ITS ME AND BUSTER

Good day folks. My eldest son has been around and we have been watching family guy. I thought it a good opportunity to try out my new camera. My old one died last week. Yep, it didn't really die, but I say that to illustrate how we can put our concepts on unreal things.

You will guess that the picture on this blog is not me and Buster, rightly. Funny thing is when I was living in the Philippines, one of my Filipino nieces who must have been around seventeen, had a crush on a young cartoon character. It reminds me of how some time ago I met the girl of my dreams, only to feel crushed upon awaking to the realization that I had been dreaming.

Yet there was a famous speech that started of with, ` I have a dream` was it Martin Luther King! Then in a bit of Shakespeare he said, `to sleep perchance to dream`.

Okay my eldest son has just informed me that my youngest was expecting me to cycle to his house and cycle back down here with him and so I shall round this of by saying that the picture is from family guy. Its Stewie and Brian(the dog). The father in this cartoon is probably the least intelligent and the dog and baby the brightest.

When we have children we find ourselves sharing experiences which we may well not have chosen on our own. Grown up children may say the same about elderly parents.

Im going to have to go now and hopefully will get some art done within the next 24hrs.

Toodle Loo.

Your brother Peter.

Pictures of my art therapy work; One using found object

Late edition post, brought to you post haste.

You are all so beautiful my brothers and sisters who visit my blog.

Someone asked me why, and the answer is that me and my God don`t do ugly, or cannot be saved! No person is beyond redemption and anyone who says thats not true, just cant accept my God that came down from heaven to earth and was nailed to a cross and died for me and all who believe. I still have to pray for them just like I have to breath. If I try to hold my breath I just cant keep it up more than a minute or so.

*****************************************************************************

Welcome to some more of my art. Here is a stepladder that had been left by a bin. It made me think of people wanting to climb the ladder to success. I was in bed when the thought come to me.

We start at the bottom of the ladder and work our way up.

Some it seems don't have to start at the bottom, like Robert Maxwells son for instance, or princess Diana. Are they any better of for it? I don't think so. It good to feel sorry for people that seem to have everything handed to them on a plate. They miss out on being able to grow the stuff and then prepare it to put on a plate. Probably wouldn't be able to eat if there were no clean plates.

In the Philippines when we were eating outside we would often have our food on a piece of banana leaf. Hows that for a disposable plate. Biodegradable or what.

Making the grade.

Who`s grade.

Here is just a part of one of my pictures and this part is about us all accepting who we are and also one another. Its no good people just speaking, saying we are all one body and not working for it to become an intrinsic part of us all. You notice it doesn't say `each of us.` We really have to get away from thinking of our self as an individual. Was it Shakespeare who said `no man is an island`? O no I hear some one saying, Peters got back to the universe, one verse, or one song! Yep I must zoom off to share another piece from God has a dream, by Desmond Tutu;

*************************************************************

AS WE SEEK to know God, we also should not be beguiled by much loved dichotomies between secular and sacred, activism and contemplation. It is dangerous to pray for an authentic spirituality is subversive of injustice. Oppressive and unjust governments should stop people from praying to God, should stop them from reading and meditating on the Bible, for these activities will constrain them to work for the establishment of God`s kingdom of justice, peace, of laughter, of joy, of caring, of sharing, of reconciliation, of compassion. These activities will not permit us to luxuriate in a spiritual ghetto , insulated against the harsh realities of life out there as most of God`s children experience it.

Just as we are all meant to be contemplatives and to hear the voice of God in our lives, we are all meant to answer God`s call to be His partners in transfiguring the world. This calling, this encounter with God, , is always to send us into the midst of human suffering.

The prophet falls prostrate. But God raises him to his feet because He wants to send him to the recalcitrant house of Israel. He receives the Word or is imbued with the Spirit. The Spirit is given, the divine is encountered, for the sake of others. This seems to be the almost universal rhythm.

***********************************************

Bye bye for today

Your bro Peter

Hi, it just occurred to me that if some viewers of this blog, were like me and had a brain injury, they might not notice if I post the same photos!

Good day folks. So I started to work on this new art `peace` where I have been scratching of some of the mirrored layer to reveal glass one can see though. Also see what lays behind it. As I started doing this work at my art therapists there is also the correlation of scratching away the surface from ones conscious mind to get at deeper thoughts and feelings which are not easily seen. Even by ones self!

Now I will share the last paragraph of the last chapter from the Book I have just finished reading.

`GOD HAS A DREAM`

All over this magnificent world God calls us to extend His kingdom or shalom - peace and justice, of goodness, of compassion, of caring, of sharing, of laughter, of joy, and reconciliation. God is transfiguring the world right this very moment through us because God believes in us and because God loves us. What can separate us from the love of God? Nothing. Absolutely nothing/ And as we share God`s love with our brothers and sisters, God`s other children, there is no tyrant who can resist us, no oppression that cannot be ended, no hunger that cannot be fed, no wound that cannot be healed, no hatred that cannot be turned to love, no dream that cannot be fulfilled.

*****************************************

Have you heard of the saying, `Let go and let God.`? That's one of the things I am working on. Giving up on trying to be in control over my life and letting the good Shepard lead me.

This is all for now my brothers and sisters. I am going to take Buster over popes meadow. My trusty sheep dog, with me as I attempt to follow the good Shepherd. It says in the Bible, those who claim to live in him should walk as Jesus did!

Peace and love to you. Please pass it on. Peter.

Today I realized that my inabilities give me compassion for others.

When we acknowledge our differances and maybe even at times celebrate them, then we will be able to forgive others for not being how we would like them to be.

I got my German Shepard as an adolescent dog and he was untrained to say the least. Infact he was almost totally untrained. I love him and he loves me and we are a good team. He is fine with my sons and others in my family.

The problem is he will go for some other dogs and people. In a little while he will be going out for his third exercise of the day and will be enclosed in the tennis courts. His first run was over the park off the lead at about 3.30 am. No dogs or people were encountered.

Ive got what I think are some great pictures of the work from my last two sessions with Kate the art therapist. I would like someone with good organisational skills to raise funding for art therapists to be trained and payed in the third world. Having visited an orphanage near Cagayan De Oro city, where I lived for six years, I understand thay are thankful to be able to eat and not live on the street. The street children is a whole other issue. All these children have so much potential and yet for most it will never be realized.

Im going to have a look at www.dea.org and see what they do. If all I can do to help is pray, then that will be better than nothing.

I will finish this blog with an exert from God has a dream by Desmond Tutu;

Many people ask me what I have learned from all of the experiences in my life, and I say unhesitatingly: People are wonderful. It is true. People really are wonderful. This does not mean that people cannot be awful and do real evil. They can. Yet as you begin to see with the ewes of God, you start to realize that peoples anger and hated and cruelty come from their own pain and suffering. As we begin to see their words and behavior as simply the acting out of their suffering, we canhave compassion for them. We no longer feel attacked by them, and we can begin to see the light of God shining in them. And when we begin to look for the light of God in people, and incredible thing happens. We find it more and more in people - all people.

Jesus reminds his disciples that they cannot stay basking in the glory of God on the mountaintop. They must go down into the valley of human need. And so must we. But as we work to feed the hungry, we must also remember to draw our own sustemamcde from our glimpses of God. In all the activity that is required of us as God`s partners, there must also be stillness, for in this stillness we can hear God`s voice in our lives and the will of God working in our world.

Okay I am about to go, but I just want to say that my spell check isnt working. Saying that, it wouldnt pick up on spell `cheque` as being wrong!

Peace and love to you and all living things. From your brother, Peter.

Peace is breaking out in the world through us!

Good day to you my brothers and sisters.

Isn't it nice when we can look out and see the created world with love in our being. I didn't say hearts as they are vital to pump blood through our bodies, yet we are more than our bodies.

