The author's true, exciting and serendipitous journey through the wilds of Papua New Guinea, the Himalayas, around the planet and into the heart of life guaranteed to change the way you see the world.
We had an amazing storm yesterday which turned to hail for a time. Asha, our 18 year old, got excited and gathered some of the hailstones and saved them in the freezer. She and I went out during a break in the weather to see the swollen streams as they entered the ocean, pushing the surging sea up in a brown maelstrom. Storms are exciting, but I must say my young lettuce plants weren’t too impressed. Some of their leaves were bruised and needed to be removed. Here are a couple of photos Asha took. The photo of the storm was taken through an open door. Do you see the orbs? That’s not reflection in a window. The other photo gives you an indication of just how big the hailstones were.
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
My recent special guest on Voices from the Northwas Jackie Connell. Jackie edits the monthly newsletter for International Dolphin Watch (IDW) and, together with her husband, Terry Connell, is the co-founder of Operation Sunshine, a UK-based charity helping special needs families throughout the UK and internationally.
Jackie Connell has always been concerned about our environment and the need to bring a more meaningful and spiritual aspect into people’s lives. From the moment she heard dolphin expert Dr. Horace Dobbs being interviewed by Johnny Walker on BBC Radio 2 in 2000 she knew she was going to meet and work with this extraordinary man. But, as you listen to the hour I spend in the studio with Jackie, you’ll realise this sort of intuitive premonition is nothing new to her. The story she shares of the magic that brought Terry and her toNew Zealandleaves little doubt that Jackie has been cruising in the arms of the angels all her life. From childhood she had a recurring dream of a place she didn’t recognize. When a colleague from the open university where she worked sent Jackie a postcard fromMatauriBaywhile on vacation inNew Zealand, a postcard of a scene identical to her lifelong repetitive dream, Jackie and Terry began an odyssey that eventually landed them on the sunny shores ofNew Zealandas swallows for six months of the year.
Two pieces of music are shared during the hour. First there is a haunting track from Enigma called The Dream of the Dolphin. You can hear that song below.
Later we play A Song of Iruka, a melody from a Japanese woman who claims the song was written by dolphins and channelled through her. Inspired by the work and vision of Horace Dobbs, Konoe Ishizaki co-founded the Ki and Dolphin Healing Centre inKyoto. At 10.00pm on 26 November 1993, two weeks before the Dolphin Healing Centre opened, Konoe had a vision in which the dolphins gave her the following message:
Good evening! The fact is that you were born here to come and play a ‘life’ game. Be generous enough to play with anybody whom you encounter and also with those who say something nasty. You are all playfellows. There are humorous people and there are people who are not so humorous. Imagine that all of you are enjoying the game together. Some play the role of a disliked person, some play the role of clown. Everybody has a role to play.
This philosophical perspective is remarkably similar to that pieced together by regression hypnotist and therapist Dr. Michael Newton in his inspiring book Journey of Souls. As for the practical and loving guidance of angels in the synchronistic unfolding of our lives you need look no further than Paul Elder’s book, Eyes of an Angel.
At the end of our time together Jackie Connell gifted me one of Horace Dobbs’ beautiful children’s books about Dilo, a make-believe dolphin. For more on the enigmatic dolphin pioneer Dr. Horace Dobbs, whose talks, books and films have introduced millions to the magical healing energy of dolphins, and for a complete list of his more than 20 books visit www.horacedobbs.com and/or watch the following video:
In preparation for my interview with Jackie, I watched the powerful Oscar award winning documentary, The Cove, featuring former Flipper trainer turned activist Ric O’Barry. Like Ric O’Barry, Jackie and the team of Operation Sunshine do not support dolphins being kept in captivity and therefore will not participate in programmes where dolphins are kept in such a way.
For the International Dolphin Watch free newsletter visit the IDW web site where the latest news can be downloaded free through the home page at: http://www.idw.org/.
