Please re-visit www.tonydemello.com
I have posted another two meditations from Call to Love, recorded by Tony.
Bill.

Here is a gift from my brother:
Step 1: Log in to www.tonydemello.com
Step 2: Go to Audio & Video and scroll down to Cassette Tape Audio and enjoy the recordings.
Browse the website and share with your friends!

Dear friends and followers of my brother Tony,

 I apologise for this somewhat lengthy post. There is something important I wish to share with you, an important discovery; so please bear with me. And after you have read this piece, I would be more than happy to hear your comments. And if there are none-that will be fine too.

A recent event brought home a truth I had been ignoring.  It was blatantly obvious but invisible to me because I was asleep. My ego had taken over the event.

The event I refer to is the removal of video coverage from Tony’s website www.tonydemello.com by an organisation representing Tony’s work. It appears they have the copyright to these videos and have, in their wisdom, blocked them. Tony’s website (which I manage) offers two books for sale. Proceeds after tax will be donated to charity in Tony’s name. Of course, the videos were an encouragement for people to engage with the website and subsequently purchase the book/s thus contributing to a cause dear to me. (Notice the “Me”?)

The videos I uploaded are freely available all over the internet and so, I did not imagine I had to seek permission to upload material from the very man (Tony) who gave us these videos in the first place. It appears I was misguided in my judgement. 

My initial reaction- I was outraged! I thought, “How dare these people remove video recordings from the man who recorded them? These are his videos, his production “Then after a couple of days of silent reflection, I realised that this reaction was coming from my ego. Sure, I will work toward keeping Tony’s words and wisdom going for as long as I live. But in so doing, if I adopt a pedantic approach to how the website performs, then I am fanning my ego and ignoring everything Tony stood for.

Tony never asked me to do this work. In fact nobody has ever requested me to do this. I undertook to do this work myself.  It would appear no one has been affected by the removal of these videos from Tony’s website, besides me; because I have not received any objections about their removal from anyone to date. But still, I was planning ways and means of getting them re-posted.  And I was determined at first, that I (again, here’s my ego) would have it no other way.

Then this morning I meditated on what has happened in the last few days and I remembered a story which I included in Tony’s biography, The Happy Wanderer. This story said it all!  It was as if a light got turned on in my head and a voice was saying to me, “Bill, so what if those videos have been banned on Tony’s website? They are available all over the internet aren’t they? So why are you, Bill, claiming credit for so diligently posting them on Tony’s website? So very true!!  That was all I needed, to come down to earth and be grateful for what I have. Coupled with this story, I would also like to include a quote from Jiddu Krishnamurti. A correspondent sent it to me without any specific intent: “This is my secret—I don't mind what happens”

After contemplating on the above quote and the story to follow, I am no longer outraged. I am at peace. All shall indeed be well….and I really don’t mind what happens!

Excerpt from The Final Word - Anthony deMello, The Happy Wanderer:

The story you are about to read was one of Tony’s favourites, (the last page of his book, Sadhana ,Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, India) along with a sentence which he took so much consolation from. I had read this story many years ago but only recently, have I come to realise the full impact of its meaning. I want to share it with you, my readers and hope it registers as well with you as it has with me: 

Footnote: Re: the underlined sentence above, I asked myself, “How could I have so easily forgotten what I professed only three years ago”?

There is a Chinese story of an old farmer who had an old horse for tilling his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when all the farmer’s neighbours sympathised with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, ‘Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?’ A week later the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, ‘Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?’ Then, when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this was very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, ‘Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?’ Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg they let him off. Now was that good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?

Everything that seems on the surface to be an evil may be a good in disguise. And everything that seems good on the surface may really be an evil. So we are wise when we leave it to God to decide what is good luck and what bad, and thank him that all things turn out for good with those who love him. Then we shall see something of that marvellous mystical vision of Juliana of Norwich who uttered what for me is the loveliest and most consoling sentence I have ever read: ‘And all thing shall be well; and all thing shall be well; and all manner of thing shall be well!’

Anthony deMello SJ. The Happy Wanderer.

September 4th 1931 – June 1st 1987.

This is what religion is all about….. A joke I received recently.

Out of curiosity, I decided to go to a local Mosque for the first time.

 I knelt down on a prayer mat and followed the lead of others and touched my head to my mat; the Imam came up to me, laid his hands on me and said, “By the will of Allah and the Prophet, Mohammed, you will walk today.”

I told the Imam, “I am not paralysed”. 

After the prayers were completed, I stepped outside to a beautiful sunny day and, lo and behold.....my bike had been stolen!!!!

You think this is funny?

