I have been meditating on the quality of 'contentment' of late; contentment as a power and ability. I was born with a restless spirit, I have a burning ambition that explodes in all directions. For this reason I am forever in search of ways to improve my mental control and develop my abilities. Nowadays I can pretty much stick to any discipline or regime I decide on without fail. However I have started to become convinced that the next step in my development is paradoxically learning to be content. If I could learn to be content then I could focus my energy more on what really matters and not use up energy on counter-productive emotions or goals.

But I am not the only person to ever think of contentment as a power:

The Taoist tradition holds that contentment can be the key to learning how to "own the world"

"Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you."
~Lao Tzu

Contentment comes from the French 'contenter' meaning to contain. So being content is when you learn to limit your wants to what you already have.

As soon as I read this I had a lightning bolt of Buddhist realisation. The true contentment, the greater contentment, was about accepting the true nature of the universe. The fact that noticing lasts forever. Everything changes and that we all have to be aware that sometimes it takes time for our will to manifest. Once we accept the true nature of the universe we are free to take action within its nature and to work with its direction. This is true power. But there's more -

The Ninja Truth

The word 'Ninja' means 'One Who Endures'.

Could being content be something that allows us to endure? Perhaps it's not the the ability to stop the pain that allows the true ninja to stand under the waterfall, it's being content to experience the pain.

 Ninja Grand Master Toshitsugu Takamatsu said -

"The way to experience ultimate happiness is to let go of all worries and regrets, and to know that being happy is the most satisfying of life's feelings. Reflect back on all the progress in your life and allow the positive, creative and joyous thoughts to outshine and overwhelm any sorrow or grief that may linger in the recesses of your mind. Knowing that disease and disaster are natural parts of life is the key to overcoming adversity with a calm and happy spirit. Happiness is waiting there in front of you. Only you can decide whether or not you choose to experience it. Take this to heart."

So perhaps acceptance of the hard things in life is the true root to Ninjutsu.

I had a go on a smith machine today. The Smith machine is a nifty bit of of gym

equipment used for weight training. Its basically a barbell fixed on rail on a steel frame. The bar has two hooks you can use to stop the falling of the bar with a twist of the arm. This means that you don't have a spotter. However I found that due to the bar being stuck in a totally liner motion you cant really move naturally. For this reason I found myself unable to squat anywhere near what I am used to. About 60kg when I would normal do 120.

Not much of a fan of the smith machine I am afraid. The problem is that's what most gyms have!

It is said to be impossible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. This is of course because you need a calorie efficient diet to gain muscle and a calorie deficient one to lose fat.

I however seem to be proving this to be wrong. In the last month or so I have lost a lot of body fat. My waist has gone down from 37 1/2 inches to 35 1/2. My arm measurement has remained at 15 inches in diameter during the whole process. However I have really started to pack the muscle on my chest and back and my lifts continue to increase. I am cutting up and my abs are starting to show. Its really motivating waking up every morning to a visible improvement.

How can this be possible?

Well there are I believe four main factors which are helping me to make this amazing transformation.

1. Diet
2. Pre-workout Nutrition
3. Creatine Monohydrate
4. Exercise

1. Diet

I make sure that I have a small calorie deficiency every day. I don't want to cut weight too fast so it's the fat that comes off. I also don't want to shock my body into starvation mode.

I have a standardised diet but vary what the meals are every week.

Here is my Daily Diet Plan -
 
Early Morning Snack 
A piece of fruit, pint of water, teaspoon of Cod Liver Oil  Kcal 223
2 scoops of Protein Powder in water Kcal 120

Breakfast Kcal 500
 
Brunch 
Chicken Breast Kcal 350
 
Lunch Kcal 621
 
 
Mid afternoon Snack: 306
 Pint of skimmed milk 
 
Evening Meal Kcal 621
 
 
A piece of fruit, pint of water  Kcal 100

Pre bed Drink: 2 scoops of Protein Powder in water Kcal 120
 
Total Daily Calories 2961
 

 
On workout days - 
 
The same as above but with pre-workout 
2 scoops of Protein Powder in water and Creatine Kcal 120
 
Total Calories 3081

 
Pounds of Body Weight  202
Required Calories 3030

2. Pre-Workout Nutrition

An Australian study by Cribb and Hayes published in 2006 proved without doubt that pre and post workout nutrition was the most important dietary factor in body building success. It demonstrated that those who consumed a mixture of glucose, protein and creatine before and after workout experienced an 87%  higher increase in muscle mass, burned 3% more fat  increased their strength by 36%  more than those who took the same supplement in the morning and evening. I believe this demonstrates conclusively that a lot of muscle building is about having the nutrition available while you are working out. My theory is that as long as you are really disciplined about your pre and post workout nutrition you will continue to put on muscle even if you have a slightly calorie deficient diet.

3. Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine is a buffer in the Krebs Cycle. If you take this lovely natural supplement you will gain strength and energy and it has been proven to lead to increased water retention in the muscle that in turn somehow produces protein synthesis. I think this is helping me gain muscle too.

4. Exercise

I work out for an hour a day, one body part a day, 6 days a week. I do 4 exercises for four sets of 10.

My routine is -

Legs
Abs
Pecs
Back
Biceps
Triceps

I find this way I can exercise a lot more than if I overlapped on body parts like in Crossfit. It is proven that your body goes into fat metabolism after the first 20 - 30 minutes of exercise so this way I am burning fat every day.

In every country legends of supernatural creatures appear; fairies, goblins and imps. It seems mankind holds a common belief in a race of mischievous little people to punish the foolish and trick the unwary.

In Japan this is also true. They have a belief in a race of bird people known as Tengu (天狗) which live in the forests and mountains.

 Tengu translates as "Heaven Dog" and probably has an origin in the Chinese Tien Kou (T 天狗) or "celestial hound." The name is very misleading as nowadays the big-nosed crow-like Tengu looks nothing like a dog at all. Many people believe the name came from the appearance of a meteor with a tail, for it is said one hit China sometime in the 6th century BC and was never forgotten.

Tengu are popular with both followers of Shinto and Buddhism. Stories of their supernatural powers are abundant; these include their ability to shape-shift into human or animal forms and a kind of telepathic ability to speak to humans without moving their mouth. They can teleport instantly from place to place without using their wings. Masters of magic and sorcery, they often appear uninvited in people’s dreams.

The patron of martial arts, the bird-like Tengu is a skilled warrior and mischief maker, especially prone to playing tricks on arrogant and vainglorious Buddhist priests and punishing those who willfully misuse knowledge and authority to gain fame or position. In bygone days, they also inflicted their punishments on vain and arrogant Samurai warriors. They dislike braggarts and those who corrupt the Dharma (law).

Why the Long Nose?

Tengu are a paradox; they have a mischievous sense of humor and great cunning. They love playing tricks to punish the pretentious and arrogant. There favorite targets being Buddhist priests who misuse the teaching of Buddha and samurai who use there power for self aggrandizement. Indeed in much of the literature the Tengu take great revenge on nascent Buddhist sects.

However the Tengu’s long nose relates to their own pride and arrogance. It is said that those who are controlled by their pride can be cursed to become Tengu. Spiritual teachers or priests with no true knowledge, prideful egotistical individuals, those fascinated and attached to fame, all these people attract Tengu who play tricks on them and bring them to their fold. It is almost as if the Tengu are attracted to those like themselves.

 The Ninja Connection

Japanese mythology has always held that the Ninja evolved from Tengu, for they have the same love of the dark and supernatural powers. It is an interesting story but fully understandable for scared peasants in awe of the Ninja skills. I always thought this was a fun story with little meaning, merely demonstrating the Ninja’s skills to cultivate a scary image to put fear into their enemies.

A Deeper Meaning

The true meaning of this story came to me last week. I was reading the book Japanese Sword Fighting by Masaaki Hatsumi. He talked about Tengu waza, Techniques of the Tenguin sword fighting. He mentioned that they represented a focus on a specific set of techniques to the exclusion of others and how by training like this allowed you to do amazingly impressive things but made you an unbalanced and egotistical martial artist.

Then the truth hit me. Tengu are symbols. They represent what happens to people if they don’t control their passions and pride. The whole myth about Tengu evolving into Ninja is symbolic and meaningful. People who come to the ninja art are attracted by the power it offers; they want to be strong and powerful. They are normally ‘Tengu’ - prideful individuals who want to show off and build themselves up; who boast and do anything to seem important. Their focus of the art is on developing skills they can show off and feel special about. A true martial artist covers all skills to develop his personality and balance his character, whilst gaining enlightenment.

