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.

This post from Silent Entry says it all.

http://silententry.wordpress.com/2014/01/11/if-you-like-eckhart-tolle-part-ii-more-about-the-happy-wanderer-anthony-demello/#respond

Swansong- Another review.

I was more than delighted to receive Swansong. Quite evidently, Bill transcribed the seminar on which the book is based with the love and attention that only a brother can lavish.

Fr Tony’s last seminar may have been his swan song but what he says is a mighty clarion call to us all to open our eyes and wake up. As a true master, Fr Anthony De Mello shows us “where to look” but never tells us “what to see”.

An oriental sage once said : “If a blind man walks a thousand miles to ask of another man where light is, he will tell him: ‘If you had eyes, light was there also where you came from. Without eyes, light will not be, no matter where you go’. Light is wherever eyes are - else there is nothing but darkness”.

But it is inherent in the human conditon, in this matrix we live in, that most of us are blind. We need a master to point us in the right direction. We then choose whether to follow the path to peace that passes all understanding or continue to exist within the confines of our conditioning.

As a human (mechanical) being I’d say that Anthony De Mello was taken away from us far too soon but deep in my heart I know that he sang all of his song and he sang it beautifully. Could he have given us further insights, untrammelled by rigid, doctrinal, lifeless formalisms had he lived longer? Perhaps. But what does it matter, his joyful voice still rings clear. Swansong exudes his humour and his love for humanity – the beauty of his being is still with us.

Barry Long said, “The living master never returns. He teaches the truth, he is in his own body, his own time. When that is finished, all that he had to say and do is said and done. If it weren't, he would not die. The body is the precise time allotted. There can be no return of J. Krishnamurti, Meher Baba, Ramana Maharshi or any living master of his time. The master never needs more time.”

Fr Tony’s teachings live on in his stories, books and the few, alas, videos we have of him dancing his dance. He was a floodlight of wisdom and divine inspiration for this world. He touched the hardest hearts, the confused, the dogmatic, the seeker. He continues to do so.

So I can only offer a big THANK YOU to his dear brother Bill (and his generous correspondents) for gifting us, in Swansong , with the authentic words of a rare mystic.

Franco.

Swansong, Anthony deMello’s Last Seminar has been available through Tony's website www.tonydemello.com for some months. I have yet to receive a negative review of this seminar.

This review is no exception; but it is in many ways special. Because the man who wrote  it was a novice in the Jesuit seminary when Tony was Rector of the house (see Anthony deMello SJ, The Happy Wanderer)

He gives me great credit for transcribing this last seminar but I humbly claim none. Unless pre-arranged and agreed to by Tony, his seminars were never taped or filmed. Therefore his last seminar, delivered in May 1987, in Pune, India, would be but a blissful memory for those who attended it, never to be accessed by the wider community. I attribute all credit to the sister (who still wishes to remain anonymous) and Fr. Joaquim Tellis, who shared their notes on this seminar which they attended, with me.

The review:

Bill,

Towards the end of last month I completed 3/4 century, aided by not regretting the past and not being bothered about the future. 

 

And you know what?!  On my birthday, I gave out presents: A copy each, in fancy wrapping, of SWANSONG. with a sticker, signed by me, on the first page, saying: " This is to share with you,  thoughts expressed by my guru, that keep me enlightened, and to admit I am able to keep sane because of the questionable company I keep. Like in the case of Jesus—see Mk 2:15f and also Lk 7:33."

You certainly did a great job transcribing the seminar and I will not be the only one to say that.  Tony followers all over will be highly indebted, for they will have Tony's final thoughts and feelings about what really matters in life.  You must have taken great pains over the transcriptions and you certainly edited them expertly for when I read SWANSONG I felt as if I was hearing Tony himself, just as I remember him.  The flow of words, the aptness of the illustrations and jokes, the depth of mystical understanding, the forthrightness of speech, and the simplicity and clarity of everything---all that is associated with Tony---came out strongly through what you gifted all of us.  You have our undying gratitude.

