Read this three times a day for six weeks and change your life for the better and your soul forever

The Four Noble Truths

1. Life means suffering.
To live means to suffer, because human nature is not perfect and neither is the world we live in. During our lifetime, we inevitably have to endure physical suffering such as pain, sickness, injury, tiredness, old age, and eventually death; and we have to endure psychological suffering like sadness, fear, frustration, disappointment, and depression. Although there are different degrees of suffering and there are also positive experiences in life that we perceive as the opposite of suffering, such as ease, comfort and happiness, life in its totality is imperfect and incomplete, because our world is subject to impermanence. This means we are never able to keep permanently what we strive for, and just as happy moments pass by, we ourselves and our loved ones will pass away one day, too.

2. The origin of suffering is attachment.
The origin of suffering is attachment to transient things and the ignorance thereof. Transient things do not only include the physical objects that surround us, but also ideas, and -in a greater sense- all objects of our perception. Ignorance is the lack of understanding of how our mind is attached to impermanent things. The reasons for suffering are desire, passion, ardour, pursuit of wealth and prestige, striving for fame and popularity, or in short: craving and clinging. Because the objects of our attachment are transient, their loss is inevitable, thus suffering will necessarily follow. Objects of attachment also include the idea of a "self" which is a delusion, because there is no abiding self. What we call "self" is just an imagined entity, and we are merely a part of the ceaseless becoming of the universe.

3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.
The cessation of suffering can be attained through nirodha. Nirodha means the unmaking of sensual craving and conceptual attachment. The third noble truth expresses the idea that suffering can be ended by attaining dispassion. Nirodha extinguishes all forms of clinging and attachment. This means that suffering can be overcome through human activity, simply by removing the cause of suffering. Attaining and perfecting dispassion is a process of many levels that ultimately results in the state of Nirvana. Nirvana means freedom from all worries, troubles, complexes, fabrications and ideas. Nirvana is not comprehensible for those who have not attained it.

4. The path to the cessation of suffering is Eightfold 
There is a path to the end of suffering - a gradual path of self-improvement, which is described more detailed in the Eightfold Path. It is the middle way between the two extremes of excessive self-indulgence (hedonism) and excessive self-mortification (asceticism); and it leads to the end of the cycle of rebirth. The latter quality discerns it from other paths which are merely "wandering on the wheel of becoming", because these do not have a final object. The path to the end of suffering can extend over many lifetimes, throughout which every individual rebirth is subject to karmic conditioning. Craving, ignorance, delusions, and its effects will disappear gradually, as progress is made on the path. 

The Eight-Fold Path

1. Right View
Right view is the beginning and the end of the path, it simply means to see and to understand things as they really are and to realise the Four Noble Truths. As such, right view is the cognitive aspect of wisdom. It means to see things through, to grasp the impermanent and imperfect nature of worldly objects and ideas, and to understand the law of karma and karmic conditioning. Right view is not necessarily an intellectual capacity, just as wisdom is not just a matter of intelligence. Instead, right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities of mind. It begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. Since our view of the world forms our thoughts and our actions, right view yields right thoughts and right actions.

2. Right Intention
While right view refers to the cognitive aspect of wisdom, right intention refers to the volitional aspect, i.e. the kind of mental energy that controls our actions. Right intention can be described best as commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement. Buddha distinguishes three types of right intentions: 1. the intention of renunciation, which means resistance to the pull of desire, 2. the intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of anger and aversion, and 3. the intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think or act cruelly, violently, or aggressively, and to develop compassion.

3. Right Speech

Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold path. Ethical conduct is viewed as a guideline to moral discipline, which supports the other principles of the path. This aspect is not self-sufficient, however, essential, because mental purification can only be achieved through the cultivation of ethical conduct. The importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or create peace. Buddha explained right speech as follows: 1. to abstain from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully, 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words maliciously against others, 3. to abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others, and 4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth. Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary.

