It is dawn and the sun rises once again over the ERMHA village. ERMHA long ago evolved way beyond the stage where it could be contained in one or two buildings. The village buildings are all environmentally-friendly with solar power and also from windmills in the nearby orchards, where many varieties of fruit are harvested for making jams. Mind you, the jam jars can be hard to identify due to the strict policy of using no labels.
Many of the buildings are multi-purpose with state-of-the art equipment including multi-media screens, digital white boards, virtual reality units and one of Peter Tadman's latest inventions, the wrist-watch computer.
Visitors pay a small fee and are more than happy to. They are shown around by clients. These tours are so popular that bookings made weeks in advance . Some of visitors are clients from other programs as this is now such standard practice nobody really remembers it being any other way.
The main computer centre is a hive of activity. Phil is supervising a group of graphic artists who are putting the finishing touches to the latest "Dave Buller Fan Club" T-Shirts. Some clients are studying via the internet. This is now a very popular method of study with video conferencing becoming almost as commonplace as the telephone and television. This group is part of a project with some students in Russia, China and France. A group of website developers is putting the polish on the latest issue of th e "ERMHA Murmur" online. This magazine is now read by over 10 million people every month and is often voted one of the most creative and inspiring publications in its field. An engineer is working on transferring the video and audio footage from the previous day into a format for inclusion on the website. Many clients and staff now wear digital pinhole cameras and microphones during their daily travels, so the entire ERMHA experience can be recorded from a variety of perspectives.
In the café, a group of clients is preparing breakfast, which is a big task. Many local businessmen pop in for a quick bite on their way to work. Sometimes they even have a meal. Many clients and staff also find the café a friendly place to start their day with a glass of prune juice or a nice, warm bowl of porridge. The café also sells the ERMHA jams which can be the source of great amusement. There are always plenty of magazines to read and interesting people to talk to.
One nearby building is the ERMHA Bookshop, where Phil's book "A joke a day keeps the psychiatrist away" is selling exceptionally well along with works of original poetry. Poetry has become a growth industry as more and more people are seeking inspiration rather than reading pulp fiction. The 50 volume set of collected thoughts of Phil & Dave continues to be popular along with the best of the minutes from the first 10 years of consumer policy meetings which have developed a cult following amongst people who never knew how things were in the dark ages. Many people have devoted their lives to the study of these ancient manuscripts. Some have even come to wonder if the minute-taker was indulging in some mind-altering substances whilst recording the minutes. They remain a mystery to this very day.
Phillip has also just put the finishing touches on his latest book about the many joys of worm farming called "I've Got Worms!" It promises to join the best seller lists very quickly. The same hopes are held for "The Day My Chain Broke" which is the gripping tale of the daily drama and intrigue in the ERMHA bicycle repair shop. Bikes have become the most popular mode of transport (apart from Yogic Flying) as people are now focusing on the journey rather than the destination.
Dijana's Guide to Staying Unfocused has become a worldwide bestseller and there are at least a hundred websites devoted to unraveling the wisdom of her teachings. The central site is www.dijanaland.com, where visistors can read over 1000 vaguely inspirational quotes designed to whisk them off to an enchanted land populated by fairies, wizards and leprechauns. You can even take a virtual reality tour of Dijanaland where the pixels turn into pixies. Medical authorities warn against spending too much time at t his site as you may not be able to re-adjust to reality as we know it. This may not be such a bad turn of events, depending on how you look at it.
The bookshop also sells art and craft items produced in the village. There are ceramic sculptures, soft cuddly toys, chess sets, paintings, posters, jewelry, doll's house furniture and many other creations made with loving care. People are prepared to pay a substantial price for these items, as there is a growing appreciation of the fact that they are purchasing more than the object itself. They are paying for the time and energy and inspiration that goes into making it.
Of course, not all the soft toys are sold in the shop. Many are used in the village's day-care centre. This is a thriving enterprise run by clients and takes care of children of staff, clients and local office workers. The atmosphere echoes to the sound of laughter most of the time, especially when Uncle David comes to pay a visit. He amuses the kids by pulling funny faces and he tickles them under the chin, saying "Coochy, Coochy, Coo". The only trouble is he often does this during the staff meetings.