I have met a lot of ‘Tengu’ in martial arts. In fact I, as Hatsumi describes, have always focused on specific areas; trying to build superhuman abilities, not balance - Tengu Waza. To develop into a true Ninja you need to follow the art for other reasons, move your skills into other areas and bring about balance.

Two of my best friends have opened there own spy gadget shop. Its on the back of their movie Erasing David. Its amazing. As soon as I saw the shop I noticed the spy watches. I had to buy one. Normally prices between £1000 and £700 they have them at £99.  It can discreetly record high res video and audio for up to 9 hours! Its also a watch that you don’t have to buy batteries for as you just recharge is by plugging it into you computer (which you do to upload your movies). So what do you use it for. There are a lot of uses for it even if your not a spy. Well it’s a good way to record important meetings that you may need a record of later. It’s a wonderful way to make a record of anything you need to minute later but don’t have a pen handy or a way to record your thoughts. What will I will use it for. Well I am using it to write this blog. I just record my thoughts on the watch and then run it thought a speech recognition system. It’s a way to write books and articles for people like me who just can’t face time in front of a computer screen after work. Its always with me so I can add things when ever I think of them.

Get yours here

http://www.spyonyou.co.uk/

The Heart Sutra

I have been reading the Sutras. I started with the Lotus Sutra and then read the Diamond and Heart Sutra.  Ialways hate Buddhist writings they upset me and challenge my world view; I often put them down and have to come back to them later. I find the commentaries that are included really don’t help. I just need to get the writing themselves and really connect with them. The Lotus Sutra is really about realising that you are already perfect; that you have to stop pretending to be limited and have the guts to let go of your limitations and vices. The ones you hold on to because either you enjoy them or because you are not ready to take full responsibility for your life, actions and personality. The Heart Sutra however has a focus on nothingness . It’s a hard message. There is no 'you' , you have no body , no soul, no personality. You simply don’t exist as a separate entity. I found this a very hard thing to read.

Having finished the Sutra I lay on my bed, tired from the mental effort of the text. My mind rallied against the message. The argument being that separateness is a illusion. A tree is as much part of the globe as the hair is part of me.  As you read these words are they part of me or part of you? Am I my body or my mind? Where is me? I was exhausted and pondered on this state of being. Was the air in my lungs part of me or not; was the oxygen in my lungs me or not? Was any part of my being? It is only there temporarily. My whole body is constantly renewing itself.

If my finger became self aware but was unaware of it being joined to my body would it think it was separate? Were the bacteria in my digestive system separate or part of me. What about the cells in my body. Like amoeba were they separate? Am I just a team of specialised single cell life forms working together? I tried to give up and go to sleep but my mind was stuck in gear. It strained against the idea and I couldn’t rest, sleep or stop looking for the answer.

Then something happened. My mind cleared and a beautiful calmness overcame me; I was in a state of indescribable bliss. The border lines of my perception melted away. Martin Faulks no longer existed. There was just being. I felt a overwhelming feeling of oneness - an underlying feeling that has never really left me since. This spiritual experience caused by the reading of the Sutra has made me realise theire words are a kind of shock treatment that allows you to understand the interconnectedness with everything. Making you realise you are a wave in the sea of life.

In my youth I trained as a lock smith. Part of the skills I learned were how to pick locking various devices. Modernly I still practice this as part of my Ninja training. Lock picking is a very useful skill at teaches you sensitivity and the ability to stay calm though frustration. I was really excited to find this set of lock picks that fold out like a pocket knife. You get the tension wrench with is and its all under £5. Perfect for those moments when your friends forget their keys.

Ninjutsu and The Gordian Knot

In Greek legend, the Gordian knot was the name given to an intricate knot used by Gordius to secure his oxcart. Gordius, who was a poor peasant, arrived with his wife in a public square of Phrygia in an oxcart. An oracle had informed the populace that their future king would come riding in a wagon. Seeing Gordius, the people made him king. In gratitude, Gordius dedicated his oxcart to Zeus, tying it up with a peculiar knot. An oracle foretold that he who untied the knot would rule all of Asia.

Many people tried to undo the knot but all to no avail.

In 333 B.C. Alexander the Great had invaded Asia Minor and arrived in the central mountains at the town of Gordium; he was 23. Undefeated, but without a decisive victory either, he was in need of an omen to prove to his troops and his enemies that the outcome of his mission - to conquer the known world - was possible.

In Gordium, by the Temple of the Zeus Basilica, was the ox cart, which had been put there by the King of Phrygia over 100 years before. The staves of the cart were tied together in a complex knot with the ends tucked away inside.

Having arrived at Gordium it was inconceivable that the young, impetuous King would not tackle the legendary "Gordian Knot".

Alexander climbed the hill and approached the cart as a crowd of curious Macedonians and Phrygians gathered around. They watched intently as Alexander struggled with the knot and became frustrated.

Alexander, drew his sword, and in one powerful stroke severed the knot!

The world of Ninjtutsu is just like the Gordian Knot , confused and intricate. Hundreds of schools and authorities all claiming the truth.  Bujinkan, Genbukan, Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, Dux Ryu,  To-Shin Do. Genbukan, Robber Busseys American Ninjutsu, Fuma Ryu , Jinenkan the list is endless.

All masters claim to be teaching the truth. They all claim to have the genuine teachings. But what is the truth? Many have tried to cut the Knot. I am going to take a sword and cut deep into the heart of the knot to reveal the truth.

Watch out for my book Becoming the Ninja next year.

From the hermetic point of view Life and fate are our greatest teachers. The whole of the corpus hermeticum is an analogy. Hermes being taught by the mind of god in about learning from the whole of existence.  To adopt these teachings we need to become Hermes who was taught still inside and watch the unfolding of the universe around him.  Just as you control your body with your mind the mind of god moves the body of existence.  

Everything has meaning and the challenges life place  in your path are always an opportunity to learn. When a challenge is put in our way it’s a reminder that the divine has not forgotten us and that we can learn a lesson.

Everything that occurs in the natural world follows the laws of  nature. By paying attention we can learn these laws and start to understand the workings of the divine order. Using the principles of “As above so below” and the Four Elements as the guide the Hermetic student can find the blessing of agathodaemon and the  aeonic consciousness he so desires.

Many people have heard of the legend of John Dee the eminent Elizabethan Magician, mathematician and astrologer. His studies into the Occult were legendary he was said to be the first secret government agent and had the code name 007!

However his name really started to mean something when he was hired as the personal royal court astrologer to Queen Elizabeth the first.

She first approached Dee for consultancy about the possible portents of a comet that had been observed in 1577. In 1581 under the queens instructions he started experiments in trying to contact discarnate entities through the medium of his crystal ball. The idea was that Dee was to make contact with the angels of Genie in charge of each country. With the aim of taking them under control for the good of the Queens empire. The ultimate form of spiritual warfare!

After two years of struggle Dee had some initial success but found the contact with the other world draining. Dee hired a gifted medium in the form of Edward Kelly. Kelly was a real rouge and had already had his ears cut of for the practice of necromancy.

In November 1582 using Dee's obsidian scrying mirror they made contact with the angel called , Uriel. Who dictated instructions for a magical talisman with which they could contact the spirit world more easily?

Over the following years using the mirror they made contact and received detailed instructions from a variety of spirits angels and demons. The Empire expanded in almost a direct proportion.

Many of their ritual objects including the Angel Mirror are now in the British Museum. I went to visit and looked into the mirror to see if the angels would appear to me. As I gazed into the mirror I saw a face staring back.

It was my own.

I found myself wondering if perhaps true angels are those amongst us who choose to secretly work for the greater good.

Press Release

For the First Time, The Explosive Truth Behind Histories Most Powerful Secret Society !

400 years ago a document was published by an order calling themselves the Rosicrucians. A secret society of Christians who claimed to know the true teachings of Christ and that through this knowledge they had become immortal and gained divine powers. Jesus told his disciples that with faith they should be able to work miracles greater than him.

Since then, incredible myths and stories have been woven about the 'invisible' Brothers of the Rose Cross, the so-called 'Rosicrucians'. The men who know what it truly means to be a Christian. Indeed, in 1623, philosopher René Descartes was accused in Paris of being a Rosicrucian. 'How can that be possible?' replied Descartes. 'Everyone knows... they are invisible.'

