scientific method. It has enabled me to take on board this new body of knowledge in a way that coexists with what I knew before.
There is an idea that is contained in the Baha'i writings – it is that science and religion are complimentary, they need each other to achieve the correct balance. Science, by itself, will get lost in the quagmire of worldly materialism. Religion, by itself, will get lost in superstition. Science and religion together give the balance, rather like the two wings of a bird in flight. The bird cannot fly with one wing, it needs two to achieve the balance. It appeals to me to paraphrase this Baha'i idea. In the world in which we live the logical processes of the conscious mind and the contemplative processes of the subconscious mind compliment each other. Logic, by itself will get lost in the quagmire of worldly materialism. Meditation, by itself can get lost in mumbo jumbo and superstition. Use of the conscious and the subconscious mind together gives the balance just like the two wings of the bird in flight.
Awareness of both can create an incredible power of inner strength and my life and work are now dedicated to helping others achieve their strength. I have come to see my role now as one who can coach others. Take the analogy of a famous Olympic athlete or swimmer who excels in their event. That person has had a unique experience in life. What does the swimmer do with that experience when it is over? Does he/she just go back home to take up where life left off before the swimming began? Or does that swimmer use that experience to help others, to become their coach? I think the best way is to help others. And this is the way I see my role today. I have had a unique experience, one that was not pleasant and one which I dearly wish had never happened. But there is no taking it back – it is a part of my life. So what do I do with it? Do I just go back into the manufacturing industry and take up where life left off before all this began? Or do I use that experience to help others, to become their “coach”? For me the best way is to help others. I like the challenge of leadership.
I know that I am not by myself in this reaction to a personal crisis. In Sydney alone, without thinking about the rest of Australia, there is a small band of people like myself who are using their experience to help others. When we expand our vision beyond Sydney and beyond Australia to the whole world I reckon we form the nucleus of a vast movement of people dedicated to coaching others. My life is dedicated to this purpose.
I continually use Sandy's PP techniques in many ways, but primarily in my cue sport (eightball) and health. After winning local competitions, a great highlight for me was to beat Eddie Charlton in a best of three matches in December 1992. I beat him 2 to nil and have his autographed cue and video of the matches to prove it! I told everyone I would beat the world champion and current Australian Champion and said “I could see his cue on my wall”. That's there, and now there's another. In February 1994 I had a rematch with Eddie and was lucky enough to win for a second time against him, 2/1. This was an important match as it proved the first win was not just luck. I won the first game and Eddie the second. In the last game Eddie broke the balls and then I potted all 7 coloured balls and the black in a row to win.
Glenn Connor, Victoria
A note from Sandy: Glenn is truly inspirational – despite being confined to a wheelchair following a serious motorcycle accident 14 years ago when he was 17 years old he has competed and triumphed against some of the best pool, snooker, eightball and nineball players in Australia.
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LETTING GO
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An important point of my story is that there comes a time when we all need to let go. The things we need to let go vary from person to person but before I expand on this let me tell an interesting story about letting go.
In my book Piece of Mind I describe the story about how monkeys are caught and “give up their lives rather than let go a peanut.” Here's another monkey story – this time in the Kalahari desert.
There are areas of thick vegetation in the desert – like an oasis. Monkeys abound and of course there must be water, but that water is very difficult to find. The monkeys stay away from the water whenever any humans are around as though they, the monkeys, understand that water is a scarce commodity. The Kalahari tribe want the monkey for two reasons – to eat, and to show them the location of the water.
First the tribesman finds an ant hill positioned so that it can be clearly seen from the edge of the oasis. Then using a spear, a hole is drilled into the ant hill (if it was drilled into the sand the sides would collapse). The next step is to expand the bottom of the hole by rotating the spear so that there is more room at the bottom than the shaft going down. Now a very elaborate performance takes place. A glass crystal catches the light easily and its shine is directed towards the vegetation of the oasis. The monkeys of course are watching and you know that the curious monkey loves shiny objects. The crystal is dropped into the hole and the Kalahari tribe spread out, keeping their distance from the ant hill.
You can guess what the monkeys do! Yes, that's right, they come forward and one plunges its arm down the hole and grabs the crystal. Its hand is now a fist big enough for the fist to fit into the bulb at the bottom of the shaft, but too big for the shaft. The Kalahari tribe comes forward – the other monkeys scamper, but the one with the crystal, it just won't let go of the crystal. That's all it has to do to save its life – let go.
The rest of the story is not important but I'll tell you anyway. The monkey is tied to a post in the sun and near it is placed a block of salt. In a few hours the monkey is literally “dying of thirst”, having licked the salt. With the Kalahari tribe in position, the monkey is released. Of course it throws caution to the wind as it makes a direct path to the water, with the tribe following .... and that's how they find the water in the desert oasis.
The story of the monkey leads us to question how many old habits we have that we need to let go. Most of these old habits were probably very useful to us at some time in the past. But the time when they were of most use has gone. The moral of the story about the monkey is not that monkeys shouldn't eat peanuts, or play with crystals, or be curious. It's that there are circumstances where monkeys must let go. So too with many of our old habits, our old ways of doing things, our old opinions, our old attitudes. All of these things may have served us very well in their time. But there comes a time to let go.
Let's put letting go into some sort of context. As I have explained I have a military background and have a large number of mates who also served for long periods in the Australian Army. I have a friend from my Duntroon days who still has all his uniforms in his wardrobe at home. There are dress uniforms, summer and winter, ceremonial uniforms, mess kits for summer and winter and several pairs of jungle greens. There is no possible need for him to keep these things as he has now put on weight and none of the clothes would fit him. So, even if he wanted to wear his mess dress to a formal dining night for veterans, he would be unable to do so and would have to be excused for wearing a dinner jacket. There are also other military items in his house like battalion plaques, regimental crests and a fading black and white photograph of his comrades standing next to the steel tracks of a huge Centurion tank in Vietnam.
This friend of mine hasn't let go his army days yet. Who knows? Maybe he is even grieving in a quiet sort of way for the excitement, the challenge and the mateship of it all. But for him to really make it in civilian life, to fully make the transition from warrior to suburbanite, he has to, one day soon, let go.
There is nothing wrong with keeping mementos of our past. What is wrong is when we cling to these things in order to define our position in the world today.
The
