The Musical Soul Train

The concept of life is both intriguing as it is fascinating and sometimes downright complicated. I have realized that this journey on earth is what you make of it and it starts from the morning of life, from the time you are born, and what we went through in the early formative years that perhaps made the stamp on our nature. Most research says that up to 6 years of age the child’s mind is at its fertile best to mold one’s thinking patterns and eventually our character. I am sure that is a well documented possibility although I cannot recall my first couple years of physical existence myself to validate that view, but from my own experience our character is a product of how we were taught to see the world. This was made possible by well meaning adults who were probably molded themselves by their own parents and teachers, and we started to see and perceived the world around us through a well laid out domestication process. From age 7 onwards, we went thru the school process which was fascinating and in a short 16 years or so we entered the working domain and it was a brand new world altogether. We navigated this path of personal freedom to make a living for a good 30 to 40 years, started a family along the way and in the afternoon of life we decided to slow down and take it easy. At this juncture of our journey we may find a need to reflect on the dash from the time of our birth till today and begin to take stock. So how has the dash being the last 50 to 60 years, and upon reflection this is my personal story unfolding. Using the analogy of a long train ride, I knew I had crossed paths at many stations before, but did I stop to appreciate these stations of life or I was in a hurry to get to my next destination (whatever that was). When in school we dreamt of entering the work force as quickly as possible. Parents guided their children to study a skill that earned big bucks. Some parents will tell their kids to study hard or you will end up being a road sweeper. Everyone is chasing a qualification to compete in the world, and others even swear a double degree is the minimum to enter the job market. When we eventually settled in a vocation the next destination was to find a life partner and settle down. After that it was to own your first home. Before you know it, little feet came along and you had to secure their future as well. And the list goes on and you can easily fill in the rest of the journey yourself. In the final analysis, what was my ultimate destination anyway? The 12 stations represented in the following content of this book are various reflections from my personal vantage point and no matter what is your current stage in life, whether you are just a student, or already in the workforce or even a retiree, this sharing is relevant because all the stations offer its own unique reflective and learning perspective and are ultimately universally connected to each other as we progress through life. Some of these experiences come from observations I have made both in my own life and my family and also with acquaintances on a personal and professional level in the last four decades participating in the glorious maze of living life on this planet. I must also acknowledge all those beautiful people that have crossed my path and the many wisdom teachers that have taught me great insights and gave me a fresh view to see a new paradigm of possibilities in this remarkable world we live in. This became a reality because I became a student again at the young and tender age of 40 and spent the next 15 years thereafter in exploration and this time I launched my intent to the universe to show me the way. Little did I know that when I came across much later in the teachings of Lao Tze, a great sage in China also gave teachings of the TAO, which is also a representation of the “WAY”. He places the wisdom of living in 81 short verses which we will discuss more later on in the book. The WAY can be seen as the path to the truth, which is a fascinating proposition to view life in the modern age. When the student is ready the teachers started to appear. When you launch this vision of learning, the messages and teachings came to me in the books that I read and the people that I met. Somehow the attraction happened and I did not know how then but I have a better clue today. It is a fact and I can attest to it. When you humble yourself and take each day as a new learning experience you will see many things that were originally blindsided by your ego. One of my favorite guru’s Dr. Wayne Dyer had taught me along the way, was to sell your cleverness and purchase bewilderment. We have been educated along the way and we feel we have seen all there is to see and we label ourselves as “cleverer”, not realizing we know only a fraction of the truth. There is another sharing of this fact in the Ho’oponopono teachings which will be revealed later on in the journey. The signs are all out there and you need to open your inner vision (some refer to as the 3rd eye) to recognize it. Many will miss opportunities not because they want to, but because they do not see them as such. By opening our minds and hearts to embrace renewed learning towards self mastery of our lives, we share a common story with everyone of its immense possibility to be a renewed person to live an extra-ordinary life. This is also your story waiting to be lived and told. My best wishes to one and all to fulfill your destiny on board your own soul train.