Reality and the challenge of seeing past the intellect. We are capable of not only feeling but experiencing the self contracting, self deluding imaginings of the unenlightened aspect of mind and its wanderings.

When reflected upon from the observation of pure conscious awareness, it is experientially recognizable that every thought that arises within us, is an illusion or rather a fabrication of the imagination, like a magic spell through which we delude ourselves and create a limited and false sense of reality. This is so powerful, that it is carried through the central nervous system as a bio-chemical response/message to every cell of the body.  The body then responds instantly according to the impressions of the most dominant thoughts.  It is, as if we are master magicians falling under the spell of our every thought and self created delusions of ego. As we do so, we are often completely unaware of the effect that we are having on ourselves and others from moment to moment, due to the fact that we are so self- absorbed. However, if we should stop to notice, we all have an innate intuitive sense of our own self-disillusionment. We are capable of not only feeling but experiencing the self contracting, self deluding imaginings of the unenlightened aspect of mind and its wanderings.  

Due to centuries of man’s focus on the development of the rational, logical, analytical, deductive process, the over-worshipped intellect, to which, we currently associate with as a measure of intellectual intelligence, we now find ourselves collectively en-meshed in the reliance on these faculties alone, in order to understand self, life and others. Such is the power of this delusion, that en-masse we now predominantly think our lives rather than truly feel and live them. The ego aspect of mind is now so dominant, that it runs our Institutions from the stand point of power seeking control and materialisms, all of which, unless transcended, cannot and will not lead us individually or collectively to truth and reality.  This is all primarily ego based, and not based on the true enlightenment and liberation of humanity. It is still the result of ego mentality, seeking to liberate its self from itself, whilst relying on mental interpretations of reality, rather than direct experiential pure conscious awareness. Pure conscious awareness existed before we learned to think and is the only true reality before during and after thought. Only when we transcend mind, body, and ego association, do we enter into pure conscious awareness, which is accessible to all who train themselves to use the rational, logical, analytical, intuitive and deductive process, as a tool for the process of transcendence and self liberation.  

How can we recognise the difference between the Ego-Self the True-Self or the Authentic-Self?

Simply said, what is commonly referred to as the ego, could be summarised as any single thought or any sense, subject, object, point of view of ourselves as being separate and disconnected from the whole.  Ego then, being an energy field that we emit in order for the soul to gain life experience, especially when our thoughts and imaginings are self centred in an insecure way.  The deeper our sense of insecurity and venerability, the stronger the defensive energy field of the ego becomes. This causes us to feel even more isolated and cut off from all of the good qualities that our heart and soul desires.  

Hence the sayings “There is only one enemy, guess who it is.” “There is only one battle, guess, who it is with.”   

The more we become “a hard boiled ego” the more numb, we become to the truth, reality and all things good and true. The ego or lower self could be likened to shadows cast over the light of the sun.  As there are no shadows without light or sunlight, there can be no ego, without the light of consciousness.   

It is essential that we gain a fundamental understanding of the lower self (or the social ego and the social fear, sorrow, anger and bondages that tie us to the ever changing life- patterns of money, sex, separateness and self-contraction), if we are to gain the capability of fundamental self-understanding and the realization of the perfect transcendental spiritual nature, which is the (non-separate, non-dual, and non-conditional) Nature of Consciousness itself.  

“Consciousness itself is inherently free of the egoist “self “identification with the body – mind – complex (therefore, free from egoist “self” identification with, or bondage to and by the body – mind – complex), but not to the intentional exclusion of the body – brain – mind “self”. Avatar Adi Da Samraj 

It could be said then, that the true self or authentic transcendental self, that all authentic spiritual paths lead too, is truly hidden within our own hearts, behind the delusions of the self created ego.  A ‘Divine Paradox’. If this were not so, why would we all be driven to eventually ask ourselves, who am I?  What do I really want?  Where am I going? What is life really all about?