In the bookshop, you may find many posters with inspirational pictures & words. Some of ERMHA's resident artists work on the visual aspect while others work on the words. Sometimes the words inspire the pictures. Sometimes it is the other way around. Generally it is a wonderful gestalt process that nobody can explain and nobody really asks them to explain it.
ERMHA's new logo is of a kind, bearded face smiling warmly and benevolently. It is one of those faces you would swear you have seen somewhere before. Just gazing at such a face makes you go all warm and fuzzy inside. Like a big teddy bear. Although some have been heard to comment that it more closely resembles the smile on the face of the Buddha.
In one room, another session of Dijana's very popular Introduction to Telepathy is just beginning. Her past graduates are spread all over the various buildings and they find themselves smiling and drifting off for no particular reason. Many graduates from this course move on to join the ever expanding Telepath Network, which is a lot like the ancient mobile phone network but far more efficient. Their motto is "We're always thinking about you."
At lunchtime several local office workers drop in to the coffee shop. Clients prepare the meals and also provide the friendly service. Patrons are also welcome to try a game of darts or table tennis over lunch. They might even take part in an informal art class for a small additional fee which they happily pay. Many of them need to be reminded when it is time to go back to their jobs!
One building near the orchards is currently part of an innovative project where clients are running a boarding kennel for dogs and cats. Studies have shown the therapeutic value of working with animals since they are a lot less complicated and a lot more fun than most humans. There are large areas for the dogs to be taken for a game of fetch down by the creek. Many of the cat and dog toys are made in the village by clients and staff alike.
On the other side of the creek is the ERMHA farm. This is based on permaculture practices and produces a wide range of foodstuffs for use in the village and for sale at the Dandy Market. There are herbs, flowers, vegetables, essential oils, exotic mushrooms, silk worms, sheep for wool, and probably a few other things I can't bring to mind at the moment.
Mark is just back from his trip to India - fully funded by proceeds from his latest book of love poems. He's telling us all about his experiences and is showing us video footage of the Himalayas on the large screens which are built into the walls of many rooms around the village. These screens are definitely not Orwellian although one suspects that even if they were two-way screens they would be more likely to say "Big Brother is watching you and smiling."
ERMHA is now largely independent of govt funding - due to proceeds from its various enterprises and several wealthy benefactors who wish to contribute to a growing sense of community spirit which people are rediscovering after neglecting it for too long. These enterprises include lawn mowing, gardening, the bookshop, coffee shop, subscriptions to the Newsletter, dog kennels and many others that seem to have slipped my mind for the moment.
Chris is doing his weekly report for The Age - the newspapers are now full of good news items and many daily columns are devoted to Care of the Soul. ERMHA is a leading participant in the growing movement toward actively promoting positive Mental Health as well as helping those people who need it the most. There is a very wide range of therapies available apart from traditional psychiatry, although many psychiatrists themselves are opening up their minds and embracing a holistic approach. Many therapists l ive onsite with their families. There are healers from every spiritual tradition - it is not uncommon to see a Tibetan monk, an Aboriginal elder, a Hopi medicine man and several ministers from various churches having animated discussions where they try to learn from each other and incorporate each other's ideas into their own practices. These discussions are part of a global trend toward religious tolerance with a shift to focus on the common threads that run through all spiritual paths - love, peace, respe ct, unity.
Many of these therapists are clients who have recovered from a psychiatric illness. It was found that these people with the right encouragement and training make excellent sensitive therapists and healers themselves. Many cases which would previously have been diagnosed as schizophrenia are now seen in a quite different light. Namely, a type of spiritual event which western society is only just now beginning to see clearly but which has been instinctively and ritually managed for centuries in more primitive cultures. Fear and misunderstanding have now been replaced by wisdom and insight. With guidance and encouragement, these people were found to have a wonderful capacity to heal themselves as well as many of those around them. Healing is no longer seen as something which results solely from some external method of "treatment". Medication is now only one of a quite diverse range of strategies being employed. Some of the others aromatherapy, acupuncture, chinese herbal medicine, shamanism etc ...
