YOURSELF

Be Yourself,
Whichever of the selves you are being at this moment,

Know yourself,
And you will begin to understand the world a little better,

Be honest with yourself,
Self-deception is the most dangerous error of all,

Laugh at yourself,
Bursting the bubbles of self-importance aids humility,

Enjoy yourself,
Make the most of your lifetime’s precious opportunities,

Believe in yourself,
Give complete faith and trust to your own visions,

Love yourself,
Accept your many imperfections with grace and a smile,

Be true to yourself,
Whatever difficulties your own truths cause to others.



ŠLaurie Phillips
25.5.1987


ACCEPTANCE

Accept the world as it is,
Accept thyself for within lies Heaven -
and hell.
Accept other people around you,
Be they black or white or yellow
From East or West.
Pass no judgements
Invade no privacy,
Do what is yours to be done,
As Heaven decreed it,
And no more.
Enjoy the stillness,
Marvel at the beauty,
Cosmic togetherness,
As the stars shine down from afar.
And God continues his work
In ways so mysterious
Only he knows why or how.
Accept the world
And it will accept you.
And you will be gathered into
The bosom of all mankind
United in Peace and Stillness
Complete.

ŠLP 7th March 1983



40 Words

Accept Everything
Expect Nothing
Be Yourself
Consider Others
Judge Nobody
Love Everybody
Take Sparingly
Give Generously
Talk Little
Listen Well
Relish Simplicity
Act Responsibly
Honour Elders
Appreciate Health
Enjoy Beauty
Respect Nature
Encourage Unity
Cherish Life
Trust God
Live Now

LP


EVERYTHING AND NOTHING

You’re Ordinary
Extraordinary
Everything
And Nothing.

You’re Whole
And Complete
Nothing missing
And Loving.

You’re Duality
Opposites
Separate
And Apart

Generosity
Frugality
Fearful in
Head And Heart

You’re Pomposity
And Arrogance,
Anger
And Hate.

You’re Humility
Servility,
Eternity,
You Create.

You’re Invention,
Good Intention,
Purposeful
And Energetic.

You’re Lazy
And Hazy,
Impotent,
Apologetic.

You are Senses,
You are Feelings,
Thoughts
And Sensation.

You’re Peace
And you’re Stillness
Calmness
Quiet elation.

You’re Unity,
Community,
Unconditional
Love.

You’re Now
And Forever,
Below
And Above.


20.9.02


Is this the answer? 1340

My lengthy journey was nearly complete,
The Goddess before me, I knelt at her feet,
“Tell me” she said ‘Your true heart’s desire”.
“It’s about Truth I have come to enquire”

“Truth, there’s no truth except for your own,
There’s no absolute truth that can ever be known,
Those who claim they have it, never believe,
It’s just an idea which no one can conceive.”

‘Well what about Justice?” I asked her next,
“Justice” she said is another such text,
What is just to one person, another upsets,
Life has ups and downs and both one gets”.

“And what of Equality” I cried in frustration,
“Are we not equal amongst the worlds nations?”
“No” she replied, “there is no such state,
It’s impossible for the real world to equate.”

“Equality’s a myth like so many ideas,
It creates aspirations and causes tears,
None are born equal, nor will that way die,
Equality’s just a conceptual lie.

“And Life After Death, is my final request,
This major question is surely the best”,
The Goddess paused, looked up, and said,
As far as I know when you’re dead, you are dead!”

“But if when you die, you find out you’re not,
That life continues in some way I forgot,
Please feel free to return and again we will meet,
And when that happens I will kneel at your feet!”

(227)

15.4.03


Play station Santa 604

As Christmas hovers on the horizon,
It’s the shops full of presents the kids have their eyes on,
‘I want a construction kit this’,
‘And a game just like that’,
‘A video spectacular’,
‘A Star Wars kind of hat’
‘A computer kind of thing’, ‘An electronic the other’
‘Can I please swap this present for my youngest brother?!’

When they’re taken into these glorious stores,
No kids want to see Santa Claus any more,
They want a PC PC, or their own kids TV,
Or a cellphone, or pod, or a musical tree,
A digital camera, one of those in a phone,
Some mind blowing game they can play on their own,
Where is the fun in this isolation?
Let’s all visit Santa at his Christmas play station!

(128)

28.11.02


So many seas 509

History says there are seven seas,
Which we can see symbolically,
Sea of sadness
Sea of woe,
Sea of happiness,
In it I go.

Sea of tears,
Sea of dreams,
In which nothing is as it seems,
Sea of love,
Sea of kindness,
Of which so many suffer blindness.

