Thanks…robert
North Carolina (USA)

Thanks again for your inspirational words.

I concur with so much of what you say, think, preach, teach and live. Especially in regard to positive thinking and projecting love.

I studied Shotokan and Wado many years ago. My knowledge of the martial arts has all but evaporated from my overboiling brain but I still cherish the memories of my dojo days and hopefully some of the spirit has stayed with me.

I bought one of your DVD sets about six years ago and watched most of the videos. Unfortunately I have been so busy since that I haven’t taken the opportunity to learn the skills you teach.

What I enjoy most about your style is that you always seem to be smiling.

I know you carry a very big stick but keep walking softly!

Vive le roi!

Thank you very much for this.

You’ve inspired me once again to get off my ass.

All good wishes,

robert (in NC, USA)

Thanks for this.

You’ve highlighted how we must connect the inner with the outer, and that there’s no easy trick to get around the need for sustained, disciplined practice. Wasn’t it Aristotle (I may be wrong here) who said that “Man consists of his habits” (I’m paraphrasing, as I can’t remember the exact wording. It hinged, however, on “We are our habits.”) It takes work to change those. This is inspiring, though, as *it is within our power to change.*

Thank you again!

All good wishes,

robert (in NC, USA)

Thanks for this.

Running from the “big jihad” is what keeps all the world afire. Thanks for highlighting the value of turning toward our greatest enemy.

All good wishes,

robert (in NC, USA)

Thanks for this great article. I am understanding fear, now, as the central thing (which is not really separate from our small self) which we humans must face to find the light.

Thanks for bringing to us these great writings.

All good wishes,

robert (in NC, USA)

Was this implicit in your blog? Or do you think I’m barking up the wrong tree? Interested to get your views on this.
Cheers
Jon

Absolutely great article.

Thanks so much for it!

All good wishes,

robert

Thanks so much for this article.

It’s great to have this kind of soul food to help us weak ones to enter and embrace the darkness.

All good wishes,

robert
(NC, USA)

Brilliance flows through you!

This is an outstanding article. So many points that ignite some deep knowing.

I so love many things you write here such as:

“Don’t be threatened by competition. There is no competition. Anything that is real cannot be threatened, if it can be threatened it is not real.” For me this speaks so strongly to the small commanding self, its false real-ness, and the truth of trusting in the Divine, and fearing none.

I very much like how you expressed unity in “…underneath, in the great deep they (we) are all connected to everything else.” Things are not as they appear. Your line captures this so well.

The line, in the “Keep the Flow” section, “If each section of the tree suddenly demanded autonomy of its parts and decided to stop the flow of service the tree would quickly die” struck me strongly, and speaks to the separation and isolation that arises when humankind seeks to elevate the self above the Totality of the Whole.

I very much like your comments on service (central to so many of your writings) such as “If you are given status, know that it is on loan, and given only in order for you to better serve.”

And finally, “Copious and relentless service are its raison d’être.” Great!

Absolutely great article. Thanks so much doing what was necessary to bring it here.

All good wishes,

robert
(NC, USA)

Thanks so much for this article and so many encounter resistance just at the thought of becoming vulnerable. However what I am finding as I push beyond what is comfortable for me is that the flip side of the coin is that it is very liberating and freeing when I grow through allowing myself to be vulnerable, yet always holding that vulnerability is strength
Thank you for the reminder though that there are always increasing levels to take this too, and never a point of complete arrival
With love
Anita Narayan

Thats all i can say. Great stuff again.

Thanks so much for this article!

The influence of this article, and your many others, have worn thin my inhibitions about self-investing. Thank you for this.

Thank you so much for your influence.

All good wishes,

robert (in NC, USA)

I love this article. Thanks for bringing it to us.

The whole story of the bird on the fence says it all. The bullet points at the end…direct and insightful. Yes, we are not forced to discover our wings.

Thanks again.

All good wishes,

robert in NC (USA)

Thanks so much for this great article!

It speaks directly to the alchemical, and absolutely real, abrasive process of others rubbing off on us. As you say, you “stand around the brilliant for long enough and you might well come down with a heavy dose of it.”

The great spiritual icons say precisely the same thing. The great poet-saint, Rumi Jalaluddin, first received spiritual training from his father and then, after the death of his father, he continued receiving instruction from a pupil of his father. Then…only after he had become like “dried wood,” a passing stranger, the infamous Shams set him ablaze.

