Thursday 20 September 2018

Another message from the Udumbara

Only with Love we create Peace - By the Udumbara in full bloom.

Sunday 12 August 2018

The Mind of Wisdom from the Udumbara

https://udumbarainflower.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-mind-of-wisdom.html

Monday 2 July 2018

Dear Mr Trump and Dear Chinese Government from the Udumbara

 Four years ago, I received a random email from the flowering Udumbara ... Today, I received another one.



Dear Mr Trump,

I read, with interest, an article talking about you bringing in a new bill to restrict access of Chinese Tour operators; promoting Tibet, into the US, if the Chinese continue to deny access to foreign journalists into Tibet.

I find this a very contradictory move since it only serves the purpose of denying tourists access to Tibet. If people don’t visit Tibet, how will they ever see what conditions are there? How will they ever know Tibetan people? How will they ever sympathise with Tibet?

Perhaps, Mr Trump, a better route might have been to deny access to Chinese tourists into the USA but that might be very damaging for he US economy and not a very good route either. Why did you not deny access to Chinese officials instead of tour operators? I have to question whether you wish to damage Tibet’s economy but then, I get confused because I thought you were trying to help Tibet and Tibetans.

I read that your “Experts on China” deemed this a “Tit for Tat”. Far be it from me to tell you how to run your cabinet, but I really think you should reassign whoever said this. If they knew anything about Chinese People and Chinese culture, they would know that this is considered a confrontation.I was only in China 6 months and even I know it.

Has history taught us nothing? Chinese Culture doesn’t like confrontation. They are not bad people. They only show force and power because, even though they are an ancient, and wise, culture, they are still learning - like all of us. Only, they don't like to expose their shortcomings in public. It makes them feel like they fall short in some way, when in fact, all they are doing is learning.

So, please don’t make me think that this bill is all about creating a standoff with China. What will be next - sanctions? - The breaking of Trade agreements? What will you do, put them in a corner to damage their economy just so you can bring manufacturing back to the US as you promised during your election campaign?



I would never want to think that a man of your calibre would use Tibet as a pawn in order to “Make America Great Again?” (I do recall that sentence, which again was frequently used in your election campaign)

If this were the case, though, I might end up thanking you because you could very well end the hostility between China and Tibet and let me tell you, it will not be because of your bill.

You see ... old enemies can become friends in their moment of need.



Dear Chinese Government,


I wrote to you 4 years ago ... and today, I am back, louder and stronger. Please don’t enter into this game of chess that is being presented by the US government. It will be damaging to your economy in the long run. 

I have been to Lhasa. I apologise for taking photographs but I did. I apologise for taking videos but I did and I am a nobody in this world ... So, I am sure that any journalists who wanted to enter Tibet - already have. Otherwise how would we know about the brave Tibetan nuns and monks who set themselves alight? How would we know about temples that have been invaded? How would we even know about all the Tibetan people you have arrested?

Dear Chinese government, this is your chance to see things as they are. This is your golden opportunity to make allies of old friends and move forward in the grace you once shared.

If you had genuine Tibetan people in your shops in Lhasa and at the airport, instead of Chinese girls dressed in Tibetan dresses, you would stand to make far more money. Just think about it. Tibetan people are kind, they are very loving, generous, patient and peaceful but they are, also, very clever business people. You only have to see what they have created everywhere around the world to see that.

Four years ago, I wrote that you would never be able to break their inner strength - so, why not learn from it? There is strength in union. There is power in union. There is growth in union. 

Four years ago, I couldn’t see clearly ... I was still growing ... but now I see it all clearly.

I understand His Holiness the Dalai Lama is about to visit your country, please take this Golden opportunity to let all wounds heal.



A faithful servant of Humanity,
The Udumbara flower

Sunday 24 June 2018

Nirvana and Samsara / Heaven and Hell

Good morning beautiful world. <3 span=""> People talk about Heaven and Hell, Nirvana and Samsara and I'm sure the equivalent exists in all religions. I have always maintained that I don't believe in either as "physical realities" - For me, personally, Heaven (Nirvana) and Hell (Samsara) are what we create in our lives here on earth. 

Samsara/Hell, is the place of darkness (negative energy) where we get stuck when we find it difficult, or impossible, to live with ourselves and others, because our speech and actions go against the very nature of who we truly are. We can't live with the decisions we make because they don't align with the Highest good within every one of us. In this space, we get caught up in all the negative aspects of human life; fear, anxiety etc etc. The more negative we are, the more negativity we create and, eventually, we end up in a very difficult cycle and attract more negativity - because energy will always magnetise to, and attract, its own polarity. That's why like attracts like. 

