Tag: spirituality
A Sneak Peek, Mystical Force Vol. 6: The Enemy Within

A Sneak Peek, Mystical Force Vol. 6: The Enemy Within

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Satisfied that more innocent lives had been saved, Shi-ria took Chiyoko back with her to Mystic’s home in Aryavarta. Given Chiyoko’s volatile emotional state, Shi-ria felt it was best to bring her back to Mystic to help her deal with these feelings. Using a simple magic ring that Mystic gave her, Shi-ria teleported herself and Chiyoko back to Mystic’s home in Aryavarta. While it was already after midnight in Teikoku City, sunset was only an hour ago in Aryavarta. Thus, both Shi-ria and Chiyoko returned just as the last orange haze of the evening twilight began fading into the western skies over the mountains in the distance. Shi-ria felt a sense of serenity as she watched the colours fade from the evening sky. Unfortunately, she also felt something else: the opposite of serenity coming from Chiyoko. She was still reeling from the earlier battle. Shi-ria could sense her inner turmoil.

“Chiyoko…” she began. She was about to suggest they talk to Mystic to help her calm herself down and focus her mind and emotions, but Chiyoko was too angry to listen.

“I should have never made that promise to you!” Chiyoko abruptly cut her off. “It was a mistake for me not to use the power of the Koldar!”

Shi-ria calmly gazed into Chiyoko’s eyes, “No, it wasn’t.”

“I could have ended things right then and there!” Chiyoko snapped.

“We did put an end to their criminal operation,” Shi-ria reminded her apprentice. “We stopped those criminals. They’re now in police custody, and the girls have been rescued. Is that not sufficient?”

“Do you really think they’ve learned their lesson?” Chiyoko asked, growing angrier. “What’s to stop them from doing the same thing again once they get out of prison?”

“That won’t be for a very long time,” Shi-ria pointed out.

“But it still could happen!” Chiyoko protested. “If I had used my powers to disintegrate them, they’d never be able to hurt anyone again!”

“However, you would gain the power to hurt people,” Shi-ria countered, “and you would hurt them again and again. Don’t you see, Chiyoko? It’s not about those criminals; it’s about you. If you take the quick and easy path and continue to surrender to fear and anger, you’ll end up a Koldar Warrior. Just like in that possible future I foresaw. The future Scarlet Knightwalker is so desperate to prevent. Remember what I told you about the Koldar Warriors? If you follow their path, you’ll be no different and no better than those criminals we’ve just defeated. You won’t care about helping others. All that will matter to you is using your power for your own selfish gain. You’ll end up hurting the very people you claim to care about. Remember what you accidentally did to Shinjo? What if next time, it’s not an accident? What if next time, you do it on purpose?”

Chiyoko just stood there, silently fuming. “YOU’RE JUST JEALOUS OF ME!” Chiyoko hollered, no longer holding back all her pent-up fury. “YOU’RE HOLDING ME BACK BECAUSE YOU’RE AFRAID THAT I MIGHT SURPASS YOU ONE DAY! THAT’S YOUR PROBLEM. YOU DON’T WANT ME TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM BECAUSE I FIGURED OUT A SOLUTION YOU DIDN’T!” As Chiyoko continued her enraged verbal assault, she also began an unintentional physical, psychic assault on Shi-ria as well. Although Chiyoko wasn’t consciously aware of it, she was once again tapping into the dark energy of the Koldar, just like she had done with Dead-Eye earlier. Chiyoko, in her fury, imagined unleashing the same power on Shiria. Chiyoko imagined herself using that same power to break down every cell, every molecule, every atom in Shi-ria’s body. In her rage, Chiyoko imagined tearing Shi-ria apart cell by cell, atom by atom. The difference was that Shi-ria had the power to prevent this. This was one of the first abilities that the Taman Knight learned when they began as an apprentice: how to use their powers to block others, like a Koldar Warrior or a dark mage, from using their powers on them. Shi-ria never forgot how to use that power. However, in this instance, she chose not to use it. Thus, even as Shi-ria could feel Chiyoko’s raw, unchecked power assaulting her cellular structure, and even as the Taman set off alarms inside her, Shi-ria offered no resistance. Shi-ria gritted her teeth and groaned, doubling over in pain. Yet, despite the agony she felt inside of her, she still offered no resistance. Collapsing on the floor, Shi-ria mustered what strength she had and lifted her head. Gazing up into Chiyoko’s eyes, she saw a burning fire of rage, anger, and hatred, but she also saw something else emerging: fear and horror. It suddenly dawned on Chiyoko what she was doing.

Chiyoko, in turn, saw her teacher, the very woman who saved her life, who offered her the chance for something better than the life of a petty criminal, slowly and painfully wasting away right before her eyes. Suddenly, the burning fury she felt within her was quickly snuffed out and replaced with the icy hand of fear and shame over what she was doing. She was responsible for Shi-ria being in the vulnerable state she was in right now. It was just as Shi-ria had predicted; Chiyoko was using her new-found powers to get revenge against someone she believed had wronged her, and for that brief, terrifying moment, she didn’t care how her actions hurt the woman trying to save her life. Fortunately for Chiyoko, this shocking revelation freed her from the dark, seductive grasp of the power of the Koldar. No longer drawing on its dark power to lash out against Shi-ria, Chiyoko gasped in horror as her mentor collapsed unconscious on the floor.

“SHI-RIA!” Chiyoko shouted. Terrified by what she had done, she dropped to her knees and cradled Shi-ria in her arms. Overcome by shame and guilt of her actions, Chiyoko held Shiria close while silently weeping. “I’m sorry!” she whispered. “Please, don’t die!”