There’s something to this…becoming like “dried wood.” I believe it’s very practical. It begins, does it not (?), with a stable and real humility to open up to influence from those who have it to give. There’s influence to be had, but then there’s the pro-active receptivity to it that’s necessary. No receptivity, no open-ness…no influence. Same with fighting, writing, parenting, whatever the subject.

Your posts are always spot on…from the heart.

Thanks!

robert

Thanks so much for this article.

The picture you painted of the mass of students, each counting themselves out before life has barely started, speaks loads. I love your comments from the sacred texts, each pointing in the same empowering direction of service and warrior-ship.

Thanks so much!

All good wishes,

robert

Another great post!

This post drills down into the dirt of how fear is THE ruler. Thanks for pointing to the alchemy of the Divine Clay which is ours if we choose.

Thanks so much.

All good wishes,

robert

What a great article!

Your mention of the James Coburn quote, the interview phase, the fence, fear management, and a focus on pre-emptiveness is what sets your material apart from the MMA drone that is always loudly being proclaimed. Thanks for this frank, honest appraisal of what one needs for real violence.

All good wishes,

robert in NC (USA)

Thanks so much for this great article.

I’m ready to implement what you share here:

“Whilst they were looking for comfort, I was swapping the cushion and the bed for the hard toil of character growing study.”

Thanks so much.

I desire to write you privately.

robert (NC, USA)

The degree to which we are able to expand that internal locus of control will be the degree to which that ensuing empowerment will turn into a creative force that finds solutions and manifestations that would not be perceived or created otherwise

Thank you for this reminder
best wishes
Anita

I swear…I keep thinking that your articles can’t keep getting any better than they already are. And then you crank out another one that tops the last.

This one is spot on. The language you use to describe fear and the consequences of giving in to it is precise, direct, and hard-hitting. I thank you for it. These articles are a great help in *doing* what needs to be done to break the shackles of fear.

All good wishes,

robert in NC, USA

I have Paul Coelhos’ book on my shelf – Manual of the Warrior of Light ‘a warrior knows that his best teachers are the people with whom he shares the battlefield’

best wishes
anita

Today, having taken the time to watch this short film, I want to thank you for your courage in writing “your” story and sharing it.

Best wishes and many thanks again.

Francis

Thank you so much for this article packed full with such powerful and wise pointers!

Wow…what a great one. Accessing all through the self.

Thanks so much!

All good wishes,

robert

Anita Narayan

I think the importance of silence is essential in what hads become a noisier world. Some of my greatest insights in the last 6 months have come from being still and listening, and then following the intuitive nudge

I believe in people gave their intuition half a chance through that powerful breeding ground of stillness their lives would rise to a new and exciting level

Thank you for sharing from your heart

Anita Narayan

Wow…just when I think your last article topped all previous ones, you come out with yet another *punch!* This article is extraordinary.

I sense you’ve captured a spiritual groove here, appropriate for many who have become a bit alienated by most religion out there today. One Man and His Dog is a great metaphor for Reality and our place in it (or its place within us).

I love your comments on the need to de-sludge the physical body, the first rung on the ladder of ascent.

Outstanding!

If you ever come over here to the States, I want to shake your hand. And sit with you over coffee…

All good wishes,

robert

What a great article!

I love the stories. I didn’t know that about Chuck.

The tips at the end…thanks for them!

Thanks so much!

No time but n-o-w…

robert

Wow…what a great article. And truly what I needed.

Thanks so much!

robert

Wow…what a great post!

The story of Eddie Izzard (who I’d never heard of) is very inspiring. Thanks so much for sharing with us this – and all your other – “allowings!”

The way you expressed about how we may “court the favour of great forces,” by striving toward achievement, struck me hard. It seems to be a truth that ideating alone, without bringing ideas into manifestation, does little other than clutter our heads.

Thanks so much!

Striving…robert in NC (USA)

Thank you so much for yet another stunning post that appears, again, to be written directly for/to me. I gain so much – or lose so much of what is dead weight – from your posts.

I love the whole thing of framing money as how we shape energy, and not as something onto which we throw so much projection. Thank you so much for this post!

Kindest wishes,

robert

Wow…this is a story!

One line captured it all for me…”imagination not married with any kind of action” turns us all into Billy.

