ROUND THE CORNER
Or simply ‘round the bend!’?
As a young child in the very early sixties my parents would take me out in the car with my younger siblings often for no other reason than a ‘drive out’ or, in modern parlance, a change of scenery. Money was scarce but fuel was a relatively cheap form of ‘entertainment’ and my dad had an affinity with the motor vehicle which was reflected in his occupation as a panel beater. Thus it was not unusual for my family to escape the confines of our house for the open road which in those days made for pleasurable driving with no heavy traffic, either in volume or tonnage, few, if any, traffic lights and courtesy from other drivers that today’s generation would possibly find hard to believe.
Anyway the purpose of this introductory paragraph is simply to explain the origin or inspiration for the title of this book as it was on these family outings that I would sit, without any restraining harness or seat belt, on the back seat of our car with my brother and, later, my sister at my side. Invariably my dad would take a bend or simply make a turn and with it I would ‘sing’ the words “round the corner” whilst occasionally letting gravity take my body with it!
Why ‘round the corner’? Well as a young child I suppose it was simply logical to acknowledge the sensation that I was experiencing and one in which I obviously took some delight. Remember also that this was truly an age of innocence with such simple pleasures reflecting the adage that less is more. As for why this should be the title of this book well you will simply have to read on.
The choice of the title was amazingly confirmed to me in the astrological forecast written by Jonathan Cainer for the bank holiday weekend at the end of May 2008 when I went online to read what he had to say for my sun sign - Cancerians are famous for their ability to ask questions that never occur to others. You 'think round corners'. You rarely take anything at face value alone! A finer example of synchronicity as I have ever experienced although as an astrologer myself, albeit not in the league of Mr Cainer, I attribute my unconventional approach to life to my natal moon being in Aquarius in the 11th house. Suffice it to say that my Aquarian qualities are magnified by this placement and, in case you were alarmed by this reference, you can rest assured that you won’t need to have an understanding of astrology to be able to read on.
Whilst we may know what is around the corner of our local neighbourhood streets in terms of the physical structures nobody can predict the scene that will greet their eyes once the corner has been turned for ordinarily it will be in a constant state of activity governed by factors such as the time of day, the time of year, the weather and repairs, re-development etc. The same is true of our lives - we don't know who or what will greet us next.
Life is lived in linear fashion through the world’s Vatican imposed adoption of the Gregorian calendar in the late 16th century and with it people have become accustomed to looking back and looking forward. The clock of course had already existed for a couple of centuries as an advanced measure of the time of day. No one can imagine looking sideways or around the corner as peripheral vision is rare and corners don’t exist in time or do they? That's a whole different story.
How this book came about.
I felt it appropriate to provide a brief background in order for readers of this book to be able to understand my motivation for putting pen to paper or rather my fingers on a keyboard.
Whilst a detailed biography may be found on my personal website my life history is frankly of little relevance or interest to most people and thus I don’t intend ‘boring’ you with it in these pages.
Instead I will tell you that I left Newton-le-Willows (then in Lancashire, UK) Grammar school with an undistinguished set of ‘O’ level results at the age of 16 and spent a further year in higher education at Warrington technical college before an uncle, who was aware of my keen interest in aviation, let me know of an opening for a junior travel clerk that had been advertised in the staff magazine of the organisation he worked for - a part of the British & Commonwealth Shipping Company which owned the Union Castle line (This was the first of three major shipping lines that would propel my travel career – pun intended).
So it was in September 1975 that I began a thirty-odd year association with the retail travel industry which would see me rise rapidly through the ranks and own my own travel business within six short years. Travel is an exciting business to work in and the perks (regularly being wined and dined as well as being offered ‘educationals or familiarisation (fam) trips’ – foreign travel with little or no financial cost as its purpose is to educate and incentivise the people at the sharp end to send their clients to specific destinations and accommodation, hopefully with the company, be it a tour operator, an airline or cruise line, who had provided and sponsored the experience) compensated for the poor level of remuneration so I can honestly claim that I had total job satisfaction and I have been highly privileged to enjoy some amazing experiences. However all good things must come to an end and with the official dissolution of the marriage to my wife and business partner of 26 years in 2007 it was not long after that my ties with the business we had jointly created were severed completely through an agreement reached with our fellow partners who had both joined our fledgling firm shortly after its formation and thus got their just reward for their considerable input.