It has been said that Rosicrucians possess the secrets of Man, God and Nature, that they can turn lead into gold, that they govern Europe in secret, that they enjoy the elixir of life, that theirs is the true philosophy of Freemasonry, that they can save – or destroy – the world.

Most amazing of all perhaps is the Rosicrucian vision of an invisible, inviolable and utterly secret body – the Hidden Guardians of the planet. This is the 'secret society' behind all mystical and magical secret societies. Only they, it is alleged, possess the true key to understanding the spiritual and material essence of all religion.

Never was there a story more controversial or more mysterious to tell. At last, the whole story can be told – the true history.

The author Tobias Churton is an Hon. Fellow of Exeter University, where he lectures in Rosicrucianism & Freemasonry at the School of Humanities & Social Sciences. He is also a film-maker and author, and a member, like Elias Ashmole, of Brasenose College, Oxford. He is best known for his creation of Channel 4’s award winning Gnostic series, along with the accompanying best-selling book, The Gnostics.

The author is and experienced broadcaster and is available for interview.

Please Contact : Martin Faulks, Marketing Manager, Lewis Masonic

 www.lewismasonic.com   sales@lewismasonic.com

Tel: 01986 895433 Mobile:07717 687040

**NEW BOOK AVAILABLE**

THE SECRETS OF MEDITATION

Simple Techniques for Achieving Harmony

By

Philippa Faulks

(Gateways to Health)
 

The practice of meditation is an integral part of almost all world religions and its beneficial effects on the mind and the spirit have long been understood and celebrated. This straightforward guide to meditation will tell you all you need to know about how this powerful practice works and teach you the key techniques to begin experiencing the benefits immediately. Featuring a range of different approaches including relaxation exercises, mudras, mantras and mandalas, and covering various styles of meditation, this book shows ways to find inner harmony for everyone.

RRP £4.99

PRESS RELEASE!!! PRESS RELEASE!!! PRESS RELEASE!!!

THE THIRD EYE THEATRE COMPANY

Presents…

The inimitable KATY MANNING starring in

“Me & Jezebel”

Written by Elizabeth Fuller & Directed by Barry Crocker

Produced by Stewart Bevan & Andrew Selwyn-Crome

THE HIT OFF-BROADWAY COMEDY – PRIOR TO THE WEST END

“ME & JEZEBEL” is the hilarious true story of how, one summer in 1985, legendary Hollywood megastar Bette Davis invited herself over for one night – and stayed for a month… An escapade that turned Elizabeth Fuller’s home and family life upside down, and inside out! In a “tour de voice” performance, Katy Manning plays all the parts! The affected, name-dropping, Joan Crawford-hating superstar Bette Davis; the reluctant hostess, naïve, star-struck Elizabeth; her frustrated, laconic, deep-voiced husband John; the thumb-sucking, impressionable four-year-old son Christopher; the grandmother Ol’ Ma; the Dolly Parton-like singing evangelist Grace - and even the family dog! After her extraordinary rollercoaster of a performance, Katy will join the audience for a chat, and no doubt a laugh or two – or three…

WARNING: Miss Davis does use occasional coarse language.

A donation from this performance will benefit the RSPCA.

RAVE REVIEWS:

“Manning is terrific negotiating the twists and turns… makes the quest tender and wise… extracts warmth and meaning beneath the Hollywood mask.”  Sydney Morning Herald.

“This presents a great opportunity to watch an excellent character actress at work tackling the difficult task of stepping in and out of a range of characters. And Manning does this with great style.” Sydney Star Observer.

“She won the audience with a brilliant, forceful display of stylish acting... Katy Manning is the complete STAR in this fine production.” Eric Scott.

“Amazing stamina… wonderful acting… fantastic energy… Katy Manning was so impressive… her versatility and ability to play multi-roles in this fascinating and funny production was particularly appreciated because of the sheer joy in spending so much time with the audience members after the production each evening. She loves to talk to her audiences and they, in turn, delight in having their own private time with her.” Queensland Arts Council.

KATY MANNING is the daughter of  the writer J. L. Manning OBE. She trained as a dancer and attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts. Her TV career began in John Braine’s groundbreaking series MAN AT THE TOP. She then starred with John Pertwee as “Jo Grant” in DR WHO. She appeared in the feature films FROG DREAMING, with Joanna Lumley in DON’T JUST LIE THERE SAY SOMETHING, and ESKIMO NELL.

Her long theatrical career started in the West End, starring with Derek Nimmo in WHY NOT STAY FOR BREAKFAST, then THERE’S A GIRL IN MY SOUP and RUN FOR YOUR WIFE with Eric Sykes. She has also appeared in EDUCATING RITA, BLYTHE SPIRIT, HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES, OTHERWISE ENGAGED with Martin Shaw, THE ODD COUPLE with Jack Klugman & Tony Randell, NOISES OFF, and the new play LATER THAN SPRING.

Katy moved to Australia in 1983 and became the face of Foxtel’s UKTV where she hosted her own chat show PREVIEW WITH KATY MANNING. She has also lent her voice to many cartoon characters including the ten-year-old “Gloria” in the award winning cartoon series GLORIA’S HOUSE. Katy has directed several shows, including BANJO with Barry Crocker and the musical EUREKA.

KATY is available NOW for media interviews

VENUES BOOKED SO FAR

Fisher Theatre, Bungay - Wednesday 11^th March - 01986 897130

The Village Hall, Lavenham - Saturday 14^th March - 01787 248599 

Sir John Mills Theatre, Ipswich - Monday 16^th March - 01473 211 498

Leisure Centre, Debenham - Friday 20 March - 01728 

Granary Theatre, Wells-Next-The-Sea - Saturday 21^st March - 01328 710193

The Cut Arts Centre, Halesworth - Tuesday 24^th March - 0845 6732123

St Edmunds Hall, Hoxne - Friday 27^th March - 01379 668641

The West Wing, Ickworth - Wednesday 1^st April - 01284 735270

Mumford Theatre, Cambridge - Saturday 4^th April - 01223 352932 

  The Third Eye Theatre Company

The FISHER THEATRE BUNGAY is home to the THIRD EYE THEATRE COMPANY, founded in 2008 by Stewart Bevan and Andrew Selwyn-Crome, both actors, writers and directors. The Patron of Third Eye is actor and musician David Soul, and the Chairman is John Packer OBE. Third Eye is a fully professional theatre company, artistically, ethically and politically engaged, with an eclectic, innovative and experimental remit, and high production values coupled with a commitment to community inclusion.

Planning is in progress for a series of ‘One Person’ shows, “Me & Jezebel” being the first, as well as the ‘Movies of the Mind’ season, and plays by New Young Writers, also a season of ‘Great British Farce’, Dinner/Cabaret events and music tours, and of course all our favourite plays and comedies - some performances being ‘showcased’ at the Soho Theatre, London. As part of its ethical stance, each Third Eye Theatre production will be linked to a charitable cause. For “Me & Jezebel” it will be the RSPCA.

The next production, in our ‘Movies of the Mind’ series, will be “MUTINY!” on Saturday 16^th May at the Fisher Theatre. After a tour it will be showcased at the Soho Theatre. This dramatization of a stunning new screenplay, soon to be produced as a major feature film, is an exotic fusion of cinema and theatre.

CONTACTS                                                                    Third Eye Theatre Company

Stewart Bevan                                                                                Church Cottage                                                                                           

Phone: 01379 678287                                                                    Rishangles, Eye                       

Mob: 07733 144363                                                                                    Suffolk                                                                                          

Email: stewart@stewartbevan.com                                                           IP23 7JZ                                                    

Andrew Selwyn-Crome                                                                41 Oak Crescent

Phone: 01379 870761                                                                                        Eye

Mob: 07704319254                                                                                     Suffolk

Email: eyeglass@tiscali.co.uk                                                                 IP23 7BY

Since my return from Japan I have been practising Crossfit as recommended I am my instructor Michael Pearce.

CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

The program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. The program is specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist.

I found this to be the most challenging fitness regime I've ever undertaken and even after six hours martial art today in Japan 30 minutes to an hour crossfit is taking its toll.