I have been reading a book called, `REACHING OUT` by Henri Nouwen. I would like to share a little which I am meditating on today;

Healing means first of all allowing strangers to become sensitive and obedient to their own stories. Healers, therefore, become students who want to learn, and patients become teachers who want to teach. ( Did you know that in his day people often referred to Jesus as teacher!)

Just as teachers learn their course material best during the preparation and ordering of their ideas for presentation to students, so patients learn their own story by telling it to a healer who wants to hear it. Healers are hosts who patiently and carefully listen to the story of the suffering strangers. Patients are guests who rediscover their selves by telling their story to the one who offers them a place to stay. In the telling of their stories, strangers befriend not only their host but also their own past.

As healers we have to receive the story of our fellow human beings with a compassionate heart, a heart that does not judge or condemn but recognizes how the stranger`s story connects with our own. We have to offer sage boundaries within which the often painful past can be revealed and the search for a new life can find a start.

Our most important question as healers is not, `What to say or to do?` but, `How to develop enough inner space where their story can be received?` Healing is the humble but very demanding task of creating and offering a friendly empty space where strangers can reflect on their pain and suffering without fear, and find the confidence that makes them look tor new ways right in the centre of their confusion.

**********************************************

As I and we are so much more than artists, children, parents, priests, or prisoners, (not always the criminal type of prisoner, or in fact the ordained type of priest.) we cannot let the physical world limit our abilities to go not only as individual, but as part of our one universe. When we cut our self do we have to decide how to heal the skin! No it heals itself. If we are still in our beings we will be able to hear when we should interfere with the natural order of things and when to let go and just go with the flow.

Earlier Buster and me went over Popes meadow and Buster went off running and barking at a man. Fortunately he responded to my whistle (Buster, not the man.) - which is loud when I use my fingers in my mouth.

Buster is only a young dog and can hopefully be trained to listen to me instead of deciding for himself that someone is a threat and needs to be barked at. Many adults though grew up without learning that we are all one and its our job to live in harmony. Its unfortunate that many of those have positions of power. Yet really its a false power. Yes they can erect a wall dividing Germany, but how long will it last? Oh, I'm told Germany is now united.

This is what I see is wrong with politics, criminal justice and even religion. Many see themselves as very different from other people and follow different agendas. Together, come on and in the words of a song, Lets get together and feel alright.

This is all my brothers and sisters for today, leaving you with my love, Brother Peter

Writing from mystic Teresa of Avila and I belive is of import to us all whom are on a spiritual journey.

THE FOURTH ROOM:

Dissolving Illness

Teresa noted in the Fifth Mansion that the body is secondary to the soul, a temporary vessel that will disintegrate once it has served its usefulness. Nonetheless, she counseled us to take care of the body so that it can serve the soul. Today, however, we live in a culture that adores the body and ignores the soul. We love the energy of connection, the social spirit of spiritual practices today. We love to talk about them and be social butterflies flitting from practice to practice. But the social butterfly spirit is quite different from the empowered soul that inhabits the Castle. Only the soul can channel grace "hot" enough to burn disease out of cell tissue, for instance. Only the soul has the force to burn the negative time lock that is lodged in diseased cell tissue and replace it with timeless grace.

Soul work: This room is for healing. You will need to practice, practice, practice the art of healing in this room. You will need to build up the required strength of your soul to master the consciousness required for this art. Even then, you can proceed only so far. Remember that healing is calling unto itself.

Center yourself with a prayer. Ask your soul to channel "hot grace" into your cell tissues that are unhealthy or tired. Repeat the words `hot grace` or pray, "I am a channel for grace and I give permission for the healing fire of grace to take over my body and burn through my (fill in your request). " Practice holding that image and sense the flow of grace through your body.

You can heal at a distance through the channeling of hot grace. Once you receive permission to work with an individual, enter into consciousness of this room and again, center yourself through prayer. Visualize the individual as surrounded by light and then say the prayer, "I am a channel for grace and I willingly open my soul as a conduit of healing for ( name the individual). Then hold them in the light of grace for three to five minutes. And then close this practice with a prayer such as, "I thank the divine for the healing grace given abundantly to (name the individual). Amen."

Now my brothers and sisters, if you are up for this, I would ask that you do the above for me perhaps with a photo of me from my website. For a one off. You, on your own - or with any others who will pray with you - name, our brother Peter G Kimble. This will demonstrate to me if the power I do believe in and yet always have a doubt, is real. Of course I will be blogging about any great changes in me. Of course it is an holistic thing, as I am also doing my own praying and service to God, as well as the art therapy sessions. Of which Im hoping it wont be too long before my sister Viv, sends me the latest photo`s so I can share them with you.

Peace, love and grace to you all.

Your brother, Peter

Forgiveness is where the rubber meets the road.

Title for todays blog is from a book `THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE UNIVERSE`

Forgiveness is where the rubber meets the road. Without forgiveness, metaphysics are useless.

I do not call for martyrs but for teachers.

Forgiveness will never result in violence, but judgment will always result in some kind of negative effect on the level of form, even if the effect is just on your own health. Violence is the ultimate and illogical extension of fear, judgment and anger. The delusional thought system of the ego will always lead to some form of violence and murder eventually, because it requires that people see their enemy - or the perceived cause of their problem - as being outside of them. So do you, but you have found the way out. By reversing the ego`s thinking, your fear will be released, not projected.

With salvation there is no one out there to blame for your one real problem, of which all the others are symbolic. The cause, which is the decision to believe in the separation from God, and the solution, which is the principle of the Atonement, are both in your mind - where you now have the power to choose the Holy Spirit`s Answer.

A tranquil mind is not a little gift.

With that in mind, a component of practicing forgiveness when you`re confronted by an opportunity would be to remember that you are dreaming. You authored the dream and made the figures in it act out for you, so you could see your unconscious guilt outside yourself, If you remember you`re dreaming, then there`s nothing out there but your own projection. Once you believe that - and belief only comes from practice and experience - then there`s no need for what you`re seeing and now forgiving to have any impact on you.

Now I must leave this blog to cycle my eldest boy to the home of his mum and step dad. Collect my youngest and cycle home with him.

Oh yes we will be taking to his house a worm farm that we made today. That put paid to my seven gallon fermentation bucket ever being used to make alcoholic beverage.

Have a good weekend folks and know that you are loved. Your brother Peter

FISH ON FRIDAY

AM THE ARTISTPGK'S SON AND I AM NOT ALOUD TO SAY MY NAME, ACCORDING TO MY AUNTIE VI BUT IN RETALIATION I SHALL SAY TYPE DOWN ALL MY FAMILY NAMES AND WHERE THEY LIVE. JOKE

Okay um my dad is kneading the dough to make our usual weekly loaves of bread

NO - DOER

THE fate of a wave as it rises and falls does not depend on its free choices, but in its predetermined relationship with the currents of the of the whole sea. the taoist sages see all individual being like all the waves in the ocean of Tao. They therefore understand that we also are not autonomous individuals, but vehicles through which tao expresses its nature. from the enlightened perspective we are not the doer of our action's and thinking there thoughts, since there are no "you" and "I" to be a doer or a thinker. Thoughts and actions happen as naturally as the wind blows and the rain falls. This may seem to be a doctrine of passive fatalism which pictures us as nothing more than puppets of predestined fortune But this is to miss the deeper teachings. Actually there are no separate individuals to be controlled by anything. There is only the flow of Tao.

Hi folks, I am back. have left the dough to rise. All being well in an hour or so we shall have five loaves of bread. To save a few pence and also make better bread I buy the yeast fresh from the baker in Sainsburys supermarket. Its much cheaper than dried yeast, but as I cant find the bag it came in, then I am unable to state the exact price! Also I like to put some dried mixed herbs in it.

I had a very good session with Kate, my forensic art therapist this morning. Done some good art whist in the process. We took some pictures and she is going to send them by email to my sister Viv and Viv will send them to me and I will post them on a blog!

