Bucky Group 25 - Conversations with God

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The movie is about Donald Neale Walsh journey after he got into an accident, losing his job and going downhill and dejected. Then one day he started talking to God...
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The following are some more video clips of the movie...
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Discussion about the movie:

I can relate to when Neale was waiting anxiously by the public phone for his job interview appointment, as it reminded me of the time when I first went to London with my backpack looking for freelance programming roles. Like Neale, I was staying in a crummy little hotel, down at the notorious Kings Cross, that charged 10 pounds sterling a night. Staying in a place with down-and-outs and welfare recipients as your neighbours, turned me street-wise very quickly.

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So what is the difference between talking with ourselves or God, versus being schizophrenic? Is the difference in the quality of thoughts or conversations we have with ourselves? It's like choosing between the blue pill or the red pill, as in the movie, "The Matrix". Just as Dr Aaron said, one of the pills would represent Love, whilst the other would represent Fear. When we chose the former, it will open all the doors and consequences of Love, and conversely, if we chose the latter, it will open to all the doors and consequences of Fear.

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One of my friend who calls himself an 'aethist' told me that his wife has been hearing voices and has been diagnosed as haivng mild schizophrenia. She was telling incidents that are not coherent with reality, like claiming that she heard him talking outside the window when he was clearly miles away. She then accused my friend of lying to her.

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Personally, I have also heard voices. Just a few nights ago, I heard a clear voice, "Go to bed", late at night when I was very tired. I did, and fell instantly to sleep. Sometimes, I can hear my mother calling my name. However, I know I am not schizophrenic because what I hear are voices of love, not of fear. That, I think, is the essential difference.

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When in times of trouble, we can ask ourselves, "What will Love do now?" Incidentally, I did. "What will Love do now?" Does doing nothing count? When helping another person, ironically, it is sometimes wiser to let a person go downhill further and not offer help, as it will not serve him? In other words, people must continue to do what they are doing until they have enough. We can only help people when they are ready. Thus, when Neale went back to the trailer park to look for his homeless friends, even if he had found them, they may not have been ready for the change.

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Joo Hock: Our Bucky Group has a connection with 'Conversations with God' right from the begginning. Years ago, I was depressed and decided to write the note, 'ear God, Need Help! Please Help!' Then I put it under my pillow.
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After a few days, a friend called and told me about the "Money and You" (business training) programme. Actually, I was not interested, but this friend kept insisting and told me he has already booked a place for me.
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When the day came, I attended the programme and it absolutely blew my mind away. Incidentally, in the programme, Bucky was mentioned. I was very impressed with Bucky's teachings and even more impressed that this man actually has a spiritual belief in 'a force more powerful than men'. And this despite him being a highly scientific person.

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The rest of it with Joo Hock and Bucky is history. :)

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Even all the down points in our life have their purposes as they are part of the bigger picture. All our experiences are connected and everyone's journey is different. If Neale hadn't gone through those hardships, perhaps he wouldn't have got inspired or talked to God; then subsequently becoming a successful writer and coach. Bucky too was at the verge of taking his own life at Lake Michigan, but didn't, after hearing a voice that his life is not for him to take. Bucky then went on to live and contributed enormously to mankind.

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Lastly, about the 'blue pill' or the 'red pill'... :)

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Bucky Group 24 - Freedom

24th May 2008 (Sat):
This session has two parts. Part 1 is a quick preview of a kaleidoscope of images used for metadron meditation. Part 2 is a video clip about "A Way to God", by Anthony di Mello.


This is the crystal they use for meditation. It is two intersecting tetrahedron. The following are some of the beautiful images in the video of unfolding patterns.
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We watched Anthony di Mello's "A Way to God". Part 1 is about "Freedom".

Here "Freedom" doesn't refer to political freedom or democracy, but freedom within. It reminded him of a Japanese general who was captured and jailed. He knew that he will be tortured and therefore was worried. Then at one point he told himself that he will only be tortured the next day, and for the moment he is not tortured and therefore is 'free'.

We are not free because of the chains that hold us back.

The first type of chain holds us back because of the pleasures of the past. This is a disease called 'nostalgia'. It can be that we are walking along and supposedly enjoying the sunset when we then recalled a more beautiful sunset we saw yesterday. So we miss out enjoying the sunset of the moment.

The second type of chain holds us back because of unpleasant experiences of the past. These are unpleasant feelings that some of us erroneously identify with. We must remember these feelings are not us.

