformation (for, after all, this can never be achieved by anyone or anything other than your very own self), but everything to do with your commitment to yourself and your path. Again, it is nothing to do with those who hear or pay attention; it is the act of hearing oneself stating aloud and reaffirming whatever issues have confirmed their essential importance to you and your path. Usually they are nothing to do with magnificent acts but simple affirmations that any true path walker would make, common to any true spiritual tradition. Such a simple ritual should be held in the body, not the mind; it should bring forth the soul nature as the sun and warmth will nourish your overall consciousness and
prevent, even for a short time, your one sidedness. You are, after all, welcoming your passionate, sparkling, vibrant, sensual and joyful soul nature to invigorate your body, your mind and your life: for your affirmations or statements during such a ritual should originate in your soul and not your mind. The consciousness of all three, however, should be present. Such an act secures any progress you have already made on the ever clearer path that you are following and ensures that you are much less likely to fall asleep, to trip, to become unaware long enough for any real damage to substantially delay your journey. Do not think that I am advocating a kind of purifying ritual. This is not the time - every day to make penance for your terrible fall from grace, for how bad you are as a person. All this is nonsense, pure self indulgence. Dont let rituals from other religions taint the very simple, very real, very human few minutes that you will take to help you move one step at a time. All you are aiming to achieve is an aid to helping you to become a very clear human being. Without doubt you will, almost every day, feel that you are not acting/thinking/being how you should be. But, occasionally, there will appear a vista of such magnificent beauty, of such vibrant stillness, of unbelievable clarity that such times will remain as unforgettable experiences that feed your path with energy. To ensure you experience these times again in the future the performance of your simple ritual is the glue that helps to bind these experiences to your awareness: a familiar thread through both good times and bad. It provides a vitalising force for the many days when the last thing on your mind is your path - when getting out of bed may prove enough of an ordeal! Related to this lack of vitality is the very important daily task of reconsolidating your mental defence techniques. As much as it may be uncomfortable to confront such issues I can assure you, as can other pathwalkers, that it is quite apparent that there are definitely forces, beings, energies that are absolutely interested in maintaining the status quo with humans and their development: they will actively try to discourage any individual who begins to clear themselves of erroneous thought and beliefs, anyone who ignites the light of truth within themselves. Sometimes it is easy to defend oneself: you feel vital and fully alive. However, to incorporate simple and effective defence techniques, (perhaps symbols, magical animals, sacred objects, or more concrete and obvious items that are important or have significance to you), as part of your short daily ritual will prove very beneficial to your growth, especially when life is less than perfect, or your body tired and lacking vitality. Do not ignore this aspect of your spiritual life: it can be a major reason why people who have made good progress on the path seemingly go to sleep and do not wake up again for many years. Sometimes they sleep for the rest of their life. One other very real benefit is the fact that your ritual will always remind you that no matter how far you think you have travelled, and you may well have travelled a long way on your walk into magnificence, that a fall from grace is always possible. This simple ritual, whose form and words will change as you do, can help you to recognise how very human you and your fellows are, how flawed, and yet how that, in itself, is not a bad thing: it is very human. Dont forget this simple measure to aid your path. It doesnt take much time to perform and adds real concrete benefits to your life. Do it for a few months and then stop: its significance to your life and your path will become very apparent.