ERMHA is now a world leader in the education of PSR workers from around the globe. The approach is now holistic - students learn about body-mind-spirit and benefit enormously from the variety of practical experiences to be found in the village. ERMHA was also instrumental in developing the New Age Psychiatry course, which is now mandatory for all who want to practice in the field. If they wish to practice in a building, they can make their own arrangements.
There is an exhibition building which includes a movie theatre & library. The library has tapes, videos, books and CD-ROMs all produced by clients along with an abundance of cultural material. Much of this material concentrates on Aboriginal history and culture. Since Australia was handed back to the Aborigines, things have been running a lot more smoothly as the great spirits are no longer as restless.
There are a few buildings which provide accommodation of various kinds. One is accommodation for people who feel they need some support but don't require a full admission to the hospital. This is staffed by clients who have been there and done that so they can truly relate to what those people are experiencing. Another building has backpacker style accommodation for visitors from interstate or overseas or even for staff who sometimes forget that they have homes to go to. There is a 24-hour telepath service in all these buildings. Leave a wake up call for the morning and someone will gently come into your dreams and wake you up.
Dave is walking over to the lecture theatre to conduct the latest in his series of workshops on the beauty of silence. This is no longer such an ironic title for these sessions. Since Dave graduated (with honours) from Dijana's course on telepathy, he has conducted 90% of his communication in this way. His vocal chords are now wonderfully relaxed and he mainly uses them for his daily chanting sessions with Phil.
Since people unanimously decided to abolish competitive sports, poets now have their own fan clubs and TV shows. Children eagerly collect and swap cards of their favourite poets. Some poets have become so popular they need their own bodyguards to protect them from the enthusiasm of their devoted fans. It has become a burning social issue - how can poets go out in society without being mobbed. Many researchers are working on this burning social problem. ERMHA is a place where poets can live in peace because nearly everyone at ERMHA now writes poetry. It might be something they are putting in the water, or possibly the jams.
Dianne is now head co-ordinator of the laughing academy (definitely NOT to be confused with the funny farm!). Scientists have finally worked out that laughter is good for the soul as well as the body. Of course, first they had to discover that people actually do have souls. The scientist who officially discovered the soul was awarded a Nobel Prize. His name is Professor M.T. Ness of the institute for advanced research into the blindingly obvious.
There are many children of various ages to be seen around the village. Traditional formal education is now just one amongst many options available. Home or community education has become quite popular as many communities have adopted the traditions of Native peoples around the globe. The child bonds with the community, not just its two parents. Children learn from the wealth of knowledge of the entire community. (This idea is borrowed heavily from "Native Wisdom for White Minds" by Anne Wilson Schaef.. I hope she doesn't mind too much) Many walls around the village, both internal and external ,a re decorated with the children's drawings and other creations.
Long gone are the days when ERMHA was a "9 to 5" operation. The after-hours activities are many and varied. Tonight there are three poetry recitals plus the debut of a new music group performing music from several cultures. The recreation hall is also buzzing with the finals of the non-competitive Table Tennis League. This league operates on the principles of Zen. Nobody keeps score and nobody has any preference regarding the "outcome" except to enjoy an entertaining performance to which players and spectat ors all contribute in the gestalt tradition. Many times they don't even bother using a ball. People have made the amazing discovery that when you no longer direct the focus of your attention onto the outcome, everyone becomes free to enjoy the entire proceedings. ERMHA was a driving force behind the formation of several of the earliest gestalt sporting associations which have flourished over the past few years. The simplified rules appeal to a broad spectrum of participants and spectators alike. In fact, th e term "spectator" is now rarely used as everyone is regarded as contributing their own energy to the proceedings and nobody's energy is deemed as being more significant than anyone else's.