4. Right Action
The second ethical principle, right action, involves the body as natural means of expression, as it refers to deeds that involve bodily actions. Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind, while wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind. Again, the principle is explained in terms of abstinence: right action means 1. to abstain from harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm intentionally or delinquently, 2. to abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty, and 3. to abstain from sexual misconduct. Positively formulated, right action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others. Further details regarding the concrete meaning of right action can be found in the Precepts. 

5. Right Livelihood
Right livelihood means that one should earn one's living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. The Buddha mentions four specific activities that harm other beings and that one should avoid for this reason: 1. dealing in weapons, 2. dealing in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade and prostitution), 3. working in meat production and butchery, and 4. selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs. Furthermore any other occupation that would violate the principles of right speech and right action should be avoided.

6. Right Effort
Right effort can be seen as a prerequisite for the other principles of the path. Without effort, which is in of itself an act of will, nothing can be achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts the mind from its task, and confusion will be the consequence. Mental energy is the force behind right effort; it can occur in either wholesome or unwholesome states. The same type of energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence can on the other side fuel self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness. Right effort is detailed in four types of endeavours that rank in ascending order of perfection: 1. to prevent the arising of unarisen unwholesome states, 2. to abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen, 3. to arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen, and 4. to maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen.

7. Right Mindfulness
Right mindfulness is the controlled and perfected faculty of cognition. It is the mental ability to see things as they are, with clear consciousness. Usually, the cognitive process begins with an impression induced by perception, or by a thought, but then it does not stay with the mere impression. Instead, we almost always conceptualise sense impressions and thoughts immediately. We interpret them and set them in relation to other thoughts and experiences, which naturally go beyond the facticity of the original impression. The mind then posits concepts, joins concepts into constructs, and weaves those constructs into complex interpretative schemes. All this happens only half consciously, and as a result we often see things obscured. Right mindfulness is anchored in clear perception and it penetrates impressions without getting carried away. Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of the process of conceptualization in a way that we actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. Buddha accounted for this as the four foundations of mindfulness: 1. contemplation of the body, 2. contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral), 3. contemplation of the state of mind, and 4. contemplation of the phenomena. 

8. Right Concentration
The eighth principle of the path, right concentration, refers to the development of a mental force that occurs in natural consciousness, although at a relatively low level of intensity, namely concentration. Concentration in this context is described as one-pointedness of mind, meaning a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed onto one particular object. Right concentration for the purpose of the eightfold path means wholesome concentration, i.e. concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions. The Buddhist method of choice to develop right concentration is through the practice of meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected object. It first directs itself onto it, then sustains concentration, and finally intensifies concentration step by step. Through this practice it becomes natural to apply elevated levels concentration.

Interview: Alex Nichols on Abundance

The Agora National

The Agora: One of the subjects you have written about in the past is money and spirituality; would you talk a bit about the two and how they relate?

Alex Nichols: Well, I can't disconnect money from spirituality. I know in the old traditions having money was not considered spiritual. However, I see the quest here on the earth plane as a sacred thing and one of the things that we come to do, is to buy experiences, in order to become fuller and richer people. So, it stands to reason that you need a certain amount of money in order to buy these experiences. They are part of your evolution. I think it's important also because money is so much a part of this fifth dimension that we live in. I don't think you necessarily have to become rich, but I think you have to dominate money and be in control of it and be disciplined so that you are inside what money you have, rather than outside it, and beyond it, and get yourself into debt and in trouble and things like that. So, I teach people to raise their energy, believe in themselves, charge people for what they do, be original, be creative, find something to sell and in that way generate finances to energize and empower their quest.

The Agora: You state that "money isn't real, it's just energy and when you can open your heart to the energy, the money finds you." Can you explain that?

Alex Nichols: Most people spend all their time getting in their own way. We all have days when things suddenly go brilliantly because suddenly we sort of step away from ourselves. But the human personality and the ego which dwells within it has a way of limiting one through fear, through let's say, fear of criticism.

