Down to Earth

Greetings. I hope you are keeping well. The above pics, taken somewhere deep in the hills of England, were sent by our regular contributor, Chris. He took them a few days ago, during one of his hikes. Please enjoy.

Thirty years ago to this night, (28th October), while coming home very late from the hospital where I worked, I was set upon, and overpowered by thugs. They broke my skull, cheekbone, and several teeth. A shard of skull pierced my eye, and my brain was exposed. Shortly after, I was back in hospital, only this time lying in intensive care. I was acutely aware when I was Cheyne-Stoking, and knew that my life was ebbing away. I knew when my heart stopped. I heard the cardiac monitor, and the anxious voices of my medical team, all fading fast into the distance. 

Next, I was somewhere very different. I was completely free from pain, and found myself enjoying a rather elevated sense of mental awareness. In this calm space, I held a conversation with a wise soul, who told me that I had the choice to go on ahead at his side, or return to earth, if I was willing to face severe pain, and several other challenges that would ensue.

In that moment, there was no question in my mind that the happiness of my earthly family mattered more to me than any difficulties I might have to face. I elected without hesitation, and with my deepest gratitude, to return to mission earth. Heaven, after all, is eternal, while the life of the body is, by comparison, but the blink of a blackbirds eye.

I required three operations. It took nearly a year to put me back together. I was informed that my eye would have been lost if I hadn’t had the extreme good fortune of having one of this country’s top eye surgeons.

And here I am, thirty years later to the day, telling you all about it. I hope you don’t mind. If I learned anything that night, it was knowing what really matters the most in life. And, I just so want all to know there is nothing to fear when your conscience is clear.

With thanks to all who stop by.  I really hope you enjoy these posts. Though I find it quite a task at times to keep up with everyone, know that I’m still here at my keyboard, pacing myself as the day allows. Perhaps the coming new year will bring more energy my way.

Until next time, peace from Amras.

“If you live decent, what do you need with lucky charms?”

Nora Batty.

Photography ©C.H.

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Jiggery Pokery

Greetings once again, to one and all. Here are the images that my friend, Chris sent to me from his communications tablet, while staying in New York City. The pics, though small, pack a pleasing visual punch, quite reminiscent of Shorpy photos, I think. I enjoyed too his tales from the streets, and from the bars that he visited. He clearly had a great time; especially considering he was there to work.

Chris and I have been friends since 1969. We have played in the same bands, achieved Black Belts, camped in the wilds, and climbed mountains together. We have also helped each other to get through tricky times. So I am delighted to feature his photography. And I am also a little bit surprised, because once long ago, he declared that photography was a branch of ‘jiggery pokery’. “A Black Art” he opined, though to be fair, he wasn’t being in the least bit serious.

As for me, I have just endured my final visit to hospital for this year, and I need a few days more to recover from the aftermath of all that has just passed. But for now, I am grateful to be back with my friends on WP. I sincerely hope you have enjoyed Chris’s pics; and, thanks to the prayers and good wishes which I have received, I hope to be back again very soon.

 

Peace, and Namaste, from Amras.

 

In order to be sane and adjusted as a human being, 

an individual must realise that he cannot know all there is to know.

It is not enough to understand this limitation intellectually;

the understanding must be an orderly and conditioned process, ‘unconscious’ as well as ‘conscious’.

Such a conditioning is essential to the balanced pursuit of

knowledge of the nature of matter and life.

A.E. van Vogt.

 

 

Photography ©Christopher Hammond.