The true transcendental self is the one who prompts the unenlightened aspect of the ego to ask these and other questions of its self, in order to insure a gradual process of self enlightenment and eventual self liberation from the bondage of ego. From the stand point of intuitive intelligence we are the light of love and wisdom that guides us. It is not my intention to present the ego in a bad light, or as something to be struggled with, but rather as an energy field that reflects our state of consciousness in any given moment. In its rightful place it is an energy field through which the light of pure consciousness may shine and be expressed. The ego can be used by the conscious student to function as a reference point for recognizing that which is true or false (real or illusion) within ourselves.  

'A healthy ego is developed when, by our own effort we become what I refer to as a conscious student.' - John Christian

A healthy ego is developed when, by our own effort we become what I refer to as a conscious student. When on a daily basis, we do whatever is necessary to listen to and follow the promptings of the heart (light of pure conscious intuitive intelligence) as opposed to the temptations and insecurity habits of the ego’s energetic pulls. The outward flow of the ego or rational, logical, deductive process of mind must be transformed into introspection of the higher consciousness. As and when this is achieved the thinking process becomes purely an instrument for the conscious expression of truth and reality as it is! The ego then becomes self secure, self trusting, self aware and a selfless or paradoxically an egoless energy field (vehicle) through which the light of Love and Wisdom shines. This is a transformation (transfiguration) of the energy field of the ego from a low frequency of self centred, self consciousness, to a high frequency of embodied spiritual selflessness and oneness, out of which (What the unenlightened aspect of ego would considers to be miracles) can and do occur.  

Those of the self enlightened refer to these times that we live in as the dark ages or the end of days. Said another way, we have collectively become so mentally materialistically orientated, that the thought process alone have become like a blanket shield, blocking the light and vitality of our true nature and authentic spirituality.  Unless we each make the necessary effort on a daily bases to rend the veil, we easily fall under its powerful influences. Perhaps this is one of the greatest tests that we set ourselves both individually and collectively – To be true to ourselves in the truest sense of the word, or to allow ourselves to continue to be seduced into thinking and believing that there is little more to life than the accumulation of power, money, fame, fortune, etc., in order to satisfy our egos for a fleeting time, all at personal cost and the long term cost of future generations and very possibly (as many well established fields of research are now discovering) life as we know it.   

For latest authentic research on climate change: Google search engine (Latest authentic research on climate change) also See “Message from the Heart of the World” The Elder Brothers’ Warning.

• www.linktv.org/globalspirit/kogi  

“Moor the Boat” by the late Ryoju Kikuchi, Founder of “Butsugen-shu” (The eye of God) otherwise known as Tamo-san (which means the first mother) at www.moortheboat.com, which is hosted on this very website.

• www.moortheboat.com

There are numerous other sources of the same visionary message that I have not quoted or listed here 

I have personally, had the blessing of spending time with three of the Kogi Elders and their families in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Northern Colombia and with Tamo-san in her Temple in Japan and on her worldly travels.  The vision, wisdom, urgency and sincerity through which they reach out to us “the younger brother”, (as the kogi refer to us) cuts through our conditioned sense of reality, like a golden sword of timeless truth. Their message is intended to speak directly and appeal to the hearts and souls of our humanity.

They are by no means the only indigenous or consciously aware people that I have encountered around the world, who speak from a collective vision, understanding and urgency.  But their message is clearly brought through an advanced conscious understanding of mankind’s place in the scheme of things. Although from their point of conscious perception the majority of us are like children. Their message is delivered with the loving urgency and compassion of a loving parent warning a child of the dangers of playing with fire!  