This principle of non-competitiveness is rapidly infiltrating many other spheres of human activity. Needless to say, this is having an enormous impact on business, relationships, politics and national identity. It is now quite common for people to describe themselves as earthlings, using the literal meaning of the term. "Greetings, earthlings" has become almost as common in some parts of the world as "G'day, mate. Ow ya goin?" You would not credit what this philosophy of non-competitiveness is doing to the distribution of society's resources, especially money. But that is a story for another time. Some have even dared to call this radical new idea "sharing".
Also in evening, there are several TAFE style courses, many of which are given by clients. The wide range of subjects includes cooking, chanting, meditation, aromatherapy and poetry writing classes. Owen's new course is called "What to do after you've been abducted by aliens". As always, people are never quite sure if he is serious or has his tongue in his cheek, but nobody seems to mind. Sascha is eager to start another of her group meditation classes called "Entering the silence beyond all sound".
The poetry writing classes are generally booked out for months (remember poetry has become a real growth industry - papers are full of ads for resident poets to be part of the staff of major corporations) There are many classes also on all aspects of the well-being of mind, body and spirit. Stress is already being greatly reduced by an inevitable evolution in the overall consciousness of everyone in society anyway.
Unfortunately, the seminar on apathy had to be cancelled due to a complete lack of interest. However, everyone is eagerly looking forward to Geoff's workshop on How to overcome procrastination. He has been preparing this workshop for more than five years. He says he is just patiently waiting for the correct inspiration.
Some students are from the nearby retirement home for former mental health workers. They recognise the value of keeping your mind and body and spirit active and healthy long after retiring from paid employment. Some of them even give classes themselves, cheerfully giving back the benefit of their wisdom and experience. Most people in the village have adopted the motto that it is possible to learn from everybody that comes across your path.
The ERMHA website has just been nominated once again for the award for the site which contributes the most energy to global warming (of the heart). It has online shopping, poetry performances, video footage and a virtual day program which is accessed by interstate and even overseas clients. A large number of webcams are positioned around the village but nobody ever gets the feeling they are being watched. Or if they do, they don't get too paranoid about it.
Thea is now very busy running the ERMHA publishing house and is very glad to see Memphis who has returned from Centre for Creative Growth and their course on Reclaiming Your Inner Child. She is keen to work with clients and staff. Some of her ideas include:
* Face-pulling classes * Advanced Certificate in Tree Climbing, * Diploma of Engineering (with Lego blocks) * 5 year post graduate course in sand castle construction. * And many others that have yet to be dreamed up.
ERMHA's website long ago grew too large for one address, so it now has several sister sites. One of these sites is www.kidsatplay.com.au which receives many thousands of hits a day. Ermha's site is one of many that have sprung up now that all the porn sites have vanished. People all over the world have discovered that watching children play can be very therapautic even if it is through the online experience. Most employers don't even object to their employees logging onto these sites during work hours. They have found that anyone visiting these sites is generally less stressed and contributes to a more harmonious work environment. One of the other sister sites is located at www.phil&dave.com and offers "Hundreds of jokes from two very funny blokes".
Not everyone has fully adjusted to the current mood of society. For this reason, much of ERMHA's TV, radio and internet material must be preceded by the following warning: "This transmission contains random acts of explicit kindness."
(Many of the jokes contained in this document may not be immediately apparent unless your mind is as warped as mine. Fortunately, many of my potential readers are superbly equipped in this regard. If you don't find any jokes in here, don't worry, it probably just means you're completely sane. You have my deepest sympathies. Also, many of the jokes would not be obvious without an intimate knowledge of the personalities of the people mentioned. I'll leave that up to your collective imaginations.)
This vision (like all visions I suppose) is still a work-in-progress. Any comments or feedback can be sent to me at:
grjallen@hotmail.com
Note: ERMHA is Eastern Regions Mental Health Association
7 Mason St Dandenong 3175
Although we may soon be moving from this address ...
Decided to revisit this piece of work. I did "tone it down" for public consumption. I'm wondereing if that was such a good idea on two fronts - (a) If you're still "getting off" on the admiration thing, then you're back on the ego path again. Okay, nice to inspire others if you can but still ... (b) The whole truth would blow people's minds and maybe it is time for it to be told. Others are in fact engaged in doing just that and my words would merely be my personal experience of the global experience but may be useful. So here goes ...