RELEASE
Iam sure that practically all of you have spent an inordinate amount of time reappraising your past in the belief that working through difficulties and conflicts that bought you pain and anguish - or otherwise left you with troubles that have plagued you since that time - will enable you to leave behind and cleanse those resulting aspects of yourself that have been hindering your evolution. For a few minutes let me address this issue. The very fact that you are reading this article means that you have moved well beyond the unconsciousness of many humans and your insights and personal work have bought you to a level of understanding that is both insightful and reasonably aware of the work that there is left to do. In other words, you have realised your humanness! You will have realised that you have certain traits that are irritating to others and maybe even yourself, that you react in certain ways to particular situations and you have decided to try to change that behaviour or to put up with it because you actually dont really mind that you behave as you do. That is all fine. However, I am sure that you each have certain incidents from the past that still haunt you. Maybe certain resentments about the way you have been treated by life, the seeming injustice of certain happenings, and how they were not deserved. Maybe there are only a few such legacies from the past, however no matter how much you have dealt with the original circumstances and reasons for your behaviour, there is still this nagging and pulling inside you. There is still the revolving thought about what happened, there are still discussions about how things turned out. Even if you have sorted out to your absolute satisfaction everything about the incident, you are still very aware that there is this faint shadow, still lingering. Tentacles from the past can attach themselves to us in such a way for the rest of our lives. How should we deal with this? There will come a time, an instant, when you suddenly realise that you have reached a point in your life where you can let it go. Simply let everything go that is dragging you back into the past. I cannot tell you when that point will be reached, however I can definitely tell you that if you continue to pay attention to your evolution that time will appear. It is good to ask yourself occasionally if it has done so. As an evolved human you cannot lie to yourself, even if you lie to others. There will come this thought in response: actually, I think I have the choice to let this go now. That is all. It is a seemingly insignificant phrase. I have the choice. So all those years spent mulling over and analysing the happening have come to this I can just simply let this go now? You havent ended up with justice, not by any means. You havent been paid back for what you did, or what was done to you. The other person/people will no longer be in your consciousness with anything other than a memory of an incident, they will not have any energy and vitality left to occupy your time in the present moment. They will never know you have forgotten what happened, neither will you be rewarded with good karma or any other such acknowledgment. They will have paid no price or debt (which they probably didnt feel anyway) and the gods will not in any way acknowledge the strength it took you to endure and what it actually means for you to let go. So what possible advantage can this course of action precipitate? I want you to think for a minute of such an incident that still plagues you, maybe a series of incidents that are strung
together (even if they were, in reality, unrelated); think of something that you are still holding onto out of a preoccupation with the results, with no reasonable explanation for what happened. Now imagine, just for a minute that you let it go. Let it all go. Just let it drop behind you as you walk away, like a heavy cloak that you have been carrying around with you for years. So long. So very long. So long that you have forgotten what it was like not to have to carry this burden. Let it drop on the floor and walk away What do you notice? It feels like a helium balloon must feel to be released into the air. My own experience is the absolute certainty that my energy level had immediately improved. I felt released and freed. And, because it was the right time, there was no lingering bitterness that contaminated the moment. This is not to be forced. It is simply done when the time is right. I return to my original question: what possible advantage can this course of action precipitate? Have you noticed that when you are tired or exhausted, when you are under stress, when there is simply too much to do before you need to sleep, that your spiritual awareness drops out of sight? Have you noticed how you just didnt seem to have the will or inclination to get up and walk again? You see, as others before me have pointed out, real spiritual growth absolutely requires energy. Now what you call that energy - how you experience it - may be different. However, it definitely equates to a feeling of vitality, an inner strength to move further forwards. Each new stage seems to require the mustering of a certain amount of strength and, when it is attained, it takes a certain power or strength to maintain that level of awareness if it is to become anything other than a brief and temporary experience. Shall I use another term for it: mana. That is definitely one way that you could term this energy. The energy that is freed by allowing the results and implications of past incidents to fall away contributes to your overall quantity of mana. Maybe tackling this issue now interests you. If you do allow yourself to let fall such burdens from the past, you will experience their temporary resurrection every so often. Do not be alarmed: they have not come back to haunt you for evermore. They are just old patterns of thought (thought forms) that require feeding before they wither and die. If you are tempted to indulge them then do so and immediately notice that those rooms seem so shabby and dull now. They no longer seem to fit into the house of your being. Close the door; let them drop again from your consciousness and you will notice your increased sense of energy once again. They no longer have any power over your awareness and cannot be allowed to sap your strength. Let the grass grow over those bare patches of earth you once walked on so frequently. A little persistence will see them off forever. There comes a time in the life of all pathwalkers when they must let fall their old skin; when what is tired and worn out must be left behind; when the clothes you wore in the past no longer fit you because you have grown. Let them drop and fall away. Let them go. Walk forward onto the next stage. They do nothing but hinder your progress, a fact that is in itself of interest to certain forces in the world, but it is definitely not in yours. Let them go.
TRANSFORMATION & HUNA MUA

Huna Mua is not only a pre-eminent system, but also still the clearest and foremost understanding of the nature of being human and the realms we inhabit. It is about you and your fellow humans. Today many people are expecting the world to change as if by magic, there is much talk about alterations of human consciousness sweeping the planet, great new movements afoot towards the dawning of a new era. Everyone interested waits with baited breath for mana to descend from the skies, as if the change will be an external one. It must be understood by you who are interested in this subject that there can be no change in world consciousness unless you and your fellow humans look to yourselves first. The responsibility lies with us all. We must be responsible for ourselves, not giving away the awesome, magical and mysterious qualities that being human naturally includes. However, the changes that are required will not be found in other realms, in psychedelic and hallucinatory trips, no they are more mundane and actually more difficult because of that fact.