Id better sign of now and give some quality time to my son. Have a good weekend my brothers and sisters. Your brother Peter

Good day: My top ten Taoist sayings for today

My brothers and sisters, these are my top ten zen sayings for today, nay for this moment that they are being written. If I tell you that I am writing them in no particular order, that shouldn't mean that you would be unable to discern some significance to the order, just that it would be the Tao and not me that had directed it!

1) Just live and enjoy life

Lieh Tzu

2) Mystified? Tao is mystery:

This is the gateway to understanding.

Lao Tzu

3) Be simple and true to your own nature.

Be selfless and at peace with the way things are.

Lao Tzu

4) Tao is not something from which you can deviate.

A way that you can lose is not the Way.

The Doctrine Of The Mean

5) Words are limited, like the beings that use them, and can

only express the affairs of this limited world. They can not

be used to describe the eternal, limitless Tao.

Tai Gong Diao

6) If you could apply any attributes to Tao

it would not be Tao

Chuang Tzu

7) If you think you can speak about Tao.

it is clear you don`t know what you are talking about.

Lao Tzu

8) If you stick rigidly to one spiritual discipline, even if

you become a master of it, it is the same as blocking

the flow ot Tao by clinging to a small aspect of it.

Lao Tzu

9) Buy captive animals and set them free.

Dispense with the butcher and abstain from death.

While walking be mindful of worms and ants.

Be careful with fire when in woods and forests.

Don`t go to the mountain to trap birds in nets.

Don`t travel to the river to poison fishes

Don`t slaughter the ox that ploughs your field.

Tract Of The Quiet Way

10) Be quiet.

Look inside.

Soften your sharp edges.

Simplify your thoughts.

Follow your own light.

Be ordinary.

Then you will see for yourself

That you are a part of the whole.

Lao Tzu

Well my brothers and sisters, its 2pm in the afternoon and I am due for a rest. This will comprise of me laying down with a good book to read and maybe a herbal tea! This morning I cycled down to my mothers and met my nephew and we cleared up the fallen autumn leaves from her lawn and then all sat down for some of mums lovely home cooked grub.

This evening my sister Viv is driving me and the Buster over to Milton Keynes for one of his obedience classes.

Okay though, I want to leave you with this little story, which is partly about letting things go.

Two monks were out walking when they came to a fast flowing river they had to cross. Next to the river was a young woman wanting to cross, but in fear of being swept away. The young monk dutifully avoided looking at the women. However the older monk instructed her to climb upon his shoulders and he crossed the river and they went their separate ways. After quite some time the novice monk was vexed and said to the other monk "Brother we have taken Holy orders, how could you have touched a women and taken her across the river?" " Brother," he replied, " are you still carrying her in your mind, I put her down a long time ago."

Also its about judging others by your own standards. The young novice would definitely of had carnel thoughts if he had touched the young woman and so he judged that his elder would have likewise. Some of us may want vengance on those who try to kill us and yet some of us for forgiveness for them and that they see the light. I have to go with the latter as that is the path I was destined to follow.

Wishing you all a good day, your brother Peter.

Many ways can lead to the One right way

Lets just imagine for a minute or more that The Tao and the Holy Spirit are pretty much the same thing. But I shall get back to you on that after a welcome.

Good day to you and welcome my brothers and sisters. I would like to share my thoughts about a couple of things. First a dream I had last night. I was in a town I didn't know and yet in the dream I knew the place and where to go. Likewise with the few people I interacted with. Now of course I created the dream. Or if you like; God created me to create the dream. When awaking it was easy for me to let go of the people, places and circumstances the were wonderful and perfect. The dream had to be let go of in such a way that it didn't occur to me to think, `If only this was true.` Because in a way it is true.

What our mind can create in our dreams it can also do in our waking life. So its best not to interfere too much, lest you walk off set at the wrong time and the director has to use your understudy.

Some people take the part of their roles too seriously and end up playing parts like Hitler or the Moors Murderers. That brings about dreadful consequences for the balance and harmony in the universe. Yet it can be put right by each and every one of us. Don't concentrate your mind on what you thing is wrong either outside you or on the inside. Think good thoughts, speak good words and do good actions.

FOLLOWING THE WAY

Tao is the way to live in harmony withe the way things are. It is not a way that can be pointed at by someone else, because it is not a fixed path to follow. It is a way that each one of us must discover for ourselves because it is a spontaneous expression of our own essential nature. All the Taoist sages can do is encourage us to listen to the inner voice in our own heart, to enjoy the moment, and to set out on a quest to rediscover our original simplicity. The irony, however, is that Tao is not a way from which we can ever deviate. It is reality. We are flowing with Tao whether we know it or not, or believe it or not. The difference between the Taoist sages and the rest of us is not that they are borne along by Tao while we are so caught up in our own ideas about life that we do not recognize the flow of Tao carrying us in every moment. Sometimes, usually when life seems good, we may say, "I really felt as if I was with the flow just then." But at other times we do not. When we relinquish the bothersome concepts of good and bad and fully enter into life we find that Tao is not a way we have to learn to follow. Tao is happening now and always will be. All there is and has ever been is Tao (or God) - eternally present, ever changing, and ever the same - the unspeakable Mystery.

Today as yesterday there are self imposed boundaries on my routine. I will be either here in the flat, or over the park with Buster, but try to keep interaction with other beings to the minimum. Writing that has presented me with a conundrum which was solved almost as soon as it appeared. This blog to you is me convaying my thoughts feelings and other stuff to you. Its one way thouth. Good it be interactive, even by the action of you wishing me well!

Bfn my brothers and sisters.

Your bro Peter

Sometimes less can be more.

Good day to you my brothers and sisters. May peace be with us.

I thought I wouuld share this small peace of writing I came up with this morning with you.

So leaving this with you now, I hope that you are able to have as good day and know that you are loved!

Then

letting go

pain awakening Love

gathering in

Now

Your brother Peter

No art today I can only pray for Egypt

The title of my blog should be enough. Unfortunately Egypt is not the only country in our ONE WORLD were democracy is strangled. For today though I can only concentrate my prayers on the military in Egypt and urge any who read my blob to do the same. Pray for the soldiers and the public to come together for change and create freedom.

Thats it. Maybe I am not a great artist. Not the perfect father. Yet I know love is the only answer. That is all I can say today.

I will pray for freedom to come to Egypt and beg you to do the same and pass on the message.

Your brother Peter.

Back to the castle

THE EIGHTH ROOM

A Time For Prayer

In order to grow your soul, look at how you pray. In the content of your prayers is your personal agenda with God Within the First Mansion, your agenda has tended to focus on your needs, fears, health, and family, with occasional prayers of gratitude. Begin to dedicate daily prayer to those who have harmed you, to those who do not pray for themselves, and to the well-being of the human community. (I would add, to all life!) Begin that practice now; it becomes a devotion unto itself within the Fourth Mansion.

Soul Work: Note in your journal your struggles with prayer. Do you find it difficult to be present with God unless you have an agenda? Note what it is like for you to make praying for others a part of your daily life. Find time to pray every day. Find time for silence every day. Carry silence within you. Be still and know that you are devine.

A Moment of Contemplation

Your soul is your most powerful and certainly most intimate companion. Why would you not want to trust your companion? Nothing is as comforting as knowing that you can enter your Castle at will. Your Castle is real, a place of divine presence, activity, guidance, contemlation, prayer and grace. The work you do in the First Mansion is arduous. You are, as Teresa noted, stillhalf in the world of reptiles while alson in the Castle with God. Consider, however, that you have always lived in these two worlds. The only difference now is that you have chosen to become aware of this truth. You must n0w stengthen your soul that is genuine and deepening. It takes great courage to accept humility as a soul practice, it requires constant attention to manage your relationship to chaos, and it takes pure devotion to continue toward God when, as Teresa so aptly noted, the rewards in the First Mansion are few and far between. But how blessed you are to have discovered that your Castle is hidden within your soul.