How to start ... just let it flow and trust the flow, Geoff ... We don't really understand "mental illness" because we don't understand Who We Are and Why We are Really Here. In a sense, even I have been drawn into the current world-view or paradigm because the term "mental illness" is a label. It is a label attached by an external authority (the psychiatrist) onto someone else's experience. As with all labels, it is a barrier to understanding. To label any experience is to misunderstand it. To call one experience "psychotic" and another experience "normal" and yet another experience "mystical" is to distort reality. This will probably make no sense to anyone who has not been "diagnosed" as psychotic. In fact the flow is not flowing the way i expected. Oh well, who's going to read this anyway. And if they even agree with it, ... I have truly lost the flow ... take a rest mate ... (like anything, this is a work-in-progress)
... some time later ...
My full "vision" would necessitate healing the entire world. You simply cannot truly heal any portion of the whole without healing the whole. Yet, I am optimistic. In fact, I would never have believed such optimism was possible for anyone, let alone someone who has walked through as many Hells as I have. It is as if I have been transfigured, transformed, transmuted. Schizophrenia is spiritual alchemy. But ONLY if alowed to run its course. I may be one of the FEW people in modern history to record such a journey over 17 years without resorting to narcotics or alcohol or the so-called "anti-psychotic" medications. Okay, each person's journey is unique but I have to wonder ...
June 2000 Update: another site well worh visiting is Hazel Gay's "To Heal the Broken Hearted" where she chronicles a similar journey and comes to a similar journey. You can find it if you
click here
ANY attempt at healing which ignores the spirit is doomed from the start. Maybe it has to be put in those blunt terms to wake people up. I used to think I was the only one who KNEW. Now maybe finally the time has come ... And yet, again I am falling into the same trap. There is one truth - we are ALL sick. We are all living lives which are a pale shadow of what our true nature is. Occasionally, we glimpse what could be but then it disappears and we convince ourselves that is just a dream, a fantasy. We are all sick. My pain is your pain, My joy is your joy. Until those statements are recognised as absolutely true and not just lovely sentiments, we will continue to live in the shadows, glimpsing the light from time to time but never really knowing wht-it-is-all-about. We are all in this together. We all succeed or we all fail. I can't think of any other way of putting it. People like Deepak Chopra, Neale Donald Walsch, James Twyman, and many others are saying the same thing. We are so intertwined we are each other. yet, in our ordinary consciousness - which is what most "normal" folk spend 95% of their waking hours in - we see ourselves as separate. I could go on and on and on with this theme but try the links (if anyone bothers reading this) and the books and ... if you are ready to listen to what is being said it will literally blow-your-mind.
On the other hand, if you are in the place I was in less than 12 months ago, you will laugh your head off and think "This guy is off-with-the-fairies". Either reaction is fine. I can't really expect to "persuade" anyone because nothing on earth would have persuaded ME until Feb 1999 - see The Awakening - a short story about my experiences in which I try to describe the indescribable which took place during seven days in Acacia ward in February 1999. I certainly have chosen a strange journey. But eventually all paths lead to the same place.
I have always felt 100 years ahead of my time and if I did not have an awesome sense of certainty and trust and above all humour ... I would have gone completley round-the-bend 15 years ago. One glimpse of the ultimate reality and you are hooked for life. I could meditate on a clifftop for the rest of eternity and I may choose to do just that. But in the meantime, if I can contribute anything to the global awakening that is taking place ... because I know what it is like to be totally lost and have a voice deep inside you screaming "This is it? This is all there is?" and to never be allowed to scream that scream. It may be that i cannot contribute an enormous amount to waking people up. Nothing short of an atomic explosion in my head ever woke me up out of the global nightmare. There are better teachers than I at this stage. After all, I was an angry and bitter atheist less than 12 months ago. If you had said to me back then that I would be writing these words, I would have laughed in your face.
And of course, it is still just possible I have completely lost my marbles. If so, I don't want them back. If this is "madness", I heartily recommend it.