There are also a type of chain that holds us back because of the pleasures of the present. Here we are so attached to the pleasures of the present that we don't want it to end.

Exercise: Close your eyes and relax, then think of the place you are now. Then think how it will be like three years from now..., then how it will be like 30 years from now,... then 300 years from now,... and 3,000 years from now. Will you be around? How will you influence the place? At this point you will realise how insignificant you are. The moment you realise that, you are 'free'.

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Bucky Group 23d - Geometry

18th May 2008 session.

We continued our reading of "Utopia or Oblivion" Chapter on "Prevailing Conditions of the Arts".

In brief, the basic shapes in nature are: triangles, tetrahedrons, octahedrons and isocahedrons, as shown below. These are natures systems of structures because they are the most efficient, and Bucky demonstrates how it is most efficient but quantifying the volumes octahedrons and tetrahedrons occupy compared to cubes.

.Besides, cubes are actually supported by a tetrahedron inside, as shown in the diagram below. That is, if we imagine that all the joints of the cube is made of rubber, the cube will collapse and not be standing. Nature does not like 90 degree structural members, as forces triangulate in nature.

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Instead of the typical cubic coordinate x-y-z system, he propounded the 60 degree coordinate system as shown...

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This system can represent the fourth-power relationships that the cubic coordinate system cannot.
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Bucky went on to explain that if we were to consider the basic tetrahedron to have a volume of 1 unit, then the octahedron will have a volume of 4 and the cube will have a volume of 3. That means the cubic coordinate system occupies 3 times that of a tetrahedra-coordinate system. Here's how he demonstrate the relative volume of the cube compared to the tetrahedron.

It says that, cube may be formed by placing four 1/8 octahedrons with their equilateral faces on the faces of a tetrahedron. Since tetrahedron = 1 and 1/8 octahedron = 1/2, therefore value of a cube = 1+4(1/2) = 3.

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When you have smaller cubes and you want to make a bigger cube, you need 8 smaller cubes to make one big cube.

When you use 60 degree for your coordination, we can carry out 4th power calculations because there is a volume of 20 tetrahedroa around one point instead of 8. This obviates the need for imaginary or complex numbers in the calculations.

In summary,

If a tetrahedron volume = 1, then

the octahedron volume = 4 = 2 power of 2,

the eight-tetrahedron volume = 8 = 2 power of 3,

the eight-tetrahedron + two-octahedron, volume = 8 + 8 = 16=2 power 0f 4,

the eight-tetrahedron + six=octahedron volume

= 8 + 24 = 32 = 2 power of 5

For the cube, 8 cubes is the maximum around a point and hence,

8=2 power of 3

Structure of matter:
Gases have single bond structure and therefore they are very flexible. Two bonds form a hinge, very flexible but quite compact as a system, like water. Triple bonding is rigid, like crystals. And quadrivalent bonding are for very densely compacted matter, like diamonds.

Metals have tetrahedra structures with common centres of gravity, as shown below.

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Bucky Group 23c - Geometry

This is our Saturday breakfast on the reception counter of Joo Hock's Hair Affair Salon. One or two of us will have the duty to buy packets of the local goodies. Breakfast starts at 8am. :)

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We continued with the game played last Saturday. Click here. It was to form four triangles from two triangles. The moral of the story is that the 'player' has to be willing to be open, try without fear of error and think out of the box. That means letting go of conventional views. Be different. Be mad! Incidentally, one of the solutions, which is to form a tetrahedron, is possible only with two complementary (as opposed to identical) shapes. It is a metaphor to show that in a successful collaboration, complementary contribution to the whole is necessary. We call this 'synergy'.

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As if both the shapes are the same, it can't form the tetrahedron, like the pix next.

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Joo Hwa's time-out:

Once upon a time, the mouth, eyes, nose...etc were debating who was more important and should become the boss. While they were debating, nobody seemed to notice the asshole, and the asshole become upset. In revenge, the asshole decided to shut off and not serve the rest of the body. Obviously, it became a major problem as all the shit quickly piled up. Amid the chaos and hardship, 'everyone' got together and decided to vote the asshole as the CEO.

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Hin Lan has a more refined version which she uses for her trainees. It sums up that an organisation is like the body in the above example. Every part has a function to play and it is through cooperation and synergy that the whole works better than the sum of its parts.

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It is like the game: 1 triangle + 1 triangle = 4 triangles.