And, last but not least, my complete interview with Jackie Connell can be heard below:
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
Are the best years of your life going into a job you don’t like? Are all those hours of work breeding resentment or undermining your health? We should each be doing what we love.
In a world in which some work too many hours and others work none, couldn’t we learn to share the work that is available? When New Zealand corporatised her national railways in 1982, 12,000 jobs were immediately lost. Thus began a legacy of selling off national assets, increasing automation and, with the full scale onset of the global economy, the exportation of jobs toAsia where labour is cheaper. IconicNew Zealand brands like Fisher and Paykel and MacPac are no longer made inNew Zealand. Today, in a sense, they are Kiwi in name only.
We are only now beginning to witness the dire social implications of increased unemployment due to the policies of privatization and exportation of work. No one out of work remains happy for long. Increasing incidence of depression, alcohol and drug abuse, crime and the abuse of women and children are just a few of the most visible symptoms of the economic choices we’re made in the last four decades.
One way to reduce unemployment is for those who work too many hours to share their jobs. This was commonplace in schools when we were living in the Netherlands between 2002 and 2004. Teaching is an increasingly stressful occupation, not the least due to the collapse of many families and the behavioural issues in children as a result thereof. When a teacher works three days a week instead of five, they have the down time necessary to approach their highly important jobs with more enthusiasm and poise.
Initially it is a challenging step to reduce one’s hours due to the resulting reduction in pay. For many working 50 and 60 hour weeks it is normal to buy lunches and other meals and to rush through those meals. When jobs are shared and work weeks are reduced to, say, 30 hours there is the opportunity to pack your own lunch and to take the time to enjoy it. When you earn less you automatically reduce waste and recycle more. You have to. So as you gain off-work time you automatically treat the world more respectfully. When hurrying and scurrying and overworking, takeaways and throw-aways become the norm. It’s easy to waste when you have more than enough.
I work 28 hours a week at the library. The income from that job just pays our regular bills. Lucia’s yoga, meditation and healing work helps keep us afloat. I have the education, skills and experience required to obtain a full time management position with a significantly higher wage than I receive now. But I wouldn’t even consider looking for such a job. If I did, we’d need to buy another car, immediately increasing our carbon footprint and adding to the waste of our planet’s resources, resources which are diminishing by the day. I’d also have less time for all the other activities I love like spending quality time with my family, gardening, walking, dancing and writing. So what would be the point?
I love my work in the library, but I also love the time when I’m not there. Health and contentment come with balance. I’ll choose them over increased material wealth and stress any time. Will you?
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
Hoorn in the 19th Century:Painting by W.R. Dommersen
Back in the mid 1990s I was mired in a period of depression. I’d almost lost my marriage and ended up in a place I never expected to be—a below sea level part of the Netherlands. I didn’t initially speak the language and couldn’t find work to support my young family. Then, after making rapid headway with Dutch, I landed a job in a biodynamic family orchard in the country near our home. I’ve recorded a segment of Chapter 13 from my new book, Beyond the Search, which tells a little of the beautiful experience I had while working in that orchard. I hope you enjoy.
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean.
But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.
Mother Teresa
I am currently reading two inspiring books, each providing palpable proof that one man, armed only with pure intention and strength of will, can make a difference in the world.
No Impact Man: Saving the Planet One Family at a Time by Colin Beavan is the first such book. Henry David Thoreau retreated from his ‘civilized’ world in the mid 1800s to undertake a life of voluntary simplicity in a hand-hewn cabin on the banks ofWalden Pond. Colin Beavan completed a similar project in modern dayNew York City, only he dragged his partner and young child into the experiment with him. Beavan’s premise: our modern lifestyles are unsustainable and are rapidly depleting the earth’s resources and fouling the environment. He could see that even the best-meaning politicians aren’t taking the steps necessary to halt this potentially cataclysmic global degradation, so why not begin with the individual, with the family? His prose is witty and honest, his choices thought-provoking. He endeavoured to live a year with a minimal carbon footprint and he succeeded. Along the way he learned many things and he has been courageous to share them with us. He has made a difference.