The workouts are randomised and are posted on a website each day. It's six days on and one day off. This is considerably more work and a lot less recovery time that my muscles are used to. In addition to this low the movements are completely new to me drawn from the disciplines of powerlifting and gymnastics. After four days on the program I can already see my body starting to change. Losing both a significant amount of fat and muscle too. My whole body seems far more solid and compact. Here are the workouts so far. I just hope tomorrow doesn't involve anymore shoulder exercises!

My time training at the Bujinkan Hombo dojo in Japan was both monumentally

testing and extraordanary inspirational. For me the two weeks were very hard

partily due to the training being both focused and lengthy (many days I was

training for over five hours solid) and partly due to my having to

completely change my attitude and approach in order to be able to grasp the

teaching of this art. In Japan the training is serious and disciplined. If

when applying a technique someone punches at you and you fail to block, you

will be hit. The training is for combat, not for fitness or for fun.

One other thing I found hard was adapting to a new way of life.  Japan is so

very different to anywhere in the world I have ever been to. The culture,

the food, the attitude nothings is remotely similar to our western world.

The culture shock was unbelievable. No where else in the would you have

squid guts as part of the breakfast or share your morning bath with Japanese

business men. But no where else in the world has such beauty, wisdom and

spirituality entwined with there everyday culture.

During my time in Japan I was honoured to be taught by martial artist the

the calibre  of which I have never seen before. Grand Master Hatsumi and

from long term personal students of his such as, Pearce Sensei, Nogichi

Sensei, Oguri Sensei, , Seno Sensai, Nagato Sensei. These men led me to

moments of epiphany that I could never have experienced in England. In fact

for me the whole trip was a enlightenment experience.

During the day I trained in every aspect of our Ninja art. Strikes blocks ,

pressure points, locks , sweeps throws  and countless weapons, cat claws, ,

hanbo, bo, blow darts, throwing stairs, Kusuri-Gama, and  various types of

sword. My whole time was full on unbelievable adventures both mystical and

martial.

Before my return I was honoured to be awarded a black belt in Bujinkan

Budo Taijitsu. This for me however signifies the start of my training in

this art not the end. After 5 years of practicing this art I am still just

building my foundation.

In Japan after 26 years of practicing martial arts I learned what it truly

means to be a martial artist and how best to learn the art.

To find out more about my lessons and adventures in learning the true Ninja

Art and the extraordinary things I have witnessed be sure to buy a copy of

my book Becoming the Ninja available early 2010

Well the time has come for me to leave to travel to Japan. I'm going back to the source of my art and going back to land where Ninjitsu was born. In the Japanese spiritual tradition warriors often took journeys to find themselves and to seek enlightenment. It is said that during this journey you lose three things. You lose your name you lose your elements and you lose the void.

 The name represents your reputation. In your normal environment people know who you are there no history to know your past achievements. None of these things can come with you so people judge you a fresh how you are presently without knowing the past. This for the spiritual warrior shows him the truth about himself. His present self. It's rather like a famous novelist publishing his work under a different name to see if it is skill or reputation has the effect.

The elements represents the way you cope with situations. This can be extremely telling because I'm in one environments for certain number of time interacting with the same events in the same people we tend to habitually respond in a certain way. When we are put into different situation with different people with no support mechanisms sometimes our strategies don't work we have to learn to adapt. Once again this can lead to an understanding of one's self and how we come across to others. Most importantly you help us learn to be more flexible and adaptable.

Finally the void. The void represents our illusions about how things work. When we moved into different environments we sometimes see the things that we thought were universal are not so. Different societies have different taboos different people different ways of doing things sometimes we see something so different that one of the underlying beliefs or misconception is that we have will have to change.

I found in the past when journeying all three elements to be true. Japan however is remarkably different to any other culture I know I fully expect this to be my greatest challenge both in terms of martial arts and in terms of personal development. I find myself full of both excitement and trepidation since I was a child I read about Masaaki Hatsumi. Now he will see my skill level of development firsthand and guided by his personal students and of course himself I had two weeks to absorb as much knowledge as I can. So I've only practised Ninjitsu for laughs five years of my life I really feel that everything I did for my birth has led up to this moment. The previous martial arts practised the championships I one in both martial arts, fencing and other sports. All this was preparation for the next two weeks of my life.

My New Book The Secret Of Rejuvenation - Zen Warrior Exercises is now available!

Product Description
These simple exercises and meditations are based on an ancient regime created by the Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma - the founder of Zen Buddhism. He gave it to the monks of a shaolin temple so that they could be free of illness, halt the ageing process - and even reverse it. There have been many amazing stories of how these exercises have produced extraordinary results - including how, after one person practised the sequences for just one month, his grey hair turned black again! Begin working through these simple easy-to-follow routines today and you too can enjoy the health benefits within four weeks - including a younger, stronger body and a feeling of inner peace and spiritual tranquillity.

About the Author
Martin Faulks has been a student of the oriental martial arts since he was five years old. He has a black belt in the Korean martial art Kuk Sool Won and is proficient in the mystical disciplines of China, including Tai Chi, meditation, Qi Gong and the legendary form of Yi Jin Jing.

I am planning to visit Japan to visit the dojo of 初見良昭 Hatsumi Masaaki the Grand Master of Togakure-ryū Ninjitsu.

Masaaki Hatsumi (初見良昭 Hatsumi Masaaki, born December 2, 1931) is the founder and current Soke, or Grandmaster, of the Bujinkan Organization, currently residing and teaching in the city of Noda, Chiba, Japan.[1] He is also a doctor of oriental medicine, specializing in the mending of bones.[2] He is sometimes called "the last ninja", as after the death of his teacher Toshitsugu Takamatsu in 1972 he was the only person in the world who mastered all the eighteen disciplines of ninjutsu.

I'm really looking forward to visiting and would like to take a gift for Soke Hatsumi. I however find myself unsure as to what to take on trying to find something suitable there will be of interest and value to him. I been trying to assert as to which text first mentioned the word ninja in English without much success. Has anyone got any ideas for me?

you may or may not be aware of other name Evan Tanner. He was the former author at fighting championship middleweight champion. He always seemed to have a taste for a challenge.  Whenever I see him fight or something disciplines are motionless and mysterious about him. He became known in his recent competitions for the great beard he'd grown, I can remember wondering if the bid offered some form of protection in all areas some kind of an advantage in the ring. Anyway Evan has recently made a comeback after a couple of years layoff from mixed martial arts and hadn't fared very well. He like many traditional martial artist for him decided he needed to train with mother nature had to face the roughness of the natural world.

He wrote the following on his blog

I'm hoping that very soon I'll be sitting out in the quiet of the desert beneath a deep blue midnight sky, listening to the calm desert breeze. The idea going into the desert came to me soon after I moved to Oceanside. It was motivated by my friend Sara's talk of treasure hunting and lost gold, and my own insatiable appetite for adventure and exploration. I began to imagine what might be found in the deep reaches of the untracked desert. It became an obsession of sorts.

"Treasure" doesn't necessarily refer to something material.

Today, I ran to the store to pick up a few things, and with the lonesome, quiet desert thoughts on my mind, I couldn't help but be struck with their brutally stark contrast to my current surroundings, the amazing congestion in which we exist day to day. The landscape as far as I could see, crowded, choked, with me and the rest of the species, an almost writhing mass of organisms, fighting over space and resources,....on the highways, in the parking lots, on the sidewalks, and in the ailse of the stores. And to think, there are still places in the world where man has not been, where he has left no footprints, where the mysteries stand secure, untouched by human eyes. I want to go to these places, the quiet, timeless, ageless places, and sit, letting silence and solitude be my teachers.

I've been gathering my gear for this adventure for over a month, not a long time by most standards, but far too long for my impatient nature. Being a minimalist by nature, wanting to carry only the essentials, and being extremely particular, it has been a little difficult to find just the right equipment. I plan on going so deep into the desert, that any failure of my equipment, could cost me my life. I've been doing a great deal of research and study. I want to know all I can about where I'm going, and I want to make sure I have the best equipment.

One more week. I think one more week, and I'll be ready to go.

Evans body was found in the desert. I suspect he gone for a run on the gone too far and could make his way back. It's terrible that this motivated spiritual one day warrior has left us. It makes me think of the Ninja tradition which I'm studying whereby one enters the mountains to challenge the forces of nature and find oneself. It makes me realise the true danger behind some of the things I'm attempting to do. It also inspires me. I feel we're at the start of a rebirth in martial arts. I believe that somewhere in the brutality of mixed martial arts is becoming reborn the true way of warrior. Something I believe the heart and spirit Evan Tanner represented.

