An amazing thing happened the other day…


As the preamble to this, I think I should mention that I am VERY protective of my two cats, Hermes and Shelley. Anyone who knows me probably thinks I go to absurd lengths. However, they are basically my sons, and I’m not ashamed to say it.

One thing is that they never go outside by themselves. I take them for walks in the garden with a collar and lead. The rest of the time, when they want to be outside, they can stay out on the two balconies of the house’s upper floor.

Anyway, here’s what happened…

It was close to midnight, and I had just changed into my pajamas to go to bed. I’d left Hermes, my eldest, out on the front balcony by himself and so I went out to call him in. However, he was nowhere to be seen. Then I saw to my horror that the balcony gate, opening onto the staircase down to the garden, was ajar.

Hermes had disappeared in the middle of the night!

I rushed frantically back in and got dressed. With torch in hand, I rushed down to the garden and started calling for him. We have a pretty big garden, and I searched everywhere to no avail.

I thought, maybe he has gone down to the main road (which would be dangerous with all the cars, and the fact that he had never been down there by himself). So, in pitch darkness, and with the torch failing already, I made my way down there.

My state of mind was anxious. Not only does Hermes not go out by himself, he does not know the area outside of our garden well, since we moved to this house from elsewhere. By contrast, Shelley DOES, because he came to us from this area one night, as a stray or abandoned cat.

Anyway, no Hermes.

I returned to the house, getting really anxious by then. And then, just as I came through the entrance drive, I saw him crouched down at the corner of the house. He’s an incredibly smart boy, and had probably never left in the first place. As he saw me coming, he disappeared again, which prompted another minute of concerned searching until I finally located him on the staircase leading back to the balcony.

He led me back up, I closed the gate, and all was well. He got a big hug and kisses, and a mild telling off about how worried I had been. When he came into the house, Shelley rushed to greet him. Hermes then lay down full length on his side in the corridor and remained like that for five minutes or more. I imagine that it had been stressful for him too, or else he was concerned by the level of agitation he had caused me.

However, here’s the eerie thing, and the whole reason for telling you this story…

I was thinking about how dark it was outside, and the fact that I would never have found him out on the land. Then I asked myself, but isn’t there a moon today? Then I recalled that the news had said there would be a total lunar eclipse that night.

I wondered if it had begun or was still on, or was finished. So I searched for the moon and, sure enough, there it was… a dim red color.

Then I realized something really amazing. I had been searching for Hermes precisely during the period of totality of this lunar eclipse.

Now, apart from the fact that the gate being open remains a total mystery to me, as it definitely hardly ever happens… apart from the fact that the last time Hermes had been accidentally out by himself was in October 2003 (i.e. almost never)… and apart from the fact that total lunar eclipses are extremely rare… and apart from the fact that there just happened to be one that very night…

Hermes had gone missing and I had gone hunting for him precisely during the period of totality! What are the odds of something like that happening by chance?!…

And as if that was not enough, it just so happened that March 3rd 2007 was my mother’s 75th birthday too! It’s also the day her own mother was buried thirty one years ago.

Honestly, this is synchronicity at its most uncanny.

It’s like every so often, the universe decides to remind you that there is more to it than meets the eye. It’s like I’m being reminded that this is truly a universe of meaning, of intelligence, of inter-connection. Perish the thought that it is just a random bunch of molecules and energy, governed purely by the laws of chance!

If you have eyes to see, you can truly open to the psychic nature of the universe.

This incident was a reminder to me of all of this, as well as the need to take the time to value those we love as, at any minute, they could be taken away… even by the most unlikely sequences of events.

I share this story with you in order to give you some inspiration that we do live in a universe of meaning. Ponder it for yourself.

This means that it is capable of responding to you, in line with your predominant thoughts and wishes. A story like this, and those you experience for yourself, will hopefully inspire you to live with a sense of wonder and appreciation for the mystery that surround us in every moment of our lives.

Copyright 2007. Asoka Selvarajah. All Rights Reserved.

If you’ve been reading my material, I think you know that I am not too impressed by the mainstream news channels. Increasingly, we see news as entertainment, and the notion of news “stories” being just that; stories FIRST - stories that fascinate, intrigue, titillate, and arouse curiosity - and news only as a poor second. Competition between channels increasingly brings the entertainment element to the fore, and truthful reporting to the rear.


Well, I am happy to say that all that has finally changed for the better!

There IS a channel that I can recommend, and that I believe does deliver the goods in reporting things around the world that really matter, and that strives to do so in an honest way.

Although, this channel has been around for years, it has not had very good press, and has not even been available in English. Hence, we have not really had the chance to get an unbiased opinion of it by watching it ourselves.

So who am I talking about?…..

The new Al-Jazeera in English!

It only started up a few months ago, but I have to say that I am totally impressed.

It comes out of Doha, London and Washington, and it looks as if the parent station have spent billions on setting up this brave new venture.

Perhaps it is because this is the first English-speaking news channel to be outside of the US/UK propaganda nexus that we finally get to hear what is REALLY going on in places like Israel, Iraq, Iran and the like. Perhaps it is because Al-Jazeera is an Arab channel that we finally get to hear what the people of the Middle East REALLY think.