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However, Rachel mentioned that it is often difficult to suggest improvements in an organisation as the boss would not listen to you. And often, it is the vocal ones that get heard. Joo Hock said that it is therefore important to illustrate your ideas using artifacts, like Bucky does. Voiced in abstract terms, bosses often cannot grasp suggestions well.

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During the rest of the session, we spent our time playing with these magnetic sticks and balls to form tetrahedrons and octahedrons.

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tetrahedron

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Octahedron

This is a big tetrahedron made up of 4 small tetrahedrons, with an octahedronn inside.

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Bucky Group 23b - Geometry

It is a bit uncomfortable sitting on the floor this Sunday, as it rained heavily in the morning and the floor was still moist. It was still raining when I was jogging through the forests, prior to the reading session.

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The Bucky Group meets almost every Sunday at MacRitchie Reservoir in Singapore, rain or shine. The Group has been meeting like this since 1994! Sometimes, when it rained too heavily, the session is conducted under the shelters of the cafe up on the hillock.

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I think the Group has stuck together for the last 14 years because of the common aim of life long learning, and a healthy lifestyle of exercise and the need to take a stroll in nature at least once a week.

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Besides, the Group has a very dedicated leader Joo Hock, who is so passionate about Bucky's philosophy that his wife has assured him that she will pray for Bucky on his behalf him in church. We recognise his dedication and nicknamed him as 'the teacher'. When I first met Joo Hock, he told me that life didn't mean very much until he found out about Bucky.

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Din, a Singaporean Muslim Malay entrepreneur who runs a fork lift maintenance company, and one who has confessed to have hated school when he was young, is nicknamed "Best Student", as he is the most earnest and enthusiastic among us in learning about everything Bucky. Din is also a vegetarian and admires the Buddhist religion as it preaches no killing. His logo for his company "BS Forklift Services" ("BS" for "Best Student") is the Taoist Ying-Yang sign.

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Din is also the one who ferries me from my home in the East of Singapore to MacRitchie on Sundays. Along with me, he also fetches my friends Eric, a Midwest American who has lived in many parts of the world, and Chris, a multi-lingual Taiwanese-Brazilian lady, to the Bucky Group sessions. Thank you Din.

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I was introduced to the Bucky Group, by a friend who builds sandcastles as a profession. Back then, I had just returned from living in Europe after a long stint helping big banks to outwit hackers.

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Two Sundays ago, we didn't do any readings. Vasu cheekily quipped that the Teacher was not there at MacRitchie, because the students were not ready! :) Vasu, who also acts on TV, among many other things he does, is a good one with such witty twisters. Anyway, without the teacher, we chatted freestyle and proceeded with our breakfast at the Rainforest Cafe. *tsk* *tsk* [Besides cutting hair, Joo Hock also facilitates training workshops during weekends.]

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This Sunday the teacher is here, so we continued with our readings on "Utopia or Oblivion".

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[...more later. Talk about breakfast, I'm going to get some... :) ]

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Long breakfast that one... Actually, it is because I have to go back and read the book for more clarity. That took me a few days. :) Bucky's texts are very comprehensive and often needs a lot of deliberation.

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In the text for this weekend, it read about the consequence of the inability of the cartesian coordinate system to geometrically model the fourth power, that scientist abandoned the possibility of doing so. To make matters worse, the attempt to erroneously model electricity as flowing water in pipes further convinced scientist that visual models in science are not possible in abstract situations. So physically conceptual models became all suspect.

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However, Bucky's own investigations of nature's coordinating system led him to think that it must be one that embraces an omni-rational geometry and arithmatic, because of chemical structuring rationality. ie. that chemical composition work in whole numbers. Particularly with Avogadro's Law of Gases, that individual elements, show the same number of molecules in a given volume under identical energy conditions of both heat and pressure. From here, Bucky found the common conditions of chemistry, physics, arithmatic and geometry - a wedding of number and volume.

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So if all the conditions of energy were the same, what would such a condition look like in vectors? It would mean that all vectors would have to be the same length. All of them would have to be running into each other at the same angles. So, we can make realistic, multi-dimensional, visible, tangible models of equilength vectors all running into each other at the same angles. It came out to be the tetrahedron-octahedron complex.

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That's also how oranges are stacked up.

Examine the oranges closely and you will discover that it correspond exactly to the octet-truss below.

The octet-truss is basically made of tetrahedrons and octehedrons. I found a real-life example at the MRT exit at City Hall, Singapore.