           WATKINS PUBLISHING

PRESS RELEASE:         LONDON 15^TH JANUARY 2009

GATEWAY TO HEALTH SERIES

The Gateways to Health Series is a beautiful collection of elegant small-format books, drawing on traditional wisdom and offering practical techniques to exercise your mind and body, to improve your well-being and to enhance your spiritual awareness.  Covering a wide range of disciplines, including an ancient Tibetan form of yoga, Qi exercises and reflective meditations to bring balance and harmony, these books will help you to restore, rejuvenate and revive your mind, body and spirit.

Made from luxury parchment paper, each book is beautifully illustrated with specially commissioned artworks showing exercise postures and mandalas.  Practical guidance is given in the form of step-by-step exercise routines, offering succinct, inspirational and effective techniques to improve health and well-being.  Wisdom and experience also shine through every sentence of the main text.

The Five Healing Tibetans is a form of yoga developed centuries ago by Tibetan monks and distilled down into five precise exercises. The monks believed them to be the key to living a long, vibrant and healthy life.

Your body’s seven energy centres (chakras), act upon your endocrine system, which is responsible for the body’s overall functioning and ageing process. By activating and stimulating these centres, you can tackle spinal and joint problems, impaired vision and memory, aid weight-loss and boost physical strength and endurance.  Practise the Five Healing Tibetans every day, and learn the secret of how to revitalize your life and maximize your well-being.

Author Biography

Jason Gyre is long time practitioner of The Five Tibetans. In his understanding that a healthy mind requires a healthy body, he became interested in martial arts and various alternative health practices.

Learn the secrets of successful meditation – one of the most effective tools for combating the stresses of modern life and restoring balance and harmony. The practice of meditation is an integral part of almost all world religions and its beneficial effects on the mind and the spirit have long been understood and celebrated.

This straightforward guide to meditation will tell you all you need to know about how this powerful practice works and teach you the key techniques to begin experiencing the benefits immediately.

Featuring a range of different approaches including relaxation exercises, mudras, mantras and mandalas, and covering various styles of meditation, this book shows ways to find inner harmony for everyone.

Author Biography

Philippa Faulks trained as an aromatherapist and masseuse and has been a long-term student of alternative medicine, with a special focus on ancient herbology. She also writes on alternative history, mystery and religion and is co-author of The Masonic Magician with Robert L D Cooper.

Learn the Secrets of Rejuvenation and turn back the clock with this simple set of exercises – practise them every day to make you look younger and feel healthier. 

These simple exercises and meditations are based on an ancient regime created by the Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma – the founder of Zen Buddhism. He gave it to the monks of a shaolin temple so that they could be free of illness, halt the ageing process – and even reverse it. There have been many amazing stories of how these exercises have produced extraordinary results – including how, after one person practised the sequences for just one month, his grey hair turned black again!

Begin working through these simple easy-to-follow routines today and you too can enjoy the health benefits within four weeks – including a younger, stronger body and a feeling of inner peace and spiritual tranquility.

Martin Faulks has been a student of the oriental martial arts since he was five years old. He has a black belt in the Korean martial art Kuk Sool Won and is proficient in the mystical disciplines of China, including Tai Chi, meditation, Qi Gong and the legendary form of Yi Jin Jing.

Harness the healing power of Reiki to reach your full potential physically, mentally and spiritually.

Reiki – channeling energy through the palms – is a wonderful healing technique for the body, the mind and the spirit.  An excellent therapy to use alongside other forms of healing, Reiki is usually administered by an experienced practitioner, but everyone, old or young, has the ability to learn the skills needed to heal themselves or others.  This book will teach you how to use the three main Reiki symbols and channel energy through your hands to bring healing and help you to realize your full potential on every level.

Author

Brian Cook is a Reiki master and an artist. He studied spiritual healing and then discovered an empathy and love for Reiki. He paints in the flowing medium of oil, combining his art with Reiki to produce Reiki animal energy paintings.

The Cornerstone Society

FMT Article Autumn 2008

The Cornerstone Society confirms details of its 2008 Conference, “Quest for the Lost Word”, which will be held at Freemasons’ Hall, London on Saturday 29^th November, with registration starting at 12.45 pm.  The Speakers will be Prof. John Grange, “With the Centre”, Prof. Thierry Zarcone (CNRS, Paris), “Muslim Fascination with Freemasonry: Historic and Ritualistic Perspectives”, Dr Henrik Bogdan (Gothenburg University) “The Quest for the Lost Word”, Tom Bergroth (Grand Marshall of the Swedish Order) “The Swedish Rite” and Miss Pauline Chakmakjian (University of Wales, Lampeter), "Japanese Spirituality and Esoteric Freemasonry".  Tickets are £16.50 per person for the Conference only (with light refreshments).  For those who wish to dine, there will be dinner afterwards at the New Connaught Rooms at a cost of £29 per person excluding wine (total cost £45.50).  Application forms and full details can be found on our website www.cornerstonesociety.com - bookings can also be made securely on-line.  For further information, email secretary@cornerstonesociety.com or write to Mark St John Qualter, Secretary, The Cornerstone Society, 13 Victoria Road, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire FY8 1LE, enclosing a SAE.  Cheques made payable please to “The Cornerstone Society”.

The Gate Way to Health

I spent Saturday directing a model for photos for a new range books called The gate way to health. Have a look in my pictures for more. 

Check out this event: THE MASONIC MAGICIAN

Hosted By: Martin Faulks
When: 16 Sep 2008, 19:00
Where Toye Kenning & Spencer
19-21 Great Queen Street
London, London and South East|66 WC2B5BE
United Kingdom
Description:
Martin Faulks

Click Here To View Event

A Step on the Path
Category: Travel and Places

I just got awarded my Yellow Belt in To Shin Do. Its wonderful to have received this honor. This represents a proficiency using the Earth element approach. Something that I still feel a need to improve. Although the whole journey has helped me learn this. Getting up every day and training for 7 hours has taken a solid determination as has keeping positive thought all I have discovered about myself.

When I get back to England I plan to change my approach to many things.

Kings Island

Well I just visited Kings Island with the amazing griffins!

I love american amusment parks. I love the signs that say "no smoking or eating on this ride". As if your going to take a packed lunch on a roller coaster and then finnish with a cigar!

A Humbling Experience
Category: Travel and Places

I came to America to train with martial arts legend Stephen Hayes to find enlightenment. I was expecting to learn the mystical teaching of the ninja and to go home empowered. Enlightenment however comes in many forms and not all of them very easy to go through.

Those of you who know me well with know that I am a very experienced martial artist and that I have Black belts in multiple styles and am both a Regonal fencing champion and a four times UK National Martial Arts Association champion (Kuk Sool Won). So I came to America thinking a I had a very firm base to build on.

I was wrong.

In a recent session with Master Hayes I found myself completely unable to do anything. Every action I made defeated me. Compared to the art he is teaching here my previous combat methods seem childish. For more details on this interchange are going to have to buy my book when it comes out :)

To be honest its quite of nasty fall. I have a tendency to boast and build my past successes up. Its a hard dent to the pride when you cant live up to your own hype!

The interesting thing I learning in that in Ninjitsu through the Five elements of Earth Water Fire Wind and Void you learn alot about yourself. How you cope under pressure in the dojo tends to be very much how you deal with stressful situations in life.

More on this later.

Independence Day

Yes I'm here for a great big celebration of America kicking our Ass! I have been invited by the Griffin family who I think may infact be the most pleasant and spiritual family in America, to join them today for this mysterious event!

For those of you who are not American ....

In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Congress approved the wording of the Declaration on July 4 and then sent it to the printer. Whether John Hancock, as the elected President of the Second Continental Congress, or anyone else signed the document that day is unknown, because that document has been lost — presumably destroyed in the printing process. Hancock's name and that of a witness do appear on the typeset broadside that was published within a few days. On August 2 in the following month, an engrossed document in script form was signed by Hancock and other delegates.

Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, picnics, baseball games, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States, but is often also viewed as simply a summer festival, apart from its patriotic overtones.

Ninjitsu means the art of enduring. Something I am really having to to do here in Dayton Ohio. Im training 7 hours a day and my body is not recovering. Every day I wake up more tired. However I have waited many year to come here to study so I have to fight through. Its strange being away from everyone that normally supports you. You have to find something inside that normally is not needed.