Mystic and Noonien rushed into the room, having sensed what happened. They looked at each other and communicated telepathically. Using his magic, Noonien gently lifted Shi-ria up and levitated her onto her bed. Meanwhile, Mystic kneeled next to Chiyoko. Sensing her thoughts, the turmoil of emotions swirling around inside her, she gently took hold of Chiyoko. Chiyoko, in turn, buried her face in Mystic’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry!” she sobbed. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean it!”

Mystic gently hugged her, placing her hand on the back of Chiyoko’s head. She sent waves of calm, soothing energy into Chiyoko’s mind using her telepathy. It’s alright, Mystical mentally told her. Shi-ria will be alright.

Mystical Force Vol. 6: The Enemy Within. Coming soon…
From my father on Memorial Day

From my father on Memorial Day

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Although Memorial Day is almost over, I received this email from my father and it was so profound I just had to share it, despite the fact that by the time I post this, the day will almost be over. First a little background about my father. He was born in Eastern Germany (now part of Poland) in the closing days of the War, under the rule of Hitler and the Nazis. Like many Germans, my grandmother took him and fled to Berlin to try and escape the invading Soviets. He spent the first months of his life living in Berlin while the allies were bombing it into the ground. Like many Europeans of the time, his family (my father and grandparents) moved to the United States with little more than the clothes on their back, trying to start a new life. Having lived through that, and growing up in America at the height of the Cold War, he was-to quote Billy Joel’s song ‘Leningrad’-a “cold war kid in McCarthy time. Stop ’em at the 38th parallel. Blast those yellow reds to hell.” Thus having lost his home land and family possessions to the Russians and later the communist government of East Germany, he wanted to fight communism and thus served in Vietnam from 1965 to 1966 as a “naive young yahoo wanting to do the right thing for [his] country” (his words, not mine). Thus when he sent me this email I wanted to share it with all of you, as it was too profound not to.

A few years ago I did a past-life hypnotherapy via Youtube. During that time I had memories of a previous life, where I too was a Vietnam vet, one who didn’t survive. I specifically recall being in a field of tall grass, seeing a helicopter in the distance taking off and being surrouned by my fellow soldiers, including one to my right whom I knew only as “Sarge”-my superior I’m guessing. I got the distinct impression that I was in Vietnam and the year was 1964. Next I remembered lying in a hospital bed looking up at a wooden ceiling, a post-op room I believe-like something out of an episode of M*A*S*H. Then I found myself floating in the air, looking down at a young 20-something man with short black hair, a rather athletic build, lying shirtless in bed with a bandage around his/my abdomen, a red blood stain in the middle. My head was tilted to the left and my eyes were closed, looking as if I were sleeping. I knew that I had died and this was my spirit/soul looking down at my recently desceased body before I returned home to the spirit world.

I bring this up because all my life, I’ve never been able to understand why someone would willing choose a career in the military, much less go to war with enthusiasm. After going through that past life regression, I now see why I’ve always felt that way. While in this life I have no memory of that previous life (I don’t even know what my name was in that life) that experience did leave a mark on my soul. Having gone through that in one life, my soul said, “NEVER AGAIN!” Because just before the past-life regression ended I asked “Why am I here?”-as in, why did I choose this specific life, why did I choose to write and publish my books. A voice in my head answered, “to create.” Being a soldier in combat in a previous life, I had obviously caused destruction in that life, so in this life my soul chose to create instead of destroy. That would also explain why I like to use my writing to discuss such deep philosophical issues. To help create a world where armed forces won’t be necessary. A world where no one would even consider turing to force to solve their problems.

But enough about me, below is the email my father [Norbert W. Weidhuner] sent me for you to read. His words are in bold and italics, to differentiate from mine, so there’s no confusion as to whom is saying what. The images posted are what he sent in his email. I do not know where the all came from, nor do I claim ownership of any of them, they are there to help illustrate his point, not for my financial gain so no copyright infringement is intended (just to cover my bases for legal reasons). Now without further adeu, here’s his message for Memorial Day, Namaste:

After experiencing combat, you become part of a unique group, and money can’t buy your way in. Combat teaches you more about the human experience than anything else. It’s a profound event that involves feelings like hate, love, God, pain, fear, courage, life, and death all at once.

You learn a lot about yourself: Are you brave or not? What are your physical and mental limits? Are you a good comrade or not? You also confront the possibility of death in a much more personal way than most people. It becomes a part of who you are, and you can’t avoid it.

You might even find answers to some of life’s biggest questions: Why am I here? What’s the meaning of it all?

For some, combat is about being heroic and adventurous, and it’s a way to stand out and prove themselves. It’s a significant part of their lives. A few enjoy it, the thrill, the adrenaline rush. In the end, combat screws up your mind and some never get over it. I was lucky. For me the nightmares stopped for the most part after a year.

 Most veterans are better people because we looked the elephant in the eye and didn’t flinch.

The gunner mans the machine gun on one side of a Huey gun ship, the crew chief mans the gun on the other side. We had a crew chief who would have the pilot turn around so he could take pictures of his kills. He would boast and brag about his kills. A total psycho. Except for mob hitman, there aren’t too many job openings for a killing machine once he returns to civilian life.

Our commanding officer gave us an orientation speech when we arrived in Vietnam. He was a combat helicopter pilot. He told us “you never get used to it, even after a year of combat. When you get incoming fire, your knees turn to water and your asshole puckers”. I have to agree. Only psychos aren’t scared. But you do your job. You protect your comrades. That’s what counts.

Memories

I know some just don’t get why we as Vietnam veterans or any combat veterans speak of ‘dark days’ and ‘sleepless nights.’ There is just no way to explain it to anyone who has not been in a hostile war environment.

There’s not an explanation in the world to bring to light the loss of a friend who has died on foreign soil, In an instant a life is removed from us. And in a lifetime, we can never forget that loss. 

