Sunday 31 August 2014

Post No. 590 – Could World War One have been avoided?



Before I get into this post, I’d like to wish that I had the time, energy and other resources to spend the time researching and thinking about what I’m going to cover in the depth it requires, and then write something with the eloquence it deserves. However, I have to earn my living, so … so be it: this is what you’re going to get :)

So now the post itself.

I’ve finally been able to get a copy of the BBC TV series “37 Days” [2] (took a while: my local DVD and CD shop took over two weeks: I know it comes from overseas, but maybe there’s a high demand for it, given the centenary of those events being now?), and have now watched it without interruptions and gaps.

So … could World War Part One (as I – and absolutely no-one else, I suspect :) - call it) have been avoided?

At the level of examination shown in the aforementioned TV series, it seems so.

Now, most of the commentary I’ve seen around this basically focuses on things like a missed assurance, the details of treaties/’understandings’ which were hidden from the British Parliament, or Moltke’s aggression and determination to have a major war - or Kaiser Bill’s aggression and determination to have a ‘small’ war (is it small for those who die or are injured or otherwise affected?).

These are - mostly - all correctly identified as lost opportunities to avoid the war which led to the Russian Revolution and the Cold War, the rise of the Nazis and thus World War Part Two, and massive changes including the end of the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman (so some changes, I have to say, for the better - I’m not in favour of empires: the question is, could there have been a better way of acheiving those changes?).

However, their focus is, in my view, somewhat limited.

Whilst these lost opportunities are not like the policy of appeasement which Neville Chamberlain infamously appeared to misunderstand (and which John F. Kennedy suggested had its uses, as it allowed Britain time to rearm … and which Eyre Crowe  argued against in 1907 [3] ) and risks, to paraphrase words from the film “Thirteen Days”, making the aggressor more aggressive, they miss the changes which were afoot at that time. Those changes, dating back to the Age of Enlightenment (and maybe earlier, really … ), perhaps, are the changes away from authoritarian government [4] towards freedom and inclusive democracy, democracy in the form of Parliamentary democracy in the case of the United Kingdom, democracy which was and still is flawed, despite being better than the version invented by the Greeks, a better version summarised in the ‘Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité‘ of the French Revolution, and further elaborated in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America.

That form of democracy is something which we’re more familiar with these days, and, to us, the notion of Parliamentary accountability is not the affront that Edward Grey took it to be - and the idea of Parliamentary accountability is now widely accepted, although some still try to dodge round it (as a quick example, perhaps consider the alleged misleading of Parliament by Tony Blair).

However, going back to the opportunities to avoid World War Part One, the key moment as I saw it, was when the German socialists failed to prevent funding going to the war effort. “37 Days” portrays this, ironically, as being motivated by concerns about Russia’s abuses of Jews. (Why is that ironic? because part of the legacy of World War Part One includes the creation and rise of the Nazi party, and their appalling Holocaust.) If the German socialists had voted to deny funding, that would have:
  • (a) prevented the initial battles of 1914, thus perhaps allowing Russian reforms to make Russia’s military a more credible force and allow time for the identification and management of the underlying problems in Europe at that time (and some people knew that a war in ‘the Balkans’ could become a World War, including the previous German Chancellor  Otto von Bismarck, and politicians such as Lord Morley);
  • (b) created a precedent illustrating the supremacy of an elected Parliament in Germany, and
  • (c) potentially changing the direction of Germany (should I refer to the Germany of that time as a Prussian empire? It was, in many ways) away from militarism and empire building towards focus on other matters, matters exemplified by socialism (i.e., care for people’s welfare and wellbeing).

The other opportunities to avoid the start of World War Part One did not change the tensions or political situations or underlying problems in the same way, and thus may have been more of a deferral than a true avoidance (useful thought that may have been, as I mentioned).

To me, one of the key elements is people – not just the politicians – wanting to be part of something larger than just the individual. Some people want to feel that they have a wonderful family (acknowledge your blessings if you do, and then think of those who don’t and do something to help them), or are part of a great nation – even that they barrack for a great sporting team (I’d add “go the Dee’s” here, but have reservations that they will do much for a while … SIGH ).

If this sort of desire is for something fairly innocuous, like a sporting team, and it isn’t hiding a personal flaw (such as seeing oneself as being inadequate or incomplete or somehow lacking when one is ‘just’ an individual), that’s OK.