Look to yourself. Look to transform and evolve yourself, your beingness in this universe, to make it a powerful expression of your true nature. Become a responsible and congruent adult human being. In this way, as difficult as you may find it to believe you raise and influence, even in small ways, the sum of human consciousness. You are not expected to be a pristine, pure, saintly or god like being in physical form. That is pure fantasy. You are simply asked to become responsible for your decisions, actions and opinions and to weigh them against what you know inside to be true of yourself. How do you feel about yourself? Not your possessions or accomplishments but your true self, that part of you that may have been kept hidden , because it seemed delicate or tender and so very human. How do you measure up to its unsullied nature, not in moral terms but in it not being contaminated with opinions and attitudes about how you should act from external sources. Think about this. Do you see how enormous the change would be if each person took responsibility for their actions and behaviour. Each drop of rain, no matter how small contributes to the sum total of the water on the earth. You are important. You do count. You are a unique being, each one of you a unique facet of the jewel. So you see, if you work on yourself first of all you are laying the firmest foundations you possible could for a better future for every thing which lives on this earth. Huna Mua can help you to do this.
JUDGEMENT AND CRITICISM

Of the many people you encounter during your daily work I am sure that there are a number with whom you would rather not spend too much time. You know, you're not a bad person for finding some people less than interesting, or for not wanting to spend time with others who only have to breathe in deeply before your hackles begin to rise. Yet again, there will be one or two whose opinions or behaviour you cannot possibly agree with, even to keep the peace. However, as one who is seeking to evolve, you could - if you chose to - use these many encounters as material to help you in understanding the motivation of others. To watch your meeting almost as a disinterested observer: analysing and dissecting your interaction with them. I would, however, suggest that even if you were to interview these people you wouldn't be any closer to understanding their motives for acting in a particular way: because they themselves haven't the faintest idea about why they do what they do. The truth is that whatever reason you ultimately arrive at is really just supposition. Therefore what I suggest is this: don't spend too much time wondering about why other people act in the way that they do - you may be right or wrong but the truth is that it doesn't matter one jot what their motive is: you're just wasting your own limited and finite time on this earth. Time which you should be spending on yourself: on unearthing your own ulterior motives. You haven't got the time to sit there criticising and being superior - throwing away something so precious and wasting valuable energy trying to maintain the illusory facade that such an attitude precipitates. One other point: they never asked you for your opinion in the first place! Believe me, you will find plenty of material in your own life to keep you busy. Just watch the internal commentary which blabbers on and on as you walk through town, watch the television, read the latest expose on a celebrity, sit in an interminable meeting at work. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with this commentary, just that it will serve you to be very clear about how it surfaces and, more to the point, from where the momentum originates for it to leave the dark and meet the daylight. Of course you will make comments and humorous asides during the day: that is natural and leavens life. What I am suggesting is that once you begin this investigation there will be very specific instances when you will have to ask yourself why you do what you do. Is it because you want to look better in someone's eyes, are you trying to impress by sharing information with them that should have remained secret: are you belittling another because you are threatened by them? The uncomfortable truth is that we can all find these motives lurking in the dark. Be brutally honest - absolutely and completely honest with yourself - no recrimination, no blame - just find out how it is with you. Stay with yourself, within yourself. Begin this today. Then there will appear a space within - a space that you may once or twice have experienced before. It is the space where there is only observation. Only eyes. Only knowing. Try it and see.
IN DIFFICULT TIMES...