First thoughts on America
Category: Travel and Places

I have arrived in Dayton Ohio. Im here to train with Ninja masters Stephen K Hayes so am in the dojo 8 hours a day but . . .

Here are my thoughts on America so far

The people are more friendly than in England. Far more helpfull and seem very happy.

Everything costs alot less.

There Shops are as big as our shopping malls.

The people dream of great things and are full of hope.

They dont get sarcasm.

Every drive pick up trucks but never seem to have anything in the back of them.

Sleep is not sacred here. People seem to be happy to wake each other up.

The Televistion is terrible. I mean really terrible. I find it very educational. Every time im near it i go a read a book instead.

Taco bell rules.

In summary. Almost everything you buy rent or stay in you will get a better value for money. Im typing this from the business room in my hotel. The hotel has two swimming pools and a gym. All free to use for guests. In the uk you would have to be in a very good hotel for this come as part of the package.

If so all you have to do is come to the Woods End Pub at Bramerton Near Norwich on Friday the 13^th of June!

I have just signed a contract with Ian Allan Publishing to produce a title about Ninjitsu. I don’t mean Tai Jitsu or self defence. I mean Ninjitsu the whole art including the philosophy, stealth art, weapons and the mystical spiritual techniques of the Ninja.  To do this I will have to travel across the globe to find the best masters. Its going to be a great challenge and a great adventure. Check my blog for regular progress reports.

Im trying to improve our advertizing. I would like your opinion on the following.

 P R E S S   R E L E A S E

   CANONBURY MASONIC RESEARCH CENTRE

                       SPRING-SUMMER DIARY DATES 2008

The Canonbury Masonic Research Centre is delighted to announce their celebrated list of speakers for the new Spring/Summer 2008 lecture programme.

Wednesday 21^st MAY : In Search of a Global Understanding of Religious Experience. PAUL BADHAM, Professor of Theology & Religious Studies ,

Director: Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Centre, University of Wales, Lampeter.  PAUL BADHAM studied Theology at Oxford, following this with a “Part Three” at Cambridge on “Christian Theology in the Modern World”, and a Ph.D. at Birmingham on “the Concept of the Soul” while working as Anglican Curate. He has been on the staff of the University of Wales Lampeter since 1973, from 1991 as Professor of Theology and Religious Studies in 1991. Since 2002 he has been Director of the Alister Hardy Religious Experience  Research Centre, which is based at Lampeter. He is also a Senior Research Fellow of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at Oxford University, and a Patron of Dignity in Dying. His publications include Christian Beliefs about Life after Death 1976; Immortality or Extinction? 1982 (with Linda Badham); Death and Immortality in the Religions of the World 1987; A John Hick Reader  1991; The Christian Understanding  of God and Christ in relation to Pure-land Buddhism 1994; Facing Death 1996; The Contemporary Challenge of Modernist  Theology 1998; and Religious Experience in Contemporary CHINA 2008. Paul is deeply interested in Religious and Near-death experiences in which he has supervised many dissertations. His most recent research project, in association with Professor Xinzhong Yao and other colleagues, was a comparative study of religious experience in BRITAIN and CHINA. The project has now expanded into a study of religious experience across traditions and cultures with participating scholars around the world.  

**For more than forty years the Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Centre has gathered extensive data on religious experience in Britain, while statistical surveys also show that despite secularisation between a third and a half of us have experienced a “power or presence different from everyday life” But is this Universal or is it the product of life in a Christian or post-Christian culture?  To test this we launched our global study. We began with CHINA because this has the most different tradition. Chinese philosophy has been sceptical of spiritual realities for millennia, and whether Confucianism is a religion is hotly debated. On top of these historic puzzlements CHINA has been officially atheist since 1949 and during the “cultural revolution” of the 1960’s an attempt was made to eliminate religion.   The results of our four-year study of these questions exceeded all our expectations and in my talk I will describe what we found. The success of the CHINA project has led scholars elsewhere to adapt our Chinese questionnaire for their countries, and from preliminary findings it seems that religious experience is indeed a universal phenomenon even though its expression is shaped by national cultures and traditions.

Wednesday 18^th JUNE: Aleister Crowley: The Man Behind the Myth

GERALDINE BESKIN: Proprietor: ATLANTIS BOOKSHOP, the oldest and most famous arcane bookshop in London, of which Crowley was the most notorious customer. Publisher Neptune Press. GERALDINE BESKIN Beskin is involved with Rosicrucian Orders and was for a considerable time a member of one of the more recondite women’s masonic Orders. However, she holds a genuinely eclectic view of esoteric matters, perhaps from being the middle one of three generations of the same family who have owned the oldest and most famous arcane bookshop in London - the Atlantis Bookshop - of which Crowley was the most notorious customer ! In addition to hosting regular book launches for well-known authors, including Tobias Churton, David Rankine and Stephen Skinner, Geraldine has also successfully revived the famous Neptune Press and has staged three major exhibitions of the artist Austin Osman Spare, whose work she has collected for many years.

/2…

** Sixty years after his death, opinions about Aleister Crowley remain polarised – as can be seen from the two million internet references to him – but he was one of the most significant occultists of the twentieth century, and an objective re-appraisal of him, sorting fact from fable, is long overdue. While Crowley’s accomplishments were many, his vices were legendary and he certainly deserved more than a few of the criticisms levelled at him – but others were unfairly laid, and it would be unduly harsh and unjust to condemn him still for these. In this talk Geraldine Beskin, making full use of the letters, diaries and the major biographies of ‘The Great Beast’, aims to unravel the myths and to present the truth.

The Canonbury Masonic Research Centre (CMRC) was founded in 1998 as charitable trust to support the study and research of Freemasonry and allied traditions. Meetings are held in Canonbury Tower, which is one of London’s most intriguing landmarks, built in the 16^th century (1509-1532) by William Bolton, Prior to the Canons of St Bartholomew’s. It has been the home of many leading philosophers, writers and scholars, including Sir Francis Bacon, whose work was so influential in the development of the modern world.

All meetings start at 7.00pm through to 9.00pm, followed by light refreshment, enquiries for tickets £7 - contact Carole McGilvery on 020 7226 6256 mcgilvery@canonbury.ac.uk or download travel map and programme from www.canonbury.ac.uk

For further information please contact:

Carole McGilvery (020 7226 6256)

CMRC

Canonbry Tower

Canonbury Place

London N1 2NQ

One of the most amazing human beings I have met in this life time is Bro Michael Halleran.

Perhaps one of the most witty humans alive brother Halleran is the only example I known of a Englishman reincarnated into an Amercian. Residing in Emporia, Kansas when all the other boys were holding spiting competitions young Halleran was reading classics of English literature.

Famous though out the world for his Brother Brother stories published in the scottish rite journal .

If you read his blog you will see why to me Michael is a modern Mark Twain. I wonder if that makes me Tezla?

http://audevidetace.blogspot.com

Well tomorrow I am off to a sales conference with Pete Waterman over a book I have requited him to write  him to write for us. Can you guess what its about?

Pete Waterman

Born in Coventry, Waterman was a teenage train spotter at Leamington Spa railway station every Saturday morning. He enjoyed this so much, he began collecting railway equipment - some of which had been stolen, for which he was convicted of receiving stolen goods. Waterman had left school illiterate, not learning to read until the age of thirty eight.[1] The judge who convicted him gave him a six months suspended sentence, subject to him travelling to Wolverhampton on a free pass and making tea for the depot staff. After his six months service, the depot foreman offered him a job as a cleaner, from which he progressed to a fireman. After closure of the depot, Waterman choose to follow a career in music, being inspired by The Beatles. To supplement his income as a DJ, Waterman became a gravedigger and then an apprentice at General Electric Company, becoming a trade union official.

Musical career

Building a record collection through rare US imports, his DJ work began to take him across the UK, entertaining bigger crowds with a blend of R and B and soul music tunes he had sourced. Given a residency with the Mecca group, he developed new initiatives including matinee discos for under 18s at Coventry’s Locarno club, which gave him a valuable insight into what music interested a younger audience.

Waterman took up a job as an A&R man, and worked in the Philadelphia scene, which included introducing the Three Degrees to the UK. He then moved to Jamaica working with Peter Tosh and Lee Perry, and producing Susan Cadogan’s reggae-crossover hit Hurts So Good.

