Tag: journey

Morning Visit to – St Thomas’s Church

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Since the last few weeks has proved quite challenging for me in terms of my physical health and mental health, I decided to start revisiting church.

I am a believer and to me keeping my faith strong is important for my mental and physical wellbeing. The only issue is that I lacked church visitation, which I am not too happy about. Mostly because I don’t like to attend on my own. Today I made an effort to go out around 10am to visit the St Thomas’s Church which is within an hour of where I live and has been on my radar for a while. I have seen many old churches which are in much better condition, this was still in good condition but inside you can tell it doesn’t have the funding that others do. I spoke to a gentleman who confirmed the funding was poor. I understand time are hard, but it is surely the Church of England that should be taking it upon itself to provide adequate funding and repairs and not the general public who can only give what they can afford most of the time.

You will notice that this is huge, like most churches, and it has an upstairs which I was not expecting. I will be returning in the near future for sure to attend a Holy Communion service. I was granted permission to take photographs.

I was respectful to the altar and not to cross the wrong boundaries, but the public can enter the choir gallery area.

The first thing I saw when I stepped into the church.

The church is large but apparently has a small congregation of people who attend regularly. I hope that more people will attend services here. It is one of a number of Church of England churches throughout Greater Manchester. I have yet to visit St. Peters church and St. Georges churches. I do intend to visit them but finding them open is very difficult considering that they are only open on Sunday for a brief time. This was not always the case.

Funding has blatantly decreased, and the public seem less interested in church and religions than ever before. The advent of modern belief systems has drawn a substantial part of the populace away from traditions like Christianity toward new age enlightenment beliefs and such. This is of course not deterring from the fact that there are around 2.83 billion Christians in the world making it the largest religion still to this day based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. A whopping 1.9 billion are Islamic and 1.25 billion are Hindu. Around 1.1 billion are non-religious. I hope that puts things in perspective – you should never feel ashamed of your faith. There will be others, so don’t be afraid to connect with them. The writer of Hebrews encourages the gathering together of friends and family as a community for support, love and wellbeing.

I was a little apprehensive about visiting as I haven’t done so in a while. I hope any future visits will provide an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals. Thank you so much for reading and I hope the pictures are enjoyable too.

If you liked then please like, comment and let me know whether you are a part of a belief system or if you are an atheist.

Another Story I’m Hoping to Unleash Over Summer

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Welcome to a very sudden and exhilarating post! For me at least. I’ve been slacking on editing Beach Town: Survivors and should have edited it last month in full. But no, still cracking on. Anyway I usually have more than 1 work in progress so I started writing another story. I tend to create a cover early now, as opposed to before when I paid for it.* I am enjoying writing this thrilling and somewhat terrifying tale, a novella. Apparently if I get scared writing it that means it is scary. I doubt it, it’s just a sub genre of horror that scares the hair off my back!

*I think I will design my own covers from now on and stick to eBooks. Sure, physical copies have there place but at the end of the day if I am not going to sell many it defeats the point in having it available in print. Not to mention huge savings and the ability to be a bit more free and creative with your cover.

So I hinted at a cover reveal the other day. Maybe I’m being stupid showing you all this cover, or perhaps too rushed. What it reflects is intended to be left up to you as the reader to figure out. You might see divide, you might unification or you might see absolutely nothing. Good, because I enjoyed putting it together.👇

© T.Maxwell-Harrison

It is a dark tale (literally, dark for the most part) and has vampis (vampires). I am not writing those soft, loveable or humorous kind… I am talking about real, frightening vampires which is exactly what they are and have always been. We’re talking stranded people being attacked viscously by these creatures.

Short quiz question: Do you know what ‘dead reckoning’ means? You might be able to figure out something about the story if you know.

Thanks for reading and please like, comment, reblog and share if you liked this post. *All comments, any, are appreciated and respected provided they don’t insult or degrade people.

Have I Been Deceived?

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison 
Have I been born

into a world of rivers of blood

the sea that crashes against the waves

a long lost sought fraught ticking clock

that rests near your side

how painful has it been

 to continue to look inside

amidst the passing of nature

the growth and the rise of spring

dwindling of winters pale gusts

locked away in your safe box

waiting for the sound that the bells shall chime

at midnight

where lost souls gather with the flocking birds

that is not what I heard

It’s about more than death, this is one of the greatest songs on the album. The message of hope and strength, born from pain and suffering.