We were kids planted in the middle of a war, and as kids our loyalties ran deep. We were still innocent and unknowing when we stepped into war. We were unprepared for what would be required for us to survive.

In a sentiment that’s often shared by many other combat veterans, The darkness we speak of is not the darkness everyone else sees. Ours is more of a dusky haze that clouds our emotions. It’s a spirit that can take us from contentment to sadness in a heartbeat. It can be brought on by most anything. And it often is.

So, when I speak of this, I speak of memories and a broken spirit, a darkness that seals our souls up for a time. Sure—I will snap out of it and return to what we call ‘normality’ for a while. But what we have been through is a life-changing experience. When you see the blank look or the tear, when you see the silence that has overtaken us, just realize that this is the darkness we speak of.”

People will ask, “When were you in Vietnam?” No matter how many years have passed since my service, the answer always feels like it should be, “Every day.”  

Please don’t think that the things I say are just a robotic reply to gain attention, I’m not looking for sympathy — just understanding. And if you can’t understand what I mean, then just walk away. That’s a privilege that we as veterans don’t have.

Every one of us reacts differently in the face of life threatening danger. Some people indeed get excited, some depressed, but most people I met, including myself, are just scared.

Do soldiers get scared going into battle? If soldiers don’t get scared in battle, then something is seriously wrong. There’s nothing wrong with being scared. Being scared is not cowardice. Being scared makes you careful and cautious. Those who aren’t scared usually get careless and get themselves or their buddies killed.

Anyone can die anytime in combat. The important part is to not freeze and do your job.

In honor of all the men in my unit who didn’t make it back home like I did. Especially my replacement. When my tour of duty ended, I had 6 months of active service left. They offered to let me out 3 months early if I were to extend 3 months of duty in Vietnam. I said, “No thank you, I’ll take my 6 months stateside”. Much as I loved my country and as much as I wanted to fight commie pinkos  since Russians were occupying my birth country  (East Germany), I had enough of combat and didn’t feel we were really helping the Vietnamese people by propping up a corrupt government so that the military industrial complex could get rubber from the rubber plantations, that and pilots bragging about shooting a rocket up a water buffalos ass to blow the farmer riding on him all to hell. A couple of weeks after leaving Vietnam, I got a letter from a buddy stating that my replacement while sleeping in my old cot, took a direct mortar hit early in the morning and got wasted. Had I chosen to extend my tour, that would have been me and I wouldn’t be here today.

We won most of the battles, but somehow our country lost the war.

The 173d Airborne Brigade took part in 14 designated campaigns in RVN. It remained in combat longer than any other American military unit since the Revolutionary War. It earned four unit citations, had 13 Medal of Honor winners, 1601 Sky Soldiers were killed in action and another 8,435 were wounded in action. The 10,041 casualties incurred by the 173d Brigade were:

♠ Five times greater than those suffered by the 187th Airborne Regiment in Korea,

♠ Four times greater than those suffered by the 11th Airborne Division in the Pacific during WWII,

♠ More than twice those suffered by the 101st Airborne Division in Europe in WWII,

♠ Two-thirds of those suffered by the entire 82nd Airborne Division in WW2.

The poem below by a veteran pretty much says it all

And finally…

A collection of poems:

A collection of poems:

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A brief collection of my attempts at writing poetry:

Poem # 1:

I write whatever comes to mind.

No reason, no rhyme.

I let the verse go where it pleases.

Where it goes, I have no idea.

Does it rhyme? It doesn’t matter!

On the wind, my thoughts scatter.

Is there meaning to my verse?

You decide.

Poem # 2:

The prose flows.

Where it goes?

I do not know where it goes,

when the prose flows.

Poem # 3:

When I meditate I let my mind go free,

Where will my thoughts take me?

Beyond the Earth, the physical confines,

Beyond reality, I go in my mind.

To world, dimensions, that I create,

full of peace, beyond fear and hate.

Someone once said, “I think therefore I AM”,

therefore, I AM free!

Poem # 4:

On the wings of tomorrow,

the night felt my sorrow.

On the crimson tide,

My thoughts do ride.

When I dream I am free,

Where does my mind take me?

Into my own reality.

For what is a dream?

Another state of being.

Total Eclipse of the Soul

Total Eclipse of the Soul

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I’ve seen videos and read blog posts about the spiritual significance of a solar eclipse. And this eclipse that happened back on April 8th did indeed provide some insight into my own spiritual journey, in ways I had never imagined. In a way, the incidents of April 8th forced me to look at my own darkness eclipsing my inner light and casting a shadow over my soul. I had been looking forward for years now to seeing a total solar eclipse in person. And was worried when the forecast for Southern Ontario called for overcast. I had been divided on whether or not to head down to South Central Ontario (Niagara Falls or Port Dover) or out to Eastern Ontario (both of which were in the path of totality). I chose Eastern Ontario because first it was closer to my home and I was hoping that since I’d be driving home in rush hour I’d face less traffic since I’d be heading back into the city, rather than coming home from Niagara Falls and driving through Toronto in rush hour. Second, I wanted to avoid Niagara Falls because I knew it would be swarming with visitors coming to see the eclipse and I’ve never been comfortable in large crowds. Needless to say, I was disappointed to find the overcast prevented me from seeing the eclipse (and to rub salt in the wounds, learning upon getting home that evening that the clouds cleared slightly at Niagara Falls thus I probably would have seen it had I gone there instead). Third, the day of the eclipse was my mother’s birthday and we decided to go to a bar called “Jake’s on Main” (Main St. Unionville) and I figured I’d never make it back on time had I gone to Niagara Falls. After dinner there was discussion on who got the bill for the restaurant. I admit that I was slightly annoyed at being asked to help pay for dinner, considering I had just paid off my credit card debts and am in the process of rebuilding my bank account, thus have been trying to watch my finances/expenses. Fourth, upon getting home, I had some messages on my Social media pages about paying others to help boost my number of followers and get more reviews. I admit I wasn’t feeling particularly sociable, thus it was hard to respond to my messages when all I was really thinking was “Stop bothering me and leave me alone! I’m not in the mood for idle chit chat!”

