Monstaville I. Chapter 35

35

“He who heeds not the evil report of others vanquishes all.”

- The Mahabarata.

God not recognising negativity includes the Higher Self not recognising the negative in oneself or others; that is, not paying any attention to them or taking any notice of them. That means ‘always addressing the Higher Self in others,’ as Aïvanhov suggests. Not engaging with them on a negative level; not responding to their negative comments; rising above them. Not looking down at the rats in the sewer but seeing the highest good. Even on a cloudy day, the Sun is there; it is all reality, the source of all light. Seek out the light and speak only to that. It is all that exists and all that is eternal. All else is just passing clouds that try to blind you to reality.

“What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love.” - Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov.

November 2002.

When something bad happens perhaps the best thing to do is relax and forget it totally - do something fun, or meditate, watch a comedy show, socialise. This will prevents you from falling into a state of despair and allow you to get over the initial shock, or negative reaction. Then, you can look at the problem objectively later when you feel more calm and in control emotionally. You can work on a practical level and deal with it as effectively as you can. You can only do your best in life.

December 2002.

There is a monster living upstairs and we must assert our will like Monkey to get him out!! Focus your will and mind to force him out!

‘Use the difficulty to your advantage - there’s always something you can get out of it’ (although also avoid difficulty at all costs! That’s the other side of it). Michael Caine said this.

“You may win, but it’s gonna cost you dear. It’s going to cost you a lot.” - Michael Caine.

“Who dares, wins.”

“Don’t be scared. Be prepared.” (The Fortune Cookie Book. A Little Food for Thought. Running Press Book Publishers, Pennsylvania, U.S.: 2001).

 

Beyond the Known. The Ultimate Goal in Martial Arts by Tri Thong Dang (Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, 1993).

p.78. ‘There is no need to struggle to be free. The absence of struggle is in itself freedom.’

p.79. He came to realise that the moment one’s mind entered a state of absolute freedom from external or internal pressure, once one no longer clung to the conventional, to power games, once one no longer hungered for anything whatsoever, only then could one experience mindful synchronicity with the ordinary activities of daily life. Tai Anh had found a crack in his wall of pain.

                Very slowly Tai Anh began to experience the exquisite internal stillness which enables the experience of being thoroughly aware of one’s embodiment from moment to moment, of being able to sense precisely the body’s movements, feelings, and thoughts which give form and meaning to each and every living moment.

p.80-81. [The students] had been reared in a society oriented to objective understanding, to the rational rather than the emotional or spiritual. Everything for them had to be logical and quickly comprehensible or it could not become part of their reality.

p.88. One of the fundamental principles of martial art is gaining without gladness and losing without sadness.

4 December 2002. Whatever happens, happens. [RE: my financial troubles].

Angel Card: Simplicity. The simplest way of dealing with the situation is to avoid Pigsy. Keep it as simple as possible while you work on will/energy level that should pay off at some point. It is an investment. Don’t complicate the situation further by adding to the conflict. Work on a different plane, an inner plane, a formless plane - ‘penetrating that which allows no entry’ and overcoming the hardest thing].

Angel Cards: Expectancy and Tenderness - after someone rang my doorbell and repeatedly knocked on the letterbox. I ignored it, even though I was sure Pigsy had already left to visit his mother for the week. Like, I’m worried about confrontation over Christmas again! But, perhaps I should focus on peace and gentleness because nothing is going to happen. Also, I’m willing him out of here and I’m not sure it’s supported by Light or even feasible. I don’t feel flexible about it. My memory of that night is stronger than ever.

Playfulness: the otter uses a stick and pretends it’s a salmon. Thus, use the world as it is. Pretend it’s good. Pretend you’ve got what you need. Will - seeing value in second best: ‘this is just as good;’ being content with what’s available. Not perfection. Not too idealistic. But relax and play.

Sunshine: makes everything so much better!

Retrospective inserts.

As Richard Templar reminds us, “The Samurai only makes one cut but that but was an entire lifetime in the making.” (The Rules of Wealth, 2007). We must train ourselves and deepen our understanding and, consequently, our power of will and identity. Then, we stand a much better chance of being able to tackle problems such as confrontations if they arise.

What is courage? “In the beginning there is not much difference between the coward and the courageous person. The only difference is, the coward listens to his fears and follows them, and the courageous person puts them aside and goes ahead. The courageous person goes into the unknown in spite of all the fears.” - Osho.

“Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke.” - Benjamin Disraeli.

