As with Bringers of the Dawn, this review will serve double-duty as an article, and will be listed under both indices. And also for the same reason. Both were milestones for me, that provided a massive boost in my movement toward full consciousness and realization. And as with the former, there is quite a bit I disagreed with, but that doesn't matter. It is the opening of my creative mind that is important.
    I can't imagine there are many religious-based books that I would mostly agree with, or certainly any mainstream religions for the simple reason that they don't acknowledge Alien interference, and the fact that we are stuck in a simulated reality being controlled by off-planet entities. That, of course, changes one's outlook completely. But what I seek now is total disconnection and freedom. I have discovered the most profound wisdom in the strangest places. The problem with the bulk of people who erroneously believe they are "awakening," is that they are too similar to the order-followers of the Matrix. The difference is that they are hanging on the sound-bytes of "spiritual gurus," and parroting them, which is just as deadening as following the mainstream media and official narrative. The bulk of these "experts" are frauds and fakes who have discovered a way to make money and often quite a bit while leading their followers down the path to nowhere. I have heard or read people saying the most ridiculous things because someone they thought was "awakened" said it. This was the huge downfall of the entire "new Age Movement,"—orchestrated by the off-planet controllers who own the Matrix.
    It is only those who are able to digest the incoming information that is constantly being streamed at us and discern if it contains any bits of true wisdom who will break free. In that way, we build our own inner data bank, which allows us to exercise creative thinking. That is the only way we can move forward, and it is also why most of what I write is so off-the-wall for most people. I will say this one more time. We do not know the true nature of our reality because we have never experienced it. Those of us who are the pioneers are the ones creating the New Paradigm. We don't know what the rules are because we haven't created them yet. If you are not actively participating in the creation of the reality where you want to be, I guarantee, it will be no more satisfying to you that this one. Creative thinking is the creation of the New World. For those of you who think my ideas are outlandish and are still trying to make this reality work for you, I suggest you take the blue pill and go back to sleep because you aren't ready to move forward. This paradigm is done, and the coming weeks will make that painfully clear to even the most stubborn of you.
    Anyone that thinks we can have a Great Awakening on a planet with almost eight billion people is just plain foolish. All massive shifts are preceded by massive deaths. That is underway now. Remember, what you think you are seeing in the physical world is not what is really happening in the non-physical one. Those who do not evolve in order to survive these new energies will perish, or rather, go to the world suited to them. It is my gut feeling that there are numerous realities opening up to accommodate everyone, but I certainly do not want to end up in another Reptilian-controlled computer game. Do you?
     Thích Nhất Hạnh is a Vietnamese Buddhist Monk, a Zen Master, who is, at age 95 in stable health, but in a wheelchair. He suffered a severe brain hemorrhage in 2014. He spent most of his life at Plum Village Monastery in the South of France, which is governed by Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, which he founded. There are three branches of this organization in the U.S.—In California, New York, and Mississippi—and one in Germany. At age 92, he was allowed to return to Vietnam, and lives at one of the two temples which he established there. He was a peace activist, among other missions, and also an animal rights activist, having led an extremely busy life of selfless giving for the good of humanity and the planet. Years ago I read his Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, 1992. This present book was written in 2009. Hạnh (his given name, by which he is addressed), is fluent in French, English, and several other languages. He met Martin Luther King in 1966 and urged him to denounce the war in Vietnam. King later nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Later that year, King nominated Nhất Hạnh for the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize. In his nomination, King said, "I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of [this prize] than this gentle monk from Vietnam. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity".