Greg Morenson too has made a difference and David Oliver Relin shares the story of this humble humanitarian in his beautifully written biography: Three Cups of Tea. Mortenson was a mountaineer who nearly died in 1993 after an unsuccessful attempt to scale the planet’s most formidable peak—K2—in northernPakistan. By happenstance, he lost his way on his exhausting retreat from the mountain and stumbled into a remote Balti village in that Shangri La-like corner of the world. The experience of living with these impoverished simple-living Shia Muslim villagers and being nursed back to a semblance of strength and health by them, and his discovery that the village had no school led him to begin his life’s work of providing schools for young Islamic boys and girls in villages where no schools existed before.
Mortenson grew up inTanzaniawatching his father build a 600 bed hospital and his mother a school for the people of that sweltering land. Mortenson’s exceptional linguistic skills were forged in the oven ofAfrica. His Swahili was so fluent that, on the phone, people mistook him for an African. He has used these linguistic levers to masterPakistan’s national tongue, Urdu, together with the Balti and Pashto cadences of the mountain dwellers he serves. Prior to his shift to his humanitarian calling, Mortenson had been a nurse, cultivating compassion for those injured and in pain. These qualities have helped him gain the respect and support of the Pakistani people. And his efforts have perhaps created more goodwill betweenAmericaand the Islamic world than the efforts of all well-intentioned diplomats combined.
The Central Asia Institute (CAI), with Greg Mortenson at its head, can construct a school for less than twenty thousand dollars. That’s half of what it would cost the government of Pakistanto build the same school, and one-fifth of what the World Bank would spend on the same project. Visit the www.threecupsoftea.com web site to find out more. You can also help promote education for girls through a tax deductible contribution to the nonprofit organization, Central Asia Institute, at P.O. Box 7209, Bozeman, MT 59771, phone 406-585-7841 or visit www.ikat.org. It costs CAI $1.00 per month for one child’s education inPakistan orAfghanistan, a penny to buy a pencil, and a teacher’s salary averages $1.00 per day.
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
This one arrived in my inbox at the library. I have no idea who wrote it. I’ve only made minor editorial corrections. It makes me think of the other recent blog of the touching letter from Sendai. There is no doubt that these traumas have positive outcomes as well as significant discomfort associated with them.
You know you’re in Christchurch when …
The rest of the country offers you a place to stay
“Munted” and “buggered” are official technical terms
You go ‘pfffff’ when Wellington has a 4.5 earthquake that’s 40km deep
You see a nice park in another city and think it would make a good evacuation point
You sleep in one suburb, shower in another and collect water from yet another
When you drive on the right side of the road and no one thinks it’s wrong
You are happy two Policemen came for a visit
When your bike becomes your best friend
You think it’s fine for a soldier to be stationed at the end of your street
You see armoured vehicles driving down the road
It’s normal to greet people with “do you need a shower?”