When it manifests as violence, or abuse of others, which can be the case with some sports followers and is often the case with many people suffering a nationalistic  fervour (especially a jingoistic nationalistic fervour), it is not OK. It’s downright wrong – it harms not only the victims of the perpetrator’s hatred and/or other violence, but the perpetrator themselves as well.

Why are people like this? Well, notwithstanding the expert views cited in the Wikipedia article on nationalism, my take on this is that it is a form of tribalism, but a form that is more based on modern right wing views of what a family should be like, than the at times surprising tolerance of difference that used to exist in old tribal societies (I can’t give you a ready link for that: you’ll have to research, consult your BPLF [1] Guides and Patron Deities and Higher Self, and then – gasp! shock! horror! – think about it and make up your own mind, Dear Reader). This new version of ‘tribal’ includes a lot of emotional blackmail and other control actions to enforce conformity, so … I think I’ll refer to this as ‘right wing family ‘tribalism’ ‘ …

That ‘right wing family ‘tribalism’ ’ is, of course, counter to what is required for an effective democracy. For a democracy to be effective, it needs voters who are:
  • adequately educated (especially on the matter of critical thinking [5] )
  • properly informed (which means no biased or compromised media); and 
  • thoughtful. 

And that latter characteristic is also anathema to the frenetic pace of modern life.

So … what does one do about this? 

Well, advocate for better education (it has to be more than just the 3Rs type of approach) and better media, be thoughtful oneself (maybe even do Mr Myers’ course … ), and do the usual sort of clearing of negative units and creating positive energy that I keep advocating for – notably, in this context, in my post on changing the personality of oppressors –who can be anywhere, including in families (even – gasp! shock! horror! – right wing ones).

How do other people view the causes of World War Part One? Well, I don’t know anyone who has done much on the psychic side of that (other than comments by Lobsang  Rampa [2] that the world had a choice at that time, and chose the harder road), but there are other analyses.

If we consider the German Ambassador to Britain during the July Crisis of 1914, Count Lichnowsky, he wrote a pamphlet, in 1916, in which he laid blame for the war with Germany (this led to his removal from the Prussian House of Lords, when it was re-published in the USA). In this pamphlet, the Count apparently deplored the development of an alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire:
“This is a return to the days of the Holy Roman Empire and the mistakes of the Hohenstaufens and Habsburgs.”

He also disputed the view of Germany being encircled, including examples of the aid Germany had received from Britain, and sets out three specific failures of diplomatic efforts during that time.

It’s quite a good summary of what was happening in the outer, physical world, but doesn’t change my view of the significance of attitudes and the influence of people with oppressor type personalities.

Let’s consider the very well-known book by Barbara Tuchman, “The Guns of August” (which I will have to re-read, to take advantage of maturity and the gain in perspective from watching this TV series that I have since I first read it, back in my 20s).

From the Wikipedia article, the causes identified include:
  • a belief that economic links would counter the tendency towards a large conflict (it was rubbish then, and I’ve thought it self-evident rubbish throughout this incarnation);
  • an incredibly erroneous belief that the war would be over quickly, which relates to matters such as the failure to understand changes; and
  • a failure to consider political backlash, such as that invading Belgium would guarantee Britain’s entry into the war.

Think all that is historical, and thus of no relevance?

Think again.

Those sorts of attitudes and presumptions are still around us today – I’ve heard fools making comments along the line that economic and cultural ties will of themselves prevent wars, and we’ve seen the failure to think consequences through in Iraq.

What I would like to do, however, is apply the thoughts I’ve had after watching this TV series to current areas of conflict. Let’s begin with the disputed Senkaku / Diaoyu / Tiaoyutai islands.

I wrote a post about this back in December, 2013, which I’ve just re-read. I’m still satisfied with what I wrote, in principle, but can I add more to that as a result of my thinking after watching “37 Days”?

Well, yes.

I think that the lessons that economic ties are not enough to prevent war, or to restrain the extent of war, are a point that everyone needs to take on board. There are oil reserves in the region of the islands, which is why everyone has become so enthusiastic about the islands’ sovereignty, but that does not mean the dispute is solely about oil. If it was, claims would be being made about other oil fields: the fact that such claims are not being made means that there is some consideration, even if it is not as deep as would, perhaps, be ideal, being given to international law – at this stage, at any rate. That consideration is something that can be worked on usefully  as in, encourage respect for international law, and a desire to use due process (in addition to the matters I raised in the previous post, and earlier in this one).