We forget, though, that the dark doesn't have to be a negative place. What makes the darkness dark is the charge of negative emotion behind it - our intention - our motivation for acting in a dark way. When we carry out dark actions with a pure intention, it is not dark. It is for a greater good. When something is for the greater good, it's a completely selfless act of unconditional love.

Think about it - the night is dark but it serves its purpose to let us rest and precede the day. It's intention isn't bad.

Heaven/Nirvana is the place of light (positive energy.) - a place of inner and outer peace. We reach this place when we just allow everything, and everyone, to "be." When we don't grasp, don't judge, don't fear, don't hate and certainly don't try to harm others or put them down (regardless of what they may appear to be doing to us) and don't take anything on board, in a personal way, this is when we can live in peace with ourselves and others ... because nothing will matter.

Saying that nothing matters doesn't, literally, mean nothing matters. It just means that we learn to let go of anything, and anyone, that doesn't serve our Higher purpose. When we do that, we attract people, places and events in our lives that can make everything change and once change happens, you'll find there's no going back.

However, since we live in a realistic world and not an idealistic Utopia, perhaps the solution is to find a happy balance between the light and the dark. After all, they need each other like the day needs the night.

It's my personal opinion that, a lot of the time, we do things so automatically, we don't stop for long enough to know why we did it or what our true intention was/is.

Have a beautiful Sunday one and all,

Tuesday 19 June 2018

Spritual Teachers

I would like to Honour my Spiritual Teachers Venerable Namgyel and Sri Devamitta Holland with this "reflective" article in appreciation of everything they do for Humanity and for me personally.

After a spiritual retreat, I become a little withdrawn and go very deep introspectively to search for, and process, all the possible things I’ve learned that can help me to become a better human being.
The end of this retreat has been no different and one of the many focal points of my learning has been to come to a deep appreciation for my spiritual teachers who have guided me along my journey’s path.

The question floating around in my mind, over the last day or so, has been: “Do we really, and truly, appreciate our spiritual teachers and everything they have been through in order to be in the position they are in to teach us?”

We are all teachers to one another and, every day, we are in this perpetual cycle of learning and teaching - but are we fully aware of it? Or does each lesson pass us by without us giving it the appropriate amount of attention?

Everything we say and do is the product of a lesson we have learned from someone at some particular moment in time - and, although we may not realise it, at the time, everything we say and do also serves as a lesson for someone else.

However, it is my humble opinion that Spiritual Teachers (especially travelling ones) are so very precious, and genuine ones may be a little rarer to find in this day and age when everyone can become a self proclaimed "spiritual guru".

Some Spiritual Teachers travel long distances; enduring the hardships of airports and sleeping in a different bed every week in a different country. And, whoever has travelled a lot knows how difficult airports can be with their policy of being there 2 hours before, the stress of security checks, queues, extortionate prices for food and let’s not mention the need to get up at absurd times of the morning, perhaps with little to no sleep, in order not to miss their flight.

They spend so much of their precious time, and their life, on a plane and suffering chaotic travel conditions for our sake.

I wonder if we fully appreciate how much constant flying, and crossing multiple time zones, in a pressurised cabin, affects the body and, ultimately, health itself.

I, also, wonder if we fully appreciate how tired a teacher must feel when he/she spends his/her day giving so much of himself/herself - sharing precious wisdom, answering all our questions and giving each and every one of us enough attention.

During each retreat/teachings, a teacher may have 30, different, people to respond to. It must be very taxing mentally and physically. That’s not to mention how many emails a teacher has to answer nowadays of other students far far away from the retreat in course.

I think we, sometimes, fail to remember that a Spiritual teacher is still a human being, like us - made of flesh and blood. The only difference between us is that they have optimised their full spiritual potential whereas we haven’t even started to scratch the surface. 



We take so much from them, and, perhaps a little selfishly, expect them to just keep giving and giving and giving but I ask myself how much we, actually, give them back and when I say give back, I mean by looking after them, and their well-being, so that they may always have their batteries fully charged, be in good health, and be able to benefit even more people on their journey’s path that takes them around the world. 



As a event organiser, and a devoted student, I reach out to all retreat organisers around the world to truly value the precious teacher you are hosting. It’s imperative to let our teachers rest appropriately. We all benefit from a refreshed mind in a relaxed body.