Street with Toilets in Christchurch
A bucket of sh*t is no longer that old car you drive
Every house is a crack house
Instead of rushing to the clothes line to get clothes in when it rains, you put dirty washing on the line in the hope that it will rain enough to clean them
Going to Wellington to escape earthquakes makes sense
Your doctor recommends having a few stiff drinks before bed to help you sleep
You know how to start and refuel a generator
You have tied the pantry, liquor cabinet and all the cupboard doors closed and it’s not to keep kids out
You prefer to sit under the table instead of at it
You think electronics that have “shock proof” should say to which earthquake magnitude
You know and actually understand the terms and conditions of your House and Contents insurance policies
You can see irony in claims about houses made of “permanent materials”
Your en-suite has a vege garden, dog kennel and grass
Liqufication in the Suburbs
Your teenagers are only too happy to sleep in the same room as their parents
You stop using the term “built like a brick sh*t house”
Dressing up to “head into town” means putting on a hi-viz vest, hard hat and boots
Discussing toilet habits with total strangers is an everyday norm
Wee boys don’t get excited when they see (another) digger or a dozer – but all the adults in the street cheer wildly
Voluntarily staying in Timaru for five days seems like a good idea
You know what that extra gear lever on your 4X4 is for
Metservice includes a graph for dust
You have dust mask tan lines
You can use the term “liquefaction” in everyday casual conversation, even your 3-year old can
When a massive group of students appears in your street, you feel overwhelmed with gratitude instead calling the Police. What’s more, the students leave the street in better condition than when they arrived
The answer to where anything is … it’s on the floor
You smile at strangers and greet people like you’re one big family
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
I visited our eldest daughter in Dunedin last August and neglected to post some of the photos of an excursion we made to an isloated beach on the Otago Peninsula to view sea lions and penguins. I correct that oversight below.
Strange Mating Rituals of Sea Lions
Amira and John Bundled Up For the Cold Southerly Wind
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
I’m presently re-reading a book I originally loved back in 2002. Emissary of Light by James F. Twyman has a message I resonate with – that humanity is ready to step into a larger role, one in which we accept our next step on the evolutionary ladder and transcend the mind that creates conflict and war. Most of the true story takes place in the war-torn former Yugoslavian state in the summer of 1995. The following words are from a dialogue in the book between Jimmy Twyman and Duro, an associate of the Emissaries of Light. These are Duro’s words. I’ve added the bold type.
“All through history humanity has been in conflict. The conflict reveals itself in every relationship, including between large groups of people. When this feeling of conflict becomes great, nations go to war. The fighting kills thousands, or millions. . . . Conflict in the world is the result of conflict within us. We project that feeling into the world because we are not ready to accept that we are the cause, and therefore the solution, to that conflict. Thus wars have raged in the world since the beginning of time, because we were not ready to deal with the conflict where it really is, within us.
“For thousands of years there has been a secret society whose responsibility it was to give humanity the chance to mature. This society has always existed near a place in the world where the conflict is greatest, in a country or area experiencing the most hatred, greed, and war. This is because the power of their work is greatest when it dissolves conflict from the center, or from the place where it is thickest. These people therefore live silently, invisibly, without ever being noticed, in the center of despair, in the middle of conflict.. There work is not seen by the world. It is a spiritual work, its function being to extend the magnificence of Divine Light through the world. In this way they inspire peace, they give hope and instill the desire for forgiveness. Wars end, people and nations learn from their mistakes. Each time, humanity comes a little closer to accepting the truth of creation, that peace and conflict both reside within, and it is only there that it can be resolved, experienced, and lived. This community, called the Emissaries of Light, will continue to exist in areas of extreme conflict until this has happened. Then it will not be needed.
“And that day is coming soon . . . . It is when the world seems the farthest away from peace that it is closest. If you look at the world it is clear that we have more power, more weaponry, and more hate than ever before. But at the same time, there is more understanding, more hope, and more desire for peace than the world has ever known. These two seemingly opposite experiences indicate that humanity is growing close to the time appointed for it to move past the separate-mind, warring-thought system, to a world of peace, cooperation and harmony. This has been indicated by the global changes observed in recent years. It has also been prophesied by all the ancient cultures and religions. . . .”
Emissary of Light is an inspiring read. I recommend it for anyone wishing to aid in the healing of conflict—within and without. It’s a page turning story that invites you to revisit certain pages, to go a little deeper into the positive messages each time.
The following selection is from page 140 in the chapter titled ‘The Gift of Love.’ These words are from the emissary Jimmy Twyman calls Teacher, the one who sits in the middle of the other twelve emissaries and who gathers and concentrates the rays of energy coming from the others into one magnificent beam of brilliant white light.