LEAVING THE CASTLE

You must not simply open your eyes and exit your Castle. You are deep within a field of grace, even if your five senses are fully active. You have a spiritual energy field around you that has been heightened by prayer, by contemplation, by the quality of thought in which you have been engaged. Now you need to withdraw gradually from your Castle. Think of your soul as if it has been deep under water with you and you are both now adjusting the oxygen contint in your bloodstream as you ascend back to the surface, the external world.

Exit Prayer

I am a channel of grace. As I leace my Castle, grace surrounds

me and grace protects me. I enter my life under the blessing of

God and I remain open to receive guidance from my soul.

******************************************

Hmm, You may think, whats an artist doing going on about spiritual stuff so much of the time.

The thing is, the `peace` of art I am working on at the moment is very time consuming for little result. (One of my sons just said, "Dad when are you going to finish, people arent even going to read to this bit.) I am scraping the back of a mirror in parts to reveal sections of glass.

Okay he is really impatient for me to stop and so by for now.

Your bro Peter

This is some brave cat.

Now I know and believe it when Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life. Yet it wouldnt be a big stretch of the imagination to see The Holy Spirit as The Tao. Read the following and see what I mean.

FOLLOWING THE WAY

Tao is the way to live in harmony with the way things are. it is not a way that can be pointed at by someone else, because it is not a fixed path to follow. It is a way that each one of us must discover for ourselves because it is a spontaneous expression of our own essential nature (which I would say is our God nature.) All the Taoist sages can do is encourage us to listen to the inner voice of our own heart, to enjoy the moment, and to set out on a quest to rediscover our original simplicity. The irony, however, is that Tao is not a way from which we can ever deviate. It is reality. We are all flowing with Tao while we are splashing about in fear of drowning; it is that we are so caught up in our ideas about life that we do not recognize the flow of Tao carrying us in every moment. Sometimes, usually when life seems good, we may say "I really felt as if I was with the flow just then." But at other times we do not. When we relinquish the bothersome concepts of good and bad and fully enter into life we find that Tao is not a way we have to learn to follow. Tao is happening now and always will be. All there is and has ever been is Tao - eternally present, everchanging, and ever-the-same - the unspeakable Mystery.

Okay my brothers and sisters. I had one of my sons stop overnight with me and the Buster (my german sheperd) last night and now Ive got cycle of with him to swop over with the other one, so I shall end here wishing you good thoughts, good words and good actions.

Your brother of Jesus, Buddha and all the saints,

Peter

Fish on Friday

Entering the Castle THE SIXTH ROOM

Expressing Divine Love

If you truly believe that God loves you, you act accordingly. Divine love is compassionate and accepting, silent and healing, nonjudgmental. How does divine love influence your everyday life, including your thoughts, actions, emotions, and how you treat others? How often and in what circumstances do you consciously act without love? Divine love is the most difficult love to put into practice on Earth, and yet, if you believe in the power of divine love what other choice do you really have? Anything else you do will create chaos and contaminate the rooms of your Castle-which you`ve just begun to clean out!

Soul Work: We are not Jesus or Buddha; we all prefer to love within our comfort zone, but that is not what is asked of those who seek to know the deeper nature of the soul. The soul is essentially a vissel of love. As a channel for love, you cannot bold expectations that you will be loved in return or appreciated for your efforts. You cannot judge yourself for not being able to act out of love. Rather, your task is just to love, again and again.

In this room, dialogue with your soul-recording your dialogues in your journal-challenge of divine love. Examine in each instance why a loving response was difficult or why you may have expected gratitude from another for acting out of love and not receiving the same response. Divine love is a quality of grace to be given freely from your soul, released like a dove from a cage.

*******************************************

Well my brothers and sisters, Its a sunny day here in Luton, England. Buster has been over the park for his exercise and shortly I shall be cycling to my mothers to meet up with one of my sisters and then we can all have a coffee and a chat. One of my boys said to me the other week, " Dad, why does gran always have to be right even when she is wrong?" I said that it was because when you get to be as old as gran then you just are and us young ones have to bite our lips at times and accept it.

************************************************

Here is something for us to ponder.

The nonsensical

tragedy of duality

is considered to

be normal by all

modern societies,

which are themselves

as mad as a hatter.

Can we I am wondering escape the duality whilst existing in this time and place. Well, if we have eyes to see black and white then on some level they exist. That is the same with light and the absence of light. What about good and bad though, aren't they more subjective. Some people mention love and hate as opposites, but I am not sure they are. I must say I have seen them tattooed on some guys fingers. Those tended not to be spiritual brothers or professors.

Having said that I have tattoos on both my arms. A butterfly on my breast and ENGLAND tattooed across my back. In the Philippines though most people thought it was okay for me and that I was an artist, not a bad man. You are right I said, knowing in my mind that in my teenage years and early twenties, I mistakenly thought myself a bad guy!

The light is streaming into this room, as if inviting me outside. So my brothers and sisters I shall leave you now, with blessings and love. Peter

Entering the Castle again. Is it art, or whats important?

THE FIFTH ROOM

Who Is a Gift in My Life?

Do you consider just the people you love to be gifts? Everyone is in your life for a purpose. Appreciating the people who appreciate you is effortless. You have to learn to appreciate the reptiles in your soul as well. It is very difficult to find a divine purpose for people in your life who have harmed you, but consider that you yourself have harmed people who were busy trying to figure out why you came into their lives. Underneath it all, there is a purpose. You can choose to be defeated by adversity or cruelty or choose to keep going and never be cruel. These are gifts, great gifts, in fact. But of all the many gifts in life that bring joy and grace to the soul, among the greatest is the choice to see the people in our lives as gifts from God.

Soul Work: Ask your soul to show you the essence of each person whom you keep in you life. How you think of these people, how you feel about them, and how you remember them are reflected in the health of your soul. Dialogue with your soul until you see how each person is a gift. This is an intense practice because so many relationships are contaminated with power struggles-but identifying that struggle is precisely the purpose of the work in trhis room. Few relationships are easy, and you can suffer immense pain when you are unable to acknowledge the good in another. It is all the more difficult to see someone else`s goodness when he cannot see the goodness in you - but this work is your jouney, no one else`s.

.......................................................................................................................................................

So much of what i have copied down from anothers writing resonates with my own sense of being. Some I already had an understanding of and had contemplated long ago. Do you remember me saying that I like to see the Universe as `One song` What an orchestra and boy what a choir.

This morning I did something both creative and useful. I cooked up and put in jars some Kimbles rubarb and ginger chutney to give as part of Chritmass presents to my family. The unfortunate thing was being unable to find the apples which me and my boys had picked free a month or so ago. I wrapped each apple in newspaper put them in a box somewhere in the flat, but couldnt find them this mornig. I will keep looking!

Just a little aside. We are often descibed as Human beings. What about Dog beings and Tree beings? Does a dog see much difference between a tree and a lampost?

When a Zen monk becomes enlightened have they reached their zenith? (ans to `theartistpgk@talktalk.net`)

I gotta go and try to find the digital video camera my sister lent me. I do hope that it hasnt dissapeared. Have a good day. Bro Peter

~ ART and me EVOLVING ~

Good day folks. This is how some of my art is evolving. Above is the first piece done at my forensic art therapy session. It was a bit about putting ourselves in boxes and also about us being windows and different colours feeling different.

Then it progressed to the mirror, above and scrape away the surface layer behind the glass, so some was transparent.

Above. At first when it broke, after already spending two hours working away on it, I thought oh no this is not good. Then though I stood back and looked at the two pieces as still being part of one art work. Also I hadnt planned for the mirror to break and yet it had presented us with the start of a more dynamic work, which wasnt restricted to a rectangle!

So above I have started to experiment with putting shiny coloured foil behind and you can see

part of my body in the reflection.

I said to Kate the art therapist and then to my sister Viv when she picked me up to drive me home. Like this art piece braking, I hadnt planned on my my wife killing herself and me braking, but I am now better in so many ways than if it hadnt happened.