John Christian

“Be happy, as there is no reason not to be. Look around you, you are surrounded by beauty. Everything glows with brilliant light (now provable by Quantum Physics) and we are all part of the same one being called nature. All we need to do, is to see things with different eyes, which all of us possess. Thus, Butsugen-Shu (the eye of God) is what we need to open up within ourselves. Once this has happened, everything will return to its natural order and until then suffering will continue to exist”. Tamo-san

Related Pages

• Through The Eyes Of The Enlightened: Tamo-san

Related Links

• Moor The Boat: John Christian Talks About Tamo-San and Introduces Moor The Boat
• Wisdom Coaching: Ego and The Authentic Self

A young girl of 14 was reported as saying; “When I was bulimic I didn’t eat because I felt it was at least something that I could do for myself, and I felt a sense of achievement from it”. She went on to say that she had not been taught anything about emotional wellbeing!

In my own personal experience, to have a lack of self-esteem is to have a core vulnerability that makes for a very volatile human being. Such a person is by the very nature of their vulnerability potentially dangerous to themselves and others! Why? Because if we have not learned to love, trust and respect ourselves, we feel as if something is missing or wrong with us and our lives. This then increases our sense of core vulnerability, making us even more susceptible to the need for a sense of all-rightness.

Unfortunately, without the proper guidance and education in proper thinking, emotional management, integrity and proper conduct, we are left to flounder like fish out of water, perhaps – though by no means certainly – eventually learning from the painful experiences that we bring upon ourselves.

Having core vulnerability can literally cause us to become our own worst enemy, living in fear of our own self image and the fear that others will not love or like us because of it! Such a person is constantly on edge and defensive, fearing anything that sounds or looks like criticism. Why? Because when you already think of yourself and judge yourself to be lacking or inadequate in some way, you are already your own worst judge and critic, so you will try to avoid the pain of what you believe to be further judgement and criticism at all cost. Some people do this in an introverted way (i.e. withdraw into themselves in an attempt to avoid the possibility of further pain), others do it in extroverted ways (i.e. become defensively abrasive, rebellious, even violent).

There are many other symptoms that are also born out of such vulnerability and such symptoms can often eventually lead to mental, physical and emotional disorders.

It might even be fair to say that if we can set about curing such symptomonious patterns in our thinking and behaviour, we might soon give life to a new and contagious symptom called and experienced as wellbeing! This may sound like pie in the sky hokey pokey thinking, but I have learned from direct experience that having core stability as opposed to core vulnerability is with the proper training, education and guidance, available to all and everyone.

We must ask ourselves, “How can I possibly like or love or approve of myself if I don’t even like my own thinking?” “Or if my own belief systems are self-denying or self-destructive, how can I approve of and feel good about myself if I know or sense that my behaviour is inappropriate?”

On the other hand, “How can or could I feel vulnerable and insecure and unlovable when I trust myself and take responsibility for my overall conduct and behaviour?”.

One of my early mentors, Paul Solomon, set me onto the path of understanding the importance and values of taking personal responsibility and becoming a conscious student in the school of life. Without his guidance and promptings, and those of other great thinkers that I have been blessed to encounter along the way, I may still be living in what felt like the dark empty shadow of my own core vulnerability. I know now from the direct experience that through taking personal responsibility and making good effort to transform myself on a daily basis, it is not only a possibility available to all, but should be the foundational principle of all of our systems, especially the education systems and above all, our personal lives.

Best wishes,

John

“There are no words that can define the reality of who and what we are, as words are merely a pointer and a symbol created in the minds of men in the attempt to define the indefinable.

To experience our true nature we must go behind (beyond) thought, into the consciousness that some Mystics have referred to as the gap between thought. Only then are we able to directly experience our true nature, and to realize that we are the light of consciousness out of which we are the creators of thought. When we mistakenly identify ourselves solely with our thoughts we become enmeshed in the illusion that life is as we see it through our thinking, rather than seeing it through the eyes of truth.”

John Christian, Public speaker and Life Skills Trainer

“He had it all. Fame, fortune, hit records, even the fast cars. But he had something else that not many people were aware of. Stage fright. Sometimes it was so intense that he was physically sick in the dressing room before he walked out on stage.