The Attraction – Combinations Mind Unleashed

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

I managed to go down to the shops in the old town today. This morning was me delivering a presentation for 45 minutes which worked out great. I also received good feedback that it was impressive, so well done me.

I was only going to buy a canvas but of course naturally ended up buying more than I should. I bought a Pink Floyd The Wall Wallet, which I wanted to buy since I have had a plain black wallet for years and not changed. I also bought this strange Nebula light from this cool giftshop. The light is for my bedroom at night since I am fed up of sleeping in the pitch black. I bought a shirt with a skeleton wielding guns on, and a pack of boxers with small bananas on, yummy. I did get a set of 3 canvas for £5 which I thought was quite cheap and a big tube of black acrylic paint for £2. On top of them I bought some awesome Grumpy Mule decaf coffee, some creamy planet saving oat milk chocolate (vegan), and some 85% Divine dark chocolate… they had no Montezuma but honestly that is probably too bitter at 100% and I was not in the mood. I also bought 3 pairs of candles in different colours, blue, light green/blue, and pink.

I was complimented on my combination of coffee and chocolate and it got me thinking… is this not normal then? I see people combine smoking with coffee, croissants, breakfast, fruit, many things. But chocolate, is this some sort of mind blowing unleashment of genius taste fantasy? It’s only earth so you know, lets eat it. The attraction to the combination is the caffeine in the chocolate since I drink decaffeinated coffee. Although this new oat milk chocolate discovery, which made me salivate as soon as I smelled it, was probably as I imagine crack cocaine would be to a junkie.

Who can blame us in the first world for having such fruity addictions? We have so much choice, that any combination of many things is okay but looks weird. What do you think pineapple on pizza was like as an idea? Now, there’s no stopping at pineapple on the pizza, you have burger pizzas (WTF?), lamb pizzas, chips on pizza. I mean the list of combinations is mind bending. Anyway, coffee and chocolate is good and I recommend trying it unless you have a restriction on diet.

Now I am talking about coffee, I could do with getting a coffee grinder or some sort of modern equipment to make my coffee making more convoluted as to appear proper to the people that may come round. I don’t want to give the impression that I don’t care about brands or monetary value.

Can you tell me your coffee combinations? Wizard loves you all, and wishes goodness, peace and prosperity to all of you, especially those in need. Amen. Namaste.

Abandoned (Haiku)

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison 
Lonely fish swimming

sees the sunlight through the waves

there is no others

I guess it’s hard to love yourself when you feel abandoned

Wizard

My first real attempt at Haiku. Hopefully I did it correctly and that you enjoyed this.

Save Yourself – The Path To Forgiveness

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

Wizard wants to talk to you all about forgiveness. It is evident that through time and space that beings have had to forgive at some point in their lives. It is symbolic, it is truth, it is in all of us. Whatever you see forgiveness as, know that you are capable of it.

Before going any further, you may want to check out ‘emotions of colour‘ which touches on the connection between how colour affects us and how it can change us. It also touches on forgiveness. The poem Transcend is also good for looking at what forgiveness is.

Healing can be painful. It is a process and takes time which is what a lot of people don’t realise. You can’t expect to heal after a day of meditation, or after walking a hundred miles in the hope that you will suddenly rid yourself of any burdens such as guilt, shame or lingering anger at how you have been wronged. People who have been hurt, really hurt, which has caused them anxiety and depression, misery and other emotions, are the ones I am aiming this at. That is not to exclude those wronged in the supermarket checkouts, or those shouted at because they crossed the road at the wrong time. No, it is aimed to those who have deep emotional wounds which are likely to have cause them significant distress because if they can come to heal through time and to eventually forgive, then they will benefit the most, since it will be such a big part of development for them

Healing is the path to forgiveness. Without awareness of the issues you will find it hard to begin any journey to healing. Most people are aware of the issues which is great for starting to the path to forgive the wrongs they have suffered. Healing of the heart is where a lot of this will take place, since the heart is the center for love and for the connection to the universe. My post on healing the heart touches upon awareness. You have to be aware of the issues to change. Change will come from acceptance. Once you accept the issues and the pain you are in or was in, you will be on the path changing who you are.

To forgive takes more than to heal though, since we are talking about not only emotional healing, but mental, physical and spiritual healing. God knows what has happened to you. You were bestowed with free will when you were born, the will to change, the will to forgive. He sees everything, so no matter how alone you were or how alone you feel now, perhaps you are really struggling, know that He is there and waiting for you.

“I see everything they do. They cannot hide from me the things they do; their sin is not hidden from my eyes.”