    I urge everyone to read his Wikipedia Page linked above. And now on to the book. Here I will discuss aspects which I liked or found useful, and what I did not. Please keep in mind that I am not criticizing the book but simply finding the elements that best serve my own present spiritual needs. Everyone is at a different place in their spiritual quest, and in order to move forward, we must be able to discern what is most beneficial to get us where we want to be. And obviously someone who has been on the spiritual path for over four decades will have different needs than someone who is just beginning.
    First he begins with a short introduction and explains some terms which are used throughout the book. He recommends working with a master, of course, which is typical of Eastern philosophies. Living in the U.S., I tend to avoid these so-called "masters," as I have found from experience that too many are incompetent at best and total frauds at worst. Way back years ago, I became acquainted with a "trained shaman," and we worked together on some projects. She came out to the farm and did some "clearing rituals," which focused on a number of particular trees. But as I got to know her better, I realized something was terribly wrong. I was doing some of my work on her, and she openly admitted she was glad I was working on her because she "didn't have time" to work on herself. I was aghast, and began to avoid her. Incidentally, every tree she "worked on" on my farm promptly died. This is one case where I say we DO have to put ourselves first. Before we start telling others how they can awaken and clear their issues, we damn well better be sure we've cleared ours. Of course, ascending to higher and higher levels of spiritual purity is an ongoing challenge, but I can assure you, I personally have spent forty-two years working on myself.
    Using the breath to calm our inner self and train ourselves to react to everything life throws as us, is certainly a very old practice. But I had never used it to this extent in the work I had previously done. Just from a physical standpoint, I noticed two changes immediately. One, my entire upper torso really ached from using muscles I hadn't used so deliberately in a while. When I was a professional musician, of course those muscles were worked all the time from singing and playing wind instruments. And I also realized I was getting much more oxygen into my lungs, which at first caused me to get light-headed. So that has been two benefits for my body.
    But the mental and spiritual benefits have been much greater. I've found that synchronizing breathing with deep relaxation and affirmations has been a powerful boost for raising my levels of consciousness. The events that have occurred since I began using this process throughout the day, every day, has opened new pathways of much-needed information, including the events surrounding the "accident" I spoke of in my article, Worlds at War, Part 6: Leaving the Matrix and the End of All Wars. Again, it's not that I haven't done breathing and relaxation meditations before. Of course I have, for decades, but this is different, as I will demonstrate. I took ample notes throughout this book, and want to be very thorough in this review/article because those who choose to jump on board will find, perhaps, new means to accomplish their spiritual goals.
    If you are rather new to meditation, or serious inner work, I suggest you buy this or another of Hạnh's works and follow his instructions closely. As I am not new to it, my typical process is to learn what I need to know, then adapt it to my particular goals. Hạnh has grouped these meditations into different categories "Joy of Meditation as Nourishment," "Taking Refuge," "Touching, Connecting," "Looking Deeply, Healing," and so on. Many of them are simply ways to help people be aware of self, their bodies, the environment, etc.. Sadly, the VAST majority have little to no sense of self-awareness, as we witness now, with people readily subjecting themselves to one toxic jab after another, which will most likely kill them at some point. Or the fact that we have an out of control government, military, pharmaceutical/industrial complex and raging engineered climate disasters that go unnoticed. Thankfully that is beginning to change, but those who have been asleep at the wheel may not recover from the shock. Lisa Renee, in her latest blog, The Collective Awakening Event, says, "the fact humanity will have to recover from PTSD from all that has happened," will not necessarily be true for all of us. The more we learn to calm ourselves and use all this horror as a means to develop our spiritual and mental muscles, the more ready we will be to take that leap to the New Paradigm. As I've been mentioning, the upcoming articles I will be writing will focus on just that.
    When I first began using this method, I did them exactly as Hạnh instructed. I memorized the first several, and would say them as I was walking Molly, especially when she would linger in one spot because something smelled particularly interesting. Or in the fall, when she chased grasshoppers, I just let her do her thing, and I did mine. Each exercise consists of phrases for the in-breath, and for the out-breath. Here is the first:

Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.

Calm
Smile

Breathing in, I dwell in the present moment.
Breathing out, I know it is a wonderful moment.

Present Moment
Wonderful Moment

    So, with each phrase, you may repeat it as you like, then go on to the next. Then still breathing in-out, "'calm" would be the "in-breath" and "Smile" the "out-breath."

    I did this short little meditation for several days and noticed an immediate change in my whole presence. Then I went on to the next and the next. Here is Exercise Three.

Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.

In
Out

Breathing in, my breath grows deep.
Breathing out, my breath goes slowly.

Deep
Slow

Breathing in, I feel calm.
Breathing out, I feel ease.

Calm
Ease

Breathing in, I smile.
Breathing out, I release.

Smile
Release

Dwelling in the present moment.
I know it is a wonderful moment.