For example, there are millions of painters who can't really paint, because if they paint, then people will criticize them and so they can't do the paintings that they ought to do and they won't do the ones that will sell and they have a perpetual excuse for not presenting themselves in the market place. Then, they bitch that nobody will acknowledge their creativity. As you feel more secure with yourself, you can present your creativity to the world, look them in the eye, and say "this is me" and make the necessary adjustments so that you can sell whatever that thing is that you are selling. And that is all part of this maturing of the individual. It is part of the evolutionary process. I don't have a lot of time with authors and painters who can't paint because of this or can't write because of that. In the end, you've got to write. You have to be evaluated and you have to make the adjustments if you want to sell what you write. On the other hand, if you just paint as an amateur thing for example, and it is just your pleasure to sit in a field and paint loving landscapes, that's fine, if you don't have to sell them. But there is a point where the whole lesson of this earth plane is to be mature enough to conceive a thought and to take it from that nebulous, cerebral activity into action, complete it, and sell it to somebody.

 The Agora: Of course, you will probably still get a certain amount of criticism or rejection but you just keep doing it, right?

Alex Nichols: Yes, in my profession, I am a bit of a spiritual anarchist. I am very sort of, in your face. I'm not for the institutions. I'm pro the individual. I don't care much for bull shit. So, I have had copious amounts of discrimination and criticism, but that is irrelevant. If you can get your stuff out there and people will buy it, then you're fine. Yes, people are going to bitch and moan because they're uncomfortable, and they're insecure, and they're frightened and they're timid. And they're going to say it's your fault and they're going to find things wrong, but in the end, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in the great spirit, the immortality within you, then you are just going to plow ahead. You're going to have to make adjustments for the market place, because it's pointless manufacturing things that people won't buy or painting paintings that nobody wants, especially if you're trying to do it commercially. But, in the end, you're going to do what you do, and you will win affection and acclaim.

 The Agora: There is a spiritual godliness that drifts naturally through the affairs of man, but it is visible only if actions are undertaken and performed with that godliness in mind. Would you talk about this more?

Alex Nichols: We are looking at the world of the ego out there. Our societies are absolutely polluted by television and the media. And they are polluted by importance and glamour. And they are polluted by this need of everybody to be special, regardless of whether they are putting out any energy or not. Everyone has an enormous amount of demands and very little need to actually generate any energy to fulfill those demands. So, you look at all of that stuff and of course it's absolute nonsense. However, if you will turn back within yourself, to what is real and what is true and what is loving, if you will get off self indulgence, self importance, whining and moaning, and return back to the real spiritual self where the feminine energy of the god force exists, then that power is more powerful than anything else in the world. People are drawn to it. People will be drawn to your kindness, to your mothering qualities, to your creative abilities, to your strength. If you return to the sacred way, and you make that sacred pledge about your life, then gradually the money you make will be and can be used to assist other people to do the same. The whole point of money is to buy experiences and help your sisters and your brothers. That's the function of it. Other than that, it just becomes a power trip and an ego thing. It's just all part of this enormously ugly, sort of materialistic, hedonistic search for security that drives the ego forward thinking that perhaps money might be the way, and of course it isn't.

The Agora: You mean by putting love and energy and coming from your heart in whatever product or service you do, people will pick up on that?

Alex Nichols: Definitely! You will imbue your product with that godliness. I think most people are very mediocre and very inefficient and very self indulgent. If you want to be successful, you mustn't be self indulgent. You've got to be able to subjugate the ego to serve people. You've got to be up there for it. You've got to deliver it on time and it's got to be boxed correctly and it's got to be quick and handy and useful. But if you're prepared to go a little faster than the average person, if you're prepared to be a little bit better than mediocre, and if you're prepared to put love and energy into what you're doing, then you can't fail, because what you are selling people is energy. And there is no price on energy. The beautiful thing about energy is, that it allows people to feel secure. One of the reasons why the ego is so sick is because it is in a dimension of ever decreasing energy. We are moving towards entropy to the point where we're reaching what the second law of thermo dynamics calls a heat death. There just isn't enough energy to sustain the ego's vision. So, people will be drawn to where there is life force, to where there is energy, to where there is laughter, creativity, originality. Our economic history is replete with examples of people who have done well when they were creative and created energy.

