The Secret of Life

Summer Schedule - And A Video About Trust

We've been having some nice warm summery weather here in the UK and I've been finding that the trowel and the watering can have been shouting rather louder than blogging. Last year, while we were moving house, I put The Secret Of Life on the backburner for a few months to give me a chance of keeping my life in some sort of sane balance, and all of a sudden, it seems like a good idea to do the same again this year. All this means is that I'll be posting once or twice a month instead of once or twice a week over the summer, which will allow me to revitalize and bounce back all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when the leaves start to fall from the trees again.

In the meantime, the best way to keep track of my occasional posts might be to subscribe to my feed or register for email updates (if you haven't already done so). You'll find all the necessary clickable bits in the sidebar. This might be a good idea, because I've got some interesting posts planned in the next few months, including one with the intriguing title "Twelve Words That Can Heal The World'. I'm hoping you'll like that one...

A couple more things this time: you may remember my earlier posts about neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor's remarkable experience during her stroke. If so you may be interested to download Taylor's recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, the first of a new series of spirituality interviews which Oprah is running as a follow-up to her Eckhart Tolle - New Earth series.

And finally, here's a video which reminds us of a very important factor in using the law of attraction: trust. I described this element as 'letting go' or 'non-attachment' in my 'Heart Of The Secret' series of posts, but 'trust' is another excellent way to look at it.

It's easy for those of us who are motivated to produce art in some form or other to become pessimistic about our chances of finding an audience. After all, there are so many demands on people's time these days. But the guy in this video turns this idea on its head, quietly trusting that his audience will come... and it seems to work for him!

I found this inspiring - do take a look...

In case you didn't catch the name, the singer in the video is called Terry Prince. Incidentally, I came across this video on a blog called Bold Thoughts by David Hooper. (David has written a book on the law of attraction, the audio version of which is available on free download.)

Acceptance & Friendship

There's a wonderful story in last week's edition of the Eckhart Tolle & Oprah Winfrey webcasts which echoes what I've been talking about in my recent 'Ultimate Truth' series of posts. It lasts about five minutes. You can listen to it here.

The whole of these weekly webcasts are available on free download (in either audio or video format) from Oprah's web site. If you haven't been following them, I urge you to give them a try. I thought that last week's (number six) was particularly powerful.

You may have noticed a picture which has recently appeared at the top of my sidebar. This is a recent award which was passed on to me by the generous Angelbaby. I think it's a lovely image and one which appears to symbolize a lot of what this blog is about, so I stuck it up there on the mantelpiece as soon as I got it. But it's a chain of friendship award and the idea is that I pass it on, not hoard it for myself.

So, if you are reading this, please consider yourself my friend! Please feel free to accept this award and know that you deserve it. You can use it on your blog (if you have one) and pass it on to others. Let's spread the love around and let it encompass the Earth...

A Stroke Of Insight

The Ultimate Truth series will continue shortly, but I couldn't wait to share with you a wonderful new video called A Stroke Of Insight, featuring neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor. It's more about our left and right brains and the way they affect our perception. I think you will find that it more than repays the eighteen minutes of viewing.

Here's the blurb from the web site: "Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: one morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another." You can see the video here. Let me know what you think!

By the way, Sue Ann Edwards has had/is having a similar experience and regularly shares her invaluable insights at her Always Embraces All Ways blog.

Finally, a couple of footnotes about The Secret Of Life:

The links to spirituality sites concerning Deeksha, Eckhart Tolle etc now have a page all to themselves which you can access here or via the sidebar. I also still have pages of links to some of my favorite blogs (Spirituality & Self Development Blogs here and Other Blogs here).

Plus: I finally succumbed to avarice and installed some Google ads. With any luck, I should get the first payment before I reach retirement age... I was always a bit curious about what sort of ads I would get on the site. The ads for The Secret and Eckhart Tolle I can understand but I'm not so sure about the ones for cute animal pictures. It must be all those giraffes and elephants that keep showing up in my posts...

The 'Left Brain - Right Brain' Dancer

One of my Deeksha givers, Ed Harpin, forwarded me some information on last week's lunar eclipse:

"During these times, people can tend to be more emotionally expressive. Often untruths can come to the surface and whatever part of our lives is not in sync with our life's purpose can show the most change. Old realities crumble away, and there is a feeling of freedom as we let go of the past and take a step into the new, the fresh, and the magical unknown."