In 1979, Waterman set up Loose Ends with Peter Collins, the first coming under the name 14-18 with a single inspired by World War I - "Good-Bye-Ee," and then hits with artists like Musical Youth and Nik Kershaw. He then set up his own company PWL (Pete Waterman Limited), in 1984, quickly signing producers Matt Aitken and Mike Stock, who produced the Whatever I Do for Hazel Dean. The trio formed the team Stock Aitken Waterman, whom became one of the most successful musical production teams of 1980s.

To date, Waterman has scored a total of twenty two UK number one singles with his various acts and he claims upwards of 500 million sales world-wide (inclusive of singles, albums, compilation inclusions, downloads, etc). Pete has also appeared in the Steps video "Tragedy".

Television presenting

Waterman co-presented The Hitman and Her with Michaela Strachan. He also presented a show on Radio City.

In more recent years, Waterman has appeared as a judge on both series of Pop Idol in the UK, and also Popstars: The Rivals, the latter leading him to become manager of the winning boy band One True Voice. Waterman said to rival judge Louis Walsh that if One True Voice failed to reach the 2002 Christmas number one in the UK, he would commit suicide. One True Voice were duly beaten to the number one spot by Girls Aloud, the programme's winning girl group, managed by Walsh. Waterman returned as judge for the second series of Pop Idol, but was constantly critical of the eventual winner, Michelle McManus, and was unashamedly unhappy when her victory was announced. Waterman has since said he will not appear on any similar programmes in future

Following his interests in railways, Waterman presented a historic self-retrospective view in Waterman on Railways for Channel Four/the Discovery Channel. Waterman also appeared in an advert by the National Blood Service in the UK, their sixth TV advert which also features Carol Smillie and Will Carling.

Outside music

In 1988 he revived the name of the London and North Western Railway Company for his rail vehicle maintenance business, based at Crewe, which is now the largest privately owned rail maintenance business in the country. He also has an interest in model railways, and is the founder of the model railway business 'Just Like the Real Thing', which specialises in O scale kits. He works closely with model-maker Malcolm Mitchell on this project. He continues to retain an interest in the company and regularly accompanies its sales stand to model railway exhibitions. Waterman has an extensive private collection of railway models and railway layouts, in O scale and larger gauges.

In addition to his passion for music and the railway, Waterman is also a huge supporter of Walsall FC. He is also a rugby league fan and is president of Rugby League Conference side Coventry Bears.

In the New Year's Honours List published 31 December 2004 he was given an OBE for his services to music. In December 2006, he became a patron of the newly formed charity, the City, Lambeth and Southwark Music Education Trust.

Biblioteca Massonica della Gran Loggia Regolare d'Italia

                      Masonic Library of the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy

M W Bro Fabio Venzi, Grand Master

Headquarters:                                                                                                           Grand Librarian:
Lungotevere dei Mellini 17                                                                               Yasha Beresiner PSGW
00193 Roma                                                                                                        43 Templars Crescent
Tel: +39 06 36 001 607                                                                                       London N3 3QR  UK
Fax: +39 06 36 001 604                                                                                    Tel: +44 02 8348 4407

E-mail: glri@grandlodge-italy.org                                                       E-mail: yasha@intercol.co.uk

PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRES

M W Bro Fabio Venzi, Grand Master of the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy announced the appointment of R W Bro Yasha Beresiner as Grand Librarian effective from January 2008. 

The Regular Grand Lodge of Italy, recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England, Ireland and Scotland and many of the Masonic Jurisdictions world wide, was formed in 1993 establishing itself on an Anglo-Saxon style of governing of the degrees of the pure and antient universal Freemasonry.  The small accumulation of books at the time, housed in the Grand Lodge premises, formed the basis of the Grand Lodge Library, now formally launched under the guidance of the new Librarian.

The initial direction for the library is to build a quantitative base of Masonic literature, ranging from books and magazines to transactions and related periodicals, concentrating on Italian and English publications initially. It is intended for the Library to be open and accessible and a catalogue of the available books will be published on the Regular Grand Lodge’s site in the near future.

The Masonic Library of the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy is a member of the Association des Musées, des Bibliothèques et des Archives Maçonniques en Europe (AMMLA) and will be represneted at the AMMLA convention in Bucharest on 22nd to 25th May 2008

More information maybe obtained on line http://www.granloggiaregolareitalia.org/en/en_index.html

or by contacting the Grand Librarian as per the details given above.

It been really great Since becoming master of Burlignton half of Masonic America have been in touch to say well done and congratulations!

Today a found out how they all knew. By the Power of Hodapp! Chris Hodapps Blog! Thanks Chris you a kind man.

Martin Faulks, Master-elect

Nosing about in other peoples' calendars, I see that my friend and brother Martin Faulks will be installed as Master of Burlington Lodge No. 96 in London on Tuesday, March 4th.

He is also currently the immediate Past Master of Cabbell Lodge No. 807, in Norwich.

I had the great opportunity of spending a little time with Martin and his thoroughly delightful bride Pip at the International Conference on the History of Freemasonry last year in Edinburgh. Martin is the marketing manager of Lewis Masonic, Britain's oldest publisher of Masonic books, and Pip is a writer, editor and illustrator. They live in Suffolk. And they are the only people I know who actually own a chinchilla.

Congratulations, Martin, on your year in the East.

http://freemasonsfordummies.blogspot.com/2008/03/martin-faulks-master-elect.html 

Here is the cover design and the blurb for my wife latest book

To be published October 2008

Miracle-worker or man of straw? Count Alessandro Cagliostro was a cult figure of European society in the tumultuous years leading to the French Revolution. An alchemist, healer and Freemason, he inspired both wild devotion and savage ridicule – and novels by Alexander Dumas, a drama by Goethe and Mozart's opera The Magic Flute.

Cagliostro's sincere belief in the magical powers, including immortality, conferred by his Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry won him fame, but made him dangerous enemies, too. His celebrated travels through the Middle East and the capitals of Europe ended abruptly in Rome in 1789, where he was arrested by the Inquisition and condemned to death for heresy.

The Masonic Magician tells Cagliostro's extraordinary story, complete with the first English translation of the Egyptian Rite ever published. The authors examine the case made against him, that he was an impostor as well as a heretic, and finds that the Roman Church, and history itself, have done him a terrible injustice.

This engaging account, drawing on remarkable new documentary evidence, shows that the man condemned was a genuine visionary and true champion of Freemasonry. His teachings have much to reveal to us today not just of the mysteries of Freemasonry, but of the mysterious hostility the movement continues to attract.

10 March 2008

Freemasonry the Reality

Have just launched the following. A wonderfull work. I really recommend it!

Remove the hoodwink of what you thought you knew about Freemasonry its aims and origins. This remarkable book is about to bring the picture into focus in a way never before possible. Discover the true story of the worlds most influential brotherhood, Join a journey through into the mystical past that reveals the true source of masonic wisdom. Discover the amazing world of the Alchemists, mystics and political visionaries who made the order what it is today. Discover the secret divine aim at the heart of Freemasonry and see the real meanings in the now completely misinterpreted rituals and symbols of the craft. Written by academic historian and Freemason Tobias Churton,this book will allow you to see the masonic lodge and brotherhood in a completely new light.

 http://www.freemasonrythereality.com/

Today I Became Famous!

Yesterday Turning the Templar Key the latest book by the best selling author Robert Lomas came out.

I wrote the foreword for this and am also pictured on the cover!

Here is the main cover

Here is the detail of the mason on the left.

Here is the picture the artist based it on

click here to read my foreword.

Visit http://www.turningthetemplarkey.com for more details!

Nobly Born

By Stephen Dafoe

 

THE GOLDEN COMPASS WORLD PREMIERE

I  have just returned from the world premiere of the Golden Compass London. It was quite an amazing walking the red carpet in style followed by the lenses of photographers and news crews from around the globe. Many fans of the stars of the movie had been queing since 8am to catch a glimpse of the celebrities as they made their way to the very first viewing of the highly anticipated adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel Northern Lights. It's a strange feeling to walk down that red carpet with crowds of film-fans watching. Just above the entrance to the cinema three large gas flares had been mounted. They cast intermittent flickering flashes of light across the darkness of the square, and every minute or so each of the flames exploded in sequence with a loud crack. It sounded like the deep throated boom of an enormous drum. Their thumping background track made the whole experience quite amazing.. Ahead of me on the red carpet was Daniel Craig and his elegant girlfriend Satsuki Mitchell who we caught a glimpse of before we were ushered into the cinema...