“Despite all his success, John Christian suffered from what he calls ‘The Great Charisma Cruncher’. It is an experience often echoed in our daily lives. Although not necessarily on stage, our fears of failure and rejection can all too often stop us from achieving all that we are capable of.

“It was only when John became aware of his own latent charisma that he was able to move past his fears. Once that happened he began to realise the very real benefits of harnessing that charisma.

“The art of charisma is one and the same as the art of successful living. It is an essential key to life… It enhances your communication skills, your sense of responsibility, your self worth and integrity.” – John Christian

“He also started recognising the pitfalls of personally inflicted ‘Charisma Crunchers’.

“John says, “The art of charisma is one and the same as the art of successful living. It is an essential key to life. It allows you to develop your confidence and abilities. It enhances your communication skills, your sense of responsibility, your self worth and integrity. This opens potential for enhanced success in all areas of life”.

“Now a sought after trainer and speaker, John is well known around the world for his charismatic and entertaining presentation style which successfully combines his natural talents with an extensive understanding and experience of life. In fact, his entertainment and music skills serve to enhance his experience in overcoming doubts and fears as well as inspiring his methods of becoming a more charismatic person.

“This entertaining approach does not detract from his serious, yet loving, message. “Each of us needs to become personally responsible for what we think, feel and do”.

“Whether he is working in a highly targeted one-on-one situation or addressing an audience of thousands, his message is equally effective. What makes it even more potent is that he provides simple and practical techniques which he knows, from personal experience, really do work.

“John Christian is currently writing a book. He presents workshops, lectures and concerts throughout Britain and conducts stress management meditation treks to Nepal and Little Tibet.”

Related Pages

• Video Coaching Series: Developing Your Natural Charisma

Here's Health Magazine

Walking on broken glass to ‘challenge your fears’ might seem a little radical, but Lisa Howells reckons it works.

I’ve never really considered myself to be daring. A bit brave, yes. I had felt brave, for example, when I gave up my job and home to realise my ambition of becoming a journalist. But there were other things in my life that I still didn’t feel I had the guts to do. So when the opportunity arose to ‘join other daring people on a simple and exciting journey of self discovery’ I thought it was time to try.

I had recently challenged my greatest fear, heights, by abseiling over an 80ft cliff, so the thought of walking on broken glass didn’t seem too daunting. But as I entered the old church building and found myself sitting opposite a path of broken glass at a ‘Path of Daring‘ workshop, began to think again.

About 20 edgy people were already gathered at the workshop wondering what to expect. As I walked in, I had asked someone else why they were there. Their answer was much the same as mine – they needed to find the courage to change something in their lives. As we sat quietly our workshop leader, John Christian, spoke. A healer counsellor, John spent many years, he said, trying to escape being the ‘average man’. This ‘average’ person is characterised by a ‘victim consciousness’. Scared of change, the ‘average’ person is their own worst enemy. This hit home with all of us. Each of us was holding ourselves back because of old thoughts and habits we had picked up. I have had a particular problem with trust for the last five years which has affected all of my subsequent relationships. So, after an hour or so, when it came to doing the trust exercises, I experienced my first real difficulty of the day.

'As I stepped off the glass my feet felt sore, but my faith in myself was restored.' - Lisa Howells

RIGHT: Lisa imagines herself as an eagle before trying the arrow dare and, BELOW RIGHT, walking on broken glass: ‘a liberating feeling, doing something most people would never dare do’.

In small groups, we stood in a circle; one person would close their eyes and allow us to push them between us. I could not physically let myself go and trust them to keep me up. For about a minute, I stood with my eyes squeezed shut, not breathing, while I tried to let myself go. John asked us to write what we felt; I knew I had exhibited an ‘average’ reaction. My old belief that I will be let down again if I put my trust in someone, would not go away. Unless I could change this attitude, I wondered if I would ever be able to rise above the ‘average’.