“The final lesson is about the true meaning of love. I have said before that fear is the self-imposed block to the awareness of love’s presence. When fear is released, love is revealed. And yet the true experience of love is beyond anything you can now imagine. It is beyond the thought or the idea of love. It lies past all the images and symbols you have made to obscure love’s call. And yet it is closer than you know, closer than your breath or even the silent whisper of love’s longing for itself. And what is the secret that love has whispered into your half-closed ear, the distant echo that has haunted you so? Only this: You are the very essence of Love. This very moment, just as you are, in spite of all the preconceived ideas you have of yourself, love claims and accepts you.
“You have forgotten who you are because in your fear of losing love you have withheld that which is your foundation. Love by its very nature is a gift that is freely given. And yet this gift is known only as it is given again. Only when love is breathed from one heart to another is it fully experienced. When love is withheld it is forgotten, and because you and love were born together, you are forgotten with her. She lies hidden within you beside the still forgotten memory of your truest Self. Though asleep and dreaming, she awaits the dawn when her name is called and she is again brought back to life. And the awakening of love is your awakening as well, so intimately linked, all from giving freely that which you are: the full awareness of love’s presence. But this awakening requires that you willingly give up all the ways you have tried to limit and contain her. You cannot guide love’s path, but if you submit to love’s higher vision she will guide you, showing you a new vision of yourself.
“True, or unconditional, love is unaware of the strange demands you impose to reserve love for specific relationships. Love is the same for all. Your attempts to reserve love for specific relationships and then withhold it from others is the very thing that has blocked your vision of love’s presence. Give as love gives—just as the sun gives its light to all who ask, or the sparrow that sings not for the one who listens, but for the song itself. When you give love, love is your reward. When you judge some people as worthy of your giving and other people as undeserving, then it is you who is undeserving; not because you have been judged by love, but because you have forgotten love’s law.
“You, in your essence, are the fountain of unconditional love. The water you give refreshes the whole universe, for you are not separate from one part of the universe but are intimately linked to all. Let your gift be free, then. Let it flow from you and wash over all those you see, all those who cross your path. Do not think that you cannot still have relationships that are more involved than others. Involvement has nothing to do with love. There will always be those in your life with whom you share the deeper pulse of your thoughts and those whom you do not. But the love you give is the same for each of them. . .”
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
I’ve been encouraged by several sets of people the last while to create audio books for In Search of Simplicity and for the recently released (last week) sequel, Beyond the Search. I will be regularly recording more from these books so keep checking in. Here’s the introduction to Beyond the Search. I trust you enjoy:
I encourage you to visit my new website dedicated to my books called, amazingly, John Haines Books.
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.”
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.”
I’ve been encouraged by several sets of people the last while to create audio books for In Search of Simplicity and for the recently released (last week) sequel, Beyond the Search. I will be regularly recording more from these books so keep checking in. Here’s the introduction to In Search of Simplicity:
I’ve also just created a website exclusively for my books called, of all things, John Haines Books. Feel free to visit it at:
Radio host, inspirational speaker and health educator John Haines is the author of In Search of Simplicity: A True Story that Changes Lives and the recently released Beyond the Search, books to lift the spirit and touch the heart.
“In Search of Simplicity is a unique and awe-inspiring way to re-visit and even answer some of the gnawing questions we all intrinsically have about the meaning of life and our true, individual purpose on the planet. I love this book.” Barbara Cronin, Circles of Light. For the complete review visit: http://www.circlesoflight.com/blog/in-search-of-simplicity/
“In Search of Simplicity is one of those rare literary jewels with the ability to completely and simultaneously ingratiate itself into the mind, heart and soul of the reader.” Heather Slocumb, Apex Reviews
About the Site:
The author's true, exciting and serendipitous journey through the wilds of Papua New Guinea, the Himalayas, around the planet and into the heart of life guaranteed to change the way you see the world.