In the meantime, we can continue on just as we ave done for the past few centuries. Living these shadowy lives with the occasional glimpse of our true nature, which is BEYOND appearance, BEYOND the personality, BEYOND the intellect and BEYOND any label our ordinary consciousness can begin to comprehend.
That section needs a heap of editing but there are some good ideas in there somewhere. If my motive truly is to Help, I should refine the language/description a bit more. Hard to see at THIS moment how to weave those themes and experiences into the overall narrative. I'll have to wait for the right inspiration. Can't force these things as I well know ...
.... a bit later ...
{Did attend a huge, long discussion on "mental health" matters ... Funny thing is the words "God" & "love" never mentioned once! We are afraid to even use these words. We no longer really know what they mean. (Actually, we do but we've forgotten}
A few more ideas a bit later ... see Healing
A few more random musings ... actually in the world described in my so-called "vision" nobody would need a place like ERMHA. Unless it lived up to it's name and focused on Mental Health rather than "Mental Illness" - a term I have never had much time for. It perpetuates our current flawed view of ourselves. It is not "all in the mind". It's our hearts and souls that need healing. In a world filled with love, nobody would need to go psychotic. Our current world is polarised between love and hate. If we can keep the love and heal the hate we might get somewhere. There I go, dreaming again. One day we'll all dream the same dream. Sounds like a good idea for a poem. Speaking of dreams - here's a link to the dreams from Nov 1999 New Paradigm
Ah yes, one of my old descriptions of schizophrenia was to call it a metamorphic process. Few psychiatrists view it this way but what would they know - they have merely observed the phenomenon. The TRUE experts are those that have experienced it FIRST hand. If they are lucky enough not to have been sedated or subdued or destroyed byt the current "system" of intervention. I consider that i have beeen conducting research into schizophrenia for over 16 years. From the best possible vantage point - the INSIDE. I realise few people without first hand experience could even imagine what it is like. For me, it has been the ultimate paradox - simultaneously enlightening and frightening, unifying and alienating, Heaven & Hell. But there I go again, getting all poetic. It makes perfect sense and yet it makes no sense at all.
I once described normality as the delusion and psychosis as the cure. That still remains a very useful statement to make. Then again i also went through a long period where I TRULY believed the entire world was just a figment of my imagination. I was always puzzled as to why I couldn't manage to imagine something a bit more interesting. That too is still a useful idea to contemplate.
Will write more if I feel inspired to do so.
June 2000 update -
I have a lot of ideas in other files at website & on hard drive. Here's a brief idea of where I'm headed ...
Yes, I now realise that the first version of the "Ideal Day Program" was in fact after reading Emissary of Light but BEFORE reading Conversations with God - and EVERY time I pick up that book I really wonder why I write at all. It is hard to compete with God fro inspiration! It must have been a phenomenal experience for Neale to write those books. (Recently read a little of Book III which goes even further ...) My vision NOW - okay, we all have free-will - would be to get enough people reading those & similar books so that we approach The Critical Mass of Enlightenment as many seem to be predicting. I know that those books speak directly to the SOUL in a way I could never have imagined until I experienced it myself just 15 months ago. In a psych ward of ALL places ...
Well, actually, ONE day it would be a good idea to scour through my online
Journal as there is much in there that could be included in this "vision" of mine.
Take today, for example. I was walking along and I speculated as to an overused phrase "the power of love". People are right to make that observation BUT ... obviously there is NOT enough love in the world right now. Why do I say that? Um, well, IF there was a REAL power of love that one can envisage then NOBODY would ever reach the point of utter despair that they would kill themselves. Not ONE person would feel the need to be verbally of physically violent etc. etc. So we have a LONG LONG way to go ...
And who is responsible? ALL of us. Each & every one. For as LONG as we make our love conditional, we produce a relatively weak & ineffectual experience of love for the world. As long as the majority of us think it's quite okay to polarise the human race into "those we love" & those we hate" or "those we approve of" & "those we dont" ... this needs work but you can see where I am headed. As long as we see "someone else" is responsible then we won't really solve ANY of the problems that we face - unemployment, depression, suicide, violence, war, poverty ... you name it ...