A million, trillion thanks for SWANSONG!

 

 

Albert SJ

I asked Tony whether it was absolutely necessary that I enter a church to communicate with God. I asked him why it was necessary to spend so much money on structures when there were millions around the world who had no food or shelter.

His answer:

Once upon a time there was a forest where the birds sang by day and the insects by night. Trees flourished, flowers bloomed and all manner of creatures roamed about in freedom.

And all who entered there were led to Solitude which is the home of God who dwells in Nature’s silence and Nature’s beauty.

But then the Age of Unconsciousness arrived when it became possible for people to construct buildings a thousand feet high and to destroy rivers and forests and mountains in a month. So houses of worship were built from the wood of the forest trees and from the stone under the forest soil. Pinnacle, spire and minaret pointed towards the sky; the air was filled with the sound of bells, with prayer and chant and exhortation.

And God was suddenly without a home.

God hides things by putting them before our eyes!

Anthony deMello-Prayer of the Frog Volume I.

The untethered mind.

The transformation of the world is brought about by the transformation of oneself,

because the self is the product and a part of the total process of human existence. To

transform oneself, self-knowledge is essential; without knowing what you are, there is no

basis for right thought, and without knowing yourself there cannot be transformation.

One must know oneself as one is, not as one wishes to be, which is merely an ideal and

therefore fictitious, unreal; it is only that which is that can be transformed, not that which

you wish to be. To know oneself as one is,  requires an extraordinary alertness of mind,

because what is,  is constantly undergoing transformation, change; and to follow it swiftly

the mind must not be tethered to any particular dogma or belief, to any particular pattern

of action. If you would follow anything, it is no good being tethered. To know yourself,

there must be the awareness, the alertness of mind in which there is freedom from all

beliefs, from all idealization, because beliefs and ideals only give you a colour, perverting

true perception. If you want to know what you are, you cannot imagine or have belief in

something which you are not. If I am greedy, envious, violent, merely having an ideal of

nonviolence, of non-greed, is of little value....The understanding of what you are,

whatever it be—ugly or beautiful, wicked or mischievous—the understanding of what

you are, without distortion, is the beginning of virtue. Virtue is essential, for it gives

freedom.
Jiddu Krishnamurti-The Book of Life.

A friend sent me this very interesting interview. I like this guy's style. There are a couple of corrections I would make to Tony's background as depicted by him but they are negligible and unimportant in the context of the interview. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did:

Michael McCullough’s Interview Series: An interview with Anthony de Mello on the 24th anniversary of his death

The following is a fictional interview between the author and Anthony de Mello, inspired by A Course in Miracles, and is intended for informational or communicative purposes only. All references to Anthony de Mello, other than direct quotations, are purely fictional and the creation of the author. 

Anthony de Mello was a Jesuit priest from India who gained international acclaim in the 1980’s for his teachings on spirituality. His lectures and writings continue to be an inspiration to many people around the globe.