As I was lying in bed meditating, trying to deal with my turbulent emotions and epiphany hit me, it was all about ego. I was blaming others for my feeling cheated out of seeing the eclipse. My angels for not guiding me to the right location, my brother for not suggesting we go to Niagara Falls or Hamilton instead of out East (though I probably wouldn’t have listened even if he had), my family for making me rush home to join them for dinner. God/nature for the cloudy weather spoiling the view. The people on social media asking me for money to help promote my work and so on. I realized that was simply an excuse to justify my feelings. Conversations with God has often said to live life without expectations is true freedom, yet giving up expectations about my life and my literary career is something I still haven’t mastered. I now understand the first two noble truths of the Buddha:

  1. In existence there is suffering
  2. The cause of suffering is selfish desire

My desire to see the eclipse on my own, and make it back in time to join my family for dinner (as they say, I wanted to have my cake and eat it too), my desire for my books to be best sellers and get plenty of reviews, my fears about my finances and refusal to spend my money (or my being a cheapskate I guess would be more accurate) have been my selfish desires, which in turn caused my suffering for the day. In addition to that, this blog is ironically the same thing while simultaneously being therapeutic. My ego driven fear of being judged by others upon reading this is another selfish desire. After all fear of the judgment of others is ego driven; imagining others looking down upon me for my behaviour and my ego making up excuses to try and justify it (if only to myself). This in turn also contributed to what caused my suffering for the day.

“I still have a long way to go, but I’m already so far from where I used to be, and I’m proud of that.” ~Unknown (quote posted on “tinybuddha.com”)

I admit, I’ve still got along way to go in terms of spiritual growth. In fact I had forgotten about a post I read online https://tinybuddha.com/blog/5-mistakes-people-make-spiritual-journey/ particularly the part about “Thinking I am above those who are ‘unenlightened’”. I admit, I still tend to think of myself as “more enlightened” than most people. I’ve come to realize today that despite how much I’ve grown as a spiritual being and how far I’ve come from the man I was even just 10 years ago, I still have so far to go. As someone once said, “Those who think themselves wise are usually foolish. Those who admit to being foolish are on the path to wisdom.” I know nothing. The solar eclipse of April 8th 2024 was indeed a significant spiritual moment in my life, in ways I had not expected. As the fifth mistake from the “tinybuddha.com” blog says, “I used to believe that if I were spiritually awakened, no bad things would ever happen to me again. I would never feel sad, only be surrounded by nice people, and from there on life would always feel positive. I could not be more wrong. Spirituality is not about suppressing or diminishing your dark side. Spirituality is about raising your mindfulness to a level where you can always make the conscious choice to do the right thing, in spite of what happens and what you’re feeling.”

Both Conversations with God and Friendship with God says that when things are not serving you, you should bless them and let them go. The “bless them” part is something I’m still having trouble working on. Yet these things that I can’t bless, that I still may curse/blame have indeed served me by teaching me valuable lessons. Or as Conversations would say, they have served me by reminding me that we all are beings of pure light and love since we’re not hear to learn anything but to remember who we truly are. May this blog post help you in the same way with whatever may have triggered you in life in a similar manner. By reminding you of this, I am in turn helping to remind myself. For as Friendship says, the best way to help yourself is by helping others. If you wish to feel joy, bring joy to others. If you wish to remind yourself to let go of ego and bless even those events that you may have cursed before, help others do the same. They say “God helps those who help themselves” and since we are all one with God by helping others we help ourselves.

Also, upon further reflection, had I gone to Niagara Falls or Port Dover, I probably would have seen the eclipse and thus wouldn’t have felt the way I did and missed out on some very important spiritual growth that day. Also upon waking up the following morning I felt strange, slightly uncomfortable. I remember reading somewhere that feelings of comfort come from the ego, from recognizing familiarity. When you experience something familiar, it provides comfort because we remember it feels good. When we experience something new, we have no memories to draw upon for reference. Thus we feel uncomfortable because we’re truly facing the unknown. Yet as Conversations again stated, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

In closing I would like to add that I now realize that missing out on witnessing the eclipse was actually a blessing in disguise. While seeing the beauty of totality would have been awesome and given me some pleasant memories, the spiritual growth I gained from missing out will prove much more helpful in my ultimate spiritual evolution. Namaste!

Feelings are the language of the soul

Feelings are the language of the soul

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Yesterday I used the money from my mutual funds to pay off my credit card bills in full. I had around $6000 in credit card debt. Naturally as a result, when I looked at my monthly budget I had a deficit. After this the usual fears came back about “How can I continue my writing?” “Will I be forced to give up my dreams? Stop publishing Mystical Force and Liberator: The People’s Guard simply because I can’t afford it?” As always whenever these problems arise, I turn to my angels for guidance and to release my fears. As I was lying on my bed meditating, I felt something strange. It almost felt like a presence in my room (even though no one else was there), though even this isn’t entirely accurate. I apologize for not being able to describe it better, the truth is I honestly don’t know how to describe what I felt. I suppose it’s like trying to describe what a near death experience feels like. Try to explain it to someone who’s never had one, and they probably won’t be able to understand because they have no frame of reference to compare it to. And if you have had one, then you already know what it’s like so no explanation is necessary.