It costs nothing to let our teacher rest a day, before any retreat, after a long trip, and it costs nothing to let them rest a day or two after the teachings so they may fully recover.



My wish is that, as retreat organisers, we may show the same compassion, love, patience and kindness to our Spiritual Teachers as they show us. After all, are love, patience, kindness and compassion not the very things our Teachers are trying to teach us?

What use is learning if we can’t put what we learn into practice with the very people that show us the way?

Wherever you are, whoever you are, as a fellow student, I ask you ... please ... love, take care of, and appreciate all teachers in this world because, if they are no longer able to teach, through ill health, who will we all turn to?

All of our "Life" Teachers give us wings (some more than others and some literally) and they also give us the ability to consistently transform/improve ourselves. It's up to us to choose whether to fly or not and what greater Honour is there, for our Teacher, than to see us fly the way they taught us to!
Have a beautiful day one and all.

Wednesday 7 March 2018

A simple act of kindness

Dear New World citizens,

Yesterday I spoke about how a simple smile can change the world, can you imagine what a random act of kindness could do?

You may not believe it but a simple act of kindness can travel across the world and last for decades and decades. It is something that, to you, could mean very little but, to someone else, mean the world. Perhaps the person in front of you has never received an act of kindness from anyone. How sad is that?

If you have ever been on the receiving end of kindness, you know how nice it feels. You know how special it is to have been the centre of someone’s attention; albeit for just a few moments. The simple fact that someone shifted their focus from their own world to direct their attention to you and give you their time is an act that should be honoured and treasured.

Before the days of commerce and having to pay for things, we all gave each other our time. We hunted together in community spirit, we shared our food, we protected each other and knew the name of everyone in our village. We had no money. So, all we had to give was our time. Our time spent together is what made our bonds grow stronger and kept us together.

Nowadays, in a society where we cannot, conventionally, survive without money, the last thing we have for each other is time. It is this lack of time that keeps us separate. 



We have children but we don’t really watch them grow up because we are too busy providing for them. 

We mortgage ourselves to the hilts for a house that we end up spending no more than 10 hours a day in - and for 8 of those we are, most likely, sleeping. We get so stressed, with our jobs, that we end up leading unhappy & unfulfilling lives. This leads to frustration that, then, might get vented during the first opportunity you have to spend with your family.


We all only have a certain amount of time on this planet and most of it is consumed with surviving. So, giving someone your time, no matter how small, no matter how insignificant you think it is, is, in fact, the MOST PRECIOUS gift you can give anyone.

A simple act of kindness is giving someone your time and, within that time, taking the opportunity to make someone’s life a little easier, a little less stressful, a little lighter and definitely a little happier.

The beauty of kindness is that it is infectious. It’s like a virus. Once it’s been carried out, it will carry on producing good energy for days, weeks, months and, in some cases, for decades and decades to come. Maybe for a few people, your one simple act of kindness will be remembered with affection and create warmth for the rest of their lives.

Just think - How amazingly beautiful is it that You were able to give that gift to someone. If you are on the receiving end of someone’s effort to be kind to you then think about what a beautiful gift it is for you too and be grateful. 



Our Universal consciousness loves gratitude. When we’re grateful, we attract more of what we’re grateful for.

Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

Monday 5 March 2018

Death and Rebirth

Teach children to remain innocent

Yesterday, I said that you could help the planet by planting a tree. Well, today I'm going to show you another way you can help.

You can teach your children to keep their innocence instead of showing them how to lose it.
Yes, we, as adults, are responsible for the loss of innocence in our children. We don't do it intentionally. We probably don't even realise that we're doing it. We think we are giving them life skills but, in reality, we are teaching them to judge and be discriminating.

By teaching children what is right and wrong, we are giving them our opinion based on the opinion of the majority that we've accepted as resonating with us as our truth. But, It might not be based on fact nor be an absolute reality. By introducing them to the concepts of happy/sad, good/bad, hot/cold, we are teaching them to judge so that they may avoid unduly suffering. Our intentions are good. We want to protect them from the pain we've been through in our lives.

Yet suffering serves a purpose, too, and it teaches us invaluable lessons; lessons that perhaps we cannot learn any other way than facing our pain head on, learning from it and releasing it.

All of us lose our innocence when we start to discriminate. If we are to live on this planet, as the one Human Race that we are, we MUST teach our children to NOT discriminate. I understand that, with all the tragic fighting and wars, death and devastation, it's very hard to teach our children not to judge BUT ... the majority of you, reading this, probably have the privilege to live in a war free zone. So, you can teach your children to show love, kindness and compassion.