See how more efficient it is compared to doing otherwise in my previous post "Design Follies"

We stopped here. We decided to go to the Rainforest Cafe for our breakfast this morning.

Bucky Group 23 - Geometry

This week we started something new in the Bucky sessions: toying with geometry. When Joo Hock started his song sessions (usually about 'Love' and 'Gratitude') in his salon, I was suspicious that he was trying to start a church, but may be not anymore! Churches don't get academic with geometries. :)
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So, here's the game. Take these two hair clips triangles and make four triangles out of them.
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"Can't be that easy, can it?" I thought. If it is a Bucky Session and you are dealing with triangles, it can only asking for a tetrahedron. "Hmmm... let me try something else..."
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How?

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So, I got this. Four triangles out of two. Ha ha! Joo Hock said that this is one of the possible solutions, but I can certainly think of a more elegant one! Cheeky!

OK, I concede to it. Here's your tetrahedron. From two triangles you get four triangles.

Next, he gave me a few lumps of plasticine to form a tetrahedron. This time, I am clever and choose the easiest way out.

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I got this! And it is correct. The moral of the story here is to choose the easiest answer to the question.

Here are the various tetrahedrans we made. The one made of four balls of plasticines is expressed by 'events of energy''; the one with thin lines expressed as 'relationships'; and lastly, the one made of paper is expressed from planes.

The objective of this exercise is to make you look at problems from a different perspective, or thinking at it 'out of the box'.

Often, people make assumptions subconsciously that restrict their view of the world. For instance, one may assume that the solution is one that is two dimensional (planar), instead of three-dimensional (like the tetrahedran). I assumed that the solution cannot be that 'obvious', ie. a game got to be 'difficult', not easy. Hence my four convoluted two dimensional triangles with the two hair clips.

Thankfully, the Bucky Group comprises people from different backgrounds in terms of: age, religion, race, gender, nationality, cultures, languages, formal educational level, profession, talent, hobbies, exposures to different parts of the world, ... etc. Hence we get different perspectives to every topic we discussed. In many groups and organisations, alternative views (perspectives) are often gunned down. In the Bucky Group, we allow different opinions and views to be expressed. Sometimes, we don't agree with each other but live with the disagreements. Sometimes, we even get to understand more about something because of the disagreements. Isn't it beautiful?

Clara shared her experience that as a mother of an autistic child, she has learned to assume that her child cannot do anything on his own, and everything has to be trained. Interestingly, it is because of bringing her expectations to 'zero' that she began to look at many things from a new and different perspective.

"Perspectives are more important than IQ", Nicholas Negroponte. He said it amid:

Often, engineers are so deep into the technicalities of a problem that they fail to see the broader perspectives of the problem.

The Chairman of Las Vegas Sands, Mr Sheldon Adelson, when asked what his secret for success is, commented that he identifies a business opportunity whenever someone who has been in the industry for a long time insists that the business in question cannot be done in any other way, because 'that's the way it has always been'. When he hears that, he goes in with his own way and succeed.

Similarly, I went into the information technology industry after the many complaints I heared from fellow students moaning in the computer labs about how much they hated programming. I saw that that as an opportunity, and that there must be an easy way to programming that the other students had not discovered, and there was, as I later discovered to my delight. From there, I lead an exciting and successful twenty year career in the industry in seventeen cities across four continents.

I think 'engineering' can be a mental hazard, though it is a great discipline and is a subject of an honourable profession. I am saying this as an engineer myself. It is very important that engineers get into the depths of engineering, but also remember to get out of their tunnel back into the needs of the real world.

A famous exercise of "Perspective being more important than knowledge" is Bucky's Dymaxian Map. Firstly, the Dymaxian Map puts the relative sizes and locations of countries in the right perspectives. Further, in World Game, it puts the depth of the earth crusts, heights of natural land reliefs, demographics,...etc into the real world perspectives, rather than one that is dominated by politics, developed countries' governments and the Western media. For more about the World Game, click here

Joo Hwa's TIME OUT:

"There is this man who got his golf ball in the bunker. After 9 putts, he couldn't get the ball up. However, on his 10th putt, he swung and got the ball out of the bunker and right into the hole! He was elated! Alongside him, there was an alien watching the game, but was devastated. Devastated because now he thought, "How many times will the man need to swing his club to get the ball out of the hole?" :)

An amusing story, but not quite appropriate because the Alien does not know the rules of golf. Therefore the Alien looked at the game that way due to his lack of knowledge and not that he has a different perspective. A 'game', by definition, is a series on decisions and actions/responses, based on a finite set of rules.