Having recently read “Godtalk” by Neale Donald Walsch, it mentioned his words from his first book “Conversations with God”, which stated that God speaks to us through feelings because “feelings are the language of the soul”. After I was finished and I went down to the kitchen to get a bite to eat, I began recalling the stories contributed by various people in “Godtalk” about their own experiences/encounters with God, their angels or whatever divine/higher power you believe in. I didn’t so much recall a specific story from the book, it was more an overall impression of the various stories combined. Stories of people who had traumatic experiences in their lives (going through cancer, losing a loved one to some illness and so on) and it dawned on me. These people have gone through much worse than I have. I’ve never had cancer (and I hope to keep it that way). I’ve never been in such dire financial straights that I’ve been forced to live homeless on the street, begging for food or even just enough money to buy some fries at McDonalds and have that be my meal for the day. While I have lost loved ones in my life (pets, my grandparents, a cousin younger than me) even those have never left me so distraught that I began to lose faith or think God turned his back on me. And yet, despite such traumatic experiences that befell others, things turned around for them.

As this dawned on me, I realized that my problems were nothing compared to what happen to some of the people in “Godtalk”. It put things into perspective and made me realize that my fears and concerns were for nothing. My angel numbers (according to the website I often visit: Sacred Scribes) have often told me that I’m manifesting material rewards of following my soul mission – my writing, as I one did a hypnotherapy session, and asked my angels “Why am I here?” (as in why did I choose this specific life right now). A voice in my head answered, “To create”. Which is what I’m doing through my writing. The truth is I’ve been very fortunate in my life: I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, food in my refrigerator, and I do have a full time warehouse job that allows me to pay room and board to my parents (yes I still live with them since I can’t afford a place of my own, though honestly that whole the kids move out when they turn 18 is more of a North American thing, my parents raised me more European, where it’s not uncommon for multiple generations to still live under the same roof).

The truth is I AM quite blessed in my life and I AM grateful for these things. Once I realized that I suddenly felt much better. My worries were gone, and I felt happier than I’ve felt in the past few days, possibly past few weeks. This just further proves what was said in “Conversations with God”, how God speaks to us through our feelings, which are the language of the soul. Having just read “Godtalk” I’ve begun meditating in silence, no music, no sounds, just lying in my room with only the ambient noise, trying to empty my mind and focus either on my breathing or the black void I see when I close my eyelids. As Neale said in “Godtalk” God speaks to us in the silence between our thoughts. To paraphrase Qui-Gon Jinn’s words to Anakin in Phantom Menace “When you learn to quite your mind, you’ll hear [God] speaking to you.”

It’s better to give than to receive

It’s better to give than to receive

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The other day I was on Facebook when I got a notification that someone liked a video I reposted a while back. It was an interview with Neale Donald Walsh author of “Conversations with God”. Honestly I had completely forgotten about it until I clicked on the link and rewatched the video. What struck me was the part where Neale told of how God spoke to him about thinking about your universal or cosmic self. Basically, the point was to think of yourself by thinking of others. If you want to feel joy in your life, bring joy into the lives of others. If you want to stop feeling depressed or angry, help others out of their depression/anger. Too often in life, we approach things with the attitude of “What can I get out of this?” Rather than “What do I have to give?” I admit as an author I’ve often fallen into this trap. “What can I do to get more reviews? How can I boost sales and make more money off of my work? How do I get more followers on social media?” The problem with this mentality it you’re coming from a mindset of lacking. What you’re really saying is “I don’t have enough sales! I’m not making enough money!” As the law of attraction states, when this is your sponsoring thought, God/the universe (whatever higher power you believe in) responds, “Yes, this is true,” and thus sends you more feelings of lacking, of not having enough. As I’ve often said, the problem with this is that it becomes easy for greed to set in. Eventually, it doesn’t matter how many sales you’ve made, or how many followers you have, it’s always “NEVER ENOUGH!” The key is to not concern yourself with sales, or followers. I’ve learned this the hard way (and still am). When I began posting videos on Tik Tok and YouTube I checked my analytics and found most people stopped watching after 30 seconds. I’ve looked up various things on how to create more engaging videos, how to get more followers and so on. I realized that most of what they were suggesting, such as following the latest trends in videos wasn’t something I was interested in. Much like my writing, I could just forego crafting an interesting narrative and simply churn out some piece of fluff based on the latest fad du jour, but that’s not who I am. I read an article a while back about people (like myself) who are “old souls”(here’s the link to the article in case you’re interested) and one of the things it said was that “You’d rather talk about dreams, ideas, or even the meaning of life instead of what’s trendy right now. For an old soul, deep conversations are like a breath of fresh air. They help you connect with people on a real level…But it might also make some people think you’re too serious or hard to talk to… it could also scare some folks away if they’re not ready to dive in so deep.”

I acknowledge this, as it would explain the lack of engagement I’ve gotten, also why I don’t blog or post online as much as others. I’m the type of guy who’d rather wait until I find something meaningful to say rather than simply post/blog away about nothing simply for likes, clicks and follows. It might gain me more followers but the person they’d be following wouldn’t be the real me. I’d be forcing myself to live a lie. Anyway, that’s all I’ve got to say for the moment, plus I needed to fill my monthly blog quota (I don’t actually have a quota, I try to post something at least once a month but as I said above, I don’t post just for the sake of posting). Either way I…. honestly can’t think of anything more to say, or how to end this post, so I’ll just end with…

Namaste!
[Updated] What is a ‘Mystical Force’?

[Updated] What is a ‘Mystical Force’?

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You’ve all heard the term ‘Mystical Force’, but what exactly does it mean?

“All beings radiate a life force, but some have an additional ‘Mystical Force’. Mystical Forces are divided into three main categories: Magical Essence, Demonic Aura and Spiritual Powers. Though on the surface these powers seem identical and indistinguishable there are subtle differences between them.