Q: Is there anything you would like to say to the world?
A: Yes, quite a bit in fact! It delights me to see people all over the world studying my teachings and also to see the Sadhana Institute still operating in India. My life on earth was dedicated to spiritual awakening and, really, it was the face-to-face contact that I enjoyed the most. I liked to speak to people; to see them question and ponder—that’s the way human beings learn best. You have to get your hands dirty while building your life on earth. You see, most people are trained not to think about why they have so many problems in their lives and why they cannot escape the same old thinking that put them in that position. I liked to challenge that paradigm because this is the true meaning of the Gospels. Jesus did not do all the work for mankind once and for all; he was a way-shower. He gave us a diagram of how to think about the world and our place in it—all we have to do is read what he said! This is why human beings have free will and self-determination. I found that most people need a wake-up call before they can appreciate any spiritual teaching. This usually comes in the form of sickness or despair, but it could simply be the experience of unhappiness or irritation about life in general. It’s rare to find a person who doesn’t get to this place at some point. Some people hide it well and you would never know, but it always comes out.
Q: Most of your writings and lectures were very practical—how to deal with the “here and now”—and didn’t focus much on the soul. Why was that?
A: Well, I would have to disagree with you on that point. The concept of the soul is usually understood in the Catholic Church as the innermost and spiritual principle in man which is created immediately by God. The physical body is then animated by the activities of the "mind," which is responsible for the conscious state, and the "soul" which is responsible for both the conscious and unconscious states. The belief in an animating principle in some sense distinct from the body is an almost inevitable inference from the observed facts of life.If the soul is the spiritual principle in man then the most important question you need to ask yourself is this:  what is spirit? People say that they are “spiritual,” but what does this really mean? Many people believe that spirit is some force in the universe that has no interaction with the physical world. In essence, it is some sense of “other-worldliness” that guides them but is not a part of them. This is not the understanding of spirit in the teachings of Jesus. As I said before, Jesus was a way-shower, much like the Buddha. He showed us a path to enlightenment based upon how we think about our purpose in this world and them by living it. Most people forget about the second part. Theories and platitudes are easy to come by, but action is much more difficult to find in the world. Jesus was a man of action. If spirit is anything then it is a force in your mind that can guide you in the right direction—spirit is your true identity. The impulse that keeps you stuck in this world with a sense of despair and fear is your “programming.” I used the word “programming” in the 1980’s to describe this phenomenon because it was the early days of computers and everyone was new to the idea of “programmed” language. The more precise scientific term would be the Freudian concept of the “ego,” but Freud’s idea of the ego was so filled with pejoratives that it was impractical to use, but this is the impulse I was referring to in my work. It’s a harbinger of fear and anger and resentment.It is true that I didn’t focus my teachings much on the concept of evil because the concept puts the emphasis on forces outside of your control. Your programming or ego, whichever you prefer, is outside of your control whenever you are not conscious of its influence on your thinking. However, once you become conscious that your programming is the source of your fear then you have power over it. Isn’t it amazing how it works! Life then becomes a conscious choice between fear and love. The true nature of the human mind is love. Love is what brings you the greatest experience of joy in the world. This is the experience of God in the physical world—it’s heaven. When you are fearful and don’t know how to get out of this feeling, then your only choice is to turn to the Holy Spirit who guides you towards God’s love. Now, the difficult part for most people is that your ego has its own definition of love that competes with God’s love. The ego’s interpretation of love is attachment and dependence. It’s a watered-down concept of love based upon worldly desires. It’s just another one of the ego’s tools. True love has no attachment and is applied universally to everyone and everything. And it must be applied this way. The only way to reach God in this world is through your interactions with your brothers and sisters. As long as you are fearful of another person, as long as you judge him or condemn her, you are separating yourself from God. “He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
