Different worlds

Published: Mon, 02/24/25

I am up to day 10 of a writing challenge programme. The lady who organises and leads it does it every year I think but this is the first time for me since February 2019 and it almost seems like we are living in a different world now. Worlds that were pre and are post ‘covid’ with all the upheavals that caused. The biggest disturbance was in awakening a certain number of people to the extent which globalists are willing to lie to us to get what they want. There is also the growing contrast is between those who can see through propaganda, and those who don’t recognise propaganda for what it is and still believe the narratives they are fed by governments and corporations. My biggest realisation has been the recognition of the importance of taking responsibility for one’s own beliefs. Understanding concepts such as the Overton Window, narrative management, controlled opposition, and the ‘limited hangout’ is certainly helpful for
understanding the information landscape. More important still is accepting that often you cannot know what to believe. Two contradictory narratives may very well originate from the same source with the intention of creating and maintaining divisions. Divide and conquer is a very effective strategy. It is very easy to get caught up in conflicts between political parties, races, competing narratives, or ideologies. However, the real war is on truth itself. Belief in what is right and true is the basis of resistance to tyranny. However, when truth itself is elusive and all belief is manipulated then those who do believe are frequently misled and those who reject belief will have no direction for their own lives or any capacity to lead, or guide, others.
There are a number of reasons why I don’t write much these days. I do have he excuse of a lively five year old around the house who is quite a distraction. I have also absorbed a great deal of new information and ideas in the past couple of years, if not longer, and I do know that the only way to process new paradigms is in silence. It is also easy to get into pointless arguments about events which easily divide opinion and yet have a deeper significance which would unite sensible people if they could see the truth of the situation. I am not claiming that I can see truths that elude other people. I just don’t want the responsibility of adding to the heat generated by pointless arguments which only feeds those who create false narratives.
My current writing challenge has the emphasis on the telling of personal stories, rather than commenting on the wider world. Here is one I shared a few days ago:
‘As I write this I am aware of my crooked little finger on my right hand. I could probably have got it fixed at the time but I think that it is too late now. The discomfort and inconvenience is a reminder of something stupid which happened many years ago.
More recently, in 2012, I read some of Geoff Thompson’s books and attended some seminars he was teaching. A theme that he referred to several times was how his energetic state tended to create his reality. There is a specific example which he shares in his book ‘Mind my Back’, an account of Geoff’s time working as a ‘bouncer’ in very rough pubs and nightclubs in 1980s Coventry. Mr Thompson was famous for having had something like two hundred fights, and something seemed to kick off nearly every time he was on duty. Most of his colleagues would deal with occasional trouble but Geoff seemed to create violence where ever he went. Then one day he realised that indeed his angry and aggressive energetic state was creating violent situations and he could do something about it. He says that he cleared his house of the numerous weapons he had lying around and made a serious effort to address his inner state of mind and emotion. And that
was it, no more violence, even when he was working the doors. Later he left door work and became a writer and teacher of self-defence and personal growth.
This story rang true for me as I went though a stage in my early 30s when I was deeply unhappy in my personal life and I really didn’t know where I was going next. Learning Stav had also awakened certain ‘powers’ in me, mainly for healing and this meant that I could influence situations almost without realising I was doing it. The problem is that spiritual awakenings take you through a ‘sphere of delusion’ before you get to a level of responsible spiritual awareness. I an basically a gentle person who does his best to avoid hurting other people. However, my new energetic state combined with an intense unhappiness created some strange situations.
I generally get on well with animals and dogs in particular generally like me and want to make friends. During the period in question perfectly nice dogs would go a bit crazy around me and bark furiously at me as I passed by. The creatures certainly didn’t want to come close to me. Humans felt it too, but generally rationalised their responses.
In the end I managed to trigger a violent encounter with a local teenager who was well known for being a bit of a thug. It all got a bit nasty with the police eventually getting involved. There were cuts and bruises on both sides and I still have the damaged finger to remind me.
I realised what had happened straight away and made efforts to rectify my energetic state and take responsibility for effects that I have on those around me. Part of the reason that I invested quite a lot in working with Geoff Thompson a decade or so ago was that he and I had shared a similar experience in gaining awareness of the energetic effect we could have. Although, looking back it seems that I caught on a lot quicker than he did.
When I teach martial arts I have a lot of technical skill to share. However, I always emphasise the importance of being aware of, and managing our energetic state, so that we are creating peace and harmony in our immediate environment rather than stirring up fear and anger.’
Regards
Graham
We have day course in Salisbury on the 5th of April, full details here http://iceandfire.org.uk/salisbury05042025.html
I am teaching on Monday evenings in Beverley http://iceandfire.org.uk/selfdefence.html
I have booked Silver Forest for the 5th to 7th of September for the 2025 Stavcamp, basic details on the website, more to follow very soon. https://stavcamp.org/index.html

Graham Butcher
21 Beaver Road
Beverley East Yorkshire HU17 0QN
UNITED KINGDOM

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