Before you have a good laugh at the expense of Islam…. substitute Mosque with Church, Temple, Synagogue or any other place of worship- the ‘Imam’ with the respective authoritative figures in these places of worship- add the respective Gods - and you have the basics of conditioning.

It brings to mind a story from one of my brother’s books, Prayer of the Frog Volume One-

An elderly woman who was an enthusiastic gardener declared that she had no faith whatsoever in predictions that someday scientists would learn to control the weather. According to her all that was needed to control the weather was prayer.

Then one summer, while she was away on a foreign trip, a drought hit the land and wiped out her entire garden. She was so upset when she got back that she changed her religion.

She should have changed her silly beliefs.

I thought this meditation on the eve of Christmas was appropriate:

The Advent

The events of history were controlled for my coming to this world
no less than for the coming of the Saviour.

The time had to be ripe, the place just right, the circumstances ready, before I could be born.

God chose the parents of his Son and endowed them with the personality
they needed for the child that would be born.

I speak to God about the man and woman that he chose to be my parents
until I see that they had to be the kind of human beings they were
if I was to become what God meant me to be.

The Christ child comes, like every other child, to give the world a message.
What message have I come to give?
I seek guidance from the Lord to express it in a word or image.

Christ comes into this world to walk a certain path, fulfil a certain destiny.
He consciously fulfilled what had been "written" for him.
As I look back I see in wonder what was "written" and has thus far been fulfilled in my on life,
and for each part of that script, however small, I say, "Thanks" to make it holy with my gratitude.

I look with expectation and surrender at all that is to come and, like the Christ,
I say, "Yes. Let it be done."

Finally I recall the song the angels sang when Christ was born.
They sang of the peace and joy that give God glory.
Have I ever heard the song the angels sang when I was born?

I see with joy what has been done through me to make the world a better place,
and I join those angels in the song they sang to celebrate my birth.

Anthony deMello-Wellsprings. Gujarat Sahitya Prakash. booksgsp@gmail.com

The recent siege in Sydney, Australia prompts me to share my two cents worth. I contemplated keeping my mouth shut…However, when I thought about it, I felt that if others shared the same sentiments me and passed them on maybe- just maybe we could all change attitudes.

I notice that someone came up with the brilliant idea of- “I’ll ride with you tag”. Great! This indicates that we support one another and don’t dump everyone into the ‘rotten apple’ basket along with the other rotten apples.

Now, here are my thoughts- If we think like Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, or Agnostics we are bound to offend. 

I am NONE of the above. In fact there is no religion I wish to follow or subscribe to. I AM A HUMAN BEING. Everything else- religion, caste, nationality, status, wealth, whatever- doesn't matter one iota!

I realise not everyone can subscribe to this and yet, I accept you just as you are...without reservations. Will you now accept me with no strings attached?

Considering that I do not belong to or follow any of the above mentioned categories... would you ride with me?

And if you don’t- I’ll still ride with you if you want me to.

If you agree, share with others!

Peace……… 

Another Swansong review. Only available at www.tonydemello.com

Swansong. Anthony deMello's Last Seminar.

I can see that you have done an excellent job, Bill, of transcribing the participants' notes from Tony's last retreat in India. I thank you for doing so. To me Swansong is a distillation of Tony's most poignant and powerful teachings. The book is jam-packed with Tony's wonderful wisdom, warmth and humour.
To me Swansong demonstrates how Tony was the best at succinctly arriving at the essence of the world's great spiritual teachings, especially those of Jesus and Buddha.
You convey in Swansong how Tony clearly practised what he preached, speaking with courage and conviction. I especially appreciate how you captured at the end of the retreat Tony putting forth the concepts of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness (suffering), and not-self, the three characteristics of all existence, how understanding these leads to insight and seeing clearly, in Tony's words: “In the one who sees – there is only love. And in that love there is great beauty. And you will find God.”
For the lucky reader Swansong brings forth the culmination of Tony's journey into and through the world's great spiritual truths. It contains the heart of Tony's wise and compassionate teachings, such a feast for those who know Tony's work, as well as for the newcomer to Tony wanting to know what this modern day mystic was all about.
A final note: the book title is perfect for Tony. It harkens back to his early story meditation books, Song of the Bird and Taking Flight, as well as to the wonderful compilation on Tony by Aurel Brys and Joseph Pulickal, We Heard the Bird Sing. I am sure Tony glides above smiling down at you and your wonderful accomplishment.
Thank you so much, Bill, for your painstaking effort, your labour of love, in bringing forth Tony's last retreat in India for the world to see.
Sincerely,
Richard Hennessey.
Hawaii.