Sorry, Joo Hwa should be here to defend himself, but I didn't manage to catch the 'air-time' during the session to voice this. In the Bucky sessions, you have to be quick to catch the attention to voice your comments, as most of us are very actively participating. :)

Joo Hock summed up by saying that the exercise is to encourage us to look at problems with a new perspective and what we have covered today is only a superficial view of Bucky's geometry. Further, we will drill into the deeper meanings of such geometry, and we will also do so in our Sunday sessions at MacRitchie.

*Hint* Tetrahedran are very useful to express multi-dimensions. Why?

Here are some more of the Bucky artifacts. Joo Hock hangs them in his cozy corner in his salon. We will come to that someday.

Depression

I used to think that a depressed person is one who would typically come to me and tell me her problems, how miserable she is and ask for my help. That's just too logical. Logical to a logical mind like mine, that is.

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A depressed person, in contrast, has lost his sense of logic. To him, the whole world has collapsed and he is in darkness, totally helpless. In his brain, the signals are not firing properly and messages are not getting through one part of his neurons to another. So logic doesn't help. My logic, therefore will not reach a depressed person or the part of the brain that it should reach.

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Instead, to a depressed person, he has done no wrong and it is everyone else that is the problem. It is common for the depressed person to lay all his blames on others, especially to the one that he loves most. So his closest will be his severest victim. It is easy for a victim to shout out loud and throw his hands up high and give up! Many do.

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Do you know of someone whom you think may be depressed?

If so, don't try to be logical with her. Be very patient. Usually these people are easily tired, sleep a lot, very negative and complain a lot about others and everything. Persuade them to seek help. If discovered early, the chemicals in his brain that causes the depression can be corrected.

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I am told by a friend who used to be a depressive person that there are more people than you think that are clinically depressed. Some have wide swings of moods and others find escapes such as alcohol and become alcoholics. Ask yourself and observe, you may find more people that are depressed than you think. Many times, we just discount them as people who are drunk, aggressive or difficult to handle (bad attitudes).

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A positive attitude towards life and meditation certainly help to avoid depression. However, if one is already depressed, it is often hard to get out. It is here that psychiatric help is necessary.

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Kids Play 10 - Satan

A religious teacher told a group of children, 3 to 4 years old, that they should not leave any gap in between them when they pray, so that Satan will not come in between. Afraid, the kids packed themselves close to each other.

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When we asked one of the kids if he believed if Satan will come in between, he said he didn't think so, but after what the teacher had said, he admitted that he is afraid when he prays alone at home, as now Satan can be everywhere around him.

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"But then, if Satan wants to pray with us in the mosque or at home, then isn't it great too?" he added lovingly.

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A Course in Miracles - 5

This posting is based on what I have learned from the "A Course in Miracles" seminar on the 19th and 20th of April 2008 in Singapore by Dr Aaron Lim. This is fifth of a six weekend lecture series occurring once every two months. The notes is written as in the first-person for easy reading, but it is not an ad-verbatim recording of what Dr Lim speaks during the seminar.

Warning: This posting contains opinions that may be considered unacceptable by some people. If you are easily offended by unconventional views about religion and spiritualism, then DO NOT READ FURTHER THAN HERE. If you do, then do it at your own risk! If you do not agree with the views expressed below, it does not mean that you have not 'arrived', rather it just mean that you 'do not agree'. Meanwhile, try to be open. There are lots to discover about ourselves when we are open. Do feel free to leave comments. BELIEVING IS NOT NECESSARY!

[To keep the text lean here, I will not include subjects that were covered in the previous ACIM lectures. If you want to read about those subjects, you may refer to the notes in the previous posts. You can use the 'Search' facility in this blog]
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There is only one truth in the Universe. This is the ultimate truth. In the ultimate truth, we go where Love is. Unfortunately when we speak about 'Love' often it is taken as 'Romantic Love'. Love is a lot more powerful than that. Love gives us lots of energy.

However, when we seek for this truth, it appears to mean different things to different people. Also, what appears true to you now, may not appear to be true to you later. It changes with time. So, take it as a buffet. Take what you want and leave what you do not want. But that does not mean that the dish that you did not take is not edible. It is still there.

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Whatever does not change is the Truth. Whatever that does, is not real. If you cling to something that changes you get pain and sufferings.