I needed to keep this journal both as therapy and a learning process because I was fighting wars on a mental level and it was in my favour that way really. I was not having to fend off gangs of bandits like the Man With No Name or something! The significance of this book rests in the fact that, although we live in a comparatively ‘civilised’ society, the law does not prevent or protect us from every instance of undisciplined behaviour, or savagery. The pros and cons of proliferating CCTV cameras notwithstanding, we would not want the law to encroach on every aspect of our lives. There must be a balance between control and freedom and it is not just individual responsibility that society needs to be able to rely on but also collective wisdom as well as social unity resulting from increased awareness in as many individuals as possible I mean the kind of awareness that is passed on though like-minded people and, potentially, through the media; well, through books like this at least. One might suggest that one’s home is a more feminine battlefield in which emotions are affected more than anything. The tension is more long-term, often with small skirmishes developing into bitter feuds. It is not something one can sort out immediately and, as I have found, short-term resolutions resurface unless selfish people learn something and change. Learning in this way is more subtle and involved. One needs to know, to be aware of, certain things. Perhaps it also prepares one for face-to-face confrontations in terms of how one needs to feel and think. I am suggesting that half of one’s success in such encounters, at least, comes from psychological development and understanding at home and in one’s neighbourhood. This is less visible but may go on for years.

 

Baldrick (Tony Robinson): I have a cunning plan to get us out of getting killed sir.

Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson): Ah yes, what is it?

Baldrick: Cooking.

Blackadder: I see. [Enters the dugout again]

Baldrick: You know staff HQ is always on the lookout for good cooks? Well, we go over there, we cook 'em something, and get out of the trenches that way.

Blackadder: Baldrick, it's a brilliant plan.

Baldrick: Is it?

Blackadder: Yes, it's superb.

Baldrick: [Delighted] Permission to write home immediately sir, this is the first brilliant plan a Baldrick's ever had! For centuries we've tried, and they've always turned out to be total pig-swill. My mother will be as pleased as Punch.

Blackadder: Hm-hm, if only she were as good-looking as Punch. There is however one slight flaw in the plan.

Baldrick: Oh?

Blackadder: You're the worst cook in the entire world.

Baldrick: Oh yeah, that's right.

Blackadder: There are amoeba on Saturn who can boil a better egg than you. Your Filet Mignon in sauce Bernaise look like dog-turds in glue.

Baldrick: That's because they are.

Blackadder: Your plum-duff tastes like it's a molehill decorated with rabbit-droppings.

Baldrick: I thought you wouldn't notice.

Blackadder: Your cream custard has the texture of cat's vomit.

Baldrick: Again it's...

Blackadder: If you were to serve one of your meals in staff HQ you'd be arrested for the greatest mass poisoning since Lucretia Borgia invited 500 of her close friends around for a wine-and-anthrax party. No, we'll have to think of a better plan than that.

Baldrick: Right, how about a nice meal, while you chew it over?

Blackadder: [Suspicious] What's on the menu?

Baldrick: Rat. [Shows him a big black rat] Saute or fricassee.

Blackadder: [Peers at the rat] Oh, the agony of choice. Saute involves...?

Baldrick: Well, you take the freshly shaved rat, and you marinade it in a puddle for a while.

Blackadder: Hmm, for how long?

Baldrick: Until it's drowned. Then you stretch it out under a hot light bulb, then you get within dashing distance of the latrine, and then you scoff it right down.

Blackadder: So that's sauteing, and fricasseeing?

Baldrick: Exactly the same, just a slightly bigger rat.

Blackadder: Well, call me Old Mr. Un-adventurous but I think I'll give it a miss this once.

[George enters, wearing a new hat decorated with barbed-wire].

Baldrick: Fair enough sir, more for the rest of us. [To George] Eh sir?

George (Hugh Laurie): Absolutely, Private. Tally-ho BARF BARF. [The telephone rings, Blackadder picks it up]

Blackadder: Hello, the Savoy Grill. Oh, it's you...yes...yes, I'll be over in 40 minutes.

Baldrick: Who was it then sir?

Blackadder: Strangely enough Baldrick, it was Pope Gregory IX, inviting me for drinks aboard his steam-yacht ‘The Saucy Sue,’ currently wintering in Montego Bay with the England Cricket team and the Balinese goddess of plenty.

Baldrick: Really?

Blackadder: No, not really. I'm ordered to HQ. No doubt that idiot General Melchett is about to offer me some attractive new opportunities to have my brains blown out for Britain.

- Blackadder Goes Forth (Series 4, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, BBC TV, 1989).