Sadly my marriage had begun to fail a few years earlier and in my search for happiness I had met and fell in love with a new partner with whom I subsequently had a baby boy who is exactly 21 years and 51 weeks younger than his half-sister, the daughter I had with my former wife. It was my new partner who was to resurrect my long-standing interest in the esoteric sciences and astrology particularly. Having become disenchanted with the travel industry for various reasons I was happy to do something completely different and being accustomed to self-employment I decided to launch a new business venture in the field of the esoteric sciences as it just ‘felt right’ – my materialistic desires having abated I was once more doing what I enjoyed albeit this time I have another young child to support and although my indebtedness is virtually equal to my assets I am happy because I know that I am on the right path at an incredibly exciting time and literally being penniless doesn’t matter.
In my customary manner I have done a lot of research to expand my knowledge of astrology and related subjects in order that I can serve my clients well and thus it saddens me to hear people deride a subject of which they know little other than perhaps the sun sign horoscopes that appear in the tabloid press. What saddens me even more is that so many former ‘friends’, especially male, have seemingly disassociated themselves with someone who they presumably perceive has literally gone round the bend – mid-life crisis is a convenient, if somewhat inappropriate, label and not uncommon in guys of my age. For me to have left a good wife, a successful business and to have sired a baby and turned to the ‘stars’ for my livelihood as I was close to 50 was simply too much for many to accept. The irony is that real astrology is about ‘knowing thyself’ and until the mid 19th century was much respected. I know myself today better than ever and astrology has not only validated that knowledge but also given me a far greater understanding so when I hear the subject ridiculed I am apt to quote Sir Isaac Newton who whenever he was mocked would reply ‘Sir, I have studied the subject, you have not’. This quote is often used by astrologers as it was reputed that it was quoted by Sir Isaac in the context of his own interest in astrology, something which is not verifiable.
Mid-life crisis or not, there is no more humbling an experience than to witness the birth of your own child which as most parents can testify is also an intensely emotional and joyous occasion. To be granted a second chance and to have a beautiful healthy son to compliment my equally beautiful healthy daughter is the best gift that any man and woman can give each other. We left conception to fate but before the pregnancy was actually known I had intuitively purchased a very apt gift to mark the occasion – a sculpture of Gaia, mother earth, modelled on a pregnant woman.
I also have learnt that people in this day and age sadly cannot understand someone, particularly a male of my advancing years, who is willing to help them without reward – I do give my time and information freely as I’ve done throughout my life and especially whenever I can help someone in need. Their cynicism is borne out of the commercialisation of our world and the commonly accepted belief that you don’t get ‘owt for nowt’, to use a favourite Yorkshire colloquialism. The truth is that what you give out comes back to you tenfold although not necessarily in financial or easily recognised ways.
To further illustrate the lack of respect for the subject of astrology in general I shall relate my experience of being invited to participate in a regional BBC news show which was covering a press release by a national motor insurance provider claiming that certain sun signs were more likely to be involved in accidents. When asked for my proposed line of response I said it is not as simple as sun signs and came up with a presentation that would appease the producers by acknowledging some facts as true but also getting home the message that a person’s sun sign alone is not sufficient data to be quoting such statistics. It transpired that the whole feature was simply designed to offer no more than entertainment value and to be a free commercial for the household name insurer thus it was no surprise that the BBC had found an astrologer who put personal fame before principles and appeared in a brief shot of a few seconds, sat at a table in a darkened room with a crystal ball and some tarot cards before him, saying that the press release was true!
It was through my studies and insatiable quest for knowledge on all related matters that I was to come across Mayan cosmology and the whole debate on the prophecies for the year 2012 which remarkably are not very well known in the UK outside of spiritual circles. Yet if you were to Google the topic you should be prepared for hundreds of thousands of references, go to any online bookstore and choose from hundreds of different books but go in to a high street WH Smiths or Waterstones and the odds are high that there will not be a single book on the subject! People who are aware of, and who have also probably debunked, David Icke and his conspiracy theories should perhaps think again. Although I have not personally read anything other than the odd review of his works I am of the opinion that there is a ‘cover up’ going on or at the very least a ‘playing down’ of something that is potentially so terribly significant to all life forms on this planet. Consequently I believe that it is my frustrations that have in part led to the creation of this book.
In contrast, in the USA and Australia more people are spiritually enlightened whilst others are preparing for the worst case scenarios by building shelters, stocking up with provisions and all manner of survival aids including weaponry!
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I shall continue by way of an apology to those readers who may rapidly form the opinion that this book treats a potentially serious subject in such a lightweight fashion although naturally I do think that ‘light’ is an extremely appropriate word and I would hope by the end that you will agree that a light-hearted approach is eminently more suitable than its counterpart which whilst it might appeal to the entertainment industry is against the whole spirit of my personal life philosophy.