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Catholics used to say that they cannot eat fish on Friday. You go to hell if you do. However, this practice has now ceased. Does it mean that they will all go to hell if they eat fish? Surely not.
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Also, what is holy in one religion, may be seen as a sin in another. For instance, the Muslims' practice of animal sacrifice is a day of holiness, but to the Buddhist, it is sinful.

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There was a Sikh whose father had told him that he has to keep his hair long as they are attennas to God. Then he saw that Buddhist monks are bald, but yet they are supposedly holy. How is that so? In defiance, he did away with his turban and cut his hair. However, in doing so, he lived in guilt as a bad Sikh, sometimes fearing that lightning may strike him.

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When I was a boy, my father brought me to Haw Par Villa, where they show gory statues of humans being punished in Hell for the sins they had committed while living. While looking at the various scenes, one of them with the judge struck me. I thought, "Wouldn't it be that the Hell Gate Judge had been a baby himself once upon a time? Wouldn't he had been a baby full of trust and love once upon a time? How did the Judge get from a trusting baby to become this menacing character sentencing these human beings in Hell? From there, I had my doubts about the whole story.
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My father wanted me to grow up to be an upright person, but had inadvertently brought me to see all these horrors to instill fear in me.

From then, I told myself that never again will I allow this to happen when I have my own family.

I was also told as a kid that if I blow off the candle in front of a Buddha's altar, I will have a crooked mouth.

When I was in Catholic school, I asked, "Where is God?" and the priest told me that God is everywhere. Then he told me I shouldn't go to the temple. So I thought, "Shouldn't God be also in the temple?"

There is a story of a sufi who went to the mosque to drink alcohol and angered the mosque caretakers who threw him out with a scolding that he (the sufi) should not drink in the house of God. In reply, the sufi asked, "Show me a place where God is not and I'll drink there". Which the caretakers were dumbfounded.

I used to wear many talismans with me. It was quite cumbersome, as I have to take them out when I was in the toilet, when I shower...etc. But these talismans didn't help me. I was more and more fearful. Fearful that if I forget them one day, calamity will befall me. So one day, I decided to take them off forever. It was hard to come out as the Fear is from inside. For a while, I lived with great amount of guilt. Whenever, there is thunder and lightning, I was fearful that it might strike me.

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This is no longer the case now. I live with more joy, more laughter, more peace and more money. I realised that everything that goes around is actually just about me.

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Hindus crack coconuts to please the Gods, so that they will be blessed. So, when they still don't get what they want, the crack more coconuts. I told them that it is no use to continue cracking coconuts, but they got angry with me instead. Why would any god need humans to crack coconuts for them? Why coconuts? Here coconuts originally were meant to symbolise the 'head' or the ego. What the action of 'breaking the coconut' symbolises is the 'breaking of the ego'.

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Yesterday, at a shopping center near here, a pleasant young lady approached us to introduce to us a health product. She was very professional and very polite, and told us that she is not working for the company or paid for her time, but she was merely sharing her experience that she has benefited from the product. She said that she is just doing good to help others. Then she added that as a Christian she gets her blessings by helping others.

Then I was thinking, "Does it mean that if she is not a Christian she doesn't have to help others? Or, does it mean that if non-Christians help others they won't get any blessings?...etc".

If it is about helping people, then Muslims do better, as they have Zakat, which is a percentage of their income put into a pool for charity. Shouldn't they be well blessed too?

That is a thinking that exclude others. But if that is her truth, then this is what she is most comfortable with, she should carry on. We should not tell people how they should live their lives. People have to do what they have to do until they have enough of it.

[Lunch Break]

I have noticed that some people who were here this morning have left after my comments about Christians. This is a seminar where people can choose to take what they want and leave what they do not want. Their leaving the seminar does not worry me. All of you have chosen to come here to listen, so I speak. Outside this seminar, I do not speak like this and interfere with what other people thinks.

I was not like that once upon a time and went round telling people what to do. It was futile. Jesus said, "Do not throw pearls towards swines". (This should be taken figuratively and not derogatively. It means that pearls are precious and shouldn't be thrown to those who does not understand its value.)

When Moses spoke to God he saw a burning bush. Very bright but doesn't consume itself. It was Light. God is Light. It was a conversation that only he can hear. In other words, Moses listened 'inside'. The Kingdom of Heaven is in You. The mountain that was there then was gone. Here, it was referring symbolically to the crown of Moses head.