This turned out to be very true in my case! Last week, over two days, I was due to attend meetings on three separate projects, none of which I wanted to be involved with. They were things I had taken on because I thought I 'should'. But there are times when something just has to give, and this was one of them. I got so stressed out with everything, I almost ground to a halt altogether. I really didn't want to be doing these things and I couldn't pretend otherwise any longer. Changes had to be made. So I've managed to get rid of two of the projects and I'm working on dumping the third. These were worthy enough endeavors but they didn't really need me - and I certainly didn't need them.

In one of my responses to the comments on my previous post, I wrote: "it's like my underlying 'program' still isn't reading my blog" - and last week brought it home to me how true this has been. Way back in January of last year, I wrote here: "in our present state, it is as though we are all carrying an enormous statue of ourselves on our shoulders, a statue which we believe is of enormous interest to everyone else around us, all of whom are constantly studying the statue and seeking to identify some deficiency in it". I went on to point out that this isn't actually true, but that it is a deeply ingrained misapprehension which most of us have: we are so preoccupied with the face we present to the world.

And yet here I am, all this time later, still seeking validation for what I am doing: still judging each day in terms of its achievements instead of simply Being. As my Mentor-in-Chief, Sue Ann, has been telling me on her blog: "we're all busy seeking a sense of validation from the world outside of us, instead of recognizing the substance of what's within us". Well, last week showed me that the time has come for me to make that change. I've written about my need to reduce my level of stress. I had intended that this would start in April, when I visit the clinic in London (as I explained in the previous post). But it's going to have to start now.

I don't think it's a coincidence that my computer problem has slowed down my blogging, because The Secret Of Life is going to have to change too. Or - to put it more accurately - my attitude to this blog is going to have to change. I'm going to spend less time worrying about sticking to a 'regular' schedule and less time checking the Stats. I'm going to write when I feel the need to write and trust that whoever needs to read what I've written will duly find it. If you would like to be one of those readers, that'll be great - it may help to put me on one of your favorites lists so you can check when I've posted. And who knows? You may not even notice much difference here - it'll be me that's changed.

So under the circumstances, I make no apologies for the fact that I still haven't finished those posts on 'the ultimate truth' which I mentioned last time. But ultimate truths always take a bit longer than ordinary truths, after all. And in the meantime, here's an interesting video. Look at it for a while and see what you see:

I don't know how this thing works. It originally came in an email - forwarded,  synchronistically enough, by another of our growing band of local Deeksha givers, Heidi Fawkes. It came as a GIF file and it looked fine in image viewing software but when I tried to post it, the motion mysteriously disappeared. So I managed to find this You Tube version instead. Here's the text that came with the original email:

If you see this lady turning clockwise, you are using your right brain. If you see it the other way, you are using your left brain. Some people do see both ways, but most people see it only one way.

If you try to see it the other way and you do see, your IQ is above 160, which is almost a genius. Then see if you can make her go one way and then the other by shifting the brain's current.

Both directions can be seen! This was proved at Yale University over a 5 year study on the human brain and its functions. Only 14% of the US population can see her move both ways.

Just to provide a bit of context: experiments have shown that the left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for logical, analytical thought, while the right hemisphere is associated with a more intuitive, holistic approach. This would suggest that meditation, for instance, would be a right brain function.

When I first got the email, I tried this out, and the results seemed to bear out the theory. Most of the time, I saw the dancer rotating anticlockwise, but as I managed to relax and still my mind, she changed direction. Today, the results are less well defined. Most of the time, she's clockwise, but if I look away and look back again, she sometimes changes direction for no apparent reason. Maybe I'm more relaxed today.

Or perhaps my IQ is falling...

Let me know what you see - and if you can make the figure change direction!

P.S. I've just found another, 'cleaner' version here.

Free Blog Listing On USA Today Web Site

Here's one for my blogging readers. FuelMyBlog and Blogger & Podcaster Magazine have got together with USA Today to offer all FuelMyBlog members a month's free listing on the USA Today web site (in their Blogger/Podcaster Guide). This listing normally costs $49-95 per month.

All you need to do is to join FuelMyBlog and then go here to see details of the offer.

The only snag I've noticed is that you have to give your credit card details. Then if you don't cancel in time, you'll be billed for subsequent months. But a note in your diary should take care of that.

(And if necessary, a note to remember to look in your diary...)

The A-Z of Simon

I'm a bit iffy about memes - not entirely sure why. The first time I was tagged, I politely declined. But in retrospect, that felt a bit unsociable. So when Grace of the Wild Pomegranate blog tagged me a while back, I thought I would play along and see how that felt. (It's OK so far...)

It's taken a while for this whole thing to come to the boil in my brain (are there any prizes for slow meme response, I wonder?) but here it is at long last. The A-Z of Secret Simon, 26 things that you may not have known about me:

First off then: A is for Acceptance, the cornerstone of enlightenment and gateway to the secret of life. I'm working on it.