So this blog unlike so many of mine - and refreshing as I am an artist - Is totally about how an artwork of mine is coming about. We gotta see some things through to their accomplishment.

Normal service has returned. Well normal for a happy braindamaged outsider artist. I AM LOVING IT. Love you all too. Be happy. your bro Peter

Looking at me and art at google images

On the left is a photo I didnt mean to put on, but as It too difficult for me to put on the one I wanted, then it might as well stay.

Good day folks. I understand that some people will like to visit a website, but dont want to do much which is difficult. Hmm, how do I understand. Well because of my brain injury somethings that for others - even people a lot less intelligence than me - are easy to do, are almost impossible for me.

I went to `google images` and typed in, `theartistpgkimble` well I am not blowing my own trumpet when I say I was impressed with what came up. Mostly my own artwork and photos I have taken. Its all together though, presented for me in a way in which to get a good view of what me and my art is about. Why dont you have a look.

I have been trying to get a recent pic on this blog from my art therapy session. My sister Viv, attached it to her email. If it doesnt go on today, then it can perhaps go on another time. If I didnt mind bothering my neighbour, Long Tang, Im sure he would be able to put it on , no trouble. I think it can make us more aware that some other people can find things impossible that we find easy, when we are confronted by our own challenges.

Another exert from THE FIRST MANSION

TH FOURTH ROOM

God Give Me the Grace to Endure

Endurance is an essential quality of a soul with stamina. Without endurance, you cannot wait for God, or for anything else. Without the capacity to endure, you are impatient, demanding, short-tempered, and you tend to abandon projects that you are meant to complete because you cannot immediately see their significance. With endurance, you know that you can survive anything that iis asked of you, whether by a friendor by God. Endurance enables you spiritually to listen better to God, to follow your inner compass. You know you can manage the consequences of courageous personal decisions. Endurance means that your soul can confront enormous odds and accomplish great powerful tasks, alone if necessary. Only by having something to endure can you develop trust in God`s reasons for giving you challenges as you must be able to see them through, realizing only at the end the blessings hidden in the journey.

Soul Work: Consider this room a sacred place for nourishing you soul and receiving grace. In your jounal, reflect with your soul on what you have been given to endure and how you feel about these challenges . Do not answer quickly and dismissively or deny your true feelings. Is your challenge an illness? A relationship? When is your challenge most difficult to endure? What are you learning from it? Have you thought of it as unfair or undeserved? Do you turn to prayer to help you and do you ask God, "Why me?" If so, on what are you basing your scale of fainess? If you belive that only good things should happen to good people, ask why you need to belive that. Work on getting free of this superstition. How has endurance built your charactor? What are your strengths? Accepting that which you have been given to endure takes prayer. You must practice letting go of the belief that your life should have been different. It wont be easy. Ask your soul for the grace of acceptance.

***********************************

My brothers and sisters, its just gone 4pm and I think Buster should be going over the park for some exercise. I trust that you are well and may the spirit be with you all. You Bro Peter

Fringe by Rumi and The Third Room from Entering The Castle by Carikube Myss

The Third Room:

God, Where Were You When...? Why Did Bad Things

Happen to Me?

Difficult experiences can make you feel that God has abandoned you. Prayers seem to go unanswered; sacred rituals seem to lose their ability to comfort you. The heavens seem to have no compassion. What are your memories? One woman wanedred, Where was God for me when my parents were getting divorced and I was all alone? She is still angry with God, a typical reaction to the feeling of abandonment, to the death or prolonged suffering of a loved one, or to an ordeal perceived as undeserved.

(Those of you who know me and those who are getting to know me, and know yourselves will understand how I identify with both what is written above and written beneath.)

The word deserve causes immeasurable pain. Beliefs about what we deserve are rooted in a social-superstitious creed that suggests bad things should only happen to bad people. Most people believe that if they are good, God will reward them with protection from all undeserved suffering. This is human logic, but not divine logic. Pain and pleasure, suffering and abundance, are two sides of the coin of life experience. The divine asks you to learn through you life experiences. Yet we struggle with the concept of deserving because continually strive to see the logic behind events that occur to us. We cling to the belief that goodness is a shield of protection against having to experience the injustice or unfairness. But all sides of life are expressions of the divine; the unjust side tests our capacity to trust in a wisdom greater than our own. Without that trust, we often end up holding on to the memories of feeling betrayed by God, believing that somehow the wrong thins happened to us. Such illusions give rise to bitterness and an inability to forgive.

Soul Work: Ask your soul for guidance in understanding the gifts within any tragedies or crises in your life. |You are to pray for grace, wait, and receive. Do not let your mind feel pressured to answer; keep soul dialogue gentle, flowing like dream imagery. Do not expect or seek rational explanations. Note any symbolic impressions or single words that come to you: Often, these are messengers.

.....................................................................................................

For far too long I have been neglecting to carry a notebook and pen around with me and have it by my bed at night. Its a useful thing to do and I am starting to do it again, as of now; which I reccomend for you to do likewise.

Its now five in the morning, more or less and so I will bid you all to fare well this day.

You brother Peter

The following poem, "Fringe," by the great thirteenth century Muslim mystic Rumi, is perfect inspiration for your reflection in this room.

FRINGE

You wreck my shop and my house and now my heart, but

How can I run from what

Give me life? I`m weary of personal worrying, in love

With the art of madness!

Tear open my shame and show the mystery. How much longer

do I have to fret with

Self-restraint and fear? Friends, this is how it is:

We are fringe sewn inside.

The lining of a robe. Soon we`ll be loosened, the binding

threads torn out. The beloved

Is a lion. We`re the lame deer in his paws. Consider what

choices we have! Acqueisce

When the Friend says, come into me. Let me show my face.

You saw it once in preexistence,

Now you want to be quickened and quickened again. We have been

secretly fed

From beyond space and time. That`s why we look for something

more than this.

(The Soul of Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks,

HarperSanFrancisco,2001)

Some wise sayings from The Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church

Good day brothers and sisters. These following sayings I am sharing with those of you who are perhaps like me , venturing towards a journey on the mystical path. If you are such a person, then these sayings will be of a great help. Do not though think that they can be easily absorbed. For my part, I have to read a few lines at a time. Then after meditating on a few of the words, try to clear my mind and then look at the thoughts which arise. Doing this with prayer before and during can reveal something enlightening. Though maybe we should even take note of any dreams we have!