There will undoubtedly be many detractors who believe that the comments contained within this book are not only cynical but also may be regarded as unfounded or absurd in the extreme and that my approach is inappropriate at a time when these same people believe that society needs to be reassured that it has a conventional future. To those people I say stop thinking in conventional ways, stop being nothing more than a puppet and be your own person because the future in our own lifetimes has the potential to be a world of harmony free of the constraints of governments and corporations who have robbed us of our personal identities and even, in some cases, our souls. That is not to say there won’t be any hardship or pain during the transitionary period because I would truly be deluded if I said otherwise.
Yes I have read many spiritual books and I am well aware that it is kudos in many quarters to ridicule ‘new age’ thinking but when everything fits and there is a resonance to the words one reads there comes a time to follow the courage of one’s own convictions and to identify with your life’s purpose. So with Gandhi’s famous quote in mind, First they ignore you, then they mock you, then they fight you, then you win, I am doing just that knowing that there are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of people around the world who are sharing my experience but who can’t or won’t express their thoughts. The proliferation of spiritual literature to cater for this increasing awareness is testimony to the fact that the evolution of human consciousness is fact and not merely fiction.
For as long as I can remember I have always felt that the life we lead is not true to nature and more importantly it is one ultimately that will destroy the planet that we live on. Of course today this is a fairly common belief amongst people of all generations around the world as a result of the media attention that is now being given to the depletion of the world’s natural resources and the pollution of the planet. Politicians and celebrities are jumping on the ‘green bandwagon’ because it is suddenly fashionable but more importantly increases their own popularity and boosts their egos.
For me it has always been more than token gestures such as recycling and using greener renewable energy sources which, admirable as they may appear, are nothing more than a flea on an elephant in terms of our efforts to save the planet. In my belief the root cause of the world’s problems is too many individuals and institutions (governments and religions are as guilty as the giant corporations) with their own self-interests at heart who unfortunately vastly outnumber those whose intentions are truly noble and genuinely humanitarian.
How many times have you supported charitable causes to subsequently discover that a large part of your contribution pays for ‘overheads’ or that the supplies that have been donated to the world’s needy have been appropriated by those in power or even destroyed? Why should people like Robert Mugabe be allowed to exist in the world today? Why should your country of birth deny you rights to live your life as others do and particularly if you are a female born in to a family that has been indoctrinated by a fundamental masculine dominated religion that espouses good but is actually barbaric? Some would say that karma answers these questions and that karma is also the reason why so many spirits are on this unique planet (the blue marble) of ours at this time to experience a cycle that has happened roughly every 26000 years.
With a global population fast approaching seven billion and the emergence of the eastern giants of India and China as consumers with a voracious appetite for western living standards it is hardly rocket science to deduce that the world’s finite supply of natural resources will be depleted increasingly rapidly and in the process the price of commodities will hit the roof as those nations without control of their own resources will be vulnerable to the corporations whose sole aim will be to capitalise on the worsening situation to enhance profits and ensure not only their survival but consolidation of their global position. In the UK, as elsewhere, the privatisation of the utilities will probably turn out to be the biggest and most embarrassing political mistake ever. The Enron fiasco will pale into insignificance.
From my personal perspective of a lifetime in the travel industry I have seen the incredibly sad transformation of an industry that was led by some remarkably altruistic entrepreneurs into one that is run by ruthless accountants and manipulative marketers with barely token recognition for those that do the actual donkey work and those that supply the income. This situation is of course mirrored in all industries and has been exacerbated by the intervention of governmental bodies whose bureaucracy and inefficiency makes trading extremely difficult. Of course the governments have also recognised the travel industry as a ‘cash cow’ and are taxing travellers in every way that they can with the added bonus today that it can be justified as helping offset the environmental damage which they are actually worsening by their own approval of both extra terminals and runways. Whilst I have the UK government and Heathrow airport in mind, the same is true of countries around the world where the status of capital cities has to be upheld at whatever the cost to both the country and the local taxpayers/residents.
The media’s undoubtedly biased reporting of events, prioritising bad news over good news and gross intrusion of personal privacy with little or no respect for dignity, has had a significant effect on our perception of the world in the latter half of the twentieth century which is fortunately now beginning to be redressed through the medium of the internet which, although not perfect by any means, is at least giving everyone their own say. Satellite television and the tabloids are the equivalent of junk food whilst terrestrial channels and the broadsheets have had their own integrity brought into question by pandering to commercial pressures and the whims of their owners.
The bottom line is that everyone, almost without exception, leads a life based on fear which has led to them looking after number one. Fear is conditioned in to us from an early age and yet often we discover that our fears are irrational and that reality turns out to be far more palatable than we imagined. Recognising this fundamental truth is an important first step in accepting that we do not need to live our lives based on the fear that religions, governments and institutions such as banks have encouraged us to believe and this is not empty rhetoric on my part as I practice what I 'preach'!