Q: You mentioned both Jesus and Buddha as if they were equals. Did you believe in the exclusivity of Christian doctrine?
A: The teachings of Jesus are universal teachings; they don’t have special significance to any one church or group. There are many ways to reach the peace and love of God. The Christian teachings were the ones that I grew up with but others cultures have their own teachings. If you look only at the words spoken by Jesus in his lifetime, then you will have no problem finding support for this view. The Sermon on the Mount is the Christian manifesto and it’s all right there in that one sermon. For years I studied the bible and preached the Gospels as if they were exclusive teachings, but the words did not penetrate me. It’s as if I was sleeping my whole life and then suddenly I woke up! And I did. At its core, Christianity is a religion of love and peace. Jesus showed us the way to experience this love here and now by practicing forgiveness. Forgiveness is the understanding that everyone is suffering from the same programming that blinds them from accepting the peace and love of God which is the natural state of being.
Q: How is it you became aware of your own ignorance of the Christian message?
A: In 1961, I was ordained a Catholic priest in India. I had joined the seminary in Bombay in 1947 when I was 16 years old. This was a time of great turbulence in Indian society due to the end of the Second World War and the dissolution of the British Raj. My father was a railway worker and I was the older of two sons. It would have been a great help to my family if I would have taken a job with the railway, after I completing my studies, and earned an income for the family. This was not my calling. I had a spiritual yearning that led me to the seminary and I was very headstrong about it—a trait that did not always endear me to my elders throughout my life, but this was my constitution. I studied in Bombay then went to Spain and then came back to Poona, India. Thereafter, I became a parish priest in Bombay and taught the Gospels as I understood them. Then, one day I was having lunch with a friend of mine who was a Sufi scholar. Sufism is still practiced in India, as it is in the Middle East. My Sufi friend asked me why the Catholic Church seemed so controlling of the minds of its followers and made such great claims of exclusivity. I had to think about it for a minute and I could not come up with a legitimate answer. He then asked me if the teachings of the Catholic Church were construed to perpetuate this control. I had never thought about this before. He rightly pointed out that salvation in the Church could only be found in the teachings of the Church and not in the mind of man. This seemed so contrary to Jesus’s teachings and it really woke me up! So I started to read the Gospels again, and, there it was right there on the pages! It was hidden behind all the dogma! It was a great liberation for me. St. Paul said, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Q: Then what is the relationship between the spirit and the physical body?
A: There is none, in the sense that the spirit exists independent of the body. Spirit is the part of your mind that accepts only peace and love; it transcends the body and is the eternal aspect of every person. This is what makes the spirit so strong compared to the weakness of the body. Jesus said, “If the flesh exists because of the spirit, it is a miracle but if the spirit exists because of the body it is a miracle of miracles. I marvel at how such great wealth established itself amid this poverty.” It’s so true! The only trick the body has is to convince the mind that it is subservient to the body and not the other way around. This is the result of programming by society. The world of bodies will program your ego to accept that your body and other bodies are the only things that matters. This is the trick. Once you buy into this view of life, then all of the spiritual teachings in the world will not help you escape unless you are willing to look at the spirit. You need to be woken up to the spirit. This is what Jesus did. Isn’t it amazing?
Q: Then how do you find peace in a world of chaos and disorder?
A: By just accepting it! Peace is always with you every moment of every day, and all you have to do is accept it. Most people spend their days finding ways to reject peace through judgment and through fear. By not judging other people, by not condemning them, you can see things for what they are. We don’t have to accept injustice but we don’t have to give up our own peace to get there. Why should you sacrifice your own peace and happiness because of the actions of other people or because of circumstances in the world? You can change the world or deal with injustice as long as you don’t disturb your own peace. What good is there in getting angry? Has it ever helped anyone in any situation? Does it make your actions more justified or even more effective by displaying anger or irritation? I can assure you it does not. You never have to accept injustice but you should never let it disturb your peace either.
Q: But, doesn’t that just make us happy victims?