Wise Sayings from The Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church
When a man walks in the fear of God he knows no fear, even if
he were to be surrounded by wicked men. He has the fear of God
within him and wears the invincible armor of faith. This makes him
strong and able to take on anything, even things which seem difficult
or impossible to most people. Such a man is like a giant surrounded by
monkeys, or a roaring lion among dogs and foxes. He goes forward trusting in
the Lord and the constancy of his will to strike and paralyze his foes. He
wields the blazing club of the Word in wisdom. St. Symeon the New
Theologian, The Practical and Theological Chapters + +
+ When we lay bare the hidden meaning of the history, scripture
is seen to teach that the birth which distresses the tyrant is
the beginning of the virtuous life. I am speaking of the kind of
birth in which free will serves as the midwife, delivering the
child amid great pain. For no one causes grief to his antagonist
unless he exhibits in himself those marks which give proof of his
victory over the other. St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of
Moses.
+ + +
O strange and inconceivable thing! We did not really die, we were not
really buried, we were not really crucified and raised again, but our
imitation was but a figure, while our salvation is in reality. Christ was
actually crucified, and actually buried, and truly rose again; and all these
things have been vouchsafed to us, that we, by imitation communicating in
His sufferings, might gain salvation in reality. O surpassing
loving-kindness! Christ received the nails in His undefiled hands and feet,
and endured anguish; while to me without suffering or toil, by the
fellowship of His pain He vouchsafed salvation. St. Cyril of
Jerusalem, On the Christian Sacraments. + + + Repentance is the
renewal of baptism. Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. A
penitent is a buyer of humility. Repentance is constant distrust of bodily
comfort. Repentance is self-condemning reflection, and carefree self-care.
Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair. A
penitent is an undisgraced convict. Repentance is reconciliation with
the Lord by the practice of good deeds contrary to the sins. Repentance
is purification of conscience. Repentance is the voluntary endurance of all
afflictions. A penitent is the inflicter of his own punishments. Repentance
is a mighty persecution of the stomach, and a striking of the soul
into vigorous awareness. St. John Climacus + +
+ Those who seek humility should bear in mind the three
following things: that they are the worst of sinners, that they are the
most despicable of all creatures since their state is an unnatural
one, and that they are even more pitiable than the demons, since
they are slaves to the demons. You will also profit if you say this
to yourself: how do I know what or how many other people's sins are, or
whether they are greater than or equal to my own? In our ignorance you and I
, my soul, are worse than all men, we are dust and ashes under their feet.
How can I not regard myself as more despicable than all other creatures, for
they act in accordance with the nature they have been given, while I, owing
to my innumerable sins, am in a state contrary to nature. St.
Gregory of Sinai, Philokalia, Vol. IV. + + + He, therefore, who
sets himself to act evilly and yet wishes others to be silent, is a witness
against himself, for he wishes himself to be loved more than the truth,
which he does not wish to be defended against himself. There is, of course,
no man who so lives as not sometimes to sin, but he wishes truth to be
loved more than himself, who wills to be spared by no one against
the truth. Wherefore, Peter willingly accepted the rebuke of Paul; David
willingly hearkened to the reproof of a subject. For good rulers who pay no
regard to self-love, , take as a homage to their humility the free and
sincere words of subjects. But in this regard the office of ruling must be
tempered with such great art of moderation, that the minds of subjects, when
demonstrating themselves capable of taking right views in some matters,
are given freedom of expression, but freedom that does not issue
into pride, otherwise, when liberty of speech is granted too generously,
the humility of their own lives will be lost. St. Gregory The Great,
Pastoral Care + + + The Lord of all gave to His apostles the
power of the gospel, and by them we also have learned the truth, that is,
the teaching of the Son of God - as the Lord said to them, `He who hears you
hears Me, and he who despises you despises Me, and Him Who sent
Me' [Lk.10:16]. For we learned the plan of our salvation from no
other than from those through whom the gospel came to us. The
first preached it abroad, and then later by the will of God handed
it down to us in Scriptures, to be the foundation and pillar of
our faith. For it is not right to say that they preached before they had
come to perfect knowledge, as some dare to say, boasting that they are the
correctors of the apostles. For after our Lord had risen from the dead, and
they were clothed with the power from on high when the Holy Spirit came upon
them, they were filled with all things and had perfect knowledge. They went
out to the ends of the earth, preaching the good things that come to us from
God, and proclaiming peace from heaven to all men, all and each of
them equally being in possession of the gospel of God. St. Irenaeus,
Against the Heresies, III + + + The Lord's Day is a mystery of
the knowledge of the truth that is not received by flesh and blood, and it
transcends speculations. In this age there is no eighth day, nor is there a
true Sabbath. For he who said that `God rested on the seventh day,'
signified the rest [of our nature] from the course of this life, since
the grave is also of a bodily nature and belongs to this world. Six days
are accomplished in the husbandry of life by means of keeping the
commandments; the seventh is spent entirely in the grave; and the eighth is
the departure from it. St. Isaac of Syria, The Ascetical
Homilies.I + + + + + + The wicked one, on the
watch, carried me off as booty as I lazily slept. He led my mind into
error; he plundered my spirit and snatched away The wealth of Thy grace,
this arch robber. So raise me up, as I am fallen, and summon me,
Saviour, Thou who dost will that all men be saved. Kontakia of St.
Romanos, A Prayer.

What we can have in common. Land. Language. Love.

Good day my brother and sisters.

Outside the sun is trying desperately to shine through the grey clouds. So as I sometimes do I shall share little from me on this blog and more which resonates with me , but comes from our brother Desmond Tutu;

When you go to heaven, you will say to me, should I be there, too, "Gee whiz, man, I didn`t know you were so beautiful." You will see the divine light that shines through me, and not just this guy with a large nose (he is surely talking about me and my nose! who knows) . All the people you thought were just mere flesh-and-blood humans, with all their physical flaws, will be revealed to you as filled with divine light. We are meant to be godlike; that is why we were created in the image of God. But we really don`t know what God is like except we get glimpses. When someone is wonderfully generous or compassionate, we do sometimes stand in awe of that person, and that gives us a glimpse of the glory that is God. And if we had the eyes to see, we would look at one another and see the beauty of God, and we would treat each other with appropriate reverence and awe.

**********************************************************

A long time ago, I said and wrote down somewhere; "If I can see God in you and you can see God in me, how can we fail not to love each other."

So whether its from the archbishop Tutu or the artist PGKimble, any of us can see the light shining and revealing the truth. I did just go and put recargable batteries in the camera to get a shot though the window now the the sun is rising in its glory. Alas there wasnt enough power in them!

Okay, I am off now to cycle up to Stopsley to cycle back with Joshua, my eldest son who is twelve.

Have a good day, remembering if you can to still your minds of thoughts for a brief time. What are you feeling. Can you be that still as to feel the love of God which is in all creation!

Peace and love from your brother Peter.

Fish of Friday; More from Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu and me

Good day to you, my brothers and sisters.

The pebble that I am holding in the picture may appear to some as having a line encircle it. Yet though we cannot know for sure without breaking it, I believe that the light material is a layer which divides the stone into two seperate halfs. Yet it is still one stone!

Instructions for life

from the Dalia Lama

Take into account that great love and great acheivements involve risk.

When you lose, don`t lose the lesson.

Follow the threeR`s

Respect for self

Respect for others

Responsibility for all your actions.

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

Don`t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

When you realize you`ve mede a mistake, take immediete steps to correct it.

Spend some time alone every day.

Open your arms to change, but dont let go of your values.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you`ll enjoy every second.

Be gentle with the earth.

Once a year, go somplace you`ve nevir been before.

Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exeeds your

need for each other.

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

************************************************

The mirror is me

Yesterday I went and spent an hour and a half with Kate, my forensic art therapist.

I continued working on a mirror, which I had started the previous session. Scapping abay at portions of the backing to reveal areasa where it would no longer reflect, but can be seen though.

So after a time, having spent,last session and this well over an hour scrapping away, the mirror broke in two peices. I didnt instantly feel dissapointed. No, I stood back and looked at the shape of the two broken peices, which had come from a straight edged rectangle. Then rearranged them, turning them this way and that , untill settling finally on a new position for them, more plesing to my eye. So the accidental breaking of the mirror had led to a new possibility, more dynamic than before!

If I dont bow down to others perception of my brain damage making me less of a person and also self depreciation, then I am able to cry and fly on. Yes..

***************************************

Have a great day and know that you are loved. Your Bro Peter

LIFE living intimately feeling eternal

Good day brothers and sisters. I awoke this morning and got some inspiration from;
wowzone.com/godmemo.htm
******************************************
Looking at the above for awhile brought me to the restful state at which I am in this moment.

If you spend some time there (wowzone) you may as I do, be able to step outside your feeling of being seperate from everyone else and be a wonderful intrinsic part of all that is, was and will be.

Our will, this is such an important factor in our lives and all we interact with and yet often it is not something we are in control of.

We react often on impulse and not on reflection.

**************************************
For gnostics, Jesus is not the son of a partisan Jewish God, but the true son of God who is the oneness that underlies all. He comes not to save people from affending against the rules laid down by an autocratic creator, but directly to reveal the transcendent truth. The true God of Jesus is beyond all ideas, and so can equally be pictured as both Father and Mother. A Gnostic text declares;
I am the Thought that dwells in the light. She who exists above all. I move in every creature. I am the invisable one within All. I am perfection. I am knowledge. I cry out in everyone and they know a seed dwells within them. I am adrogynous. I am both Mother and Father, since I make love with myself. I am the womb that gives shape to All. I am the Glorious Mother.
When you make the two as One, and the inside like the outside, you will enter the kindom of Heaven. Jesus.. Gnostic Gospel of Thomas

****************************************


Think first is a good start, yet what can be better is to still our thoughts and feelings and be in the space where a thought comes, we meditate on it and then either let it go, or rest in it awhile.

