Experiences

From Daniel Rounding, daniel_rounding@hotmail.com

...Thanks to your recent UK visit, (Bruhn & Cecil), my process has deepened to the point that I now realise what an obstruction my so called 'spiritual ego' is. Full of concepts of this and that teaching, notion, idea, others thoughts et-cetera.

Still clinging on to memories of former worthy understandings, and a plague of expectations - just so much baggage. Probably a few lingering dysfunction’s lurking around causing a hindrance too!

A quiet walk beside my local railway line the other day helped gel a few issues while attempting to intuit ‘outside the box’ a few paradox's. The Divine’s enlightenment paradox’s being something that Bruhn touched on a few times... And loh, I was spoken to in parables thus:

"The train is enlightenment, and Everyman is stood at the line side while these expresses hurtle past. This is an isolated spot in the countryside he's very familiar with. In fact, his personal neck of the woods that only he goes to.

Nearby is a signal that shines green as they approach. Everyman knows that getting onto one of these extremely frequent and very fast trains means that he's made it, and life the universe and everything will never be the same again. Different horizons, different panoramas, whole new vistas await those fortunate few... or at least so he's read and heard.

There's an extensive amount of luggage Everyman's intending to take with him all piled up alongside. (Ok, no prizes for guessing where this is going.)

So the problem is how does Everyman make the signal turn from green too red so that the passenger train stops right by him? Swot up on railway practice, performance and procedures at the local library? Read a few books on famous passengers carried on the enlightenment express? Befriend the local signalman? Get on at the nearby station?

Ah, but at the local wayside station you are obliged to purchase a ticket, (subscribe to a particular belief system...), and only infrequent slow stopping trains arrive there. The expresses simply whistle through the station on the up and down fast main lines. Subsequent journeys from there are long and tedious, involving many train change.

Back at the same spot - Everyman's part of the railway line out in the sticks - and now armed with lots of useful information he returns to his lonely train spotting vigil. Standing a few feet away in a gully between a gentle grassy embankment and the granite stones of the track ballast, he gets the full blast effect of the mighty expresses as they hurtle past. How he longs to get on board one...

Everyman discovers that with practice, (meditation), he can make the signal lights flicker briefly to red. On one occasion he just manages it long enough to get the attention of a passing express train driver who slows down as a precautionary measure.

As the train draws near at walking speed, and above the noise of the engines, the driver motions the lineside figure to climb aboard. Everyman indicates to all his luggage lying around expecting the train to stop, but it doesn't. Freed from Everyman’s influence the signal is now showing green and the driver is keen to proceed.

Eventually the end of the train comes along, which is now starting to accelerate, the guard with his door open frantically shouts to him to get on board.

Realising the impossibility of taking all his luggage Everyman grabs his most precious suitcase, abandons the rest, and rushing stumbles over the loose ballast. But two hands are needed to get aboard. Ignoring instructions from the guard, and despite a supreme effort he fails.

Over time he resolves to improve his technique and becomes quite adept at controlling the signal lights and slowing the express trains down. But each time he falls short, the signal resumes its green light and the train  speeds away. Failing every time to get on board with his one highly valued suitcase.

In desperation he switches tactics and attempts to repeat the procedure at night, believing the train staff won't see his luggage. The outcome is even worse, he looses his footing in the dark stumbling over the loose ballast, trips over his suitcase and is nearly run over and cut in two.

His missed train disappears into the night, which, by this time has started to rain adding to the discomfort he's now experiencing. Together with minor cuts and bruises, he's also in shock from narrowly avoiding death.

Everyman's despair is acute and he slumps into painful self-pity. Every thing he's tried has failed. Out of the depths of his despair and his injuries he begins to realise that maybe the suitcase he's sitting on, full of his most treasured possession’s, has been getting in the way and preventing him from climbing onto the train.

Now nearing complete helplessness for his predicament, he considers another attempt and its likely  futile outcome, giving a hopeless shrug with his shouldersat the  thought.

Already he hears the sound of another train approaching in the distance.  Everyman suddenly realises he's not alone, nearby on the opposite side of the  railway line two Network Rail contractors approach wearing their orange day-glo  vests.

It’s nearing dawn and soon approaching the end of the railway worker’s night shift. Both see Everyman and walk over to him. After ticking him off for foolishly attempting to board trains at night with a suitcase, (and from the ground too!), they sympathise with his dilemma and agree to help.

One of them produces a handheld signaling lamp and, switching on a powerful red light, walks a little way down the track towards the approaching train.

But the next train is running late, and the driver, impatient to get to his destination, argues with the lamp carrying platelayer, not intending to stop even for a minute. The other railway worker stood next to Everyman quickly assesses what's up and tells him the only thing now that will stop the train is if he puts his suitcase between the tracks, opens it and sets fire to the contents.

From the depths of his helplessness he realises he’s run out of options. Everyman makes a snap decision and helped by the railway worker quickly torches the suitcase. The train pulls up a few feet from the impromptu bonfire. Surprisingly, the driver is all smiles, now having a valid reason to log a delay. Overcome with surprise Everyman is invited onto the footplate. He can hardly believe his luck - and a schoolboy wish come true as well!

Obligingly the two railway workers pull the by now charred and smoking suitcase remnants out of the permanent way, and the train with a cheeky blast from it's airhorn’s speeds towards the dawn.

The rest is his-story..."

The moral of this over long tale? Don't waste time collecting train numbers and be wary of mixing your meta-4's...

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