At the present moment there is a disturbing tide of public opinion which wishes to drown out the cry for help from people not born in our country yet seeking to find respite from harassment, imprisonment and at worst the terrible crime of torture. It is oh so very easy to batten down the hatches of our comparatively safe lives and turn up the cacophony of our daily irrelevant chatter in order to pretend that we cannot hear their cry for help. Very easy to look at an undoubted minority which seek to take advantage of the situation and ignore the majority who are truly seeking some form of safe haven from their troubles and persecution. It never ceases to amaze me that there are so many people who find it almost impossible to see that their own situation is actually almost as precarious. It seems to me that what such people have in common is their absolute belief that they are safe. Safe from prejudice and unwarranted attention, safe from a swift and unexpected change in government ideology and safe in the knowledge that they reflect the 'majority opinion' and belong to the mass. I have never felt that safe and I'm pretty sure that you don't feel that safe either. As a pathwalker you must not get swept along with the tide of public opinion at this moment in time for it is absolutely essential that you become a beacon of independent thought. Part of the process of this becoming is a withdrawal from the mass mental world and standing as a being responsible for your own opinions and beliefs. That does not mean that you have to be against public opinion, but you should arrive at your decision independently, having gathered as much information as possible. Your intense and honest investigation into your opinions may result in a feeling of shame about some rather uncomfortable insights you have discovered. However there is absolutely no excuse for pretending that you are better than you are. This is not about presenting a spiritual and religious face to the world; your intention is to get to a state where - as if you had been xrayed and a doctor was pointing out the individual bones of your skeleton - there would be nothing that could surprise you about yourself: "You can exhibit a certain racism or prejudice..."... "Yes, I am aware of this..." - "You can get carried away by other people's opinions..." "Yes, I know this" - "You are finding that the present world situation is bringing up conflicting thoughts and beliefs which are difficult to reconcile."... "Yes, unfortunately, I am also aware of that..." Do you see what I mean? Dig up the soil surrounding the roots of these unpalatable truths. They did not originate in your soul and therefore have no immortal validity. This is a never ending process, but do not get disheartened. Perfecting yourself to be a true reflection of the light with which you were created has never been easy - even in times past, for people living in what may seem to us like paradise. Press on.
NOT ACTION
One of the most difficult and perplexing concepts that we come across when investigating spiritual or personal growth orientated teachings is that of non-action, not doing, wu wei. It goes under various guises, all of which refer to the idea that at there is a way of behaving, of living in the world, which involves the least amount of interference by us personally: our desires, wishes, beliefs and opinions could be put aside and the action we are taking be free of human error - it will be the action of the universe with itself. It does, of course, refer to everything possible - otherwise it wouldn't be so incredibly difficult to get hold of! To get a grip on its slippery surface is very difficult, and the question may enter your mind as to why one should even investigate this concept; how will it profit you and your evolution? It's a good question, when there is so much to work on anyway. Firstly, there is the infuriating fact that there is something that someone is talking about which you don't understand. Secondly, they are convinced that it is one of the ultimate secrets of living in this world with the least amount of stress - something which we would all like to experience. It is such a perplexing concept. Remember that the essence of this idea is a non-personal interference in your actions. It is to do with the proposition that there is a perfect way to act in this world which is, in some elusive way, the one which results in an outcome that is as perfect as possible - perfect in the sense that it causes the least amount of unwanted and unwarranted repercussions. And the motivation and directing of your actions is the most perfect part of you, that which is in tune with the universe out there, and not just referring to the universe inside us. It is an interesting thought that there is a possibility that this concept can be manifested in the real world which we all live in - not only whilst living out in a mountain retreat where the actions that are required of a man or woman are far less than those for a person working to put food on the table, and maintain a roof over their head! To achieve this level of non-action proved elusive even for those pathwalkers who were lucky enough to live in that mountain retreat - but there is definitely something in it which applies to all of us walking the path in the everyday world. It is this: at your core there is an identity which flows outwards into the world, and along its way we interfere with its radiance by putting in its path blockages and distorting filters before it hits that world, a mere shadow of its former self; a stifled and muffled twilight that - in some cases - only just manages to sneak into the world a mere glimpse of the bright sunlight at the centre of a human being. I will talk of this matter again at a later date. But, as a first step to finding out how this concept relates to your own evolution, I suggest that you look into your mental world first for the reasons why you stifle your light. They will not be small and insignificant and may take many years to eradicate or control. However, once you have become aware of them you will begin your journey towards understanding the more subtle implications of wu wei. Feel your light, and see if you can, in the privacy of your own space, let it radiate outwardly with the least amount of interference from anything that was not originally you.