I should take a moment to point out that I am of the view that people can be swayed in one direction or another by just a few words, spoken at the right time. Hollywood portrayed that in the films “The Sum of All Fears”, the BBC showed it in this series, and the film “Always” showed how psychic versions of such influences can work.

All such BPLF influences, physical and nonphysical, will be needed to prevent the “sabre-rattling” tipping over the edge into war, and it will also be important to clear (which restricts this comment to nonphysical activity) all nonBPLF influences, and apply the techniques I’ve suggested (or which you may have developed - I'm not the ultimate arbiter on anything) to the changing of modern day Moltkes.

If we look at what is happening in the broader picture, China is resuming its previous position, from a few centuries or millennia ago, as a major world power. As it does so, it is endeavouring to modernise, and to improve the lives of many of its people – and, as the largest population in the world, and with a history over several millennia that has included too much oppression of its people, it has a need to do so. At present, this is being done in a way that is not in line with current good practice with regards to environmental issues. To be sure, the current environmental crisis was created by the West, the nations of which gained their economic and technological advantages at the expense of the environment [6], and the West is not doing anywhere near enough to address this, but there has been concern about China’s impact on the world environmentally. So … would China being able to access the oil reserves be a good, or a bad thing? I’m not sure – but I do know that access could also be gained by one of the other claimants developing the oil field, and then selling the oil to China.

In terms of avoiding war, China’s advances need to be kept in mind when anyone else is assessing their military (some of the Germans were too dismissive of the French, back in 1914), as does their trend towards a more advanced economy. They’re still not a democracy, although there are moves towards that, and have been for a few decades now (yes, I’m very much aware of the reactionary response shown in Tiananmen Square – see my earlier post about this dispute): the measures that would be implemented under a war scenario may not be the best way to advance that trend … but the development of a richer middle class might be, which would suggest there could be benefits in China gaining access to the oil. Again, that access doesn’t need to be by means of possession – and a war to try and gain possession, without respect towards international law, would show China to simply be an ill mannered brute, a thug like some of those who helped suppress the Boxer Rebellion, modern day Moltkes.

Next, Japan.

The impression I have is that Japan is too consumerist and conformist to be democratic. This is a land where the ‘developments of a middle class’ has become destructive, and the culture strikes me as too ‘pop’, too much what used to be called bourgeois, to be truly democratic. There is too little debate, far too little diversity, and things like the pursuit of perfection and their ‘Living National Treasures’, things which I consider admirable from a range of views including spiritual, have become a measure of what is the exception, rather than the norm.

And then there is the development of that faction which is trying to revise their records of history to excuse what Japan did in World War Part Two (for instance, see here).

That is unacceptable from every point of view, including spiritual.

This is a nation that I consider least deserving of the oil reserves in this disputed area, and yet it probably has the best claim. And in no way does any of this examination justify violence – even if a war was fought between Japan and China with the result that Japan lost, that is not going to change things for the better in Japan. In Europe, there were actually quite a few movements aiming to make positive changes: if such movements are present in Japan, they’re not being heard anywhere outside of Japan. Losing a war is only more likely to drive Japan into a more authoritarian stance, along the lines of those idiots in Thailand who are agitating for a return to a monarchy. A more focused Japan, one more focused by the current revisionist leadership in Japan on saving face is a Japan that is more likely to go down the path of Putin – who I will write about shortly.

Finally, Taiwan.

I have to admit to knowing little of this nation, other than its recent history, when people went there from mainland China, the People’s Republic of China, to form a Nationalistic government in continuance of what had been in power before the Chinese Revolution, and which has more recently changed towards democracy and existence as a sovereign nation in its own right, rather than harbouring an unattainable dream of reconquering the PRC.

Akin to those Don Quixotes who thought they could re-invade mainland China, the PRC still harbours dreams that Taiwan is still Formosa, its 23rd province [7] . I used to think that was a possibility, just as the reunification of North and South Korea is a possibility. It’s unlikely, but I grew up in a world where the fall of the Berlin Wall [8] , let alone the reunification of East and West Germany, was unthinkable, and the prospect of Honk Kong sovereignty being transferred back to China was associate with predictions of massacres and atrocities and all sorts of disasters (not that there haven’t been problems [see here and here], but it has, overall, been a lot better than expected by quite a few). If I look at Europe, even a century ago, at the time of the events portrayed in “37 Days” the prospect of a European Union was laughable enough to have one hauled off to an insane asylum.