After lunch, everyone was feeling less self-conscious and the mood in the room was cheerful and excited. All of us had previously expressed the wish that we could let go of the fears that held us back. For some people they were associated with work, for others it was relationships. Common to all of us was the feeling that we were not living up to our potential because we were scared of what might happen if we did.

Then John produced a box of archery arrows. This was to be the next ‘dare’. We eyed him with amusement until he placed the metal tip of one arrow against his throat, placed the other end against the wall and lunged forward, snapping it in two.

John suggested that we hold an image of ourselves as being like eagles and, on the third breath, push through as if nothing stood in our way. Not one of us believed that we would be able to do it, but within a few minutes one woman went up to try. She had been questioning John all morning and it seemed like she couldn’t quite believe that any of this was going to make a difference to her life.

As the arrow snapped she dropped to the floor in a flood of tears because she ‘didn’t think I would ever be able to do it’ – she was not alone. The next volunteer had a phobia of metal piercing her skin and she was also sobbing afterwards. For all of us, it was turning into a truly inspirational and cathartic experience.

As I stepped up to do it – not quite believing I was about to try something that looked so scary – I experienced the same fear that I had felt standing at the top of the cliff when I had been abseiling. I could see my heart thumping through my shirt; my legs began to shake. I couldn’t do it when I first tried, but would not let myself give in. As I tried, again I suddenly experienced an incredible moment of clarity, when I knew without a doubt that I could do it. I opened my eyes and looked at John who had seen it, too. He just told me to go for it and I closed my eyes, lunged against the wall, and the arrow snapped. I felt elated, as if I had taken my first step towards really changing my life.

‘Fear won’t go away unless you really want it to’, confirmed John. You are the principal. What you allow to go on is completely up to you.

This was the message to remember before tackling the last obstacle – the path of broken glass. If I had had any; doubts about its sharpness, John dispelled them as he slashed a piece of paper with a piece of glass. By this time, I had started believing that I could readily do this, and would later be able to do anything. We went through a meditative technique of deep breathing and visualising ourselves walking on the glass. I pictured myself merrily romping up and down. As we opened our eyes, John warned us that ‘fear of the worst would be struggling to get in’ and we had to truly believe in ourselves.

I felt I had to do it, as I knew I would feel I had let myself down if I didn’t. My confidence evaporated as I stood in front of the glass. John stood with me and reminded me to visualise myself getting over it. He restored my confidence and, probably as much to save face as anything else, I stepped on to the glass. John’s last words to me had been: ‘have fun!’, and I found myself not just dashing across the path, but turning around and doing the walk again.

I wouldn’t describe it as ‘fun’; one person said it felt like walking on pebbles; another said it felt like a pavement; but although the glass did feel sharp beneath my feet, I was aware that it wasn’t cutting into me. It was a liberating feeling, knowing that I was doing something that most people would never dare do.

When I stepped off the glass my feet felt sore enough for me to sit down and check them – but they weren’t cut at all. I didn’t feel the same adrenaline rush as I had done after breaking the arrow, but my sense of faith in myself had been restored.

The strange thing for me was that the people who I had thought were the ones who had been desperately seeking change needed no help to get across, and they didn’t feel any pain at all. ‘It’s OK to feel fear,’ says John, ‘just be aware that you are more capable than you let yourself believe.’

And this is what I carried away with me. Even those who didn’t walk on the glass went away with the knowledge that somewhere within them is the potential to go further. ‘If you really want something then you have to change your expectancy and really believe that you want it,’ was John’s parting shot.

Many of us had reached a realisation of what it was we needed to do. I had wanted to take up kickboxing for months but had ‘never got round to it’, as fear of the unknown was putting me off. Writing this, I picked up the phone and signed up for a class as soon as possible – and I really believe that I will go on to do the things I have been too afraid to do before.

The Path of Daring workshop was organised by The Middlesex School of Complementary Medicine. Call 0181 204 4477.

Here’s Health OCTOBER 1999 23