For example, people who open restaurants that are unusual and different and very friendly and right on top of it and with interesting menus. They do so much better than the people that have the same old menu, the hackneyed old thing, you know, the ribs and the this and that, or the plastic menu where everything is so standardized, conformist, homogenized. The creativity disappeared years ago. There is room for improvement. There is room for originality. I think that part of the creative process is to sort of invent that originality. I don't think you have to be enormously different because if you are, people won't understand it, but there are all sorts of ways of bringing in enthusiasm and love and originality into what you do that will make it slightly different and interesting.

The Agora: How can people open up to the energy within that you talk about so much in your writings?

Alex Nichols: Some people are run by the legislation of the ego and the personality rather than run by the softness and the feeling and the sacredness of their inner feeling. If you want to empower your life, the first thing you've got to do is discipline yourself and discipline your mind.

My system, or the system that I was taught, which I recommended to people is: rising early, taking time to meditate, time in silence, a very simple diet, a lot of prayer, a lot of sacred tradition, sacred ceremony, and really processing and feeling your way along. Returning from the hedonistic, totally self indulgent world of the ego to a world of minimalism, simplicity, caring and a world where those inner perceptions begin to open up. Because naturally, as you return to spirit, then you return to the interconnectedness in all things and through that interconnectedness in all things you can develop enormous amounts of perception and esp and empower your life through simplicity. You basically can see around corners.

The Agora: What do you do every day? What is your personal spiritual practice?

Alex Nichols: I always rise early. I usually rise somewhere between 4:30 and 6:00. Sometimes I don't, but generally speaking, I do, and I meditate and I walk. And then I spend most of the day, if I can, except of course when I'm working, I try to spend time on my own, time in silence. I walk down the street and I watch people. I watch their etheric and I learn about energy. I feel out my life and the people in it. I watch for any sudden shift of energy and generally sort of sit there, a bit like a lighthouse keeper, watching the boats go by and trying to stay in touch with things going on at a distance without necessarily having to phone them or fax them, but by just watching them.

The Agora: Throughout your writing, I kept getting that it is about one's own personal empowerment, raising one's energy level to a place where life becomes easier, less of a struggle. I understand and agree with that, but how does this relate to the concept of grace, or the power of prayer, you know, when you've done it all and you don't have much strength left, and you let go, and then a miracle happens. How does that work?

Alex Nichols: At that point where you quit, it's the point where the ego or the personality has taken such an enormous hit in the struggle that it finally sits down in a puddle of mud and sort of says "I've had enough." At that point, the miracle appears. It's in the very chasing after of things that you push them away. So the ego will yearn and force and push and be desperate and demand and be this brat. Of course, as you lean and push and demand and strive and yearn for things, you actually shove them away from you. The minute you pull back and sit down and enter silence, the things start to come back toward you. I think sometimes in that example, that you just cited, it's that moment of where we reach zero resistance and suddenly those things that we desire, pop up in front of us, effortlessly, and it's very beautiful, isn't it?

The Agora: Yes, it is. You also talk about detachment and non-judgement. How does that work, really? Do we just walk around and observe without having any opinions? What if we come across something that does really bother us, do we deny how we really feel?