A: No, it does not. You are not a victim unless you think of yourself that way. In reality, you should never “do” anything in the world because you feel the need to justify or validate your fear or anger. If you are peaceful and loving, then it does not matter whether you take action or not—most of the time you will probably not take any action. For example, if somebody speaks badly about you behind your back, then you can choose to confront the person or not. But, if you are a peaceful person, and you don’t find the need to confront the person, then how does it matter if you do or do not? It simply becomes a choice, but nothing compels you other than your own reason.
Q: Then what is the world? Why would God create a world when we have to struggle against injustice and cruelty?
A: There are too many assumptions in your question to even offer a useful answer. First, start by realizing that nobody knows what God is. Hence, you cannot decide to take any action in the world because you believe it is what God desires. The only meaningful experience you can have in the world is what is experienced in your own mind. The mind is the repository of your experiences; of love or fear, of peace or uneasiness, of heaven or hell. Heaven and hell are a state of mind. Heaven is the experience of complete peacefulness and is the natural state of the mind. Hell is the relinquishment of this peace which is the result of conditioning by society; it’s the obstacle that stands in the way of experiencing the peace and love of God. In the world, you experience these obstacles as distractions—the “I have to” experiences, such as “I have to get a job,” “I have to make a lot of money,” or “I have to get married.” This is all rubbish. The only thing you have to do in the world is to realize your true nature—this is heaven. Everything else is a choice, but don’t let those choices distract you from reality. The shift from the unconscious desires of the world to the conscious desire for truth is the resurrection of the sprit. “When will the kingdom come?” they asked Jesus. He replied, “It will not come when it is expected. They will say, ‘Look here,’ or ‘Look there.’ Rather the kingdom of the father is spread out on the earth and people do not see it.”You must do things that bring peace and love into your life. Peace and love give you the most happiness in your life and also bring you greater clarity of thought. Did you ever notice that peaceful and happy people don’t hurt each other or create problems in the world? Peace and love just work in the world because they give you the greatest experience of the world around you. So, why would anyone choose anything else? Only because you are programmed to think that choosing fear and anger are in your best interests. It’s insane, isn’t it? But this is what you are taught by the world. It’s your conditioning by society, by your parents, by your teachers. And it not their fault because this is what the world taught them. It takes a miracle to break this cycle, but that’s just the miracle that Jesus is offering you.
Q: Do you think that the world of pain and suffering is real? Some people would say that the physical world is an illusion.
A: I don’t think it is necessary to go that far. Nobody knows what the physical world is and why it is the way it is. Could it be an illusion? Sure. Is it necessary to look at the world in this way? No. You can get along fine in the world by choosing peace and love even if you think what the world is offering is real. Regardless of what the world is, your only choice is how to react to it. This you can control, and must control. Otherwise, your conditioned mind will control you. It’s the choice between heaven and hell. Heaven is the choice for peace and love; hell is the choice for fear and anger. That’s all there is! It’s quite simple.
Q: What is the biggest obstacle to dropping our belief in fear and anger?
A: Unfortunately, religion itself is the biggest obstacle for most people because religion becomes part of the social programming that keeps you rooted in the world. When religion loses its mystical quality then watch out! Remember, it’s always the religious and pious people in any society who commit the gravest acts of hatred. How do you know when religion has gone bad? The answer is when it cares more about institutions than the spiritual message. The teachings of Jesus are about the individual experience of the peace and love of God here and now! Not sometime in the future or in the next life. Salvation is no longer attainable through a religion when the institutions become more important than the souls of the people. Jesus said, “He who knows all but fails to know himself lacks everything.” Education, worldliness, prestige, and honor are all meaningless. An uneducated peasant with a little bit of common sense and some intelligence knows more than the wisest scholar about happiness. You must know yourself. This means you must know what controls the thoughts in your mind. Is it your ego? Then your life will be a mess. Is it your spirit? Well, then you will do very well indeed. Forget about your attachments to the world. “Become passersby.”

