Practical Thoughts

Dear Reader, To me, it is a curious condition that we seem to accept that civilised life started less than 7,000 years ago. It is also a curious condition to my mind that we westerners mostly think that the pure teachings of Jesus had not been heard before. I am constantly learning something new about man's history, and the other day I obtained a history of Britain by its most acclaimed historian: G. M. Trevelyan. In some early pages of this well-written book are references to early people of Britain called 'Iberians'. Now this name (Iberian) hit me like a thunderbolt; Iberia to me has always been the Spanish and Portuguese peninsula, so what on earth would 'Iberians' be doing in Britain? I donned my research 'hat' once more. I learnt that these peoples (the Iberians) were the same that created Stonehenge and were the main body of people in these islands until the Celts arrived, much later. And it's only since the arrival of the Celts that B...

Dear Reader, In recent decades we have heard a good deal about the mantra "you are what you eat". And I would think that a majority of people in the west now take at least some note of that and actually apply the doctrine in everyday life. However, we all like to have a periodic 'day off' from what many see as being a boring path to a healthy lifestyle. The tragedy is that western eating and sedentary habits have been replicated in eastern countries too over the last few decades and yet it was they that had a better wisdom towards diet! They also are now having to think again. And in this video of a delightful dialogue between an eminent cardiac surgeon and Sadhguru my feeling is that the argument for a healthy lifestyle (exercise as well as diet) comes over well. And one particular matter took my interest in that Sadhguru referred to the dangers of looking forward to a retired life, arguing that without the challenge of something like a working life, people ...

Dear Reader, I am increasingly aware that all over the world there has been, sadly, a falling-away of family bonding and unsought-for generosity. Even in the East where their extended families and care towards them was famous, there has been a greater tendency for elders to be placed in care homes in recent decades. I have become more aware of this as my wife comes from the East and her generation still retain their respect for older members of their extended family. But there is the tendency now for the modern generation to be not so concerned and live more for themselves. I do not blame the modern generation for everything: far from it. It would appear to me that the seeds for this lack of concern were planted earlier when people started to be more widely educated in the western system, which tends to play more towards looking out for oneself and sticking to straight lines of thinking. That education tended to make many educationally highly-qualified people look down on t...

Dear Reader, The need for commonsense leadership has been apparent for some time. How long has it taken for world leaders to agree that climate change is a reality and something to be taken very seriously indeed. There have also been ecological warnings raised by 'think tanks' since the 1970s - apart from more isolated warnings before that - and yet the world's economy goes on thinking that 'more is best'. The main problem - I suggest - is that our educational system is geared towards the 'more' syndrome, and also to the use of the brain as our sole source of direction. Our education is greatly in need of being re-framed to attune more to commonsense teaching. Even wisdom teaching. How refreshing it is, therefore, to find that some quite significant western institutions have called 'time' to examine how they should better go about things. It's taken time, but at last there's now some effort towards thinking differently. In the Youtu...

The brain is not (nor should not be) the source of our thoughts. Dear Reader, Without further ado, please read this quotation from  the Bahai Teachings site : If you’re reading this, you obviously have a beating heart. In fact, why don’t you take a moment, right now, to sit back and just feel your heartbeat? Touch a finger to your wrist or your neck, and there, right beneath your skin, try to imagine the marvel of that faithful muscle. It beats constantly, without stopping, every minute of every day for your entire life. Try to truly feel your pulse and consider your heart’s job. Approximately the size of your fist—a little muscle that weighs maybe 12 ounces—it powers your entire physical existence, loyally pumping blood starting about three weeks after you begin life in your mother’s womb until your last moment on Earth. The average human heart beats a hundred thousand times a day. If you live a normal lifespan, your heart will faithfully beat nearly three billion ...

Dear Reader, We have this extraordinary perspective of talking in terms of one religion versus another without making an honest effort at trying to seek out what is the commonality between different ... what I shall call 'ways'. I prefer this line of thinking... You speak of obstacle... and I speak of strength... You speak of losing this, gaining that... and I speak of peace... You speak of tears and pain... and I speak of endurance and wisdom... You speak of change and time... and I speak of stillness and equal mindedness... You speak of how and when... and I speak of here and now...  You speak of becoming and wanting... and I speak of being and contentment... You speak of religion and worship... and I speak of truth and simplicity... You speak of success and failure... and I speak of accepting and standing... You speak of wishes and dreams... And I speak of reality and awareness... You speak of divinity and seeking God... And I spe...

Dear Reader, How often have we squirmed at the behaviour of western leaders and then in the next breath said "Oh well, it's what men do", particularly in their general macho approach of going to war and in their conduct towards women. I for one believe that the sign of manhood is when he recognises his animal traits and does something to change his ways, and instead seeks the way of wisdom. But many of us are too weak to try it ourselves. At a young age we instead might look for an example from pop stars or film stars or star footballers. But of course that way is soon found to be short-term thinking and doesn't offer self-respect; when we come to have children ourselves we often question what we were doing in our younger years.  We shouldn't be looking to worldly idols for our example of how life should be trod. Throughout history there have been many of much finer stature by whom the standard of living should be sought. But we now have in the world the...

Dear Reader, What mess are we getting ourselves into? Is Mr. Putin really the arch villain that western leaders are trying to portray? Was the Skyrtal affair deliberately stage-managed to create an atmosphere of anti-Russian sentiment, and in preparation for the strike on Syria? We don't really know (do we?) but I do know that it would be so unlikely that Mr. Putin would order the Skyrtal attack at that time in the Russian leader's programme, with his election and also the football World Cup coming up. And if the Russians had attacked and intended to kill the Skyrtals, I'm sure they would have done it, not done a half-job.   After the fiasco in the going to war against Iraq and all the assurances given then that WMD was stock-piled (when the inspectors thought it unlikely and wanted to go and check) it seems to act as a precedent in my mind. "Here we go again!", I say to myself. That Asad is not a nice guy I have not much doubt, but the intrigue against R...

Dear Reader, India, a nuclear power, is the world's largest and democracy and developing at an extraordinary rate. Yet the country's Prime Minister since 2014, Narendra Modi, works 18 hours per day and lives as simply as his station will allow. His family, meanwhile, are even greater examples of simple living. In a country where politicians and senior bureaucrats are reputed to pass large benefits to their family members in terms of jobs, contracts and wealth, here is the Prime Minister whose brothers and cousins live a life of struggle, barely making ends meet. Here's what the brothers and cousins of Narendra Modi do for a living: Please note: Less than 100 rupees make one British pound. 1. Amrutbhai Modi : Elder brother of Narendra Modi, he worked as a fitter in a private company. After retirement, he draws a pension of Rs 10,000 per month. Though his family has a small car, he still travels on a scooter. No one from his family, including his sons, have ever pers...

Dear Reader, The once-famed BBC dropped another brick last night in trying to pin Jeremy Corbyn to the wall. Simply because Corbyn asked some perfectly legitimate questions in the Commons - about "what evidence is there?" (questions still not answered) - he's being touted as being out of touch. Please read this. I would throw the question back at May and Johnson: "Please give real proof as to why you think Putin is to blame" rather than we being treated as though those that don't follow the Tory line are somehow traitors to the UK. The more that the government pursues this line the more I think they're trying to deflect their poor record on Brexit and in dealing with poverty and also the NHS. And something else? This government is incompetent, there's no other word for it. The real sadness is that though I can see the positive aspects of Corbyn, I somehow don't trust him as a future prime minister. But - there again - who else is there?...