The story and characters portrayed in this book are fictional and simply a vehicle for expressing the author’s philosophical beliefs. Through a series of conversations, the characters draw out an understanding of the essence of the Three Principles of Mind, Consciousness and Thought.
Chapter One
Returning to England
On the twenty-third of June 1969, my associate, Dr. Janet Maxwell, and I boarded Flight 314 to London, the last leg of our journey to England. Once we were settled and comfortable, the plane’s engines droning in the background, I found myself pondering the enormous changes that had occurred in both our lives. We were now experiencing a quality of happiness that neither of us could have imagined possible a short time ago. The transformation started two years ago when I first attended a psychology conference held close to the beautiful little village of Burton-on-the-Water. There, I had had the good fortune to meet an extraordinary English gardener by the name of Andy Miller. I was so taken by his philosophy that the following year I had urged some friends, including Janet, to accompany me to meet with him again. This simple gardener talked in such a mystical manner that we barely understood much of what he said. But whatever we did absorb gave us answers far beyond anything we could have imagined to questions raised during our professional training.
He had talked about the world being a mystical, divine dream, saying that we are the dreamers; now Janet and I found all our dreams were coming true. The trouble is, neither of us understood why our lives were becoming better and better every day, so now we were returning to spend more time with the mysterious gardener and examine more thoroughly his most unusual philosophy regarding the secret of the mind.
After an eight-hour flight, we were grateful to arrive at Heathrow Airport just outside London. We cleared Customs, then hailed a taxi to take us to the hotel where we were to stay the night. Tired as we were, it still felt wonderful to be back in England again and we were keyed up in anticipation of the adventure of discovery we were about to begin.
The following morning after breakfast, we headed to Waterloo Railway Station full of excitement at the thought of meeting the mysterious gardener again. We boarded a train crowded with all kinds of people; businessmen and women in somber suits sat next to youthful travelers in brightly colored and wildly original outfits, elderly couples on day trips smiled serenely at young families enjoying a holiday atmosphere. Mothers who appeared to have their hands full tried, with some success, to keep exuberant children in their seats. Fifteen minutes later, the train pulled out of the station and we were on our way to Torquay, where the gardener now resided. Janet and I admired the beauty of the English countryside as it rolled past our windows. There was a timeless tranquility about it, and the hectic hustle and bustle of life in the United States seemed a million miles away
As professional psychologists, we still couldn’t quite believe that we had flown thousands of miles to try to gain knowledge about our own profession from an old English gardener. I’m sure most of our friends would think we were crazy. How could we possibly explain that we had learned more about our profession by listening to the words of an old gardener who has had absolutely no training in our field than we had from our formal studies? Yet we think that what we had stumbled upon was astounding. Although at the time we had understood very little of what the gardener tried to explain to us, after we arrived home, the changes that began to occur in our lives were inconceivable. Literally, our lives made a stupendous shift for the better. Unbelievable as it sounds, my personal and family life changed overnight to something I had only dreamed was possible. The success in my work also increased dramatically Janet’s experience was similar; her already happy personal life became even better, and her success rate with clients also improved. The bizarre thing was that neither Janet nor I could explain why all these changes were taking place.
There was something exceptional about this gardener; his sense of security in what he said enhanced his credibility and increased the authority of his words. His air of confidence said, not arrogantly, but lovingly, “I’d love to help you.” That’s why Janet and I had returned to England. We hoped to engage him in further discussions on his philosophical and psychological beliefs, and to find out more about what seemed, to us, a mystery.
As Andy had predicted, the train ride was much more relaxing than traveling by car, and allowed us a far greater degree of freedom to appreciate the beauty of the English countryside we were passing through. The rolling hills dotted with sheep and the patchwork of fields basking in the sunshine seemed to welcome us back again. The slight rocking of the train had an almost hypnotic effect and we sat quietly, each immersed in our own thoughts, gazing out the carriage window.
After an hour or so, I mentioned to Janet, “My wife, Norma, will be joining me after our visit to Torquay. She’s really looking forward to this vacation.”
“When will she arrive?” Janet asked.
“The day we get back to London I pick her up at Heathrow Airport. I asked her if she wanted to come and spend some time with us in Torquay to meet Andy and Emily, but I think she felt a little shy and said she’d rather meet me later.”
“I know you told me before,” Janet said, smiling, “but remind me again. What are you two up to on this trip? Are you going to take England by storm?” Janet grinned. “You’d better be careful if you go bargain hunting down in Petticoat Lane. I don’t know about you, but I still haven’t got the dollar and pound values straight in my head,” she said, laughing ruefully. “What appears to be a wonderful find here might not look like such a good deal when you get back to Denver and work out the exchange rate!”
“Well,” I said, “forewarned is forearmed! I’ll have to make sure we don’t get carried away, but I don’t think I stand a chance! Damage control is probably the best I can hope for,” I said, chuckling. “We plan to stay five days in London and see all the famous places such as the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, the British Museum and a host of other sights that Norma has been researching. Then, after our stay in London, we’re heading north to a place called Newcastle where Norma has some distant relatives. Maybe we’ll uncover some family secrets! Or on second thought, that might not be so good. Who knows what we could discover?”
“She must be quite excited at the thought of coming to England.”
“Excited is hardly a strong enough word, Norma has been trying to figure out her wardrobe since the first day we decided to come and she’s been reading everything she could lay her hands on about the areas we plan to visit.”
Janet smiled warmly. “I know you’ll both have a wonderful time.”
After a three-and-a-half-hour journey through fields and the outskirts of towns, through cuts and around hills, by the backdoors of villages, catching quick glimpses of ancient cathedrals and minutes- long views of a rugged coastline and busy estuaries, the train finally pulled into Torquay, well named “The English Riviera.” As planned, we quickly hailed a taxi to take us to the car rental office. Soon we were on our way to the Sea View Hotel where we would be spending the next few days.
We felt lucky to be back in England and were delighted by the unexpected sight of palm trees swaying in the ocean breeze. I had never imagined England with palm trees; I always thought it would be too cold. The very sight of them added to the holiday feeling of the town. Brightly striped awnings flapped over gaily painted shop fronts, inviting strolling tourists to view all kinds of wares. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, from the staid middle-aged couples walking hand in hand to the wandering young hippies in their Indian cotton clothes and dangling earrings. Their tousled appearance somehow added to the impression of childlike innocence, making it easier to understand their adamant belief that they could change the world—if only people would listen to their message.