Extract
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Second, Expanded Edition
214 pages, 5 1/2 x 8", Trade Paperback
Imagine...
- Being zapped by light coming out of someone’s forehead, who is
completely nonchalant about it.
- Having a resounding voice start chanting an ancient mantra right in the
middle of your chest . . . silently.
- Seeing someone's eyes "morph" right in front of
you . . . intentionally . . . so that you
will pay attention.
- Someone working you over with energy so powerful you can actually hear
it.
True Stories and Incidents Involving These Well-Known Spiritual Teachers:
Swami Satchidananda, Integral Yoga Institute
Yogi Bhajan, 3HO
Yogi Amrit Desai, Kripalu
Kanchi Math Swami from Southeastern India
Pajor Math Swami from Southwestern India
The 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, Head of Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism
The Venerable (Dr.) Thien Tich An, University of Oriental Studies
Dr. Leon Wright, Professor Emeritus of Religion, Howard University
Swami Muktananda, Siddha Yoga Foundation
Swami Vishnudevananda, Sivananda Yoga Society
. . . and others including: The Dalai Lama, Dr. Robert Chaney of Astara,
Kalu Rimpoche, Evangelist Ernest Angely, and Jetsun Ma.
And these are just the famous ones. There are other stories of astonishing
spiritual power used by people who wish to remain hidden and anonymous, or
simply maintain a low profile. Some of their deeds are recorded here.
This book is about power. Raw and tangible power working through flesh and
blood individuals. They are scattered throughout humanity and these powerful
forces of good actively work for our benefit every day.
Thomas Ashley-Farrand, the author, was introduced to a variety of individuals
with awesome spiritual power during the 1970s and '80s. Some of these people
were famous and headed large international spiritual organizations. Others were
completely anonymous and preferred it that way. Throughout contact after contact
with a hidden group operating within humanity, the author's entire
understanding of what the human potential is was turned upside down. He had to
completely relearn what personal power is, how it operates and how people can
obtain it.
Told as a series of twenty-five true vignettes, the author recalls a series
of fascinating encounters with people of tremendous, tangible spiritual power.
Each encounter is told in complete and often humorous detail. Putting himself in
the place of "everyman," Thomas Ashley-Farrand follows the telling of
each incident with what the central spiritual teaching of the experience was for
him.
Far-reaching implications and questions emerge and are explored. Who are
these people? What is the nature of this power? Is this power available to
anyone? Finally, he helps us to realize that we can become more than we ever
dreamed of, or realized was possible.
Because of his respect for the great good these people were doing and their
desires to operate without drawing certain kinds of attention to themselves,
Thomas kept quiet about what happened to him. Now, he telling about the
fantastic things which happened to him. As the tensions and pressures of daily
life escalate, people need to be exposed to what he knows about the forces of
good sweeping through the world. As he begins to draw near the end of the work,
Thomas puts forth some specific spiritual constructs for the reader:
- He reveals his understanding that power is feminine in nature, and tells
us how he arrived at that conclusion. This idea of the feminine as the
source of all manifested power is timely and compelling.
- Of equal importance, the author presents the concept of the
"upaguru." He refutes the idea of the guru as only single person
who wields great and often whimsical power "for the good of the
devotees." We are exposed, instead, to the idea that the guru is really
a principle that resides in everyone. This inner teacher may lead us to one
person who teaches us certain things, and then to another who has other
lessons for us. Sometimes this inner teacher, which in Sanskrit is called
the "upaguru," teaches us through the world of nature and through
life's common experiences. We are also exposed to the concept of a conscious
and self-aware force. . . the Holy Spirit, Fohat, it goes by many names. . .
which works powerfully with and through some people. Yes, there may be
"gurus," but there is something far older, universal and much more
powerful. The entire idea of spiritual power is explained in a concrete
straightforward and matter of fact manner that explains many
"mysteries."
- The operation of the Sadguru is presented and explored.
- Finally, the idea that all power is personal in
nature . . . personal to something like the sun, the moon,
or the earth itself is presented for consideration.
- The operation of personal power in the corporate world is also presented
and encounters with personal power here are included in the discussion.
Finally, Love, as the greatest power, is presented along with some ideas
about love for the reader’s consideration. Here are some examples.
- Love means service. Love quickly moves from the realm of the expressible
into
the realm of the inexpressible. We soon run out of ways to express it. Yet
avenues of expression through service to others abound.
- The search for Love is the end of all meaning. If we lust after power, yet
have no Love, our search will be dry and our attainments hollow.
- Love is our birthplace, our final refuge and our reason for being. If we
recognize that Compassion and Love are the ultimate destination of our
search, the Heart of The Universe itself responds.
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