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Manly P Hall

“The way of heaven can be known and experienced through the heart.”

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If This Was Your Last Day

Just consider for a moment, how would today be different if you knew it was your last?   How would you be? What would matter? What might you notice?   Maybe you would take it slow.   Maybe you would savour each moment.   Maybe you would tell those that mattered that you loved them.   Maybe you would resolve an old and now meaningless conflict.   Maybe you would watch the sunrise.   Maybe you would taste each meal and be grateful for each meal you’ve failed to taste.   Maybe you would just watch.   Maybe you would embrace what truly mattered. Maybe you would smile or laugh, taking yourself just a little less seriously.   Maybe you would sing at the top of your voice without a care in the world. Maybe you would be kinder or more compassionate towards yourself and others.   Maybe you would finally give yourself a break. Maybe you would listen to the birds.   Maybe you would meet someone fully an...

Shattering The Great Doubt

I have just returned from a quite beautiful week in Wales. Still very much re-entering the space we refer to as 'normal'. It seems anything but. The retreat I attended was called 'Shattering the Great Doubt', also known simply as a Koan Retreat. For those you unfamiliar with the term 'Koan' it is a short story, statement, dialogue or exchange between master and student, that is used as a form of practice in the Rinzai tradition of Zen. We are asked to meditate on , and merge with the koan, observing how it 'triggers' us or prompts and provokes habits, patterns and ways of being. It is something that must be experienced to be truly understood but that is a brief and simplistic overview. I met with 18 other curious souls to investigate and come face to face with ourselves in a rustic, electricity-less farmhouse in the middle of the welsh countryside. The schedule would involve a week of silence, meditation, great food, working for the b...

Being With Mum Part.2

Seeing my mum off after her visit was so incredibly difficult. Over the past few days I have seen her settle into a way of being that I have never seen her inhabit before. I met a new mother in so many ways. It sounds strange but her condition has softened her edges and allowed her to be present in a way that perhaps she was unable to be in the past. I have seen joy, contentment and love in her eyes, as well as the odd bout of confusion or restlessness, but these were few and far between for the most part and when they paid a visit we were able to settle her quickly without too much drama. A quick call to her husband or a nice cup of tea. I watched as she connected deeply with the force of nature I know as Bonnie, my dearest friend and a very special being. She met my mum at every turn and loved her without a second thought, as if her own. Often she was a trusted companion to my mum where perhaps I couldn't be. Amidst it all my mum's instinct remained to protect my brot...