A Spot of Colon Navigation???

Just under 2-years ago, a routine colonoscopy discovered a 5cm tumor in my colon. Although benign, the tumor was growing rapidly and would soon result in a large internal explosion. Apparently not good for life support. Much to my trepidation, it had to come out. Can you imagine major surgery in a foreign country where your language skills rank maybe a 4 for comprehension and a 2.5 for speaking? Actually, the facility I had the surgery in was very good and it was keyhole surgery too performed especially by the top Doctor there. I recall being wheeled in for the surgery. The operating theater was huge and had an amazing view of Brno castle at least until they put the shades down. There must have been about 8 doctors and

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Fast Food for the Soul

The world is full of hype isn’t it? All around the internet you will find articles such as ’15 ways to be happy’, ’10 ways to lose weight’ or, ‘3 reasons to quit smoking’. Why do all these hyped articles involve numbers? What is it about listing a small number of things that appeals to readers? I’ll tell you. Time and efficiency. Why would I read an essay if I can get 12 short statements? ‘The seven habits of effective people’ – another example. Everything must be boiled down to the bare bones and presented quickly. It’s fast food for the soul! The problem is surely that being eternal, why would the soul want fast food? In fact, its the body and maybe the ego that wants instant gratification. The

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Magic and Science

A common theme of mine on this blog is the nature of reality and how Gnostics and occultists knew this long before modern scientists created their glorified Theories of everything. In fact, those very same scientists are only hinting at what is already known and has been through milenia. In fact, it takes others like Anthony Peake, for example, to take that science and analyze it in a holistic manner to start to draw some startling hypotheses. The fact that anthony has found some modicum of support for his work among mystics and magicians should be no surprise for he is simply rediscovering things that, for a few, where already well known. Take a read of Eliphas Levi for example. “There exists a force in nature which is far more

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Time for Change

Just recently it seems a lot of ordinary people have gotten quite angry. In India, the brutal rape and, let’s call it what it was and say murder, of a young innocent student has caused a backlash of ordinary people demanding the government finally deal with the issue of rape. In the USA, anonymous is making sure that everyone is aware of the repeated rape of a high school girl by the town’s popular high school football team is kept in the news and they are not allowing the town to conveniently sweep the event under the carpet. In Pakistan, a teenage girl shot by the Taliban for defending women’s right to an education has caused a similar outcry. This is good but it’s not enough. We live in a

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A New Year

Perhaps you are wondering why I have gone so quiet? Maybe not but I havent posted much here for a couple of weeks. The reason is I am hard at work on my new book – a novel – and I cant stop working on it. It has become my obsession and every spare minute I am writing. The book is called The Last Observer and I first thought of the concept about five years ago. I discussed it with my eldest son in a pub in London around that time and he was very taken by the plot…so much so he keeps asking me how it is going…. So here we are in another new year. In reality, its just another day and I have always wondered why folks

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This Time of Year

I love this time of year. The cold crispness on starry nights and the halo of ice crystals around the Moon or the cold dampness after a cleansing rainfall. The idea and joy of life as everything is dying as winter approaches. There is a magical feeling to it. The cycle of life as the leaves fall to eventually create the rich humous from which new life will blossom. As a teenager, we used to go camping for Bonfire Night down by the Humber near Goole. It was damp, misty and cold but magical. I have an abiding memory of how that felt that can be triggered into full sense at anytime. The colours of autumn are unique and to be treasured. As I said above, the feeling of being

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Whom does the Grail serve?

Meditation today raised the question “Whom does the grail serve?” This last few weeks has been difficult. It is still difficult. I am melancholy, in a deep dark hole. I am sick and can’t seem to get well. Everything suddenly seems gray, unexciting, uninspiring and difficult. Perhaps it is no coincidence that tomorrow will mark the first anniversary of my Father’s passing. In my mind, I saw my Father and I understood his great joy at my birth. His love for me his eldest child and I guess the child he really hadn’t wanted. But, somehow, my birth became a moment of significance in his life and how he celebrated Fatherhood! Becoming a father changed him fundamentally and I think, gave him meaning. My brothers will agree that he was

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Sucked in and Spat out

There are times when life simply sucks you in. The moment at which that sucking in begins is tough to actually identify but there comes a moment when you understand that you are once again totally wrapped up in life. I mean of course the outer life that can become all consuming. For me, the recognition arrives numbingly in the form of a general but nondescript feeling of tiredness and lack of energy. Next is often some form of low grade illness that no matter what will not go away. At this point, one simply feels encased in imagined responsibilities, stresses and pressures and there can truly seem to be no escape. Until you realize and understand that the operative word is “IMAGINED.” At these moments, it pays to examine

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The Politics of Hate and the Free Thinker

The recent events in the Muslim world have disturbed me more than almost any other news story of late. I confess, I have less familiarity with the Koran than I do with the Bible but from what I have managed to glean, Islam is a religion that teaches love and tolerance and also has a strong mystical vein rich in meaning. These events got me thinking. I guess my first reaction was to simply decide and confirm my view that religions – any religion – are a bad idea. I mean, its easy to condemn these hate-filled, venomous Islamists based on their actions. But look at the history of christianity! In the persecution of the Cathars, as one city was sacked in south-west France, the noble Catholic leader of the

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We Create Our Own Horror

Found a very interesting website tonight and thought I would reproduce this article as it is exactly what I believe to be truth too….. Consider the following: Our thoughts have potent creative power. We create our reality by thought. This is fact, even if but few people know about it. Because of the time factor we experience in the 3rd dimension we live in, we rarely see the connection between thoughts and their realization. You can find out by being watchful and attentive, even over longer periods of time. Now think about the movies, TV programs, books, journals and other publications of past and present years. Think of the public taste, the tickle of people’s nerves, that has to increase more and more, so that they would be able to

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