Magical Essence:

Is the generic term for beings with magic powers (called mages), regardless of what type of magic it is. The characters of Mystic and Noonien are two examples of characters with Magical Essence as their Mystical Force. Magic powers may be hereditary, natural to the species/race or from other/artificial means (magic potions, objects, and so on) Depending on the exact nature of the powers it may be necessary to recite incantations to engage specific spells. However, if one is powerful enough in their magic skills, they need only to think of the desired effect to make it happen, such as Mystic or Noonien simply casting a spell with a wave of their hand, rather than performing an elaborate ritual, or even saying a specific magic phrase for different actions to be taken.

Demonic Aura:

The generic term used to describe the powers demons have. Demonic Aura, like Magical Essence, can be natural to the race/species but is also hereditary and is passed down from one or more of the parents. Thus a human with a demon for an ancestor can inherit Demonic Aura via it being passed down through the generations, though in that case their Demonic Aura is generally weaker and may even not be noticeable (the individual may not even be aware that they have it). Unlike magic, the powers of Demonic Aura are less direct. Demons generally use their powers to enhance their abilities (strength, speed, stamina, healing). In some cases it may allow the user to change their appearance and or form (gaining claws/wings and so on) Any other powers/abilities their Demonic Aura gives them are more general in nature and unlike Magical Essence they don’t require spells or incantations to work. Tokijin is an example of a character with Demonic Aura as his Mystical Force. Despite the name, individuals with Demonic Aura don’t get their powers from the Devil, as the Order of the Cross claims, it would be more accurate to describe their abilities as natural traits of their race/species. Demons are simply another species living on Earth. Despite their appearance and abilities, they’re not much different than humans. Like humans, some are kind and compassionate, some are malevolent and hostile and most simply want to live normal lives. It is simple prejudice for being different from humans that makes people fear and hate them.

Spiritual Powers:

Is the generic term used to describe the third main type of Mystical Force. Characters like Shi-ria, Sister Rose and the other members of the Order of the Cross are examples of characters with Spiritual Powers as their Mystical Force. Spiritual Powers are more vague than the other two and are the most difficult to achieve. Unlike Magical Essence or Demonic Aura, Spiritual Powers take years of training and discipline to master. Most people who have these powers usually have strong spiritual/religious beliefs. They also tend to be monks or nuns (though this isn’t necessarily a requirement) and they tend to live simplistic non-materialistic lives in order to strengthen their spiritual beliefs and powers. Like Demonic Aura, Spiritual Powers are used to enhance one’s abilities (strength, speed, stamina, healing) as well as providing a form of ESP (such as visions of the future, a warning or ‘feeling’ of danger and so on). Some (like Shi-ria) believe that these powers lie dormant in everyone and with proper training and practice, anyone can learn to harness these powers. Others (like the Order of the Cross) believe this power only appears in certain people chosen by God and by extension, those who aren’t ‘chosen’ by God who have similar powers must have gotten them from the devil. While Spiritual Powers are developed through training, the time it takes one to develop such powers and their skill level may vary based on the individuals. Some have to train long and hard to master Spiritual Powers while others are just naturally gifted.

It should also be noted that these three categories are not mutually exclusive. For example, if a mage and a demon were to conceive and child then that child could theoretically have both Magical Essence and Demonic Aura. So which would choose? What’s your Mystical Force?

When waters are disturbed, let them settle

When waters are disturbed, let them settle

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I’d like to share with you a story about the Buddha that I once heard years ago. One that struck a cord with me and I’ve found helpful in life. May it serve you as well as it serves me:

Once Buddha and some of his disciples were travelling when they came to a body of water (a lake or a river, I forget, though honestly that’s not important). Buddha asked one of his disciples to get him some water to drink. The disciple went to the water only to find the water was muddy and not safe to drink (some person either walked through or pulled some heavy cart through the water earlier and stirred up the mud at the bottom). Thus he couldn’t bring back any water for Buddha to drink. About an hour later, Buddha again asked his disciple if he could bring back some water to drink. The disciple again went down to the water but still found it too muddy for drinking. So he again returned and told Buddha the water wasn’t safe for drinking. Some time later (I forget how long, another hour or more I believe) Buddha again asked his disciple to please fetch some water for drinking. The disciple went back to the water and found that the mud had settled, the water was now clear at it was safe to drink. He filled a pot with water and took it back to the Buddha. Buddha looked at the water and told his disciple “see what you did to make the water clean? You let it be. You let it settle down and now you have clear water. Your mind is like that too. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time and it will settle on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen it is effortless. Having peace of mind is not a strenuous job. It is an effortless process, so keep your mind cool and have a great life ahead.”

I bring this up because of some recently disturbed waters in my mind. Thanks to a good friend of mine I met in LinkedIn, Deborah Aderemi, I’ve recently begun marketing and promotion for my books. Shortly afterwards, I was being contacted by people on Instagram wanting to review my books. This naturally got me excited at the prospect of more book sales and more royalties coming in as many people were saying how interested they were in checking out my books. Needless to say I was slightly crushed when I logged into Tellwell and noticed my sales report showed virtually no sales for my books over the summer. I told myself that these things take time, however there was still that lingering doubt in the back of my mind. That doubt that points out that just because someone is interested in my books, doesn’t automatically mean they’re going to buy a copy (especially now when inflation has made many non essential items luxuries that we simply can’t afford).