How would this nation be affected by gaining access to those oil fields? Would it be better, or worse? More democratic and free, or less? More spiritual, or more materialistic? More secure, or more susceptible to aggression (possibly even invasion) from the PRC?

I will meditate on all these questions before tonight’s generation and sending of positive energy.

Now, I had planned on trying to do this sort of analysis in other troubled places in the world – places like the Middle East and Africa, both of which are still experiencing fallout from World War Part One, and Ukraine. I have, however, run out of time. So, all I will do is include a couple of brief comments.

Firstly, Ukraine.

Ukraine, in my view, lost a lot of moral stature when it continued or even increased military action after the shooting down of MH17. They would have, in my view, got where they wanted to be through international pressure and reaction, and without the harm – including wounding, maiming and killing – done to people it claims to view as Ukrainian. That slower, less injurious approach, however, is never satisfactory to belligerent types, those often referred to colloquially as ‘hawks’ and who I now refer to as modern day Moltkes, people who want to prove that they are militarily superior – as if that ever meant anything.

However, they were clearly winning that war, and that is why Putin has opened a second front, and started rattling the nuclear sabre.

So the Russian Moltkes are trying an escalation of the conflict towards more open war, combined with bullying threats, to see if that will enable them to defeat the Ukrainian Moltkes.

And clearly none of the politicians on either side has ever thought of how to effectively manage their military, the sort of skill showed so well by John F Kennedy during the Cuban missile crisis. (Incidentally, I like David Cameron's recent suggestion.)

OK, so I will largely be continuing with the usual psychic work that I advocate, combined with trying to strengthen the connection between Russian and Ukrainian politicians and their Higher Selves and BPLF Guides and Patron Deities. (Incidentally, when working on clearing negative units away from Putin, I have the impression that there are four key advisors to work on as well.)

As a final point on this issue, I found this week, that there is a word which covers the sort of behaviour that Russia is engaging in: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irredentism. The term, according to that link, was invented to describe Italy acquiring territories from the Austro-Hungarian Empire that were largely occupied by Italians, but applies to a surprisingly long list of places and events, including:

I’m going to end this post with a comment on one of the evils of ISIL, or QSIL, as one Muslim cleric has suggested it be referred to (on the entirely reasonable grounds that they are NOT actually following Islam – see here, here, here and here, which is a particularly good article, and remember the importance of cutting off their logistics – see here and here). They have been killing prisoners – barbarically, and very publicly. There is, under such circumstances, a very real possibility that such actions can inspire one’s opponents to fight more fiercely, literally to the death, rather than risk being captured alive …

QSIL is also committing atrocities against women. May Kwan Yin and The Morrigan stop and right that wrong – and the other wrongs - with true BPLF justice, and BPLF only [1] means. 

So mote it be.



[8] I still love the song written by the Scorpions about that: “Wind of Change” … and still am uninterested by anything else that band did :) I’ve just taken some time out to have a look at a Vevo version on YouTube … ah, wonderful. (And I’m sad that the cassette I had with that on has died :( )

[7] On my first work trip to China, I was doing the mechanical pre-commissioning for a water treatment plant. Ironically, some of the motors there came from Taiwan – via Australia. The engineers I was working with referred mad a point of referring to the motors as being from “Formosa”. (They also had much better lap tops than we did, and had received good teaching, but needed more practical experience, and didn’t treat OHS with the respect it deserved.)

[6] On that, I watched an episode of a British history document, a BBC programme shown on our SBS, last Friday. In that, it seemed that the British Navy was built using gold and silver that Francis Drake had ‘taken’ (I think stolen is a more appropriate word, actually) from the Spanish … who had stolen it from South America … So, much of Britain’s influence in the world appears to me to be founded on some very unethical, unspiritual, and quite possibly downright illegal behaviour. Hmm. That’s an ‘interesting’ set of implications to think through …

[5] And this is where I’ll give another plug for Brendan  Myers“Clear and Present Thinking”.

[4] It is, perhaps, worth reiterating the description by Juan Linz in 1964 of authoritarian governments cited in the introduction to the linked article: (1) "limited, not responsible, political pluralism"; that is, constraints on political institutions and groups (such as legislatures, political parties and interest groups), (2) a basis for legitimacy based on emotion, especially the identification of the regime as a necessary evil to combat "easily recognizable societal problems" such as underdevelopment or insurgency; (3) neither "intensive nor extensive political mobilization" and constraints on the mass public (such as repressive tactics against opponents and a prohibition of anti-regime activity) and (4) "formally ill-defined" executive power, often shifting or vague.