Yet is it only truly seven?
Or seventeen seas in hell and heaven?
Sea of tranquillity,
Sea of dilemmas,
Wild emotional seas causing us tremors,
Sea of darkness,
Sea of thunder,
That’s not one to swim under.

Sea of crisis,
Sea of euphoria,
That is one in which to glory.
Sea of excitement
Sea of peace,
A great ocean of that one, please,
Sea of green,
Sea of blue,
So many seas to travel through.


13.11.02




Stand up and be counted

We live in a world
Where Appearance is more important than Substance,
Where ‘Spin’ has replaced Truth,
And Expediency has taken over Integrity,
Where you have ‘Rights’ without Responsibility,
Where outrageous Compensation
For the most minor of imagined injuries is common place,
And not Cheating the system, any system, is seen as stupid.

Justice is diminished, Common Sense abandoned,
Murderers are Freedom Fighters,
Disorderly behaviour is rewarded with foreign holidays,
Your home is open house to burglars,
And woe betide you if you use too much force
When in fear of your life!
Equally if you are considered a ‘Terrorist’
You can be locked up without trial,
Without evidence, indefinitely.

Power falls into the hands of a very few,
Elected by a failing democratic system,
Where a handful of votes in swing constituencies
Is all that ever counts at election time.

All the world religions do have common ground,
Each has their ‘Golden Rule’ and all are similar.
Yet instead of seeking mutuality and understanding,
Their leaders simply parade and emphasise their differences,
Creating in their followers aggression, conflict and confusion,
Instead of understanding, harmony and peace.

For all the sophistication and openness
Of the World Wide Web,
We become increasingly small minded and parochial.
The problems of the world’s hunger, floods, famine,
Exploitation of the poorest for profit by the richest,
Which pours into our living rooms via our flat screen TV’s
When half the world has yet to make their first phone call,
Leaves us overwhelmed and defeated.
What can we do individually to stem this tide
Of mayhem and misery?

It is only us as individuals that can change anything.
If we don’t stand for Right against might,
For Truth against dishonesty,
For Principles against expediency,
For Justice against duplicity and weasel words,
For Common Sense against political correctness,
For Peace against Conflict,
The world will continue to fall apart.

Only you, yes YOU, can make a difference!
The world will not step back from madness
Of it’s own accord, because the world
Is made up of individuals just like you.
Only you individually and all of us collectively,
Can create sense out of this confusion,
Clarity out of chaos.

The question that faces all of us is how?
Which actions will it take to make a difference?
What attitudes? What words?
Open mindedness, Understanding, Listening,
Empathy, Humility, Forgiveness.
Serving others worse off,
Contributing constructively,
Giving freely of yourself and your resources,
Thinking of others,
Following the Golden rule of all religions,
Love your neighbour as yourself,
At it’s simplest,
‘Do as you would be done by’.

You know the problems and divisions,
You see the dilemmas facing us all,
There is only one final question
We all have to answer individually
For ourselves alone.
Will I close my eyes and ears to everything?
Turn my back, pretend it's not happening?
Or am I going to stand up and be counted?
Is my voice going to be heard?
Am I going to make a contribution?
Am I going to stand for something?
And if not at this very moment NOW,
When?

(502) LP 29.1.05




BY YOUR SIDE

Look up at the heavens and I'm returning your gaze,
Glance out over oceans and I'm in every wave,
Walk through green fields and I'm there by your side,
Nothing between us of meaning has died.
In highest mountains and valleys so deep
Smile with me always , let your joyous tears weep
What we had, we still have, it's essence alive
In our hearts it's still living, no need to describe
Our beauteous souls remain whole and in touch
I'm there all about you and still love you so much.
Peace has descended on my earthly endeavours
Yet I'm still with you now and will be for ever,
Our laughter and joy, our mutual regard
Shouldn't be lost, even though it's so hard
To put on a brave face, to look out at the world,
From the dark mists about you which currently swirl.
Remember the good times and know I'm still there,
Recall all our dreams and believe I still care,
Whenever my name comes into your mind,
Remember those worse off, the lame and the blind,
Continue your life, it's purpose and meaning,
Now I've moved on, it may just be beginning,
Who knows what's in store as you move on and grow,
Enjoy every moment, I'll be watching you know,
I'm settled and peaceful and calm and at rest,
Fate meant it this way and it is for the best,
Your grief will pass on and your life will resume
We'll meet up again though I hope not too soon!
Value the times which we loved and enjoyed
Value it all, because nothings destroyed
We lived and we loved and we laughed and we cried
And nothing can change that, I'm still by your side.


ŠLP 2.3.98