Yes, there will continue to be inspiring stories where "love conquers all" but it will all seem very haphazard & "unfair" until we all "tune into" how ridiculous we have been for so many centuries ...
Consider a song like "I'm saving all my love for you" - most people will say what a wonderful romantic sentiment. However, it is really an insidious & destructive message. Few would dare say that. But, as I said above, so LONG as MOST of us polarise the population into those who are "special" and those we can ignore/despise/resent ... we won't get ANYwhere ...
Ah, yes, I did explore the topic of "normality" ... where was that ... in a file at website called
normal.htm - that too could use some fleshing out and clarification.
Here's a piece I toyed with for an early edition of 2000 ERMHA Murmur -
I feel the reason there are so few "success stories" is that until recently the system hasn't been designed to help people recover, or even acknowledge recovery as a realistic possibility. The system has been designed to keep people manageable and "out of mischief". That was the main motivation for writing My Ideal Day Program ...
We're all on a learning curve. I heard it compared to an elevator the other day and some of us wondered how far up the elevator had progressed and who was on it. Being part of various meetings and discussions over the past few weeks has given me enough new ideas/possiblities/personalities to include in my "vision" to fill a book. That is if I ever get the time and inspiration to compile it all. It has been uplifting to get so much positive feedback from people who have read "My Ideal Day Program". That response alone shows the Paradigm is shifting. People listening to what a consumer says and taking it seriously. What a radical concept!
That "vision" has been a gestalt process. I could not possibly have written such a story without having experienced a personal transformation over the past 12 months. I now have more genuine hope than I ever dared dream possible in the past. My main intention in writing "My Ideal Day Program" was to try to communicate that sense of hope & optimism to others. I think it was George Bernard Shaw who said "Some men see things as they are and say 'Why'. I dream things that never were and say 'Why not?'"
The past 12 months has shown me that God does indeed work in sublime and mysterious ways. I have had experiences and ideas which I thought I would be the very last person on this planet to experience. My picture of "reality" and what is possible has been fundamentally altered forever. However, I fully understand that those people who have not yet encountered such experiences may very well regard me as somewhat loopy. That's cool. I would have reacted the same way myself not long ago. My Internet travels over the past year have shown me that I am far from being alone in having these experiences. Believe it or not, they even happen to psychiatrists – you can verify this fact by visiting Dr Tasha Mansfield at www.whengodtalksback.com. These experiences have given me a tiny glimpse of "the way things could be" and I have tried to capture those glimpses in what I write. My writing has improved by a quantum leap as a result of the inspiration that accompanies these experiences.
One of my favourite mottos now comes from an inspired piece I read at the
Starbuilders website. "The truth is a living entity. Your mind cannot grasp it". That's what we need to unlearn - all of our grasping & attachment ...
Oh, I thought there was also a bit about the Dalai Lama coming out to ERMHA to achieve full enlightenemnet - or asking the Board of Management to sit nder a tree with him until they were enlightened ... oh well ...
Actually, that reminds me of the mock "survey" I did following recent events at ERMHA -
click here to see the survey ...
There is even more in one of my posts to Delphi Atheist Forum -
click here ... plus
cure.htm ...
More ideas for "Ideal day Program"
Psychosis is a mysterious, magical process initiated by the human soul in order to awaken in the individual to a more cosmic awareness. It can never be remotely understood in purely scientific terms. Medication can only delay the process but there IS NO WAY BACK. There can be no return to the straitjacket of "normality". That is the entire point of the process. - Then I added it into the "vision" of the ideal day program.
So, if you are looking for an interesting choice for your next life, try psychosis. It forces you to expand your consciousness or you just won't get through it. It is the soul's most extraordinary exquisite strategy for producing metamorphosis. It has been misunderstood for centuries.
Di - after years of expert tuition from Geoff has become the world's foremost authority on the true nature of psychosis. She travels to all the corners of the globe conducting seminars and workshops which are always enthusiastically attended. Geoff, meanwhile is content to live in the village writing transcendental poetry but he follows Di's progress keenly. He spends a lot of his time transmitting his poems telepathically now that Dijana has made a wider audience more receptive to this sublime and natural form of human communication. It is also much cheaper than using the Internet.