For example, you don’t just get the usual baloney labelling of people whose grievances we don’t understand as “terrorists”. Instead, you might actually find the grievances of some of these people being honestly discussed. Al-Jazeera does not just spoon-feed you the party line of propaganda, by treating the issues ridiculously simplistically, as is often the case elsewhere.

Instead, they make a real effort to connect with the complexity of each issue they discuss. That’s why you will hear opinions expressed that you just won’t get elsewhere. Other English new channels have too many interests to protect, i.e. toe the party line etc., to ever dare to break new ground in honesty.

In fact, it’s precisely because Al-Jazeera is (a) Arabic and (b) does NOT possess the in-built bias of the US/UK nexus of English channels, that they are actually trusted to report in some places that are off-limits to the rest.

It’s not all Middle East coverage. They have many quality documentaries from all parts of the world, and excellent interview programs (President Jimmy Carter and Jesse Jackson have been on).

They’ve got Riz Khan (can’t remember where he came from, but it was a big news channel), who always hosts a fascinating mixture of interview and viewer Q%A. then, there’s the UK’s legendary David Frost. The fact that he’s moved to Al-Jazeera is a major statement.

However, it goes beyond that. They try to report REAL news; things that matter, or SHOULD matter, to intelligent educated people.

Hence, if you are more interested in knowing the latest on missing blonde teenagers in Aruba, or Britney Spear’s latest haircut, or where Anna Nicole Smith gets to be buried and by whose permission…. well, you KNOW where to go for that. Al Jazeera is NOT for you!

Anyway, last time I heard, Al-Jazeera in English was not actually available anywhere in the USA. THAT in itself is a pretty telling statement, for the so-called Land Of The Free. Hopefully, that will change soon.

You can still get to see it at:

http://www.aljazeera.net/English

There is a free service there, as well as a paid broadband version. Frankly, it IS worth paying for if you are in the US and cannot get it any other way. I think you will find it a breath of fresh air compared to the rest that are out there.

It’s not that ALL other English news channels are bad. It’s just that they have a huge inherent (and often invisible) bias in them when it comes to reporting international news. Hence, “the truth” is almost impossible (and that’s before we even get into the issue of them running “stories” that are more for entertainment than actual news value, just to stay up in the ratings).

Let us not forget that both the US and the UK and the primary CAUSES of many of the worst problems we see in the world today. I am NOT talking about just the last six years either. Check your history, people, going back the last hundred years or more! Interestingly though, you will NEVER find the US/UK news channels ever pointing the finger down at the ground upon which they are walking.

Check out Al-Jazeera. If you have an open mind, and a functional brain, I think you’ll be very impressed.

Copyright 2007. Asoka Selvarajah. All Rights Reserved.

A Happy Chinese New Year to you!

This is the year of the Fire Pig for the Chinese, which they consider to be especially auspicious. Let’s hope so. The world can use a little good fortune right now.


Anyway, on with my latest findings and activities in Feng Shui…

It’s actually a pretty complex subject and I don’t pretend to be an expert, but rather a student. Also, without making certain specific Feng Shui calculations, individual for each person and each residence or work place, it’s impossible to say a vast amount.

That said, there are still certain Feng Shui principles that are universally applicable, and we can certainly discuss those.

One is the notion of clutter and not holding onto old things. Holding onto stuff you no longer need symbolizes holding onto the past, or else not being willing to let new fresh energy into your life. When you hold onto hold stuff, you are not making space for new things in your life. You are closing down the flow of abundance.

Take your attic, for instance…

In Feng Shui, your attic symbolically represents your future. However, most people stash a pile of old junk in their attics! What do you think this has to say about their future? That is quite apart from the fact that the sheer volume of all this old stuff blocking the free flow of Qi energy through the area of your home that is supposed to represent your hopes and dreams.

Clutter throughout the house also blocks free flow of Qi energy through your home and your life, according to Feng Shui. Even psychologically, and quite apart from any Feng Shui concepts, we can understand that a blocked environment could have a blocking influence on the mind, and hence on one’s ability to perform well at life or work.

I remember when I bought my first home outside the UK, and went over to live there for the first time when it was totally empty. It was a unique experience, probably never to be repeated. For the first, and perhaps only, time in my life I was totally unencumbered by the enormous weight of possessions. No computer, No crowded bookshelves. No wardrobes stuffed with suits, shirts, and jeans. Nothing, apart from what I had brought over in one suitcase.

It was an extraordinarily “light” sensation, like being liberated from heavy shackles. Maybe we’ll feel this way just after we die? i don’t know… but maybe.

Anyway, even if you can’t get bear to get rid of much, try starting small. See what you CAN dump without regret. Remember that if your hand is clenched tight gripping onto something, it can’t be open at the same time to accept whatever the universe might be offering.

Take a good look at what is in your attic. If it’s there in the first place, it means you are not using it much. Will you EVER use it? If the brutally honest answer is no, then think of getting rid of it. In general, according to Feng Shui, it is best to keep the attic as empty as possible. If you have an out-house such as a garage of some sort, maybe you can store your stuff there?

Take another look around your house. What could you do without? How about those old clothes in your wardrobe? You know the ones I mean. The nice stuff that’s three sizes too Small. But you keep it anyway because…. who knows… One day, you just might fit in it again!?

As you unblock your house and get rid of clutter, consider that you are symbolically unblocking your life and freeing the energy of the universe to flow freely once more. What stronger incentive could there be than that?