Let me please share a thought that I had during the reading. You (i.e., Geoff) are Liz. Your writing here – your presence in the world – is to do what you can to chase away the Billys. You know what I mean? (Billy, GTF out! – I’m saying this aloud to myself now

You’ve painted such a clear picture of the psychological terrain that turns one into a Billy. I’ve been there. I’m there now, sitting with an unrealized dream. With this in mind, your writings are like a taser in the gut.

Your presence here – through your writing – is a blessing.

Thank you!!!

Best wishes,

robert

Absolutely brilliant!

And the brilliance comes from the fact that it’s such a basic law of the universe. It’s right in front of us, i.e., how to grow. And, again, your writing brought it to life for me.

Thanks so much!

Best wishes,

robert

I really thank you for this article! I absolutely love your take on service, and its place as the all-time, all-traditions advice given by all sages.

You inspire me!

Thank you so much…

All good wishes,

robert

Thank you very much for this most recent and hard-hitting article. You’re giving me no room to run from my self!!!

All good wishes,

robert

Mike

Thanks so much for this article!

As a young man, I spent many years investing in discovering what was meant by “man” and “warrior.” I explored indigenous lore, chivalry in many cultures, religion/spirituality, combatives, and much more. Not having any male figure in the home (ever), I was free (indeed I felt compelled) to *discover* manhood as opposed to being given it (or worse, not) by a male who could have been present.

We’ve all known males who are shitty fathers, abusive, demeaning, drunk, etc., I didn’t have one. At one point, I said to myself, “Damn, why can’t I have a father?” Then, at some point, I realized that Grace might have saved me from a fate unknown. The Universe blesses us in the oddest ways. Still, even right this second, I hold the thought that it would be sweet to have an old guy to call “Dad.”

Every man and woman should read – and then implement – the directives you’ve kindly shared here. My goodness, this may be my favorite article so far (although I’m quite fond of the article your wrote on service).

Thanks for sharing this planet with me. May I be blessed soon to meet you in person, and to speak with you.

Oh yes…”The Last of the Mohicans” is such a great movie. Parts of it were filmed here in my area (Western North Carolina, USA). Great fighting scenes!

All good wishes,

r

Thanks for this article!

Waiting and worrying is a sign of lack of faith. It’s humbling to witness that in myself, when I might like to think that my sense of faith is robust and whole.

Human sense of time does seem so partial, broken even. I prefer adding to all my prayers, “God willing,” though it is uncomfortable to the personality. But I know, from experience, that, when I beg and long for things at *my* speed, that they may indeed arrive but in distorted forms leading to false happiness.

Thanks again!

All good wishes,

r

Thanks so much for this article. It hit *me* right where I need it. In that sense, you have saved yet another starfish.

You wrote:”I said to my wife Sharon, I need to do more, what I do feels piddley, like it is not even making a dent. I need to be global.”

My gosh..you’ve read my mind! That is utterly amazing how you’ve written almost verbatim what I’ve thought or sensed for so long. Thank you.

I still struggle, daily, with the notion that I what I do for a living is piddley. That’s probably what got me to searching on the internet, finally finding your blog.

All good wishes,

robert

Thanks for this article. Again, like your other articles, you touch on the essentials of life. The directness can’t be avoided.

There is only now. Yesterday was now. Tomorrow will be now. Now is the only time to do things. I’ve noted how our minds may seemingly venture into the apparent past or future. Our bodies, however, never, ever seem to leave *now*!

Love now!

Thanks!

All good wishes,

r

I’m amazed at the directness of your writing! You target things with such precision.

Thank you so much for this article. “Per Ardua Ad Astra” is great…It brings to mind another saying, Lucter et Emergo (“Struggle and emerge!”).

Enjoying your stuff with a passion!

Thank you for your presence.

All good wishes,

robert

Thank you so much for this article. If I weren’t so damn busy doing my job, which does indeed feed my family but not my soul, I’d re-read this article every day. That is the challenge, that is, how to take your direct words, their power, their knife-like power, to heart and to action.

I’ve known of you for some time, but only relatively recently have I been taking in the nourishment of your blog posts. I thank you for your presence on this great green earth.

robert

Thank you for posting these words of Wael.

Yes…diving for pearls, investing in yourself.

Thank you.

robert

Yes…what a great privilege AND huge responsibility to be a human capable of making choices!

Thank you!

robert

Thanks!

robert