All life is cyclical. To know this is to know a great truth. We see it in nature and we see it in the heavens, and we see it in our lives as well. Each day is a cycle within a larger cycle. It begins with the dawn and the sun rising in the east, and proceeds to dusk when the sun sets in the west. Then follows the evening and the continued movement of the celestial bodies until the cycle begins again at dawn. Within this cycle we have our own cycle of awaking, doing activities, sleeping and recharging, only to awaken again and begin doing activities again. Each morning brings a new day; each day a new opportunity. The moon has a 28-day cycle, starting with the new moon that waxes for 14 days until full, and then wanes for 14 days until it morphs into a new moon again. Women also menstruate on a monthly cycle. The seasons are cyclical, with spring giving way to summer, and summer to autumn, and autumn to winter, until we return to spring again. Each season has its own dynamics, and these are to understood and worked with. With very few exceptions you are setting yourself up for failure by planting seeds in the winter rather than waiting for the spring–because it is the wrong cycle in which to plant. Consciousness too has its cycles. There are times we feel very in tune, aware, alert, creative, and times when we lose our edge and seem to be fighting against the tides. Sometimes things are so easy; sometimes so hard. Why? Because our consciousness is cyclical too. Let me quote from my book, A Vision of Power and Glory. In the chapter “The Darkness,” I speak of how spiritual growth too is cyclical. This is work which defies normal understanding. One must never underestimate the immensity of the task. There is more here than meets the eye. Let the truth be known. You will fail and fail again. You will stumble and fall hundreds of times. Before any real growth and stability appears you will despair, lose faith, get discouraged, doubt, feel sorry for yourself, wonder if anything will ever happen. Does this mean you’ve lost the path? No, not at all. Here is something valuable to know – this is the path. There is great frustration in the beginning – in the infancy of our dawning spirituality – and it is here where we need patience and dedication. One oscillates between ecstasy and total despair. Ecstasy when, through the grace of the Great Mystery, the Holy Spirit fills us and we live in full and dazzling awareness of its existence, for it is alive and within us and this we know. We reign in confidence, inner peace and joy. Truths are revealed and a deeper understanding manifests within us. We experience total despair when, just as unexpectedly as it arrived, the awareness leaves again and we wonder whether we imagined the [...]

Last month on our way home to Vancouver from a tour of South Africa, we stopped off in Brazil for a vacation. We eventually found ourselves in a sleepy fishing village about an hour’s drive north of Salvador, enjoying the magnificent beaches and fresh seafood. One day, as we were out walking, Sylvia called excitedly to me. She was gently touching a fern with a twig she had picked up. When the fern was touched all the leaves instantly curled up into a compact, ball-like shape. The plant had obviously developed a system that detected when insects or animals approached it, and this action made it more difficult for them to chew on the leaves. Seeing this reminded me of being on safari several years earlier where a game ranger pointed out a species of tree that not only reacted to animals eating its leaves, but transmitted signals to other trees of the same species as well. It seems that these particular leaves were very delicate and tasty favourites of the giraffe. So whenever a family of giraffes would begin eating them, within 15 minutes the taste of the leaves would turn sour. What was so interesting, however, was that it was not only the leaves on that particular tree that turned sour, but the leaves on all the identical trees within a half-mile radius! The tree whose leaves were being eaten was able to somehow communicate with the other trees in the area and warn of impending danger. Does this suggest that plants have consciousness? It would appear so, and this conclusion is not so out of place considering that many cultures believe absolutely in the power of communicating with plants. Even within our own culture, it is no secret that those with "green thumbs" who work regularly with plants tend to talk to them. There have been numerous studies proving absolutely that an empathetic understanding and psychic connection to plants by a gardener tends to produce larger and healthier plants. The "Findhorn" experiment is one such example where vegetables were grown, sometimes several times their usual size, in very inhospitable ground, using the power of love and encouragement. Talk to anyone who loves gardening, who spends time daily with plants, and you might be surprised to hear what intelligent and well-educated people have to say about the consciousness of plants. Peter Tompkins wrote a fascinating book called The Secret Life of Plants, which sold over 1 million copies. In it he chronicles how plants communicate with each other as well as with humans. This is not as incredulous as it seems. The indigenous peoples from around the world, those who live close to the land, have always had a special relationship with nature. Whether it be the North American Indian, the Aboriginal, or the Bushmen of the Kalahari, all the traditional teachings encourage respect and communication with nature. In my travels through Africa I have met and befriended some fascinating Sangomas. These people are the traditional healers, [...]

A New World Is But a New Mind How do you perceive the world around you? Is it friendly? Hostile? Filled with adventure and pleasant experiences, or is it restrictive and riddled with disappointments. Are there lots of opportunities to get ahead financially and make a lot of money, or have most of the good ideas come and gone? Is life enjoyable, pleasant, boring, exciting, hard? In attempting to answer the above questions, you might ask yourself the following: What does my experience tell me? Each of us will answer this question in a slightly different way, and sometimes we will contradict each other with our answers. Yet, amazingly enough, each of us will be right. Whatever you answer is right and true... for you. Life does not consist of any absolute truths as we understand them. Life is much more fluid and dynamic than that. It is as diverse and varied as the people who experience it, and what you experience without has its root cause within. You are a law unto yourself, and what you believe within will be both the lens through which you view the world, and the attracting force by which countless experiences will be drawn to you. You have more power to create and influence your life than you ever suspected. In fact, you are creating your life this very moment by your inner beliefs and the thoughts you are choosing to entertain. Your thoughts and beliefs are not merely inner perceptions and attitudes, but are actual physical vibrations of energy as real as the floor below you and the clothes you wear. They are the main creative forces in formulating the life you now are experiencing, and in determining what will happen in your future. Simply stated, your thoughts and beliefs are the single most important factor in your life, and one over which you have total control. Yet most of us pay them minimal if any attention. How We See the World Each of us naturally assumes that we see the events and circumstances of our life as they actually are, that we are objective. But this is not the case. We see the world and ourselves in it, not as it is, but as we are, as we are conditioned to see it. We see it through the lens of who and what we are. To know this is to know something great, for no one gets to view the world without a lens (a perspective coloured by beliefs, expectations and past experiences). Our mind processes all experience through this filter, and often that experience gets misinterpreted in the process. Discovering and seeing what is really going on in our life is actually far trickier than you might suppose. In fact it is almost impossible, for one never gets to view the world without a lens (perspective). The best we can do is exchange different lenses (viewpoints, beliefs), and decide which is more accurate, or at least which one feels [...]