Present moment
Wonderful moment

    OK, so you get the idea. Again, for anyone serious about awakening and escaping this Matrix prison in which we find ourselves, Hạnh has written lots and lots of books. Amazon has tons of them. I try to avoid them though. There is another online book store I've been investigating, called Thriftbooks, and they have lots of his books, too, both new and used. I have never ordered from them. Yet.
    Next, I will go through my notes and point out parts of this book I liked and things with which I did not agree. With Buddhism, in general, I often feel that acceptance is stressed too much. No, we should NOT accept what is happening now on the planet, nor did Hạnh. He was a peacemaker, and an environmental and animal rights activist. But I'm speaking more of death, disease, old age. It has been my belief for a long time that those are casualties of the Matrix, when we get sent back to the recycling bin and have to do it all over again. As my regular readers know, I believe we are at the moment where we can escape mortality. Jesus showed us that death was an illusion. And so is the entire physical world we inhabit, and that is part of Buddhist beliefs. Then there's the thing about Aliens that changes everything. As I have said for many years, and Lisa Renee also, we really do not know what our reality is because we have had our memories stolen and perverted and have lived under an Alien belief system. Hạnh has written about Jesus, but I'm quite certain he hasn't written about Aliens! Anyways, here are some quotes from the book.
    On page 24, he wrote, "When there is a hurricane of emotions in us, if we know how to withdraw from the storm—that is, if we know how to withdraw from the turmoil of the brain—we shall not be swept away."Oh, my. At the end of this review, I will share something that happened during this horrible swath of violent weather that swept through on December 10-11. That statement became literal. Hạnh reminds us to practice every day, and when terrible situations arrive, we will be able to move outside of them, or influence the outcome. Here is another quote of wisdom: "When our mind is not calm, our perceptions are usually clouded; what we see, hear, and think does not reflect the truth of things, just as when the surface of a lake is troubled by waves, it cannot clearly reflect the clouds above." And I will add to that, the blatant mind-control programs that are attacking us from what is being sprayed, by all the EMFs and radio frequencies, and satellites, plus all the questionable substances in our food and water, and certainly in these poison clot-shots, are making it increasingly difficult to keep our minds under our own control. Most people have lost control and do not even realize it is not their own mind now doing their thinking.
    Here's one I really like, as I have been an advocate of independence and personal sovereignty for a good many years. "Buddha taught, 'Be an island unto yourself. You should take refuge in yourself and not in anything else.'" That's why I want my own little planet.
    Next, he gets into some other things that I really did not want to participate in. I realize too many people have lost touch with their own bodies, and when they get sick they run to a doctor and take absolutely NO responsibility for their own health. Again, that's why so many people have gotten these toxic vaccines without even investigating. Anyways, in the "Touching, Connecting" section, the exercises focuses on body parts. I really do not want to smile at my liver or feel compassion for my kidneys. Nor do I want to be aware of greasy food or tobacco smoke, because that shit isn't in my world. Nor is alcohol or other forms of addiction. However, I totally understand the helpfulness of these particular exercises for those who are just waking up to some sense of awareness, or trying to change destructive habits. But one sentence here caught my attention that I do agree with. "At first you just recognize and smile to the different parts of your body, but gradually you shall see each individual part very clearly and deeply. Every hair and every cell contains all the data necessary to make the universe." Well, once we escape the Matrix, that is. Interesting stuff to ponder.
    In keeping on this same theme, I really do not want to meditate on my rotting corpse, or worms or dried bones. Again, I believe these are manifestations of the Matrix and part of the Alien agenda, so I certainly do not want to give any of it acknowledgement. However, I am completely aware that Hạnh has a deeper reason for such meditations. He says, "Internal formations can also be seen as 'fetters' or 'knots' of suffering deep in our consciousness. The knots are created when we react emotionally to what others say and do, and also when we repeatedly suppress our awareness of both pleasant and unpleasant thoughts."
    For those of us who are greatly aware of our thoughts and feelings, and also of the constant bombardment of mind control devices hitting us 24/7, it can seem impossible that people are so out of touch with their thoughts and feelings. But they are, and it has become epidemic, of course, all part of the agenda. Once people have completely lost all sense of self, they can easily be made to do anything suggested or demanded by those they deem to be authorities.
    I was relieved to see later on, in Exercise Nineteen, that which seemed more in tune to what I associate with Buddhism. I understand that we must become aware of the physical world before we can go beyond it, and in this exercise, he takes us into the non-physical realities.