Its coming up to 5.40am and so this is an early edition post. I will leave the blog but my love will still be will all who read this blog. Wishing you all, love enlightenment and peace. Peter.

Good day and some more from Desmond Tutu & me.

When we accept our own vulnerability just as we accept the vulneravility of other, we can be compassionate with ourselves and with our fears and frailties.

Our greatest fears, however, are generally of pain and death, but when we stare these in the face, we realixe that through our connection to all life and to God, we are stronger than death. I had to think about death often ond early, and this heoped me to confront my fear, I couldn`t but think of death in South Africa when I got death threats frequently.

When I was afraid I would say to God, "If I am doing Your work, then You jolly well need to protect me." But I also needed to accept the fact that the worst that my enemies could do to me was to end my life physically. For those of us who believe in the Resurrection, that is not the worst thing they can do because they can`t accomplish your annihilation, which was what they had hoped. It isn`t that you are saying, "Oh I don`t mind if I die." Hardly. You take reasonable precautions, you don`t do stupid things that expose you to danger unnecessarily, but when you have to encounter danger that is unavoidable, you are relaxed in the hands of God.

It was St. Paul in Romans 8 who said, "What can separate us from the love of Christ?" and he lists all sorts of aweful things-persecution, famine, peril, sword, even death. But none of these, he says, not even death, can separate us from the love of God. It`s an act of faith. You are not able to prove it in the way that rmoves absolutely all doubt, but you believe in you heart that God is in charge. Even when things look like they are confirming the opposite. Those are precisely the moments when you have to hold onto the belief that we are not in the hands of mindless forces; we are in the hands of a loving, compassionate, carig God. And ultimately nothing will happen to us that God cannot handle. Even death.

And if our religion is not true, it still doesn`t matter, because after you are dead, if there is no life after death, it doesn`t matter in the ultimate sense. But if we have loved well while we were alive, ther is life after death here-our love will go on for generations.

********************************************

Coming back here to Luton, England. A computer volunteer - from Headway an organisation that helps people with aquired brain injuries- came around this morning to help me with things that I am unable to do on my own. He saw what I need to be able to do the video editing and will try to sort it out before his next visit. Good chap.

********************************************

Enlightenment

The brief easy definition of enlightenment that I have, is realization of truth.

Going to a place of Silence + Solitude, warm the heart with spiritual music, or icon, or incense.

An attitude of watchfullness will destroy the ego.

Live in an attitude of freedom from results.

Freedom from thoughts and worry will put us in a state where we can be in communion with the soul.

*****************************************************

Most of the shadows of life are caused by standing in our own sunshine~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Begin at once to live and count each day as a seperate life~Seneca

The past and future are over rated. This moment is what really rocks~Me?

Okay brothers and sisters I leave you now in the hope that we will all seize the day. We are one.

Yor brother Peter

Hi folks and wishing you all, one with me in getting it!

If there is no struggle, then you are not entering the affray. Don't stick your head in the sand/television. Its an insult for the device to have the word `vision` in it. Yet of course its not the device which is a vice. Its the programmers that are like Pink Floyd's hammers in the classic rock album `The Wall`. People put up walls for all different reasons. It gets dangerous though when its unseen organisations like the Freemasons, or Skull & Bones. Are they saying don't mind us we are just quaint gentleman's clubs that get together for a port and brandy and a game of bridge. Meanwhile they will use television to bring millions down to the lowest common denominator.

So don't get with the program. Get de programmed.

I along with Henri J. M. Nouwen and probably countless others (we don't want to stand up and be counted, lest our heads appear above the parapets and get shot.) can say with Dante, "In the middle of the way of our life I find myself in a dark wood." This experience is frightful as well as exhilarating because it is the great experience of being alone, alone in the world, alone before God. The spiritual path is reaching out to our innermost self, and to our fellow travellers on this journey/way. The question about spiritual life is a very challenging question. It touches the core of life. It forces us to take nothing for granted - neither good nor evil, neither life nor death, neither human beings nor God. This is why the most personal, serious questions ask for much guidance and support. I along with Dante will impart to you, " In the middle of the way of our life I find myself in a dark wood." This experience is frightful and exhilarating as it is the magnificent experience of being alone, alone in the world, alone before God.

This is all for now my brothers and sisters, except for an assurance that if anyone wishes to ask me either a question, or for some advice; then please email me at `theartistpgk@talktalk.net` If its good or otherwise and you dont want it going on my blog, then please tell me and I will try to reply to you personally. Also any surreal correspondence will be eagerly entered into. Here`s looking at you kid, billy and nanny. We are all one. Your bro Peter.

Some pictures of mine done at forensic art therapy.

Good day. I am hoping this finds you in good spirits.

On the left you can see one whole piece of my work and bits of two others.

The colourful boxes are oil pastel and chalk on paper.

Had a long day today and its still not even 4pm.

Both my sons slept over and last night was tiring, but fun.

This morning though, that was a different matter. Last night I had parked the car on the road outside the flat, not in its usual off road parking space. Went out this morning to take the boys to church and it wasn't there. Looked down the road and saw a policeman. It was then I saw the car against the wall at the bottom of the road. Checked it and the hand break was still on! Since then I have had three people tell me, I should always leave it in gear. It reminds me of something about shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. I get it.

Still, I am able to look at some of my more calming art and relax. Let thoughts go through my mind without lingering. They become fewer and fewer and then peace. Um OM and Amen.

I of course know my day has been mostly good most of the time. I am glad not to have been looking from the balcony as the car took itself down the road. Last night my sons and I enjoyed seeing the fantastic fireworks that the council laid on in the park Behind our flats and now I am here on my Own; apart from the Buster of course. My faithful and wonderful German sheepdog. Of course there is God here too. If you could see how my two sons go on at me at times demanding stuff from me, then you will understand how I am going to sign off now and rant at God for a little while, or longer. He has got some answering to do to me and I am not going to accept silence for an answer. I have given him the benefit of the doubt for too long. He is going to have to pull his finger out and carry some of my weight.

Hope that you all have a good week. Your rueful bro, Peter

Entering the Castle with me. An inner path to God & our Soul.

The title of the blog is the title of a book that I borrowed from the library today. The writer Caroline Myss took her template for the the book from the mystic Teresa of Avila.

All mystics agree that the mind and body are different from the soul. But the soul is often obscured by the clamor of our inner chaos, our doubts and fears. It would be wonderful if getting to your soul were as simple as closing your eyes and focusing. It is not, but focusing on the Castle and entering it prayerfully, step by step, is the most effective way to meet your soul.

Your soul as Castle is a powerful metaphor that induces mystical intimacy. The Castle represents a deeper, interior state of consciousness, beyond the five sensory domains of the mind and beyond your mental understanding of soul. Here is a way to work with that image:

Imagine a Castle-not a palace, but a Castle built with heavy, thick, protective stone walls. Imagine a moat surrounding that Castle and a drawbridge over it. The Castle is isolated, exposed atop a hill overlooking miles and miles of land. Visualize yourself as your soul, as an infinite energy, a great wind flowing into and out of the sun. See yourself not as your body, but yourself in your spirit or soul or energy form approaching this Castle. Visualize crossing the drawbridge, going under the archway and into the courtyard. Imagine that you have withdrawn from the world. All becomes silent.

It does go on about making this Castle our safety net and home, but me thinks to copy too much may infringe on copyright. Besides which I have eleven and twelve year old sons here today, they are staying overnight. Its Guy Fawkes's night and there will be plenty of fireworks going off in the field besides our flat. Also they are being provided free by the local government council.