MEDITATION
It has become central for many a seekers practice to include an investigate into the many areas of meditation that we are lucky enough to know about these days. Anything from a concentrated investigation into a particular belief or issue - much in the form of a internal debate with the hope of attaining a more clear insight - to perhaps a concentration of the attention onto a sound or shape. Often we can try the journey, taking us from one place in the imagination to another. Perhaps what each of these methods could at some time be accused of is helping us to escape from the everyday. Of course there is nothing wrong with some rest and relaxation for our brain it is valuable and essential, and can lead to some interesting imaginings, dreams and inspirations. Too often in our world today there is little that inspires an individual mind to fly over the land and out to sea, out into the unknown. However it may be that the original reason for your meditation practices was to enter more deeply into the as yet unknown. To explore. To walk the overgrown path of the true seeker. If that is your aim then as far as Huna Mua is concerned you are highly unlikely to have any idea how to proceed with your meditation practice. Of course the ordinary methods do no harm, but the real difference that pathwalking has to make in order to bring about transformation must be approached via a different route. If you use the tools with which you have already conducted your search to search for something new you may end up disappointed, or simply presume that there is nothing to find: the key was not made for the new door which leads into that different world. Worse still you might believe that you are advancing, when the actual truth is that you have moved no further along the path. Let me put it another way. Suppose you lived in a single room: if you conducted your search to find out more of the world within that one room you could obtain very little information about the house in which the room is but a part. You could perhaps shout out to others for information, some of which may be true, some false, in fact the information may be supplied by other people also investigating their own one room. The only real solution is to walk out of the room. Interestingly enough the metaphor would suggest that sooner or later we would each meet each other in the corridors of that house, or else in the outside world common to all these different houses. Something to think about. So, as you can see, you will need to direct your meditation in a new direction if you are to make progress on the path. We are talking about real progress here and therefore you may find it not to your liking for it will not present you with some plaything to amuse you when you are bored, nor will it prove endlessly entertaining. However, it will definitely move your personal integration further and therefore, as that is one of the most important points in your pathwalking, it will pay dividends for you to at least to experiment with this practice. Now I am sure that you may be expecting something complex and exciting, when actually what I am asking you to investigate is the movement of your awareness, your attention, your consciousness into the physical body. That is the beginning of a real and different type of
meditation. For those of you versed in Buddhism do not be afraid that what you perceive and may perhaps be deceived by - will be endless Makyo In Buddhist meditation it is indeed quite possible that you will. However, what I am suggesting is not Buddhist meditation. If you must draw comparisons it is more like Shikantaza meditation but in the physical body. The sensations, feelings, unusual changes, the different place your consciousness can reside are very real, and could be argued to be more real than anything experienced in that single room you have been investigating for so long. If you live amongst the clouds and expect to understand rain you never will; likewise if you live in the sea what can you possibly know of the land. You cannot hope to integrate into wholeness unless you allow yourself to descend into the physical: it is the crossing point for all information. You intellectuals out there, I know you. I know how much it hurts to have to acknowledge that you just might have to use such a basic technique. It cant possibly be that easy! That place beneath your feet: slow and sometimes still: no lightening across the sky; in comparison it may seem that grass grows fast. But how would you know? How long have you ever sat and been aware of nothing else but your own beautiful and amazing body. No comment, no reflection. Just descend. Once you have descended into your physical body with your consciousness you should simply stay in this aware state. Other than observe, there is nothing else to do. You are now in your body, the representation of you in the physical world and only one step removed from your soul not two as in the mental body. Thus it is much easier to bring the soul body into the present moment and for the mental body to receive the soul impulse clearly. Remember: no commenting, no thoughts, simply allow it to be. Sit still, eyes open or shut and simply fill your physical body with your awareness. Use your intuition but be aware that what you will suddenly be aware of is the different feeling to your usual meditation; different from what you are used to. It is this difference you are looking for. As if having lived in the sea you were suddenly and unexpectedly living on the land, a totally unknown territory. You will experience occasional strange vibrations, pulses, movements within and around your body. Allow these to occur, just as the water allows the pebble to enter and just as the ripples meet no resistance let these waves do what they will. Let me tell you something you cannot possibly know the subtle and profound influence these seemingly inconsequential waves can have. They are invisible and secret, their gift is not for you to understand and yet they have lifelong consequences. This practice absolutely contributes to the solidification of certain aspects of your immortal spirit body. However its most clear and undeniably useful effect is the essential contribution it makes towards the integration of you as a human being. This cannot fail to advance you along the path.