B is for Book and also for Blog, which may explain some confusion which has arisen over my priorities. My spirituality book is called The Skeptic's Guide To God and I started this blog to promote it. The trouble is: I got so interested in the blog that I never quite finished the book. You just wait though...

C is for CFIDS, the American name for the medical condition I've lived with for more years than I care to remember. (Over here in Britain, they still can't decide what to call it.) A few years ago, I might have told you more about the illness, but the truth is I'm sick of the d*mn thing. (No pun intended.)

D is for dictionary, which I've needed to consult on several occasions to complete this post. Word games were never my strong point.

E is for Expert Patient Program. I trained as a tutor for this. It's all about  self-empowerment for people with long term health conditions. I get a lot of satisfaction from this and I've never talked at length in front of a class before, so it's meant getting out of my comfort zone, which is always a good thing.

F is for Fiction. I've written quite a lot of this: four short stories (published - hooray!) and three novels (two for adults and one for children, all unpublished - boo!). I like reading fiction too, though I've been having a problem with eye pain, so these days I mainly listen to audio books.

G is for Gardening, which I took up a few years ago and really enjoy. It's a great way to be in the moment.

H is for Harrogate, the rather cute town in the north of England where I was born. It's a great place to spend an afternoon. The trouble is: I had to live there.

I is for Indecisive, which I can be sometimes.

J is for Jam. Raspberry is my favorite. Or maybe apricot. (I told you I was indecisive.)

K is for Kent in the south of England, where we lived for about sixteen months when I was a boy. I loved it there. So my parents moved straight back to bl**dy Harrogate.

L is for Leeds in the north of England, which is where my wife Chris and I live now. It's quite close to Harrogate, but I don't hold that against it. Leeds is a city, so there's plenty going on, but it has easy access to some nice countryside too, so it suits us both just fine.

M is for Meditation and also for Mind. I do one to get out of the other.

N is for No More Than 13 Letters Left now...

O is for Oneness, which lies at the heart of my philosophy.

P is for Puddings. I like them.

Q is for Quite Nice Really, which Harrogate is, I suppose - but it helps to have a running joke in something like this.

R is for Radio. I spend a lot of time listening to this. Chris says she will bury my DAB beside me - though not for a while yet, we hope.

S is for Science Fiction. I used to co-edit a science fiction and fantasy short story magazine - but please don't make misleading connections between science fiction and spirituality. Science fiction people don't approve of this sort of thing at all - not unless they're L Ron Hubbard (or Philip K Dick).

T is for Travel. I like doing this but I'm not very adventurous. I've seen a lot of beaches...

U is of University, where I studied civil engineering. All in all, I quite enjoyed my job and the company of some entertaining colleagues but when push comes to shove, you shouldn't be an engineer if you're not interested in how things work, which I'm not. So I spent my working life pretending to be an engineer. And if you're not being you, you get ill...

V is for Voice. Never had one of these, not a tuneful one - which may explain my disenchantment with mainstream Christianity.  I couldn't cope with all the hymns...

W is for Writing. I knew that I wanted to do this from a very early age. The impulse has remained with me throughout my life: never quite compulsive enough to propel me to professional success but always too strong to stop me settling down to anything else more useful.

X is for Xenon. Remember this. You may need it the next time you play Scrabble.

Y is for Yoga. Chris and I have taken this up over the last year and I have to say that I really enjoy it. Most of the time it's been Dru Yoga, though we've recently also taken up Kundalini Yoga with Ed Harpin. Both of these forms have a strong spiritual element.

Z is for Zygote. I used to be one of these.

But enough about me. Here is where I'm supposed to pass on the baton to some other bloggers out there to give us some A to Z facts about themselves:

The instructions say that each player starts with some random facts/habits about himself/herself. As you are tagged you need to post the rules (this bit) and your responses on your own blog. At the end of your post, you need to choose some people to tag, list their names and, of course, leave them a comment, telling they have been tagged and they need to read your blog for more information.

All right then, here are the people I'm tagging. I thought I would choose some of the newer blogs I've come across:

Peripheral Vision

Your Caring Angels

Birthing Your Life Dream

Life In 360

Heal Pain Naturally

Silent Cacophony

It's OK guys - there's no compulsion. If you'd like to take part, that's brilliant. If not, that's brilliant too. And if anyone would like to borrow my dictionary, just ask...

Right - that's all done then. That just leaves one more meme and three awards for me still to catch up on. It'll all be sorted by Christmas...

Snakes and Ladders

Angelbaby has overwhelmed me by presenting me with yet another award - which I proudly display here! It's nice to have it officially confirmed that this is an interesting blog - I do my best...

