2Promises Read online

  2Promises

  Title Page

  Chapter 1: Where do thoughts go?

  Chapter 2: The Spirit Warrior and the Gieging Teachings

  Chapter 3: The Sly Fox

  Chapter 4: The White Rose

  Chapter 5: Focus on the outcome that you want

  Chapter 6: Adventures in another world - Kolkata

  Chapter 7: Remove the obstacles

  Chapter 8: Mituraj, a good friend

  Chapter 9: Trees standing in water - Toronto

  Chapter 10: Kaigara, Japanese for Shell

  Chapter 11: The Prettiest Skyline in North America

  Chapter 12: Sakura’s Family Secret

  Chapter 13: Maid of the Mist

  Chapter 14: Hoshi - Truths, Falsehoods and the Pyrenees

  Chapter 15: The Grand Place, Brussel

  2Promises

  By

  Phil Armstrong

  Book 1 of 2

  Published by

  2Promises Publishing House

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  Title and Copyright Page

  2Promises

  Phil Armstrong

  Published by Phil Armstrong at Smashwords

  Thank you for downloading this free eBook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form, with the exception of quotes used in reviews. Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. Thank you for downloading this free eBook.

  Copyright 2012 Phil Armstrong. Discover other titles by Phil Armstrong at www.2promises.com

  9 780557 231263

  ISBN 978-0-557-23126-3

  90000

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  I dedicate this novel to my wife Roseanne.

  She has provided love, guidance, compassion, and unwavering support.

  She continues to be my source of pure energy!

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  2Promises

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  Chapter 1: Where do thoughts go?

  The rain came heavy and sudden. The gale was fierce and constant. Beth turned her face away from the wind and shivered. She was cold and hungry, and her clothes seemed to soak up the water. The cobbled streets glistened in the rain. The old fashioned streetlights bled a dim amber light onto the quaint street. The village of Haworth is a popular place for visitors. Haworth is located in West Yorkshire, England. The village has a picturesque main street lined with Dickens curiosity shops selling a variety of interesting things. Haworth remains a magnet for tourists seeking a glimpse of the past, and a connection to the literary world of the Bronte sisters. Beth lived in Haworth, but her immediate needs masked how picture perfect Main Street appeared. At the top of Haworth Main Street was an old fashioned telephone booth. It was painted bright red and looked like a prop from a movie set. The phone booth was located at the main entrance to the church adjacent to the Black Bull pub. Beth dashed into the phone booth to shelter from the rain. She composed herself before dragging a strand of wet hair from her face.

  The stench of urine suddenly became overwhelming. She looked down at the floor, and kicked a couple of spent cigarette butts into a corner. Beth peered around frantically through the foggy glass. All of the shops were closed for the night. She could see the rain lashing the windows of the Apothecary. A sign was anchored to the pavement by two large rocks. It was swaying as the wind tried to loosen the heavy anchors. The sign read, Free lecture at the Church Hall tonight - starts at 7pm, How the Universe Works by Dr. David Harrington, The Mountain of Thabor room, All guests welcome. Beth glanced at the black sports watch wrapped around her left wrist. The time was 6.50pm. She decided to run for the shelter of the church hall. She arrived at the door and waited to enter. She was still panting from the run. It was a wicked night on the Yorkshire Moors, and Haworth was getting the brunt of the storm. Beth could see a warm glow emanating from the hall inside. She looked up and caught the eye of a cheery looking middle-aged woman. Sheltering in the doorway she gave Beth a warm welcome.

  “Come inside quickly love, and get out of the rain you’re soaking.”

  Beth smiled and hurried past the greeter. Beth needed a place that was warm and dry. She cautiously entered a long corridor. Rooms were visible from each side. Each room had a unique name. Beth could see, The City of Jerusalem, Canterbury Cathedral, Mecca, Konark, Constantine, and more. People were gathering around the room named, The Mountain of Thabor. It was a square shaped room with rows of worn wooden benches. A low wooden stage was positioned at the front. Along one side of the hall was a long table supporting coffee and cookies. Beth made her way to the refreshments table. She poured herself a large cup of hot coffee. Gripping the ceramic cup she felt the warmth seeping through into her hands. She grabbed a couple of cookies and a paper napkin. She was hungry. Beth headed to the rear of the hall. The doors were now closed keeping the hall warm. She took a seat on the back row close to the coffee. Beth balanced her coffee cup on her thigh, and with her other hand moved a cookie to her mouth. She raised her head and realized that the hall was full.

  Beth sensed something was happening. The activity level in the room had changed. Key people were making their way to the front of the hall. People gathered their refreshments and quickly settled into their seats. A thin man walked onto the stage. Beth didn’t hear what the man said. She noticed he was one of those annoying people who seemed to have the talent of smiling when he spoke. Beth’s mind wandered. She finished the cookies and sipped hot coffee. Beth could never seem to focus. She had an active mind that wandered easily when bored. Beth’s favorite game at school was to count the ceiling tiles. Her school reports always mentioned her lack of focus.

  “Beth has potential if she would only apply herself.”