Do we all not search for love our entire lives? Is the hope, then, that love will, eventually, heal everything - even the deepest wounds? Well, what if love is never lost? It is inside us the whole time but we never see it until, one day, someone comes along who reflects it right back at us.

When we teach our children how to discriminate, we are effectively teaching them how to judge and while we're distracted, by judging each other in the physical plane, we miss the beautiful qualities that truly make up who we are, and who we are is one and the same. There is no difference between you and I. When we realise there is no difference, we can no longer live in separation and that is when we become one - The One Human race we have always been.

Health and Walking with Fitness Expert Louise Jones

Saturday 3 March 2018

Plant a Tree

I hear a lot of people saying they don't know what to do to help save the planet. They fall into the trap of believing that they can't help, because they think the problem is too big, and so they stop there and give up. It's not that they're unwilling or incapable, they genuinely don't know what to do.
Well, all you members of New World Citizen, here's one thing you can do to help - Plant a Tree - You heard me ... Plant a Tree - It's not difficult ... you can do it anywhere and you'll be saving a life. Yes, saving a life - and that life could be of your mother, father, brother, sister, friend, neighbour, county, country - even planet.

The air, we breathe, is sadly not what it use to be ... Gases, emissions, pollution in general, is affecting our air very badly ... just look at all the factories and the gases they send up into the atmosphere. Think of the amount of plane emissions that get dumped every day. Think of the amount of fumes emitted by cars, buses, trains etc etc. All of that goes into our lungs when we breathe in and it doesn't matter where you live, you ARE affected.

I hear you say: "I live in a beautiful part of the countryside. The air here is pure. The water unspoiled. The land untouched" - but you're wrong.

That air, no matter where you live, is the same air we all breathe ... ALL OVER THE WORLD .... The air in your country is NOT exclusive to you. It travels ... and every breath you take in and then breathe out will, one day, come my way, and I will breathe it in and then breathe it out before it goes on its way to someone else.

Don't believe me? ... ok, well, watch how far cigarette smoke travels when it's blow out of a moving car window or how far smoke travels up and out of a chimney. Or, look up at the trail a plane can leave behind it. Air is not a containable substance. It cannot be isolated.
 
Air, is what keeps us alive. If we stop breathing, we know we die. So, air is, technically, the most important substance for our survival. Yet, so many people are dieing because of the quality of their air. Many cancers are caused by our polluted air and many diseases, as we know, can be transmitted through the air because viruses, like everything else on this planet are energy, (atoms), which are the very fibre of the air we breathe.

The air is cleaned by trees. They act like a big filter ... They suck in the bad stuff, cleanse it and send it back into the air in a clean format that we can breathe harmlessly.

The problem around the world is that too many trees are being cut down too quickly. Therefore, our filter is falling apart. It needs replacing like the filter in our cars.

The great news is that it's not too late to fix it. All we need to do is plant trees. If we all did, we would be giving ourselves and others the gift of life. If you plant a fruit tree, you give the world the gift of nourishment as well as life. You, also give the gift of anticipation - the excitement of waiting for the fruit to appear and ripen to consume, and hope - that the tree may bare fruit.

A tree isn't just a tree ... it's life itself ...
So, please plant a tree, be a hero and save a life.

Thursday 1 March 2018

The world is beautiful ... because of you ... yes you!

We are programmed to believe that we live in a cold and, sometimes, very cruel world - A world where I certainly didn't want to be any more. I didn't want to hear of another war. I didn't want to see another disaster. I certainly didn't want to be a volunteer anymore. I didn't want to see another person, on this planet, have to suffer because of the malicious, political, acts of a few.

The more violence, and suffering, we see, the more we either live in denial and shut off from it; refusing to see the truth or openly face it. Or, we only half listen so it can't affect us that badly. Or, we take it all on board and suffer and suffer and suffer until our minds shut down, in silence and escapism, and block out the rest of the world.

It's not that we don't care. On the contrary, we care so deeply it hurts us to the very core. It's because we don't know how to deal with it. If you're spiritual, we are all beings of pure light and love. If you are religious, we are all souls created in the image of God. If you are a Muslim, then we are all beings of Allah and if you are a Buddhist, we are all just human beings.

Whatever your belief is, we are all essentially the same ... we come from a Source we believe in. Just the fact that we all believe in something - even if it is different ... means we already have something in common.