Keywords: 

ACIM A Course in MIracles interview John Lennon Michael McCullough

Simple, Easy Spiritual Health: Anthony de Mello's One Minute Wisdom

I have already made it very clear that I do not belong to any church or follow a religion invented by man. The Vedas(whoever wrote them) Buddha, Jesus, followed by Mohamed and a host of other holy men, prophets of their time, were very clear about one thing-Love one another as I have loved you. Of course, they had a lot of other wise things to pass on but I think the common factor they all preached was Love.
I received an interesting article today and feel compelled to post it on my blog; not to gloat that it was posted by a Catholic priest but to make the point I have made before- organised religion excludes those who don't belong to 'The Club'.
So dear friends, take some time to read not only the article but also the comments.
Here is the link:
http://johnmenadue.com/blog/?p=2459#comment-18428

Hello Franco,It is MY pleasure  to be corresponding with YOU! My goodness, I am but a mere mortal. Please don't put me on a pedestal.
Thank you for your very prompt reply. Rather than being bored by your email, I was delighted to read of yet another Tony disciple who appreciates his work.
You will have read in the Happy Wanderer, that I was a very late starter with his work. Once I got started however, I devoured all I could get. So I was delighted to receive notes that were taken at his last seminar, by two attendees. Thereafter I worked toward transcribing the notes and producing a book(Swansong) which you have no doubt found either on Facebook or the website(Link below this email)


Franco, if your shell is hard to crack, mine is made of granite! I experience occasional spasms of joy but not Anand. What I experience are thrills, as Tony would call them. Anand is reserved for Mystics like my brother, who are totally carefree and devoid of all need to possess anything; to those beings who live life without judging others. I am unfortunately only too human. I'm working on it though, in my 70th year! :)


Rest assured Franco, I will continue to share Tony's wisdom as best I can.  It is indeed a very troubled world. I wish some of those madmen in troubled areas of the world could just sit and think how stupid it is to claim the world and lose their souls!
Thank you again, for writing and I hope we can continue corresponding.
With love to you and yours,
Bill.

I am always delighted to receive mail from people who appreciate my brother's work
More than 27 years after he died, I see Tony reaching out to so many people.
Thank you Franco for your very kind words and continuing interest.
Dear Bill,
Thank you so much for your personal e-mail confirming my purchase.




What an honour it is for me to be writing directly to Fr Tony’s brother!! And what joy it is to see your efforts to keep his work alive and spread new material, hence my interest in Swansong.
I have bought all known published works by and about your brother and they are my most prized books (I even bought the same books twice because they had different titles for the US and the rest of the world, silly me).
I also enjoyed immensely your very well written biography Happy Wanderer. Thank you.
I do not wish to bore you with too long an e-mail but I’d like to tell you that I came across your brother’s life work through a reference in one of Wayne Dyer’s works. Wayne Dyer being impressed by a Jesuit? This I had to explore. I saw Fr Tony for the first time on YouTube and I was hooked for life. This man was special. He spoke in a way I had never heard before, and believe me here in Malta we are full of Catholic priests and churches - I myself was brought up in Catholic schools and come from a Catholic family. But no one spoke about religion, spirituality and the human condition like Fr Tony. He was a true mystic. He truly understood things that ordinary mortals find hard to grasp.
On a personal note, despite my years of listening to him, watching him on video (Awareness CDs, Rediscovery of Life, A Way to God for Today and Wake Up) and reading his works, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, continually finding new insights in what he says, I still haven’t tasted the Anand that special persons like your brother derive from the unknowable. Perhaps my shell is particularly hard to crack or, as he says in one of his humorous asides, I like living in a cesspool, just don’t make waves please.
Please do continue shedding Fr Tony’s light on this troubled world with any new material you encounter.
With utmost respect and love to you and your family,
Franco,

My brother delivered a seminar in Poona, India, in May 1987, just a few days before he departed India to conduct a satellite seminar in the USA, where he died before that seminar began.
The India retreat would have been lost forever, were it not for a couple of disciples who took meticulous notes of this seminar. I received these notes from them some months ago and I have transcribed this seminar. It is now available by writing to Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, Tony's official publisher in India. booksgsp@gmail.com
I hope that you, followers and friends of Tony, will avail yourselves of this book.
I will continue to do my best to post on this page( Anthony deMello-Call to Love Facebook page) as often as I can, in the hope that all who visit here, enjoy snippets of my brother's Wisdom.
My thanks to all who visit and send me messages of encouragement.

In case you did not notice, I'm posting another article by Michael Barnes SJ. The Jesuits in Britain have devoted each month of this year to a prominent Jesuit who is no longer with us.


http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/anthony-de-mello-sj

Twenty seven years after he died, Tony is still revered and talked about by scores of people.
The following article is very interesting:
http://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/anthony-de-mello-fire