Wednesday 7th November 2001 16-30 CET
Surprises
Grey heavily laden skies and a temperature, at the time of writing, of just
1 degree C, are messengers of the winter that is now obviously fully
arrived. It has sent it's snowflake emails and a slight covering of snow
lies on the land and precariously perches upon the trees and bushes.
The slightest of winds occasionally dislodging some and drifting them
in fractal designs against the landscape.

This is not actually such a surprise, it is now November and quite often
in the last 10 years the winter has started in the first week of October.

The surprise today is the decision to re-visit India in January, to once again
sense the wonder of that country and the special tolerance shown by
most of it's people. This also provides the opportunity to visit some
special places that hold great meaning for me...the place where Gandhi
was assasinated for example. When I first visited India and Gandhi Smitri
(thats the place) I was overcome with a profound sense that his spirit was
very evident in 'the now'. He was a truly incredible man of whom Einstein
wrote "generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever,
in the flesh, walked upon this earth". I have always, as an englishman
and an inheritor of all the aspects of the English colonialist history,
always felt that the long suffering people of India were also very special -
for, despite every reason to hate us, they had hearts that were open to receive
Gandhi's message and followed him in his non-violent crusade against we
english. A crusade that often shamed us and caused us to re-examine
our morality and values. A crusade that eventually led to the Independence
of India....and yet still retained a 'valued friendship' with England.

It was a demonstration, at the time of World Wars and such, that honesty
and humility can more enlighten the oppressor than many other things.

So many years have passed since Gandhi 'walked upon the earth' and as
I look around at the terrible waste of life, the horrors of some man-created
actions and 'non-loving inspired rhetoric', I wish so often and so much that
a 'new Gandhi' were amongst us all. Ah, the pathway of human progress is
often littered with the examples of non-progress, huh? And so very often,
too often, that pathway is signposted with the graves of the future.....the children.
It is not always easy to comprehend the aspects of 'the lovingness'

For example, I have heard it quoted that 'the poor will always be with us',
to which I respond, 'yes, that is so...for they seek to remind us of the
principle of inter-dependence that is the basis of "the lovingness".
Yet, the time will come when there shall be no poor, for our 'realised
value-system' will have transmuted the importance of material possession
into the value of people'.

Travelling to India will also, hopefully, allow me to unite with some
incredibly special friends... people who opened their hearts and home
to a somewhat strange englishman that they did not know. People who
gave and shared without requiring anything in return...and indeed being
offended when payment was offered . I remember so clearly, so clearly
as yesterday, that it was shown to me that the offer of payment for hospitality
received was as though I placed dirt in the hand of him to whom it was offered.
That came as a wonderfully profound spiritual experience to me...and I
shall remain thankful throughout all my life for those 'coincidences' that caused
my weary footsteps to find sanctuary for my body and my spirit
within such a truly loving and caring environment. Their humility
would doubltess be offended if I were to mention them by full name and
location here in this blog.......but Dinesh, his generous hearted Mother and his
truly devout and honourable Father.....they know who they are and where
they are. I stumbled into a shop.....and discovered a temple of 'lovingness'

Life is full of surprises, 'coincidences?', if we are willing to be open to them
and to trust in the lovingness of 'the Oneness'. The more you test it,
the more you try it out, the more you are open to see it......the more obvious it
is.

That's the real surprise! It is through the ordinary things that the extra-ordinary
is always present and can be found if we are willing to see it. Individually
experiencing and without pre-condition. No hype, no flashing lights, no ad
campaigns...no news headlines. Just an ever-present undercurrent of 'lovingness'
waiting to surprise us :):)

You see, that's another surprise. 'God', however you choose to define it, Him, Her,
or even refuse to define ....... that 'lovingness' is unconditional. NO CONDITIONS.
That's what real love is. It loves us as we are and does not set conditions on how we
'ought to be'. That's part of the mistake of the religious orgs, a misunderstanding
of the boundlessness of the lovingness. We are doing exactly, we are being exactly,
that for which we came into this experiencing reality at any given moment in time.
Anyone who thinks differently misunderstands the enormity of the 'lovingness'
Anyone who thinks differently does not fully comprehend the meaning of
'UNCONDITIONAL love'. Anyone who feels there is something that God is,
or is not, commits a fundamental error in their understanding of 'the Oneness'

Once you truly experience it,become 'aware, conscious' of it,
it truly does change your perception of who you really are.
For we are a part of 'the Oneness' and can never be parted from it.
We are an aspect of 'the lovingness' as each snowflake is an individualised
aspect of winter. It matters not if we melt into a re-created form,
for that which is our essence, an energised aspect of 'the lovingness',
that is for always. Unconditionally.

Once you start giving out unconditional love, the surprises, the 'coincidences',
the energy of 'the lovingness' starts to overwhelm you like an avalanche...so much
so that you could never have believed that you could contain so much joy nor
give out so much love.

It's a REAL surprise, hehehehehe. And it's UNCONDITIONAL !
It's happening even without your awareness and conscious participation.LOL

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