YOUR BODY
One of the great differences between Huna Mua and practically all other methods of integrating yourself into a whole human being is the emphasis it places on the physical body. Not just the physical body, but also physical consciousness. I would like to quickly address a few key issues that you may find of benefit. It may seem that we are always talking about the necessity for you to correct and refine your mental body and mental world. Certainly, there is much work for us to do in this realm: some direct and instantaneous and much that is gradual and tedious. With all this mental correction taking place, it is easy to overlook the absolute necessity for the physical body and physical consciousness to take centre stage in your evolutionary plan: for it is here that the confluence of waters from your other bodies will spiral and mix into the river of your fully integrated self. Do not forget your physicality. You can so over-emphasise the mental body and mental world and to become obsessed with feeling soul consciousness clearly - that you can easily overlook the fact that the universal translator of both, which we were given at birth, functions in secret ways to aid the process of integration. Your body is not a hindrance to your evolution but absolutely essential to it. So many teachings - and ones that, try as you might, you still pay attention to place the physical body lowest in the hierarchy of relevance to spiritual growth. They are wrong. It is not dirty or unclean, or simply to be suffered until we can rid ourselves of it. The physical body is you in the physical realm. Read that last sentence again and again until it is really understood, until you feel it in your bones. Many of you will already have worked on your physical body, maybe through some of Kihonuas tapes and books. You may have forgotten, however, that when you have moved physical consciousness down into the pelvic area, and understand how to initiate movement from there, it is necessary to practice movements that will reinforce what you have learned and will keep the area free from congestion on a regular basis (the regularity of which you need to determine). It is easy to forget that if you do not do so then it is quite possible that you will feel out of sorts, lacking in energy; in some unidentifiable way you just dont feel well. Think about this, it may well be that not clearing your pelvic energy may be the cause of any such symptoms. For myself, my preferred method is to dance to modern dance music. This I primarily do to bring me into complete awareness of my physical body, but the clearing of the pelvis is an important side benefit. Whatever form of movement you use to achieve this (and dont forget that physical exercise does not replace this type of exercise) do not provide commentary or observation on your bodily movement. You should be 100% aware of your physical body. Then, there will arise a trance state in which there is only your physical body in all its glory, into which the consciousness from your other bodies is pouring. Let your eyes half close and allow yourself to slightly dissolve into this moment. You will often experience an up welling of joy, an explosion of happiness or a revelling in the movement of your human body. Allow this to expand. Include people that you love and care for in it. Share it with those you dont know.
DEATH
It is said that in the past, to know the finality of death many seekers were sent to burial places. There they had to accept, for they had no option, that we all must die. This beautiful body, the marvelous organs trying their best to serve us through our life, our skeleton, muscles, sense organs, skin, our brain and heart, a self regulating, self healing, self perpetuating magnificence, together with all the history, profound thoughts, experiences, love, the very being ness of us, you and me, can come to this. Death. An end. Sometime it seems inconceivable that we will disintegrate into the earth. This wonderful functioning whole made up of countless units will be ended. It bloats and swells. It blisters and rots and smells and is eaten by creatures smaller than we can see. Or else it is burned to ashes and scattered to the four winds. Death will breath down your neck, whether you like it or not. Every body feels its icy touch. What was the real purpose of this knowledge? The acknowledgement and recognition and exhaustion of this fact, undiluted by petty dreams and fantasies, helps you to live. For it is not true that we are dying from the minute we are born. We are only dying after our last breath. Before that we are still alive. Still living. So do not despair. Until your very last breath you are still alive. Still capable of evolution and progress, integration, love, being ness. Change. Wonder. It also assists in prioritising your life. To instill an urgency to proceedings. You haven't got all the time in the world to put off that which has to be dealt with. You could die in a few minutes, whilst reading this, tonight during your sleep, in a few days, weeks, months. Perhaps it will be next year. You may never reach 40 or 50, 70 or 100. Which one works for you? And please remember your continued existence after this life is by no means certain. Be assured that as you are now, you will die. How do you feel about this? Do you reply that you are not scared of death ? Do you look forward to it, even welcome it ? Do not be so foolish. So you have experienced everything have you ? You have seen enough sunrises then, heard the rain or crack of thunder enough, felt the suns warmth on your skin , breathed the fresh air, heard the rustling of the leaves in the trees, felt the grass underfoot, heard enough laughter, bored with music of every kind, loved and made love enough. You have been kissed by all kinds of experience. Marveled at the countless other life forms on this earth to the point of boredom. Felt the true sensations of life coursing through your veins to the point of satiety. Then you already dead ! Even those highly evolved humans who appear as gods to us sometimes miss this beautiful earth and the basic and beautiful senses to experience it by. For all of us here the sky is always above our head, the earth below our feet. Your heart still beats, and your soul shines its vigour into this world and others. Understand this above all things. As you are now, you will die. Until the very point of death you are magnificently, marvellously and miraculously alive. Press on !!