Then after on screen interviews with each of the actors which was to be aired on t4 later that week. Before the film started Chris Weitz stood up in front of the screen and introduced some of the team who make the film work. And among them we got our only chance to see Pantalaimon's voice (Lyra's daemon), wearing a smart yellow jumper. We the audience clapped each one in turn as they walked in front of the towering Odeon screen to join the line-up. And you know what? It's surprising how small actors really are when they stand in front of that big, big screen, instead of being projected on it. But despite not being projectorially enlarged Eve Green and Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig Stan Elliot was over-poweringly super-hairy and Dakota Blue Richards smiled so sweetly she melted the heart of every father who is lucky enough to have a daughter. It made for an electric atmosphere in the theatre as the film-makers trooped off, the microphone was whipped away, the lights dimmed and the curtains slowly opened.

Then followed a real treat, two hours of a magical world of Daemons, Gyptians and the Kingdom of the Ice Bears. Children and adults alike thrilled to the charms of the Daemons - (pronounced DEE-mon) which is the individual's soul that inhabits that of their animal companion. Children's Daemons change shape and species until they formalise into one when the child reaches adulthood. The main character Lyra (played by Dakota Blue Richards) has an adorable Daemon called Pantaleimon or Pan for short, whose voice is provided by Freddie Highmore. We all fell in love with Pan and the character of Lyra is every little girls dream - feisty, independent and eternally brave. Dakota Blue was superb and really was the essence of the film encapsulated - magical, strong and moral. This is the kind of films children should be shown to insire them to be good people.

In a world dominated by the eerie power of the Magisterium, Lyra finds herself drawn into the adult world of danger and mystery. After her Uncle Asrail (Daniel Craig) sets off on a seemingly doomed expedition to the North, Lyra is recruited by the beautiful but sinister Mrs Coulter (Nicole Kidman) as her assistant. After fleeing from Mrs Coulter (and her horrible Daemon!) Lyra embarks on a dangerous and terrifyingly exciting mission to rescue her friends from the clutches of the Magisterium's experimental faction aided by the nomadical Gyptians, a Texan cowboy aeronaut and the most beautiful and fearsome armoured ice bear called Iorek Byrnison. We are continually thrilled and dismayed as the story pulls us from delight to danger and back again. The special effects are superb and the sets magnificent. During an exhilarating fight between Iorek and the King of the Ice Bears, we were on the edge of our seats willing Iorek to win - a resounding cheer went up at the end!

All in all a masterpiece and one that children and adults alike will thoroughly enjoy this at Xmas.

After the film came the Premiere party at Tobacco Dock where a warehouse had been transformed into a wonderland for our entertainment. We alighted our coach to the magnificent setting of drifting snow and an aerobatic display by a young lady dangling elegantly from a large balloon! Surrounded by "guards" from the film, we were welcomed by "Iorek" - a kinetic replica of the Ice Bear. Inside the building was as enchanting as outside - a snowy tree-lined avenue guided us to the main area where there were differently themed rooms to reflect the concepts of the film, complete with Daemons. Everywhere glittered and was magnificently adorned with chandeliers, props from the film and a variety of different "climates" were reproduced from mysterious fogginess to the delicately drifting snow of the North! Everybody mingled happily and we were often whisked past by Dakota Blue (and friends) who was utterly charming and delightfully down-to-earth. Finally in the early hours we were driven back to our hotel and left to revel in what was one of the most magical evenings I have had the pleasure to experience!

The Unknown Elementalist

He is one of the most important but least known magicians and spiritual teachers of the Twentieth Century. He published a complete path of spiritual and magical development that is completely based of the four elements and stands beyond any tradition. Known only through the four books he wrote which were published in the 1950's and through the writing of his students. Many have borrowed his techniques and terminology without giving him proper credit, indeed no matter what tradition you follow the chances are you are practicing at least one exercise from Franz Bardons first book "Initiation Into

But who was Franz Bardon?

Unlike most "Magus" of the time Bardon seemed far more interested in producing something of value than he did in  trying to create a legend about himself. Indeed unlike a few other authors that could be mentioned he hardly ever mentions himself in any of his works. To find more about Franz Bardon we need to read the accounts of his life left by others. Our two main sources are  Frabato the Magican an occult novel/biography or Franz Bardon written by his secretary Otti Votavova  and Memories of Franz Bardon by his son Lumir and his student Dr M.K. Though the two accounts do have some contradictions they all agree on the following.

Franz Bardon was the oldest of 13 children, and the only son of a very devout Christian mystic, Viktor Bardon. Viktor felt that he was unable to obtain his spiritual goals and prayed that he receive this blessing. The story is that a sudden change came over his son. His parents and teachers become amazed by the sudden change as the boy developed a calm and wise temperament over night.  An advanced soul entered the body of his son Franz to become Viktor's spiritual teacher.

We are told nothing more about Bardon until he is an adult when he makes a living as stage magician with a twist! Under the stage name Frabato (Franz Bardon- Troppau-Opava) we are given accounts of his performance in which he demonstrated genuine magical abilities where most stage magicians use tricks. The reading of minds, healing, astral projection,Mind control, levitation and much more.  A little research assured me that Bardon did indeed gain some fame in Germany in the 1920's and 1930's under the stage name "Frabato"

A life of Persecution

As Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party gained power in the 1930's  occultists and spiritual groups were banned. Gipsy and Freemasons were taken to the concentration camps along with the Jews. In occupied country followers of the old ways were hunted down.

Otti Votavova states that Hitler belonged to the legendary "FOCG" or "99 Lodge" of black magicians, described in Frabato The Magician. In both accounts we hear of the attempts of this organisation to bring Franz Bardon into their fold and the eventual magical battle that ensures. Bardon however is eventually arrested by the Nazis and imprisoned in late 1941 along with one of his students. While the prisoners were being whipped, the disciple lost his control and uttered a kabbalistic formula to immobilize the torturers. However, the effects of the formula eventually wore off and the disciple was shot in revenge. When he refused to help them, the Nazis cruelly tortured Bardon. Among other things, they performed operations  without anesthesia, and forged iron rings around his ankles and fixed heavy iron balls to them.

After regaining his freedom, Bardon recommenced his occult work and healing.  This type of thing was strongly discouraged in the very repressive political climate of post war Czechoslovakia and indeed it turns out that the new Russian Communist ideologies persecuted free-thinkers, Gypsies, Jews,  and anyone interested in the occult or esoteric subjects  as efficiently as the former Nazi Rulers. In 1958 Bardon was arrested by the communist government for his occult practices and died the same year under mysterious circumstances.

Franz Bardon's Teachings

Bardon's works are most notable for their simplicity, their relatively small theoretical sections, and heavy emphasis on practice. Franz Bardon is of the old school of occult thought. To him we are dealing with real spiritual forces that you can learn with practice to draw into yourself and control, direct and condense.  In his books you will find instruction on all magical exercises Talismans,astral projection, mediation, control of the elements, concentration, mind reading, self hypnosis,spirit summoning, magical words and gestures, healing, Clairvoyance meditation/mental control, refining and balancing of the spirit, control of the elemental powers, conversation with unseen beings, astral projection, scrying, invocation of higher forces, invisibility, construction of talismans, fluid condensers, creation of elemental beings, magical pictures, loading and protecting a room/space and much much more.The whole course is completely based on the Four elements and directed towards physically tangible results. One thing that makes an enduring impression is Bardon's evident sincerity. He insists frequently that he is doing as much as possible to transmit a system of occult development to the serious student who is either unable to find a teacher or work in a group. .His stated purpose was to give the serious student of magic the most complete and best possible magickal instruction obtainable outside of an occult lodge and without the benefit of a personal teacher. Did he succeed? The only way to judge is by trying his curriculum yourself.

Books by or about Franz Bardon

Initiation into Hermetics By Franz Bardon Published by Merkur Publishing

The Practice of Magical Evocation By Franz Bardon Published by Merkur Publishing

The Key to the True Kabbalah By Franz Bardon Published by Merkur Publishing

Questions to the Master By Franz Bardon Published by Merkur Publishing

Memories of Franz Bardon By Lumir Bardon and Dr M.K Published by Merkur Publishing

Frabato the Magician By Otti Votavova    Published by Merkur Publishing

A Bardon Companion By Rawn Clark Published by O2