Seeing my body has no birth and death, I breathe in.
Seeing my body free from birth and death, I breathe out.

Seeing my consciousness has no birth and death, I breathe in.
Seeing my consciousness free from birth and death, I breathe out.

    He gets even more metaphysical in Exercise Twenty.

Time contains time and time contains space. Space contains space and space contains time. Space is time itself. Space and time cannot exist separately from each other. One kṣanạ (point instant) contains infinite time, and the smallest particle contains limitless space.

    But in reality, time and space do not exist at all, right? It is all just an illusion, a projection of our minds. At least that has been my theory for a good many years. And I'm not sure I agree with the Buddhist tenet that "we are all one." In fact, I'm sure I don't. Buddha probably did not take into account our Alien controllers. And now we have all these creatures on this planet that are half robots. No, I'm not one with them.
    The next quotes I will share are along the same line, but these I do agree with, and will explain. This is Exercise Twenty-Nine, "Mindfulness of the Awakened One."

Seeing the Buddha before me in the seated meditation position, I breathe In.
Joining my palms in respect, I breathe out.

Buddha sitting
Joining palms

Seeing the Buddha in me, I breathe in.
Seeing myself in the Buddha, I breathe out.

Buddha in me
Me in Buddha

Seeing the boundary between the Buddha and myself disappear as the Buddha smiles, I breathe in.
Seeing the boundary disappear between the one who respects and the one who is respected disappear as I smile, I breathe out.

Buddha smiles, no boundary
I smile, no boundary

Seeing myself bowing deeply to the Buddha, I breathe in.
Seeing the strength of the Buddha enter me, I breathe out.

Bowing deeply to Buddha
Strength of Buddha in me

    Isn't that a great meditation? Hạnh further states, "It is rare in religious traditions to find this equality between the one who pays homage and the one who is paid homage stated in such an uncompromising way. When we pay homage like this, we do not feel weak or needy. Instead, we are filled with confidence in our capacity to be awakened in the way that the Buddha was."
    I want to point out that traditional Christianity, in fact, thrives on making its followers weak and needy. The main focus in many denominations is on our sinfulness and unworthiness, which is one of the many reasons I steer clear of that religion. However, I am a devoted follower of Jesus—the Jesus who came here to show us how powerful we are and what masters of creation we were always meant to be. Just check out my Bible articles—click on the Gospel Index. The Bible is filled with examples of Jesus' mastery of the physical (illusory) world, and his message to us that we can do everything he did, and more. We, or those of us who still maintain our souls, are and always have been gods and goddesses, creators, Buddhas, Christs. The articles I write from now on will focus on those qualities.
    Hạnh ends the book with some meditations that teach us the value and equality of all life forms, human, plants, animals, and ways that our selfish and destructive behavior can do great harm.
    Now, I will continue with ways I've used these exercises in the meditation works in which I engage. I began experimenting with different phrases for both in-breath and out-breath several weeks after reading the book. As you might expect, my main areas of concern are escaping the Matrix and reestablishing my creator abilities. For the past two months, I've settled on one in-breath, and have been adding different phrases to the out-breaths gradually. I now have twenty-two, which I always say in the same order, of course, because it makes them easy to remember. Each one I repeat three times. I do this numerous times a day.
    I want to point out that any work we do on ourselves is also Service to Others. As each person sheds more of the old paradigm, raises their vibration, and grows in divinity, it has a ripple effect across the entire planet, universe, and perhaps even farther. As the ripple takes effect, it also adds to our personal strength and power. I cannot stress enough how important inner-work is.
    Some of the phrases are more geared toward me and my situation, but many others are universal. Here is my in-breath, followed by some examples of my out-breath phrases. Of course, everyone should create phrases that have meaning to them. And obviously, the phrases should all be benevolent and stated as an affirmation in a positive manner.

Breathing in, I create my own reality.