  Beth smiled as she recalled the consistency of her report cards. Her grades at school were average, and she was a constant disappointment to her teachers. Beth’s work record had been unimpressive. At 25 she had gained experience in a number of low paying jobs. When it came to her employment record she cheerfully described herself as, “Still searching for my passion.” Beth knew her lack of focus had held her back. She recognized that she was intelligent; she had a quick mind and an equally quick mouth. Beth would often describe herself as, “An independently modern woman.” She was proud of that moniker.

  Beth was a strong woman orphaned at the age of seven. Her parents died in a car accident. She was raised in foster homes and childcare facilities. She made it through keeping her self esteem intact. Beth would credit her survival to her cunning, intellect, and wits. One foster parent described her as being, “Sly.” Beth initially resented the word, but later she learned to love it. Yes, she was sly, because being sly had served her well. Beth was a loner; she did not have any friends, and was not been interested in men. She trusted no one and was fiercely independent.

  When Beth was old enough she left the protective care system. She landed a job and rented a flat. At the first opportunity she visited a tattoo parlor. She selected a design for the inside of her right wrist. A fox is the embodiment of sly. Sipping from her coffee cup, her sleeve rode up to expose the small tattoo of a sitting fox. The bushy tail was folded between its legs, and the face pointed towards her. Beth stared at the image of the fox. The lights in the hall started to dim. The man on stage came back into focus.

  “It’s my great pleasure to introduce to you the leading expert in spirituality, Dr. David Harrington,” said the smiling man. A brief but polite round of applause followed.
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  Dr. David Harrington was a tall man with great posture. He strode elegantly across the stage. He wore shiny black Ferragamo shoes and a striking blue three-piece Canali suit. David had a look that did not fit the surroundings or the audience. David’s shock of grey hair reflected in the solitary spotlight fixed upon the podium. “Thank you all for coming out tonight in such foul weather,” said David. “There’s a lot of energy in the heavens tonight, and clearly there’s a lot of energy in this room. Let me start my lecture by asking the audience a question. Where do thoughts go? More important, where do thoughts come from?” David’s English accent was crisp and somewhat refined for this venue. Beth seemed transfixed. She had entered the hall as a place of refuge, and immediately David had stimulated her interest. David resumed after a pause for water. “I want to explain concepts for you tonight that will challenge your traditional ways of thinking. The task before me is to explain a complicated set of ideas in a way that can be readily understood. I won’t shirk from this challenge. Let’s begin.”

  You could hear a pin drop as David continued, “Let me start by laying some foundations. I would like to describe a core assumption based in scientific fact. Imagine you can break down our bodies to its smallest element. That element is held together by energy. You can talk to me about atoms, particles, whatever granularity you may want to reach. We are all held together by energy. Our bodies resonate at a certain frequency. As James Arthur Ray suggests, whatever is present in your life right now, you’re resonating with. Whatever is missing from your life right now, you’re clearly not in harmony with. When European travelers came to North America they started to communicate with Native Indians. They were told strange stories. The Indians spoke of being connected in one universal energy system,” said David moving from behind the podium. “This means that you, the bear, the tree, and the rock are all connected by the same strands of energy. We are part of one interconnected system. This was quickly dismissed as the folklore from a primitive culture. Science has now proven this to be fact. Perhaps the Native Indians were more advanced in their thinking than we gave them credit for,” said David, with a tinge of distain in his voice. Beth listened intently as the speaker continued. “Our universe is comprised of energy. The thoughts outlined in the discipline of Indian Yoga describe a connected universe. This is not new thinking, and many cultures have described this connection in various ways. Modern science is catching up with ancient belief. You’ve probably heard of monks meditating, and radically changing their body temperature. They use their internal energy to do this. Have you heard of monks being able to leave their physical bodies to experience out of body travel? Why is it that certain people spend their entire life in search of enlightenment and personal growth? These are radical ideas that depart from your established thinking. Please try to stay with me.”

  Beth did not need encouragement. This was her first exposure to a new way of thinking. She was totally engaged and focused. David paused, looked at the room and started again. “Some people can meditate to quiet the mind. What does this mean? Can you meditate to a point where you stop all of your thoughts? Can you stop the noise inside your head? Let me explain another point, and then I feel the need to tie some of these ideas together for you. The scientists will describe our world as the physical domain. What does this mean? It suggests that all things have a place, a location. This microphone, chair, you and I, all have a physical place. We’re all composed of matter that we can see and touch. In the physical domain we understand the concept of time; you all arrived here before 7pm for example. Time is linear in the physical domain. Everything in the physical domain requires energy and is interconnected. Everything in the physical domain vibrates at a certain frequency,” said David as he grabbed his water bottle.

  He started to pace. David paused for effect; he knew his next statement would take a while to grasp. “What if I told you a non physical domain exists? It’s called a spiritual domain. Now this is where it gets hard to explain. You can’t see or touch the spiritual domain. Time, as we know it does not exist, and no energy is required in this world. Things can’t be seen or felt. Nothing is made of physical matter. I’ll give you an example that I will credit to Deepak Chopra. This should make the idea a little clearer. When you go to the movie theatre your eyes show you that the movie is a continuous stream of animation and action. We know the movie reel is composed of a series of frames strung together in a sequence. When the film is moved through the projector at high speed you don’t see the edges of each frame. You also don’t see the gaps between each frame. We know that they exist. Imagine an on and off switch. The picture represents the on. The space between the frames represents the off. Get it? It’s important that you follow me on this. The universe that you currently inhabit is constantly switching between on, and off. The universe is pulsing like the switches.”