[3] From his “Memorandum on the Present State of British Relations with France and Germany”: “To give way to the blackmailer's menaces enriches him, but it has long been proved by uniform experience that, although this may secure for the victim temporary peace, it is certain to lead to renewed molestation and higher demands after ever-shortening periods of amicable forbearance.”

[1] BPLF = Balanced Positive (spiritual) Light Forces. See here and here for more on this.

[2] Please see here and my post "The Death of Wikipedia" for the reasons I now recommend caution when using Wikipedia. I'm also exploring use of h2g2, although that doesn't appear to be as extensive (h2g2 is intended - rather engagingly - to be the Earth edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy").

Love, light, hugs and blessings


Gnwmythr, Wéofodthegn 
(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear"; ... aka Bellatrix Lux? … Morinehtar? … Would-be drýicgan ... )

My "blogiography" (list of all posts and guide as to how to best use this site) is here, and my glossary/index is here.

I started this blog to cover karmic regression-rescue (see here and here), and it grew ... See here for my group mind project, here and here for my "Pagans for Peace" project (and join me at 9 PM on Sunday, wherever you are, to meditate for peace), and here for my bindrune kit-bag. I also strongly recommend learning how to flame, ground and shield, do alternate nostril breathing, work with colour, and see also here and be flexible. 

I am a Walker upon the Path of Balanced Positivity, seeking Spiritual Maturity.
  • One size does NOT fit all.
  • Don't be mediocre - seek to excel.
  • Gnwmythr's Stropping Strap: Occam's Razor only works if  the simplest solution is actually recognised as being the simplest, rather than the one that best fits one's bigotries being labelled 'simplest'.
  • Our entire life experience, with all the many wondrous and varied people, places and events in it, is too small a sample for statistical reliability about Life.
  • May the world of commerce and business be recognised to be a servant, not a master, of the lives of people.
  • Ban the dream interpretation industry!
  • A home is for living in, not feeling, becoming or being rich or a “better” class than others.
  • Being accustomed to interacting via certain rules makes those rules neither right nor universal.
  • Like fire to the physical, emotions to the soul make a good servant, and a bad master.
  • Expertise at intimacy and emotional happiness is generally not the same thing as spiritual growth.
  • Any person, male or female, who has neither a serious health issue, dependents nor an agreement about study. yet expects their partner to work to support them, is, spiritually speaking, little more than a parasite.
  • The means shape the end.
  • BPLF restraint of uncooperatives is NOT an opportunity for revenge or getting even - even unconsciously.
  • As words can kill, the right to freedom of speech comes with a DUTY to be as well-informed, objective and balanced as you can be.
  • My favourite action movie of all time is "Gandhi", although I've recently come across "Invictus" and might put that one in to that category. However, I loathe the stereotypical action movie - and, for similar reasons, I loathe many dramas, which are often emotionally violent, more so in some cases than many war films.
  • All of the above - and this blog - could be wrong, or subject to context, perspective, or state of spiritual evolution ...
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger [people].
John F. Kennedy (who was quoting 19th Century Episcopal Bishop Phillips Brooks)

Jesus loves you. Odin wants you to grow up.
(Facebook meme, according to John  Beckett)

We make our decisions. And then our decisions turn around and make us.
F.W. Boreham

Females, get over 'cute'. Get competent. Get trained. Get capable. Get over 'cute'. And those of you who are called Patty and Debby and Suzy, get over that. Because we use those names to infantalise females – we keep females in their 'little girl' state by the names we use for them. Get over it. If you want to be taken seriously, get serious.
Jane Elliott

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good [people] to do nothing.
(based on writing by) Edmund Burke

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.
Albert Einstein

We didn't inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we only borrowed it from our children
Antoine De Saint-Exupéry

Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that -- counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. ... Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile."
Robert F. Kennedy 1968

There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.
John F. Kennedy

If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do. (Often degraded to “Be the change you want to see in the world” – see here)
Gandhi


Tags: Africa, China, evolution, governance, international politics, Middle East, nonviolence, peace, politics, Ukraine, violence, war,
First published: Sunnudagr, 31st August, 2014
Last edited (excluding fixing typo's and other minor matters): Sunday, 31st August, 2014

Monday 25 August 2014

Post No. 589 - The Tara Dale Chronicles: Tara, her Guides and Authentic Presence (PARTIAL DRAFT)

I've not progressed this story for some time, while I focus on other matters. I like what I've done so far, though, so I'll publish this half, and edit it when I've finished. 