On the slightly less encouraging side, my computer has suddenly decided to deny me internet access. This is not entirely unsurprising, as the machine has become increasingly quarrelsome in recent months, frequently choosing to grind to a halt at inconvenient moments. I need to phone up my friend David (who understands these things) but I think that I feel a Windows reload coming on. In the meantime, I'm reduced to using my wife Chris' computer (in those rare moments when she isn't using it herself) which is why this post is a few days late, and my blogging time is likely be severely curtailed in the near future. I've almost completed another substantial post, but after that things may get a bit wobbly for a while. Apologies! Normal service (which I like to think of as efficient in a sluggish sort of way) will be resumed as soon as possible...

Bloggers Of The World Award

Many thanks to AngelBaby for generously presenting me with this splendid Bloggers Of The World award! Thanks so much for thinking of me, Angel. I shall display it proudly on my mantelpiece! Incidentally, some of you may be interested in a post I recently did for AngelBaby's site about the mysterious orbs which sometimes appear on digital photos. You can find it here.

It is now my sacred responsibility to pass this award on to some of my fellow bloggers, which I shall do as soon as I get my head around it, along with another award and two memes that I've been sitting on since before Christmas. Some of us are dynamic and others are slow & sloth-like but get there in the end. But I ask you: who won the race a) tortoise b) hare? There you are then...

May's Blog

May at Sitting In The South recently ran a heartfelt and very thought-provoking post, She Knew That She Hadn't Been Wanted, raising all sorts of issues about parenting and her own miscarriages. As May's is a new blog, the post hasn't so far received as much response as it deserves, and it occurred to me that some of my friends who visit here may have something worthwhile to add. Please consider taking a look at May's post here.

Spreading The Word

The 'Spread The Word' Blog Directory is the brainchild of the dynamic Mel from Monday Morning Power. As Mel says, it's a great way to:

• Share your blog
• Explain why you blog
• Find new blogs to read
• Promote your blog
• Obtain instant links
• Increase readership

If you have a blog and you'd like to join in, please feel free! The rules are set out below.

Or if you're more interested in finding new blogs, you can find the directory here. The great thing about this particular directory is that all the bloggers link to what they believe is 'their most important, most representative, or most relevant post'. So what you'll be getting in every case is the best of what they have to offer: a more enjoyable way to sample a blog than just turning up and reading their latest post.

Here are the rules:

**Start Copy Here**

We have a voice;
We must be heard;
Therefore we blog;
Now spread the word!

This directory is based on a recent post that was conducted asking the question “Why do you Blog?” and the rewrite “Why do you Blog? - Reworked.” The purpose of this directory is to tell our tales by spreading the reasons that we blog to as many sites as possible. We get to explain ourselves, direct traffic to our site and highlight our most important, most representative or most relevant post in an SEO favorable format. This will be a positive experience for everyone who wants to get involved. This will enable you to create a short advertisement for your site that will be spread across the blogesphere; a growing directory of blogs.

This is an open directory.  You do not have to be tagged to join in.  All you have to do is follow the rules.

Please let me know when you have added your site by leaving a comment on “Master List” with a link to your post. This will insure an up-to-date list, giving you even greater distribution. You then need to copy the growing list back to your site on a regular bases.

Rules:

1. Copy the archived directory from *Begin Directory* to *End Directory* and place it in your archives (back date it so that it does not appear on your front page. This list is too long for your front page.) Title this post "Spread The Word" Directory
2. Copy from "**Start Copy Here**" through "**End Copy Here**" on this post
3. Paste into a new post
4. Create an inventive post title
5. Write a brief introduction to the post.
6. Before “**End copy here**”, In place of my paragraph, please add your name, site name (with link), a very brief description (2-3 sentences) of why you blog, and your most important, most representative, or most relevant post (with link.)
7. Make sure that the link at the end of your post links to your archived directory, not mine.
8. Tag others to participate.  This is a request, not a requirement.
9. Leave a comment and a link to your post on “Master List.”  That way I can grab your addition and add it to this growing list.
10. Schedule regular visits to the "Master List" so you can copy/paste into your archive, keeping your list current. 

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Hi there! I’m Secret Simon. A while back, I got ill and most of my life came to a sudden, crunching halt. Faced with lots of time on my hands, I started to wonder what it all meant. What was I doing here? Why was I ill? And where exactly were all these questions coming from anyway? I started thinking seriously about 'life, the universe and everything'. My blog, The Secret Of Life, is a part of this ongoing process. And what is 'the secret of life'? The closest I've come to attempting an answer is in a post called Feeling What Is.

Click here for the complete directory.

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