This brings me to the next part of my story. I’ve been without a car since June as my old car (a 2006 Chevy Malibu) had brake problems and was no longer safe to drive (and my mechanic couldn’t replace the parts as they’re no longer made). I had already told my mechanic to scrap the car and asked him to buy me a newer used car, which he did. However between inflation driving up the price of used cars, not to mention having to once again spend money on car insurance, plus other expenses in life I was worrying about how I’m going to afford just being able to live. This is where the story of the Buddha that I mentioned above comes into play. The waters of my mind were disturbed. I began worrying about “How can I afford this? How will I pay off that?” Most of us have gone through such problems in life, often multiple times. The simple fact is worrying about the problem won’t make it go away. If anything it’ll only make the problem worse. We all know that stress can lead to health problems, which in turn can manifest into physical ailments, which in turn result in us getting sick, missing work which in turn makes us lose money and thus only compounds the problem. After a few hours the mud in my mind settled and I realized that by putting in some overtime at work, asking for my vacation pay and if necessary not paying off the full amount on my credit card bills will help deal with the financial issues. It won’t solve the problems in the short term but in the long run things will work out. As for book sales? Again it will happen in due time.

The problem with our society especially now with the internet is we expect instant results. We want it all and we want it right now! Life doesn’t work that way. Whether were talking recovering from an illness or injury, suffering a personal tragedy like the death of a loved one or a messy breakup/divorce, or even financial matters like profits/sales, things work out in their own time. The universe doesn’t care if the results aren’t fast enough, or good enough for us. “Good” and “bad” are subjective terms. If something is “bad” in our lives, it’s because we’ve chosen to label it as “bad”. Sometimes even tragic events happen for a reason, because said event in our live isn’t serving us thus we need the “bad” so we can see how it isn’t serving us and if necessary remove it from our lives. This in turn can lead to better things in the future. Hence the phrase “a blessing in disguise”.

Thus I’ve chosen to share this with all of you as a reminder that you have the power to decide whether you live in a friendly world, or a hostile one. While we can’t control what happens around us, or what other people do to us, we can control how we react to it. So you can either worry, or get mad at how bad things are in your life; but ask yourself this, “How will that solve my problems?” As I’ve often said, strong emotions have a nasty habit of clouding one’s judgment.

Thank you for your time, feel free to share this with others, or feel free to dismiss everything I’ve said, it’s your choice. Just remember your choices determine your reality. Choose what serves you best! Namaste!

A Brief Excerpt from Mystical Force Vol. 5

A Brief Excerpt from Mystical Force Vol. 5

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Chiyoko felt her insides churning. She was overcome with sadness, hurt, anger, and betrayal. Even though she should have known this, remembering what Akuma told her earlier, It’s everyone for themselves. If ya git caught, it’s ya own fault for not being fast or strong enough. Deep down, she knew this would have happened but somehow hoped she’d be wrong. She couldn’t help but feel foolish for thinking otherwise. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t have the luxury of worrying about that now, for another feeling was smothering all others; the icy hand of fear and its cold grip on her heart. Just like her family, she had been abandoned by uncaring people. She was left all alone to fend for herself. At least, that’s what she thought.

“LEAVE HER ALONE!” a familiar female voice shouted. Everyone turned to face the door where the survivors had escaped just a few minutes ago. Now another person was standing at the door. It was Shi-ria.

The leader of the cult members turned to face her. He could sense Shi-ria’s powers. “You’re the one the prophecy spoke of,” he deduced. “The one who is not of this world.”

Thanks to her Taman senses, she realized this strange cult was tied into the prophecy about her seeking out the true light within the darkness. “I assume you’re familiar with the prophecy then.”

The cult leader nodded, “‘The descendant of the darkness will cause the shadows to rise, and darkness will envelop the world. Then the one who is not of this world will seek out the true light within the darkness, and the shadows will open the gates to the netherworld,’” he recited. “You intend to stop the Kage Dai Yokai from cleansing this world of the human filth that defiles it. We cannot allow that.”

“What is this Kage Dai Yokai?” Shi-ria asked. She recalled Tokijin once telling her it meant Great Shadow Spectre, but beyond that, she knew very little of it.

“The one who will destroy all humans on this planet so that it may be reborn,” the cult leader explained.

“Why does this Kage Dai Yokai wish to do that?” she asked.

“Because humans are nothing more than ignorant, violent, primitive savages. It was their inner darkness that gave birth to the Kage Dai Yokai in the first place,” he continued. “Hundreds of years ago, in the feudal era, various feudal lords fought each other for control over this land. Hundreds of people fell in battle. The souls of all the dead formed a creature from the darkness of the human heart—the Kage Dai Yokai. He seeks to destroy all humans because that is what humanity seeks—to destroy, maim, and kill. Look at the state of the world: war, poverty, discrimination, crime, disease, famine, climate change, and no one cares. Humans look upon the suffering of others and the destruction they bring upon the planet, and their only thought is, ‘how can I profit from this?’ They willingly destroy their world because the accumulation of currency is more important to them. There is only one true pandemic that is ravaging the world; a disease called the human race! Humans are a cancer infecting this land! A plague to be wiped out!”

Shi-ria was tempted to point out that not all humans were like this; many were trying to save the planet and help solve the world’s problems. However, she felt her words would fall on deaf ears. But more than that, she noticed one glaring flaw in their beliefs, one she was surprised they failed to realize themselves. “You know that since all of you are humans, that means that if your mission succeeds and the Kage Dai Yokai is resurrected, you will be eliminated as well. Are you not, as you put it, the very ‘cancerous tumours’ that are also destroying this planet?”

“Those the Kage Dai Yokai deems worthy will survive to build a new world,” the cult leader boasted.

“Somehow, I highly doubt this Kage Dai Yokai will find you worthy,” Shi-ria countered.