Alex Nichols: There's a middle ground. Basically, if you raise your energy, you're going to take yourself out of the evolution of the people, because you're going to move beyond their thoughts, their ideas, their feelings. So, you're going to transcend out of the physical plane without actually necessarily dying. By detachment and by disciplining yourself, you can have the most enormous care and love and good desire for the people without being intimately involved. Then, if you can detach from your own stuff, because, you're not your personality, you're not your mind, you're an infinite energy inside a body, behind the mind, that's nothing to do with your personality. So, if you buy your own emotions, if you buy your stuff as being real, then you become a victim of this theatrical display. Emotions for the most part are just opinions of the ego presented in a theatrical scale for other people to observe. So you jump up and down and wave your arms about and say "I'm terribly angry" and everybody is supposed to sit up and take notice. But, in fact, that's only an opinion, it's nothing else. Then, as you become an observer of life and as you become an observer of yourself, which isn't a sort of callous don't care attitude, it's just a gradual, sweet retreat from the evolution, in realizing that you are projecting yourself and working yourself beyond the evolution of these people. Then, if there is something that you feel very strongly about, you have to decide whether or not you want to dive back into the great mud puddle of life or not. It's up to you.

The Agora: Would you talk about the 1000 day climb that you refer to in your articles?

Alex Nichols: As we are programmed through what I call tick-tock –tick-tock, the sort of very hum-drum 9-5 existence, the institutional education of our children, and so on, and as we buy this ego's world, as you start to make that turn, it's just my perception that it takes about three years to make that turn complete. So, I call that the thousand day climb. And obviously, while you're going through that turn, it's almost like a big ship and you're turning back and sort of rocking or bouncing over your own wash, the waves that the ship created as it was going along. It's a turbulent time and you can't really see very far in the future because you might have been in that tick-tock programming for twenty, thirty or forty years. So, three years to make a complete transition to where you're just going to look at your life differently and embrace spirit, is not a very long time. What I say to people is, that while they are in that climb, don't try too hard to become something new too quickly, because if you do, more times than not, you will fail. More times than not, anything you start will fall apart. It's best to just realize that the climb is a dedication and stay focused on cleaning up your act, resolving issues, processing your feelings and generally just raising your energy. And then after the three years is over, usually one reaches a sort of plateau, where one can consolidate and sort of think, "well now I'll head out, and I'll do this, or I'll do that, or I'll help humanity in this way, or I'll serve in that way, or whatever."

The Agora: Everything is energy. In short, what can we do to raise our energy level?

Alex Nichols: It's a matter of discipline and a matter of perception and perception only comes if you can control the personality. A lot of my work deals with developing the trance state. If you're not prepared to go that far, then just by discipline, simplicity, conserving your power, nurturing yourself and all the usual things of that kind of mode will bring your energy up. The thing you do have to control is fear, because without controlling fear, you will always depreciate your energy. For example, you'll be very excited about something and suddenly a lot of insecurity and fear will come your way and you'll depreciate a whole chunk of your stock so to speak.

The Agora: And be careful who and what you surround yourself with?

Alex Nichols: Yes, definitely. I think the more you raise your energy, the less and less people you'll find around you, or the people that you have around you, will be more at arm's length. I think that regarding the influence of other people, there is something very polluting sometimes by some of the associations that we make and often we know that we ought to be going beyond them. Dysfunctional relationships, dysfunctional jobs, dysfunctional circumstances can be very energy draining and bring one down. I think also a part of the spiritual quest is this point of making the right choices and cleaning up your act as much as possible.

The Agora: My favorite quotation of yours is, life was never meant to be a struggle, just a gentle progression from one point to another, much like walking through a valley on a sunny day. Why do you think so many of us make it such a struggle? Do you think people have responsibility tied into struggle?