INTO THE LABYRINTH

I can see the labyrinth before me. I can see the door which leads to another world. Am I lucky ? Perhaps. Not all are able to view so clearly as I can now. Some do not even know when it is in front of their very eyes, their future, or even when they have passed through the entrance into this other way of life, It is a different experience for every single one of us. It is open to the sky above, this maze, not separate from the world, it is part and parcel of life its boundaries being firmly and solidly placed. Once through the border I enter into another world of differing rules, emotions and kinds of action. It is a dangerous time for me. For you. For all of us. What surprises me is the fact that so few of us see it coming. We plod along in our daily lives and then, out of the blue, it hits us between the eyes and we reel back, dazed. Do not misunderstand me, we have not knocked into solid wood or stone, no, the door was passed through at an earlier date when it was barely, if at all, visible. Later on in time we realise when it was that we entered. It is frightening to think how unaware we really are of the forces that infiltrate our lives. Perhaps we pretend that we do not really care whether they affect us or not. But I think we should. It all happens when we least expect it. If, with purpose, we actually go out of our way to cross the border, it is then that even a small opening into the labyrinth seems at its most elusive. The walls are solid and impenetrable, and even magic potions and spells will not cause the barrier to part and admit us. We turn away and feel rejected and alone. It seems as if everyone else is on the other side. It only seems that way. It is an illusion. Then, sometimes, it happens that all of a sudden we are caught, in the way that all things surprising happen to us. It is wholly appropriate that this is the case, and all the more pleasing for that. in an instant we are walking along a path and tracing our hands along the soft walls which glow with light. That is how it always seems to me. The walls have always glowed yellow and white and are warm to the touch. It is as if I am returning home, after a long wayward journey, returning to where I really belong, to the place that I was the instant before I was born. My senses become more acute, finely tuned, each connection between myself and another implies layers of significance and warmth. Within the passages are secret ways, there are many pleasures to be had. Some are unique and cannot be experienced in any other way. Some are sensations of the ordinary world but concentrated and powered with a force which can penetrate more deeply than any other thing. When awake I am happy, more contented, and sleep is filled with music which keeps me slightly above the surface of the death like. Yes, I find it hard to sleep in the labyrinth. I find it hard to live a normal everyday life. It is difficult to think constructively and with purpose. It is all very confusing. Anything not appropriate to the moment will jar me and take away the illusion that all is fine with the world. For it is an illusion. It must be. Others have reported to me that what I experience in the labyrinth is nothing more than self delusion and deceit, an elaborately constructed dream to take me out of the world in which I live, the one I find so lacking. A self deception which in the end, will only hurt me and nobody else. Indeed, sometimes I do doubt my own perceptions bearing,
as they do, so little relation to the comparative reports of others. I have been told that on the walls, which to them are frightening and carnivorous, there is written 'fear'. They close in as the maze walker passes through. There are foot steps behind, made by strangers who can never be seen, and the light which thrills me is but semi-darkness with the permanent moon above casting ghostly shadows onto the ground, the walls, and onto their own features so that when each looks at his or her feet and legs, hands and finally, face in one of the mirrors hanging on the walls, they are strangely distorted. These people do not recognise themselves but look at these easily remembered features with fright and apprehension; these hands no longer touch quite the same, this walk has a peculiar gait and the face, with blushed warm flesh and soft features is not welcomed but treated as suspect. Fright takes hold. Life is no longer under their control, it is under the auspices of some other force which cannot be trusted. Is this a clue to their distress. Right in front of their eyes the unknown, and effects resulting from the movement of this force, continues on its way with no need for any intervention by the participant. They are petrified. The terror which waits around the passage corners is such that they forearm themselves in preparation for any occurrence which, even in their wildest dreams, seems probable and likely. They are prepared to commit the most heinous crimes and contemplate appalling solutions to preserve their world as it was, to preserve their stability; for entering the labyrinth brings about a certain loosening of control over oneself and ones life. Of course we still have to eat and sleep and function, but activities which may once have seemed important and could well have been the purposeful centre to our lives move out of our scope of concern, existing on the