LISTENING TO THE SILENCES
Envoi...
When in Chapter 6 I described the events of Christmas 1979, I wrote of
an intense and searching 'examination' and catechism within my mind conducted
by 'someone' whose right to cross-examine I did not question. I also wrote
that much of the exchange was too personal to discuss or describe, and
that even now, nearly twenty-five years later, I look at it 'sideways
with half an eye'.
Relevant to my very act of writing this book was the declaration made
to me at the time and within my mind, that I 'would stand up in public
and describe the reality of spiritual intrusion and access into the very
being of individuals.' At the time that that happened I was feeling extremely
vulnerable and denied fervently that I would even contemplate such an
action. Not only, I declared, would I expose myself to ridicule, but I
anticipated that I would be thought to be mentally unbalanced.
Well, nearly twenty-five years later, I think that you will agree with
me that I have, in fact, done it. I could not be more public in my declaration,
in my assertion that there is spiritual access to the minds and bodies
of individuals, some of whom are made mentally ill by the invasion. Having
done my part, all that remains is that you should do yours. If you work
in the field of mental health or are a carer, I cannot exhort you any
more than I have already. Likewise, if you are someone who is suffering
from the effects of the intrusions, I beg of you to assess whether what
I have recorded has any parallel in your experiences, and try to apply
the knowledge in your own struggle towards recovery. Knowing the cause
is half the answer and I hope that you will have found the means within
my book to discover the other half.
At the outset, in the evening of the day that the intrusion first entered
my body and mind, the pendulum whirled vigorously and, on settling, spelled
out - 'We've Won! We've Won!'. I wrote that, at the time, I didn't know
who had won, nor what had been won. With the completion of the
book, I feel that in my turn I can write with justification - 'I've
won! I've won' - although my victory will not be complete until
there is widespread and general acceptance of what I assert.
As I have written, I have tried to acknowledge the influence and the part
played by a very wide range of people as they have entered the narrative.
I have named some, but there are many more - far too many to record, for
at every stage I have learned something from virtually everyone
whom I have encountered. Unacknowledged by name so far are my parents
Louie and Tom, and my brother Bruce, three to whom I owe so much.
From contact with so many individuals I have been able to watch in action
the practical application of a wide range of beliefs and philosophies,
and been able to learn much in consequence. I have not been 'converted'
or drawn specifically to any sufficiently to do more than refine my own.
I have always tried to look beyond the verbiage, entrenched 'theology'
and rhetoric, and to try to find the simple and original core belief of
each. Out of them all came one declaration by the Buddha that crystallises
with its rationality much of my own philosophy, and equally it embodies
a philosophy that many might want to adopt, whatever their rôle
in life.
The Buddha wrote:
DO NOT BELIEVE...
Do not believe in what you have heard.
Do
not believe in the traditions because they have been handed down for generations.
Do not believe in anything because it is rumoured or spoken by many.
Do not believe merely because a written statement of some old sage is
produced.
Do not believe in conjectures.
Do
not believe in that as truth to which you have become attached by habit.
Do not believe merely the authority of your teachers and elders.
After observation and analysis, where it agrees with reason and is conducive to the goods and gains of one and all, then accept it, practice it and live up to it.
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