Breathing out:
I have disconnected from the Matrix.
The truth has set us free.
I always knew this was all an illusion.
I am a spiritual being, not a robot.
I am powerful.
The physical world has no power over me.
I create everything I want and need with my mind.
I am sovereign and independent.
No one or no thing can ever interfere with us again.
I am free of all mind-control programs.
I am free from all Alien institutions and agendas.
I live my life in peace, joy and freedom.

    There. So that should give you some ideas. Also, I realize that the Matrix blocks our creator abilities, and that is worsening as the controllers become more desperate. We are having more and more mind-control shit dumped on us every day. So much for all those warm days we were supposed to get. We are in an ice-pit here, filled with toxic and mind-altering substances. 26 degrees is NOT HOT.
    So what I began doing quite a while back was travelling outside of the Matrix and off this hell-planet, of course, to My Own Little Planet, which I have been fervently creating, and will talk about that in upcoming articles. So, I do these meditations while I am "there," and I say them in the past as if they had already happened. Remember, our reality is created with our minds. Period. Why do you think mind-control is the number one goal of their agenda?
    Now, I want to tell you a rather amazing story of what happened during those killer storms on December 11. I am not into numerology at all. However, occasionally, certain number combinations glare at me, as something of a concern. This date was one of them, connected to the "accident" that happened in October, and it is strictly personal. There is only one other person alive that I know of who would understand the significance. She was my best friend growing up. I have not been in touch with her in decades. I hope she is still alive.
    Anyways, that upcoming day brought me serious feelings of apprehension, and when I saw we were to get hit with serious weather once again, the feelings increased. I had this prescience of a final battle being played out that would determine if I was still here to be completing this article. Early in the day, there was a severe thunderstorm watch, which included me, but it petered out in the distance.
    But later on, I was watching radar, another storm approached. However, there were no warnings, and it did not seem threatening. Well, it was. All of a sudden, this torrential downpour hit with high powered winds, creating a wall of water like the one that did so much damage to my house during Hurricane Laura. I stood on my porch, terrified. Then, all of a sudden, I stretched out my arms in front of me, palms outward, and began to deep breathe. I kept saying, "Shhh . . . calm, shhh . . .calm."
    And it stopped in its tracks! This was not coincidence, because as I was doing the calming of this storm, I went outside of myself, outside of the Matrix, and all my emotions disappeared. I knew it as it happened, and it was a feeling I had never experienced. I was not able to re-create it the rest of the day, however those 48 mph wind gusts did not materialize here. It was an annoying and miserable day, but we are all safe. The humorous part was, I kept singing in my head that 1971 pop hit, Put Your Hand in the Hand. The whole thing was surreal, to say the least. But whatever really did happen or was "supposed" to happen, I won that battle. That song by the way, was a one-hit wonder, but a pretty big hit, nonetheless.

Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water.
Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea.
Take a look at yourself and you can look at others differently,
By putting you hand in the hand of the man from Galilee.

    I want to make one more comment about the above experience, then will end this review/article. Back when I was studying piano with Richard Morris at CCM (The College-Conservatory of Music) at the University of Cincinnati, he specialized in a very precise technical method that was extremely difficult at first. But once I knew what it was supposed to feel like in my hands, slowly, I was able to recall it, until it became ingrained in me. That's that way all muscle-memory works—once you feel it, you know you will be able to recall it with practice. That is what sort of happened here. But I also had a great flash of insight during this incident. As said above, all emotions disappeared, so I was able to go outside myself and draw upon something much greater, without interference from the Matrix. Is that how Jesus was able to perform all his miracles? I believe so, and now I know the direction in which I must go with this.
    But this also gave me more insight on how the Matrix controls us. By our emotions, of course. We are creating all this horror through our emotions, just as the controllers planned. Why do you think they keep us in a constant state of chaos? More on all this to follow.
    And one last point, which is purely egotistical! I hope someone notices that I was able to figure out how to code all those diacritical markings in Thích Nhất Hạnh's name. The book excludes them, but Wikipedia does not, so I figured I challenge myself. I am used to writing ISO Character codes, but it is easy stuff like accents or umlauts in French, and I read a lot of books set in France, so have many of them memorized, plus a little notebook I've compiled. But these Vietnamese markings. OH! It took a bit of figuring out, but now I know how to do it!

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