  David’s dialogue started to speed up, but Beth listened intently. David continued, “The physical domain is the world that we can see. For example Haworth Main Street. The spiritual domain is more complex. It’s the space between the pictures, and the space we don’t see. What lives in this space? The answer is everything and nothing. When monks chant to clear their minds they can elevate to the highest level of awareness. They manage to still their thoughts and enter into the spiritual domain. This domain does not occupy any location. You’re not an individual when you enter the spiritual domain. You give up the ego based self. You are so connected that you become part of the universe. People who get addicted to drugs sometimes report that they enter the spiritual domain. Their issue is they don’t know how they got there. They spend their entire lives using drugs. They’re trying to emulate that feeling of total euphoria.”

  Some of the audience members were starting to look a little lost. Beth had never felt so emotionally attached to a subject or speaker. She paused to reflect on how focused she was. David explained complex ideas in a way that Beth could relate to. David began to pace again. He took a deep breath and continued. “The scientists have names for these domains but these are just labels. Perhaps you can relate more to these labels, physical world and spiritual world; awake and dreamland; earth and heaven. These are merely labels as long as you understand the difference. Let’s move onto something even heavier. We all agree that we’re made of flesh and bone. I have suggested that we are made of energy. We know we have a heart and other organs such as our kidneys. Let me now ask you the following question. Where is your soul located? How would you answer that? Is it in your head? Is it in your heart? Modern science can’t answer this question. Your soul is everywhere in your body. That’s because your soul is made of pure energy, and it lives within your entire body. We all know the mechanics of making a baby. When a new physical being is conceived where does the new soul come from? Where does the soul go when the body physically expires? These are eternal questions that great minds constantly debate.”

  Beth was piecing together the answers before David completed his thoughts. “There’s now a ground swell of opinion that suggests the soul comes from the spiritual domain. It enters the body, and returns to the spiritual domain when the body expires. We are not physical beings with a spiritual side. We are spiritual beings existing briefly within a physical body. In the spiritual domain souls don’t require energy. They don’t need space or occupy a location. Souls are totally connected existing in a highly creative domain. All creativity comes from this domain. The linear construct of time does not exist within the spiritual domain. I started this lecture by asking two questions. Where do thoughts come from and where do they go? I can now give you this answer having confused most of you here tonight. I recognize this is mind-numbing information. Everything that you thought was real in your world is a movie still. The enlightened world exists in the gaps between the stills.”

  David walked toward the edge of the stage to ensure he had the audience’s full attention. “If you think about it, a thought is something that you conjure up in your mind. A thought is made from yo
ur minds energy. Thoughts can transfer into the universe of connected energy. Your thoughts can affect the events of the universe and your physical health. There is substantial evidence around the subject of self-healing. This demonstrates how powerful your thoughts can be. Mankind has accomplished many great things starting with a simple thought. The creative side of mankind manifests through thoughts. These thoughts start in the spiritual domain and then move into the physical domain. Thoughts are transferred through energy. Thoughts are sent into the universe and eventually return to the spiritual domain. This describes the path where thoughts start, form, flourish, and eventually end.”

  David talked at length to illustrate the differences between the spiritual domain and the physical domain. He had lost most of the audience, but a few seemed to understand. Beth enjoyed the lecture and was fascinated by the material. She quickly forgot about her wet clothes. She felt enlightened and liberated. This was indeed sly stuff, and she wanted to hear more. David was wrapping up. Beth could not believe she had listened intently for ninety minutes. She noticed the hall was half empty. When David concluded his remarks the remaining crowd clapped politely. Beth did not clap she just sat in awe. The information had swept over her like a tidal wave. She could not believe how interested she was in this topic. She had never felt so engaged and so intrigued before. She decided to visit the library tomorrow morning. She would try to find reading material on this subject. Beth returned her empty coffee cup to the table. She nodded politely to a few people and made her way to the door. She entered the hallway and stepped out of the church hall. Thankfully it had stopped raining, but the cold stinging wind hit her face as she stepped outside onto the cobbled street. It was dark outside, and the cobbles glistened like mirrors in the rain. The rain made the cobbles slick, and Beth tried to remain on her feet. She descended Haworth Main Street being careful of its steep drop. She passed the glowing lights of the Black Bull pub. She could hear the distant sound of voices and laughter emanating from inside. As she hurried home toward Sun Street she thought of David and the messages he had just delivered. Beth’s body felt a sudden jolt of energy. A burning sensation started to circle the crown of her head and then consume her entire body. Beth’s impatient stride was broken. Her knees felt weak and she collapsed onto the hard cobbles. Beth could feel little rivulets of water stream over a cobble and splash her face. She could see the dim glow of an amber street lamp from the corner of her eye. Everything went dark.