“SILENCE!” the cult leader barked. “You will not interfere in our mission!” The cult members drew their daggers and moved toward Shi-ria. Using her Taman alchemy, she conjured up her sword. She dismissed using this same power to disarm her opponents since there were too many of them. To use her Taman alchemy to break down each of their weapons atom by atom would take too long. Besides, having to dodge multiple attacks would make it even harder for her to concentrate. Thus, as they lunged at her, she let the Taman guide her movements instead. She effortlessly dodged their attacks while using her weapon to deflect theirs. Relying on her kudai chenmol, or “air form,” Shi-ria twisted, spun, jumped, and dodged her attackers like air currents. Unaccustomed to this, her attackers grew more desperate. They began swinging their blades wildly, desperately trying to land a blow on her. As they grew more exasperated, their movements became wild and clumsy. Taking advantage of this, Shi-ria switched from defensive to offensive. Using her sword, she swung at them, striking their blades, forearms, and hands, forcing them to drop their weapons. Then she spun and kicked them, knocking them to the ground.

Chiyoko stood there watching with shock. Shi-ria appeared to also have whatever power Chiyoko had that warned her of danger. Not only that, Chiyoko couldn’t believe that Shi-ria managed to conjure up a weapon out of thin air. Now she was effortlessly evading the assault of multiple attackers. Chiyoko recalled having visions of Shi-ria. Could this be another one of her gifts? Was she predestined to meet this strange woman? Something deep down inside Chiyoko kept insisting that Shi-ria’s coming to save her wasn’t just a coincidence. Suddenly, another feeling arose inside her—a warning of danger. Chiyoko had been so focused on Shi-ria’s battle with this strange shadow cult that she forgot that they still wanted to kill her for “polluting” her demonic lineage with “human filth.” Thus, one cult member turned back to her. She lunged her dagger directly at Chiyoko. Fortunately, Chiyoko sidestepped her attacker. Reaching out with her right hand, Chiyoko grabbed this woman’s arm and twisted it, then pushed it back, resulting in the woman stabbing herself just below her right shoulder. Raising her free left hand, Chiyoko punched her in the face. Another cult member, this one male, turned and began slashing at her. Once again, Chiyoko dodged his swings, instinctively knowing where his blade would be and where to move to avoid it. It was the same power Shi-ria had. Chiyoko wasn’t sure how or why she knew this; she just knew it to be true. Thus, with their strange gift, the two women managed to take down these cultists. In the end, some of the cultists had fled, while most were sprawled on the floor. Chiyoko wanted to leave, figuring that the police would arrive soon.

Shi-ria seemed to sense this as well. She turned to Chiyoko, “Come with me.”

“Why?” Chiyoko asked.

“So we can talk.”

“About what?”

“About your future.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then I turn you over to Shinjo, and he arrests you for your crimes.”

Chiyoko looked Shi-ria directly into her eyes, which she found difficult since Shi-ria had two pupils per eye. Having never seen such a thing before, Chiyoko found it unsettling. But what was even more unsettling was the fact that she had a feeling Shi-ria wasn’t joking. Ordinarily, Chiyoko would have run, but something compelled her to stay. Was she afraid that if she tried to run, Shi-ria would catch her? Was she afraid that if she tried to fight off Shi-ria, Shi-ria could take her down? Or was she afraid she might run into more of these cult members and wanted to stick with Shi-ria in hopes that she’d protect her? Actually, the more Chiyoko thought about it, it wasn’t fear that kept her from running, but hope. Deep down inside, she felt that what Shi-ria had to offer was something better than a lighter prison sentence. Chiyoko couldn’t explain it, but she felt that meeting Shi-ria would set her life on a new path. Where that path led, she had no idea, but she was more than curious to find out.
Spirituality and Health

Spirituality and Health

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I recently received this in an email. While I’m sorry to say I forget who originally wrote this, what I found here was too valuable, too important for me to simply keep in my email until I read it and deleted. So to whomever originally wrote this, I thank you for sharing this and I’m grateful to get to share it myself. Hopefully you dear reader will find this as insightful as I did. Namaste!

TO YOUR HEALTH:

Everyone has their own, very personal definition of spirituality. No matter what parameters the concept of spirituality is given, science has begun to realize that it plays a very important role in one’s well being.

Numerous studies have shown that spirituality can help improve quality of life for people with chronic diseases like cancer. According to a recently published study, spirituality can also have a positive impact on the quality of life for heart patients. It further concludes spirituality should be considered a potential target for palliative care interventions to improve patient-centered and clinical outcomes in these individuals.

“Patients who have heart failure experience a poorer quality of life compared to their peers, with high levels of depression, anxiety and spiritual distress,” said Rachel S. Tobin, MD, resident in Internal Medicine at Duke University Hospital, and lead author of the study. “Contributing to diminished quality of life is the fact that heart failure, unlike many other chronic diseases, is very unpredictable and can lead to hopelessness, isolation and altered self-image.”

The American College of Cardiology and other major cardiovascular societies recommend palliative care for heart failure patients. Spirituality is a core domain of palliative care, with the goal of identifying and addressing spiritual concerns and providing patients with appropriate spiritual and religious resources. However, limited research has been conducted on spirituality’s impact on patients and there are no known tools designed to measure it.

According to the researchers, spirituality is hard to define, but they reference several definitions that describe spirituality as how individuals find meaning and purpose in life, which can be separate from religious beliefs.

For instance, the Institute of Medicine defines spirituality as “the needs and expectations which humans have to find meaning, purpose and value in their life. Such needs can be specifically religious, but even people who have no religious faith or are not members of an organized religion have belief systems that give their lives meaning and purpose.”

“The literature suggests not only can spirituality improve quality of life for the patient, it can help support caregivers and potentially help patients from needing to be readmitted to the hospital,” Tobin said. “What we have suggested and are now doing is developing a spirituality screening tool, similar to the ones used to screen for depression. This can be used to identify patients who are at risk for spiritual distress. However, this is just a start. More research needs to be done.”