periphery. To some this is an unbearable experience. They can be moved to maim and murder at the prospect of the loss of this control. Even after loosening control ever so slightly, and finding out how enjoyable an experience it is, the fear ebbs back and they desire a return to their predictable lives once more. How can these people quite impassively watch, cold and still, another who walks an inch above the ground? It is something I shall never understand. Have they been traumatised in the past, in a faint remembered memory, that it affects their whole life? Why do they allow the past to exert such an influence on the present? The past is available to the present in the form of memory only and, in reality, memory is but a chemical connection in the brain. To be sure, the effort required to forge the positive is far more than needed to sink in the negative, but it only asks the will to be different. A true desire can outweigh a handicap until it disappears and dies for lack of breath. It is worth it, this effort, for we do not have to pay for these good times. There is no penance, no forfeit. Why do we think that payment is due for happiness and contentment? It is not. What we freely give at this time is payment enough. If we only take then there may well be a shock in store, waiting behind to spring upon us or standing directly in our path to confront. Taking such as this is not the right way to act. It should be easy and effortless to give of oneself at such times; when it is then we know for definite that we are in the central core of the labyrinth. Is there a solution which would enable each one of us to successfully negotiate the puzzle. I have already entered and left a few times, and can therefore prepare and perhaps plan and foresee the decisions I may have to make. I can see the pleasure and the pain. But, of course, it is not as easy as that. There may well be turnings and surprises which I have not encountered before. It could indeed be frightening at this time. Sometimes, finding myself in such a situation,
a door appears, a choice, which I am free to open and walk back again into this dull old world. But, it is deceptive this offer. Am I walking back into an ordinary life or is it simply another, wider, passage in the same puzzle? I could still be negotiating the passages for many years afterwards. This has happened to me already, after falling through a hole in the ground, which a minute before seemed not to exist, and being bumped around by a rough tunnel I still did not know for definite if i was out of the labyrinth or just in a different part. It was only in retrospect that that I knew the moment of my release, a surprisingly pleasant revelation; I was now free to enter another. Yet, although this all seems tedious and unnecessary, the knowledge I gain, which can only be acquired by experience and not book learning or study, is invaluable. It is the wisdom of life itself. It is a knowledge of ourselves. We learn of the ways of others, but the understanding our own minds is the most valuable reward. Is this the way we are forced, for some against their will, to enter the labyrinth? I do not fear it all. I believe that once in the maze we should enjoy ourselves. Enjoy the unrecreatable feelings, emotions, experiences, it invokes for they can be felt no where else but here. We should feel privileged to have been let in for no matter how short a time. Fall in and enjoy the sensation of air speeding past your ears, enjoy the heightened sensations of life. Learn of the secrets life holds. They are written on the walls as you walk by. All these thoughts pass through my mind as I stand here knowing full well that I am about to be cast upon a sea like a ship at the mercy of forces greater than itself. I shall allow myself to be acted upon. At all times I can keep a sense of myself alive inside but at the same time give myself up to be moved or stilled as the case may be. I approach the door. This time I see it clearly. This time I look at the word on the front, written in gold. I feel the outline of the letters with my fingers and speak out aloud L.O.V.E. Love, Yes, this is the word on the door of the labyrinth. I turn the handle and let myself in.
Read more from David Kala Ka La
At some time during their search all seekers after spiritual truth need the light of consciousness awakened within them. The search for a teacher who can facilitate this process can be long and arduous, but the fumbling and unsteady steps along this path are a large and important part of the spiritual journey. Once connected with that light it becomes the responsibility of the pathwalker to maintain that connection and shine its light into the world. In the Way of the Flamekeeper David Kala Ka La tells the story of his own path to becoming a Flamekeeper. He also offers his guidance and suggestions to others who wish for more clarity about the steps that need to be taken in order to achieve self-realisation and know what it is to become fully Human - for only then can we become truly Immortal.
The Way of the Flamekeeper ISBN: 0954445031 $16.95 6"x 9" 284 pages Purchase at http://www.masterworksinternational.com or any good bookstore

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MasterWorks International

David Kala Ka La - MasterWorks International 2006

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