It is through our stillness that we reach God. There is no chosen person. There is no discrimination. Jesus said, "Be still and know I am God". So it is futile to search for God 'outside'. To fear hell, follow religions (slavishly), follow Gurus (slavishly) will get you confused and pain will set in.

We give our power away to robed monks, priests and other religious leaders. Religious leaders often talked more about Hell than Love. That is because Fear controls you. People who preaches through Fear, doesn't want you to be free.
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After that, they ask you to have Faith and trust in God, which you already had before they destroyed it with Fear.

That means, do not defend or be attached to what is not real. Ego controls and you will not grow.

'Sin' does not exist. The word 'sin' comes from the ancient practice of archery. When the archer hits the centre, it was 'bulls-eye'. When he misses, it was 'sin'. What it means here metaphorically is that the centre is 'peace'. So, if you miss 'peace' it is 'sin'.

Religions change, so why cling on to it?

This does not mean that you should not be religious. It is just that it is futile to cling to them as they changes with time. Also, it is not necessary to change to a new religion. You just have to change yourself. ie. Your thinking. Your original self does not judge. God has no beginning and no end. There is no time frame in God. God is absolutely pure. God is absolutely in Oneness.

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All of us are following Beings that we haven't met and we do not have evidence of their existence. There is no historical record of Gautama Buddha, Jesus, Krishna...etc. But it doesn't matter. as long as we can separate the 'singer' from the 'song'. We don't want and don't need 'heroes' outside us. We must not cling on to something that is not us.

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This is not the case for many of you now, because you bought what was told to you by your 'heroes'. You bought into those ideas, but those ideas were not 'you'. .
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You are the Christ. The 100% Love.

When we first came into being, we were pure. We were 100% Love. When you were born, you did not know if you were Chinese, boy or girl, Singaporean or not...etc. You fully trust that there will be food, shelter and cleanliness.

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The Anti-Christ professes that He has a special relationship with Christ/God but you are do not. God does not discriminate.

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Question: Should we advise friends whom we feel are going wayward?

Reply: No. We advise only when they ask.

Question: What if they ask for our advice and we advised, but they keep coming back with the same problem?

Reply: Tell them you can't help them. They are not serious about their life. They love drama.

Question: (In the Buddhist context) Can merits be transferred?

Reply: No. You can only influence others with your merits. They cannot be transferred.

Question: Are 'merits' still merits when one is overly conscious about it?

Reply: No. Have you ever commended someone for being kind and surprised that person, who turned around and asked, "Really? Is there any other way to do it?"

Question: Is it possible for human beings to be satisfied?

Reply: There is potential for all of us to reach there (to be contented/satisfied). If one can reach there, all the rest of us can.

Example: In a football game, the spectators have a broader and clearer view from the grandstand. They are observers of the game. Spectators often scream to the players aloud what the players on the pitch ought to do in that moment. However, the players on the field do not have the same clarity. In parallel, we ought to be observers in our own life and have better clarity.

My father admired Islam for its simplicity. He had said that he would want to have an Islam burial which is clean and simple. In that sense, Muslims are great Buddhists, in that they are free from their body when their soul departs.

Question: How do we align ourselves with the Universe?

Reply: With the Power of Intention. Set your Intention. In the documentary, "What the Bleep do we know?" The doctor set her intention in the morning and check it during the day for its harmony. What does that mean?

For instance, I am selling a tonic intended for the good health of my customers. But as a businessman, I have to charge money for it. However, if I am going to price it really high, then I will have to question if my true intention is for the better health of my customer or is it more fore the money? I have to get the right balance between making a profit vs caring for my customer.

Question: When we pass on, where do we go?

Reply: We go to where are consicousness is. When we reincarnate, we will be reincarnated into families of similar levels of consciousness. There are many bodies of low human consciousness available for the soul, whilst there are not many new births of higher consciousness. It is like in a showroom. There are many people circling around the lower class cars. For the luxury class, there are fewer potential customers circling around. The car here is like the egg waiting for a suitable soul (owner).

[End of Day 1]

[Start of Day 2]

In the movie "The Matrix", there was a part where he has to take either a blue or a red pill. If he takes the blue pill, a set of 'doors' will be opened for him. If he takes the red pill, another set of doors will be opened for him.

That meant a lot to me in the context of spirituality. Take it that if you take one pill, you open your doors to Love. Take the other pill and you open another set of doors of Fear.

Make no judgments over the choices you make. You have the power to adjust your sail to go to the direction you want. You don't have to pray for the wind directions to change. Set your intentions everyday. Sow your seeds. What you give you shall receive.