Alex Nichols: Well, not necessarily. First of all, we teach people that it is honourable to struggle. A lot of the religions said to people, "look, you're very poor, you're struggling, but don't worry, you've been chosen". So, struggle is just endemic to our people. Obviously, if you're trying to materialize a certain vision, an ego vision, and you don't have the energy to pull it off, you're going to struggle. If you consume more than you have the money for, you're going to struggle. Most struggle is economic, some of it, of course, is emotional. The most simple places where most of the struggle takes place is people living and demanding a life style that they can't sustain. And that's just an opinion of the ego. And, of course, negative energy in our dimension is only anything that contradicts the ego. For example, if you demand a lot of respect and somebody insults you, you've been contradicted and you might be upset. Or, if you demand a certain lifestyle and you don't get it, you might moan and be terribly upset and consider it a very negative experience. If you demand that your life is always cosy, safe and guaranteed and someday something comes along that isn't cosy, safe and guaranteed, then you will experience the ego being contradicted, and you will describe that as negative energy. You see, there is nothing wrong with demanding if you have the energy to pull it off, but one of the things that is endemic to our society is that people are so self indulgent, they are demanding without considering the fact that they might have to put a little energy out.

Or, they'll put whimpy amounts of energy out and expect enormous returns. So much of life nowadays is worshipping at the altar of this completely self indulgent ego that demands all sorts of things without ever having to lift a finger for it.

The Agora: What would you suggest to people who want to make their contribution to the world and want to do some spiritual service?

Alex Nichols: Well, I think that is the destiny of everyone who is on the quest, in the end. And I think that everyone who is on the quest will sooner or later find a place to serve because we live inside a sort of evolutionary molecule which is the folk spirit or the tribal mind of all of our people and we are only as good as how much we can raise ourselves and others up.

Obviously, the best contribution you can make to the world is for you to become serene and self sufficient and composed and then teach that to others. I think as soon as one turns within and raises ones energy a little bit, where you go to serve is automatic. And some people will serve in a very big way, let's say, because they're politicians or whatever, but most people serve quietly, they're in a health food shop or at the yoga centre or they're helping teach kids or whatever it is. To serve is a great honour and privilege. And I think that is the destiny of everyone on the path.

The Agora: You state that it would take a crisis to shrink the world ego to the point where the spirit can begin to win back control. Would you elaborate on that?

Alex Nichols: Well, you can see that in a small way in each individual. Most people, especially males, in their twenties and early thirties, when the ego is rampant, and they are into making money and whatever, they usually have to have some kind of crisis, before they'll turn within. So, they need a car wreck, or a divorce, or a serious disease, or a bankruptcy, because the ego won't give over power until you actually dethrone it. There has to be some sort of revolution. And the revolution has to be, of course, an internal one, within your mind. However, it isn't often that the ego will actually sit down and voluntarily abdicate.

So, in a national sense, or in a global sense, the world ego, which is this institutional domination of our people by the patriarchal white rulers of our western democracies, won't give away control until such time as there is a crisis where they have to. A good example is in the countries behind the iron curtain, where they completely lost it and now are in a gradual state of change. It will come to Canada and America, and it will come to Britain and Europe as well. So, I think what you see in the individual level, you see in the national and political levels, and the global level as well.

The Agora: What advice do you have to give our readers given the current economic and political conditions?

Alex Nichols: Well, you're looking at a society in collapse. It's sort of like the decline of the Roman empire. You can either do nothing about it and sort of whistle, while the place burns down, or you can start to retreat. Of course, the retreat you make is an internal one. So, if you're prepared to retreat within and get disciplined and get inside your life, control your life economically, pay off your debts, resolve your relationships, then as society bounces out of control beyond you and outside of you, it isn't going to affect you. I think a lot of the people who will be very seriously affected are those that are prepared to do nothing and all of a sudden change will be imposed upon them.

Like pensioners in Russia, who now receive enough money to buy a pound and a half of potatoes. That's all their pension is worth. If you don't do anything now, when and if this whole thing starts to seriously unravel, change may be forced upon you, at a pace that isn't comfortable. So, the obvious thing to do is to start to come back within, to heighten your energy, generate more money, and start to place yourself in this sort of molecule or dimension of sacredness and of spirit.

There are also all of these doors that can open up, inner perceptions and the whole nature of those inner worlds. Metaphysically, we are still sort of Neanderthal. We've gone a long way technologically, but metaphysically, people are pathetically silly. They haven't even started yet.

The Agora: Thank you Alex. We wish you well.