Tara knew she was dreaming, but kept dreaming anyway. It was called ‘lucid dreaming’, and was something she had found herself doing a while after moving from Castlemaine to the big smoke of Melbourne.
She was floating on a … a plain, she guessed – looked like green grass, and a few hills in the distance. She turned, and saw Lil, one of her Guides, walking towards her with someone who looked like a Tibetan monk - bald head, robes, conservative. Lil, on the other hand, looked like a feisty young woman – jeans, crop top, short spiky hair – but black hair, not blonde.
Tara greeted her with pleasure: “Hey there, Lil.”
“Hey there, Tara” she replied, smiling. She turned and gestured towards the monk beside her, and said “Tara, I’d like you to meet Nangmye.”
Tara rolled her eyes, and said “Pleased, I’m sure. You lot never tire of putting on these images. Could you show me what you really look like, please?”
He smiled, bowed slightly, and said “Certainly.”
At that, his image wavered, and then transformed into a sphere of light. It was multi-coloured, with bands and areas of colour moving, some slow, some faster, and merging and changing. Above all, it was bright, and Tara flinched and shaded her eyes.
This was the aura of someone who was very evolved, and quite powerful.
After a moment, the sphere wavered, and transformed back in to the image of the monk.
“No”, protested Tara. “It’s OK, you don’t have to put on the image for me. I’ll cope OK.”
“Tara”, Nangmye replied calmly, “You’re not the only one here.”
She blinked, and then looked at Lil. Was the image for her benefit?
Lil sighed loudly, and then did the waver and change into a ball of light trick.
Tara blinked again.
“No it’s not for me, Tara.”
She was confused, it wasn’t for herself, and it wasn’t for Lil, so …?
“Yes, Tara,” Nangmye confirmed. “This image has a benefit for me.”
Tara tried to think it through, but gave up. At least she was glad that she had gotten used to those who guided her being able to discern her thoughts – she called it telepathy, but they said it was clairvoyance. At the time, she had simply accepted that, and moved on.
“Sir, would you please explain what benefit?”
He beamed back at her, and replied warmly “Tara, you can use my name – or rather, the label I use for this image, which is, as you know” – he gesture towards Lil, still in her ball of light shape – “Nangmye.”
He paused thoughtfully, and then continued “Otherwise, I shall have to call you … ‘Madam’.”
Tara shuddered, and replied quickly, as Lil laughed – how does a ball of light do that? - “No, Nangmye, that won’t be necessary, thank you.”
He smiled and continued, as Lil’s laughter slowed to burbles of chuckling.
“You know what a key is?”
Tara nodded and, at his nod, expanded with “A key is something that helps us achieve something. Often that something is unlocking a door, but magickally, a key can be something that changes our consciousness.”
“Yes, yes. You could say, a magickal key is a key to a different state of consciousness.”
Tara nodded, and replied to Nangmye’s request for examples with a few. When she listed a change of clothes, Nangmye interrupted with “Or a change of entire image”, and did the ball of light then Tibetan monk thing again.
“Huh” Tara commented, eloquently.
“Yes, Tara” Nangmye smiled. “This image helps me shift into my teacher mode, as opposed to one of my many other modes” – and he briefly flitted through a range of other images, some male, some female.
“I, on the other hand,” commented Lil the Ball of Light, “have fewer roles, and thus less need of an image, and am just as feisty and comfortable in this image as the other.”
She bobbed slightly, and Tara felt both of them looking intently at her.
She sighed.
“Look I don’t know what it is that you think I should be doing and realising here, but I miss my image of Lil. I like her, and can relate to her.”
“And that, Tara, is why I do the image thing for you – and gladly. But first, Nangmye would like to illustrate something for you.”
As Lil the Ball of Light bobbed slightly up and down, as if in an imperceptible breeze, Tara looked expectantly at Nangmye.
He nodded, and pointed to a couple of swirls of colour on the surface of Lil the Ball of Light.
“These patterns and colours indicate Lil’s pleasure at your realisation.”
He changed into the ball of light form and asked “Can you see some similar patterns when I am in this form?”
She could and nodded, and sighed with relief as they both turned back into images of people.
Lil laughed again.



TO BE CONTINUED