One lifetime is nowhere near long enough to experience the entire spectrum of the human condition. Psychosis is like a crash course in enlightenment and higher consciousness. it is like being everybody and nobody at the same time. Geoff has just rewritten the intro to his latest book "Psychosis: A Magical Mystery Tour". He is also working on a ten-volume set of "Conversations with Dianne" as well as a selection of his latest poems entitled "Poetry to warp your mind".
Oh yes, the intro to the book contains the definition of psychosis - I realise this view has only been reached after 17 years of experiences most people are incapable of imagining or surviving. I see psychosis as one of an entire spectrum of traumas our collective souls are creating to awaken us to out TRUE natures. However, like ME, some people do seem to need to be hit by a truck before they take any notice.
On the other hand, I would not expect anyone to take my word for it. I would not know these things if I had not experienced them directly. That is the entire point of our existence on this planet. In the words of Strawberry Fields, "Nothing is real" unless it is experienced directly and personally - LOVE, DEATH, MADNESS, BEAUTY, TRANSCENDENCE, PSYCHOSIS.
Geoff's poem "My Favourite Psychosis" has become a mandatory part of the training of all workers. They must chant it three times a day if they hope to graduate. The old mentality of "Take two valium and call me in the morning" is fast becoming a dim and distant memory. (Museums full of Prozac etc - like the way we now regard those who used to in all sincerity burn people as witches)
Of course, not all the soft toys are sold in the shop. Many are used in the village's day-care centre. This is a thriving enterprise run by clients and takes care of children of staff, clients and local office workers. The atmosphere echoes to the sound of laughter most of the time, especially when Uncle David comes to pay a visit. He amuses the kids by pulling funny faces and he tickles them under the chin, saying "Coochy-Coochy-Coo". The only trouble is he often does this during the staff meetings.
...
Dave, Phil, Kate, Dianne & Geoff are having dinner over at Dijana's place. She is cooking her speciality of roast light with a side dish of baked air. All washed down with fresh spring water from her Japanese Zen garden. They spend an enjoyable evening with a group meditation session along with some star gazing in the serene atmosphere of the spacious back yard where Dijana's Kookaburras seem to laugh all day long. She has had enough counseling on her self-esteem to realise they aren't really laughing at her. The sounds of crickets and tree frogs add further to the ambience.
During the evening, a strange limerick suddenly popped into everyone's consciousness. This was not such an unusual event at Dijana's place because it was built on a temporal and spiritual nexus. Nevertheless, this limerick was somewhat unexpected:
There is a man we know called Michael Milovanovic,
Everyone laughed and wondered what the source of this little ditty was. There were some strong suspicions but nobody could quite put their finger on the source.
July 2000 update -
Many embryonic ideas to be found in my Journal entries over the past few weeks -
July 2000 update -
Well, just when i thought there could be few things that would surprise me ... along comes the 2000 VICSERV conference and as i type these words, my feelings are very mixed -
click here to read more.
In fact right this very moment, 1-8-2000, I have to admit the immediate prospect of ERMHA making steps towards this "vision" are remote. Okay, that's merely one person's viewpoint and I really hate being negative but recent events leave me little choise but to say these things -
click here for more of this train of thought ...
Anyone who thinks my views on psychiatry are a bit "out there" - I am not the only one - try these -
A Buddhist approach to mental illness - according to Lama Yeshe's definition 90% of people in the west are "mentally ill" as they are not in touch with true reality!
List of Anti-psychiatry websites
Hazel Gay's home page - To heal the broken-hearted. Hazel chronicles her own long journey which has many parallels to mine and similar conclusions about psychiatry, medications, life, reality, God, the universe ...
May post more later on ...
Who loves to go camping and roast marshmallows on a stick,
He is married to Dijana,
Whose mind bends like a banana,
The way things are going he soon will be just as eccentric.
Conversations with God II excerpts
Conversations with God website