For now though I must give them some attention before they enter into mortal combat.

May this be a restful evening for you and please have a thought for me.

Your bro Peter

Fish on Friday + a photo of the Buster behind my flat.

Good day folks and hopefully a good weekend. As its fish on Friday I should like to share a longer section from `GOD HAS A DREAM`, by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. As I say, this is longer and this is because I want to get across how important it is to be in the battle for the Glory of God to be victorious! So please try and stick with it and oh yes, try not to be distracted by any mistakes I make and dont notice; as I believe what Tutu has written can aid those of us brothers and sisters, working as Sacred Service agents!

God has chosen us from all eternity to be an indispensable part of His divine plan.

When according to the Christian faith, we had fallen into the clutches of the devil and were enslaved by sin, God chose Mary, a teenager in a small village, to be the mother of His Son. He sent an archangel to visit her. I envision it happening like this.

Knock, knock.

"Come in."

"Er, Mary?"

"Yes."

"Mary, God would like you to be the mother of His Son."

"What? Me!! In this village you can`t even scratch yourself without everybody knowing about it! You want me to be an unmarried mother? I`m a decent girl, you know. Sorry, try next door."

If she had said that, we would have been up a creek. Mercifully, marvelously, Mary said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word," and the universe breathed a cosmic sigh of relief, because she made it possible for our Saviour to be born.

Mary was a poor teenage girl in Galilee and reminds us that tranfiguration of our world comes from even the most unlikely places and people. You are the idispensable agent of change. You should not be daunted by the magnitude of the task before you. Your contribution can inspire others, embolden others who are timid, to stand up for the truth in the midst of a welter of distortion, propaganda, and deceit; stand up for human dignity and decency at times when these are in desperately short supply.

God calls on us to be his partners to work for a new kind of society where people count; where people matter more than thigs, more than possessions; where human life is not just respected but positively revered; where people will be secure and not suffer from the fear of hunger, from ignorance, from disease; where there will be more gentleness, more caring, more sharing, more compassion, more laughter; where there is peace and not war.

Pur partnership with God comes from the fact that we are made in God`s image. Each and every human being is created in this same divine image. That is an incredible, a staggiring assertion about human beings. It might seem to be an innocuous religious truth, until you say it in a situation of injustice and oppression and exploitation. When I was rector of a small parish in Soweto, I would tell an old lady whose white employer called her "Annie" because her name was too difficult: "Mama, as you walk the dusty streets of Soweto and they ask you who you are, you can say, `I am God`s partner, God`s representative, God`s viceroy-that`s who I am-because I am created in the image of God.`"

To treat a child of God as if he or she were less than this is not just wrong, which it is; is not just evil, as it often; not just painful, as it often must be for the victim: it is viritably blasphemous, for it is to spit in the face of God. Each of us is a "God carrier," as St. Paul put it. Human beings must not just by rights be respected, but they must be held in awe and reverence. If we took this seriously, we should not just greet each other. We should really genuflect before one another. Buddhists are more correct, since they bow profoundly as they greet one another, saying the God in me acknowledges the God in you.

In the Christian point of view, our God is one who took our human nature. Our God said, "Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, My brethren, you have done it unto Me. You don`t have to go around looking for God. You don`t have to say, "Where is God?" Everyone around you-that is God. It is because God has said this about each one of us, that our faith in God demands the obedience of our whole being in opposing injustice. For not to oppose injustice is to disobey God.

To oppose injustice and oppression is not something that is merely political. No, it is profoundly religious. Can you imagine what the gospel means to people whose dignity is trodden underfoot ever day of their lives, to those who have had their noses rubbed in the dust as if they didn`t count? Can you think of anything more subversive of a situation of injustice and oppression? Why shoud you need Marxist idiology or whatever? The Bible is dynamite in such a situation. In South

Africa when they banned books, we told the government the book they should have banned long ago was the Bible, for nothing could be more radical, more revolutionary, as we faced up to the awfulness of injustice, oppression, and racism.

***********************************************************

Maybe I lost a few bloggers already, but I tell you I could go on, because what the archbishop writes is so powerfull. The six years I spent in the Philippines, I saw the spirit of God there a lot more than here in england. I dont think it was only because there were street children there and not in the west. Amongst even the poor, those who believed were happy. Also amongst the rich, there were those like a senators son and his rich friends who were on trial for rape and possibly murder. Its such a time ago I forget a lot of the facts. I do remember one was the son of a senator Web! I think maybe because there are so many more poor than rich in the philippines then thats why so many more are blessed. Here in the west so many, are if not comfortable then actually weighed down with wealth and many with bodyfat. There may not come a lean winter for them to use it up. I have proberbly nearly half a stone of excess fat stored up for a rainy day, so am not being hollier than thou. All I am saying is we all have to hear the wake up call. Lest the time comes that we are asked the question, "when I was hungry did you feed me?" I should hate to have to reply, "No I ate your whole families share!

Now can I leave you with an upside. Hmm Okay, first, this is the prayer of St Athanasius.

May we `trust in the grace of your eternal Word, who took upon himself our humanity that we might share his divinity.`

Okay it seems I havent left you. Those that have had enough go and do something uplifting.

***************************************

Back to the near the knuckle stuff

Also I say we can choose life and ask of ourselves that we become a blessing to all around us. Not just those that love us, but those whom may hate us and also all Gods creation. Many Hindus, Buddhists and some of us Christians say sorry if we accidently kill even an insect. I can shamefully admit to last summer killing a wasps nest on my balcony. Also nearly killing other people some twenty years and more ago. Its come back on me and retrospectively as the wasps were concerned. Not wasps, but some viscious little bees kept stinging us up at our rest house in the phillipines. Also in Cagayan De Oro city, people twice tried to kill me. Once I was on my own and had to fight off and run from about six attackers after one of them smashed me on the side of the face with a rock. Next time I was in the city with a couple of philipinos, one of whom was the mayors nephew, the other was an americans right hand man. We were attacked ourside a bar in the city by about twenty young men. We fought them of and made our escape. I needed three stiches just by my armpit. One of the attackers went to stab me in the heart but I blocked him, but caught the knife in the top of my arm, then punched him which sent him flying. Afterwards I did question if my actions were that of a Christian. On both occasions if I hadnt defended myself its likely my sons would have lost me. One of my attackers got sacked from his job because Ben, a filipino friend who was employing him for a foreigner found out that him and his friends had planned to knock me out and leave me in the highway to be run over by trucks. After that I was singing a bit from a song for awhile, `You can knock me down but I get up again, cos your never going to keep me down.` I did thank God for whatever guardian angel he has assigned to my life. That angel sure has had his job cut out for him. Stopping me at times from succeeding in my attempts at killing people and then stopping me getting killed.

Then there was the time my darling wife killed herself and unwittingly gave me a brain injury. Police arresting me for murder and then charging me with aiding and abetting her suicide. Me on remand awaiting trial in Bedford prison. Contemplating one day in a bath in the prison hospital, if I should just sink under the water and breath in oblivion. How glad I am that I decided it wasnt my life to take. My sons wouldnt have been here today and you wouldnt be reading this!

Thanks be to God that in previous years on the two times I had tried to kill other guys I hadnt succeeded; otherwise only God knows, I may have failed at the first hurdle in the Philippines when guys planned to kill me. The trick now is that I dont forgive those who try to kill me, or back in england have stolen from me, because I am a saint and want to love my enemy. Nope, its because I get it that really there isnt any us and them; we are all just one body. So I love my enemy, even at the times that its my own ego. That way I can aknowledge and hopefully diminish that which seperates me from God and althings created and uncreated.

Creating more space as the universe expands. One song/universe. Lets all try to sing in harmony.

ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

I survived so much when others havent been so fortunate, that I give thanks and praise to God for.

So this is Peter, or those who knew me in the Philippines, Pedro, saying have a good weekend and know that you are loved. Love and smiles from bro Peter