If we have something in common, we have something to talk about ... not argue ... not fight ... not judge ... not silence ... not ignore ... We should all live by this famous phrase written by Voltaire: - "I may not agree with what you have to say but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it."
Through talking, we understand each other and become friends. When we become friends our bond can only strengthen year after year after year.

The world is not cold. It is a beautiful place because there are very beautiful people in it - Like you - yes you reading this. If you are reading this, it is because you were meant to see this message and I guarantee you, you are a beautiful beautiful soul. It is because of you that this world will change and, one day, everyone will come to live in peace and harmony.

If we strip away everything that we think defines us - like our titles, our bank accounts, our clothes, our possessions and every one of our labels and then strip away the very flesh and bones that makes us, there is nothing left except your spirit and it is identical to that of everyone else. In fact, it looks the same as 99% of the rest of the world - like air! So, if we're all air, we all merge into one.
We might even call this air "Energy" because we know it's made up of atomic molecules.

A series of events that have taken place over the last 2 weeks has shown me that the true beauty in the world lies in people like you who help others to see their true beauty, attain their full potential and make their own happiness so that they may spread it along to others and, actually, be that change that you crave so much. I share your vision and thank you for being one more who is trying to do their best to bring about this change. May your Source always shine upon you.

Everyone is suffering

Saturday 20 January 2018

Love is like the sea ...

All of us feel and talk about love in different ways - possibly because there are many types of love and interpretations of love in the world. No doubt that, even though we may share common views, love will have as many meanings as there are people in the world because everyone experiences it differently. Yet ... Many may agree that we only realise the depth of love when we get lost in its sea-like expansiveness, and therein, find that love is, in fact, like water. It has no beginning and no end. It is just one continuous movement towards the shore. It's like a dance ... the dance of Neroids

https://flic.kr/s/aHskuUemfQ

Wednesday 17 January 2018

Trust in Love ...

No matter how far we travel in life; spiritually, physically or emotionally - eventually, everything comes full circle and we find ourselves right back where we started - albeit a little older and wiser (one hopes.) In our quest for growth (as individuals and as communities), we need to let cycles come to their natural end and allow new ones to freely begin.

When everything, finally, makes perfect sense we no longer feel sorrow, nor anger nor regret. We leave behind fears, doubts and insecurities. Like a snake, we shed our old skin so a new one can take its place. We drop the masks that have served to protect us and we surrender the need to be, constantly, defensive. When we do that, we have no reason to fight each other for anything because when all negative energies are cleared, all that remains is pure, unconditional, love and kindness, gratitude and compassion ...

We realise that everything we have been through and everyone we have ever encountered brought us to where we are now ... and where we are now is exactly where we're meant to be.

From here, with no more mental, emotional or spiritual chains to bind us, we can only move forward.

Where this new cycle will take us - nobody knows - but with such an unconditional trust in love, anywhere will be just perfect because it is meant to be

Monday 15 January 2018

Sunday 14 January 2018

Beliefs change

Life changes, circumstances change, we change and our beliefs have to change accordingly.

We shouldn't attach ourselves to whatever beliefs we have in our minds, at this very moment, because they mean nothing. The very second something happens that makes us re-think and re-evaluate what’s in our minds, new beliefs are formed and what we clung so tightly to, yesterday, is now history.

This is how we evolve and grow - through our ever changing and (hopefully) ever improving belief system. Never cling to any belief so rigidly that you close your minds off to new information, new potential and new opportunity coming your way.

Keeping an open mind is like saying yes to life and telling the Universe that you are ready, and willing, to receive whatever is coming your way. One global love <3 span="">

Stop hurting each other

Only when we experience something, can we truly understand, appreciate and learn from its complete opposite counterpart. For example, if we feel intense sorrow, we will learn how to appreciate and create happiness around us; not just for ourselves but for those close to us.

Only when we know the deep emptiness of real loss can we fully appreciate life in all its fragility. Only when we experience the deepest of pain do we try and alleviate it for ourselves and those around us. Only when we know what it means to really suffer do we try and shield others, around us, from it. 

Only when we see, and feel, how our behaviour hurts another, and we truly understand the pain attached to that hurt because we see ourselves reflected in the other, do we stop hurting each other once and for all. That is when we start living in our true bright eternal light of Divine connection. Love each other peeps ... Life really is far too short

Friday 5 January 2018

Wednesday 3 January 2018

Tuesday 2 January 2018