Yesterday I took a taxi that was driven that was driven like it was in the F1. Clearly the driver has put himself and us in danger. He drove with a very high chance of creating trouble for himself.

[Then, as Dr Aaron was going through the motions of the driver speeding away and everyone in the audience was getting thrilled and entertained, a little girl put up her hand and asked, "Dr Aaron, is that true?", thus punctuating the dramatic climax and drawing laughter in the audience. Dr Aaron then asked her mother if she asked her daughter to attend or that she wants to attend the seminar herself, in which her mother let the little girl reply herself. This drew praise from Dr Aaron saying that the mother is a spiritual mother, who does not take the driver seat of her daughter's life.

Oh, by the way, the little girl's reply was "Both". Meaning, her mother had asked her to attend the seminar and that she also wanted to attend.

Now continuing with story of the F1 taxi driver...]
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Imagine if this driver is going to drive like this everyday and each day he gets 10 curses. How many curses will he get in a year? 3,650 curses. But why did he drive like he did? Fear of not earning enough for the day. Fear set him back.

Question from a young lady: There are two boys that are interested in me. Both of them have their strong points and I don't know which one to choose. How do you think I should approach the matter?

Reply: Make choices in full awareness. How clear are you of yourself? Are you ready for the consequences? However, all choices are correctable in the physical world, since we are living in a phenomenal world. Remember the person you are attracted to reflects yourself. In other words, you are falling in love with yourself, or aspects of yourself. Also are you 'looking for a boyfriend'? If you are, you have a belief that you are not full.

Question: Why did God go through all the trouble to create us, send us to Earth, and send gurus to lead us back?

Reply: God didn't. We did, in our forgetfulness. In this course, we call in 'a tiny crazy idea'.

Question: But God is omnipotent right? So can't he change us?

Reply: It's about free-will.

We start with a 'tiny crazy idea' and we gave life to it. From this idea, we create other ideas. For instance, we create companies and gave it life. So we say, for instance, "I work for Shell". But Shell is a company, not life itself. Then we go on to add idea to this idea and say, "Shell can hire and fire". So you see, companies has control over you only if you allow it. A series of tiny mad ideas lead to our forgetfulness.

Here's another question: Did human beings created cars or did God create cars? If you answered it as human beings or God, both are right in their own way. Now let's consider, human beings created cars. That we can see, but before the cars were created, isn't all those materials and physical laws are already there to make the cars. So now, who created the cars? Perhaps, we can safely say, human beings co-created cars.

Question: So, is Love a mad idea?

Reply: No. Love is energy we gave meaning to. You'll know when you get there. It is like foreigners who ask me how durains taste like. I always tell them to taste it.

Question: Is Love one aspect of God?

Reply: No. Love is the only aspect of God.

About Buddhas

Buddhas are useless to other Buddhas. It is like a candle in full sunshine, what good is that candle for? But candles are very useful in a dark room. Similarly, Buddhas are of value where there are still darkness.

About Soulmates and Twin Flames

As Singapore gets richer, so there come gurus and New Age people giving seminars about this subject. You know you won't be thinking of this if you are starving in a refugee camp or if you are self-realised.

Contrary to popular belief, we have more than one soul mate. Soul mates are souls whom you have spent some time together in some previous embodiment and it was those times when your minds are joined. When you meet again in later embodiments, there is recognition of it in your eyes. You feel really good about each other. However, such marriages will be boring.

You have only one twin flame in the universe. Meeting your other twin flame is extremely rare. Meeting a twin flame around your age is even less likely. Twin flame souls are split when one of you descent to take human form. While there is attraction, there is also anger between twin flames over something that one has done that has caused the split.

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Mother Teresa say human beings always logic things out. Jesus said that if you want to got to heaven, be like children. Most Prophets are illiterate. Literate people are too logical and does not have a crack in their intellect for the Light to come in. Messages come to the head, but didn't reach the heart.

Question: Someone once asked me, "How would Love help me when I am about to jump off the cliff?"

Reply: If he loves himself enough, he won't jump off the cliff. By jumping off the cliff, it shows he didn't understand Love.

Question: What is the 'opening of the third eye'?

Reply: It is the holy instant. You will begin to see things in unity.

Question: Is enlightenment permanent?

Reply: For some it is. For others they are instances of being enlightened. Everything is impermanent except Light.

[End of seminar]