Jeremiah 16:17-18

Rest assured that the above is as true as it gets. Although it can be frustrating and angering to accept that God sat by on the sidelines whilst you were seriously wronged, be assured, that you are independent and to interfere with humans in a supernatural way would impact free will. Those who wronged you have free will and He saw how they misused that to inflict suffering upon you and others.

Healing of the mind can be to work through ruminations. Ruminating is the act of focusing on something or to think deeply of something.

“Rumination is the focused attention on the symptoms of one’s distress, and on its possible causes and consequences, as opposed to its solutions”

Response styles theory – Nolen-Hoeksema

From the above, it is understandable to see how difficult is it to even start the road to recovery or healing when you may be ruminating about the distress you have suffered. That is not to say that thinking about the issues is bad. Thinking through the issues and incidents can help to bring you to the level of awareness and acceptance. Acceptance leads to change remember. But, you also have to work with your body and mind to heal. Maybe you could try meditation or exercise? Both are great at helping reduce feelings of depression and anxiety. You could change your diet perhaps? The point is change.

AWARENESS = ACCEPTANCE = CHANGE = HEALING = FORGIVENESS

Can you better see the path that is available to you? Imagine you are now at the change phase. You are changing those daily rituals or habits. You are adding in extra activities to heal the body and mind. You might be socialising more… or less. The paradox can be that you don’t have to do anything to change. What do I mean by that? I mean that if you lived a pretty busy life full of extra curricular activities, exercise and socialising then change for you might be more quiet time sat at home reading a book. Yes change occured but you didn’t focus on the developmental journey to heal, yet, you did. Can be confusing to understand. Know that change is brought about by you. I think a lot of people are expecting help from an external source. Granted the resources are there, but a lot of people aren’t getting the help they need which means they have to do it themselves. Having a supportive network will only benefit those who need it as part of their change and healing.

Over time and with dedication, you will change and you will start to feel that part of your life that you have been waiting for. Healing. Healing can occur earlier such as when changing. But, usually it occurs during and slightly after. After change is when your mind and body start to heal. Healing can be the most painful phase, because it is the phase of ‘letting go’ and being prepared to ‘forgive’ another. Forgiveness is not dependent on social norms, it is not dependent on others thoughts toward you. In fact, nobody needs to hear you forgive if you prefer to keep it to yourself. Just as prayer can be solitary, so too forgiveness.

I wrote about how healing can occur in the heart. The heart is where love is at. If your emotional experience has been hurt of the heart, or hurt through love, then this is where you feel that healing. Utilising the crystal stones as I mentioned, particularly rose, may assist this part. The healing process can be months, or years. Usually the change occurs over the same amount of time. Dependent on what the original wrongs against you were, it is not expected that you will bounce back immediately to the forgiveness stage. You will need to be ready for the moment, and need to do it with compassion and conviction. There is nothing worse than seeing someone go from awareness to healing to fail at forgiveness, because they didn’t believe it what they were doing. Have faith in yourself, take the time and don’t rush. You may be able to live a perfectly content life merely in the phases of healing and change, because in those phases you are focused on your inner light.

To forgive someone who has not repented can be extremely hard. I wrote about this and how there might not be any reason to forgive if there has been no repentance. I think I said something like ‘you cannot be expected to forgive someone who hasn’t repented.’ I also said that those people who are capable of this were incredible beings and I stand by that. The article below talks about the process of forgiving someone who isn’t sorry. The writer talks about how forgiveness can be done alone, how it might affect you and why you should forgive those who won’t repent. I use repent not because of its association with religion but its association with forgiveness

https://www.vox.com/22967752/how-to-forgive-someone-who-isnt-sorry-wont-apologize

You have come this far so thank you for reading. It wouldn’t be the end if I didn’t talk about the ‘what happens next’ part?

Once upon a time 
you were hurt 
you were scared
maybe you were just about ready to cry 
Now, a day more or a day less, you are here 
You see the world with beauty, not anger 
The sun and the skies, the rain coming from your eyes
I see the way and I want to embrace
change coming from the heart
like God, who brought me from the dark
to the light

If you reach the stage of forgiveness you have come far and you have done well. Goodness may seep from your heart and mind, your soul may be so strong that even the most evil of demons cower at your mere presence. Why? You have now saved yourself. You have taken the power of creation and existence and bestowed it upon yourself. You stepped to the side to let God have a say, and when you realised you had free will, you took a step back again, and decided that you had to make the choice, you had to change, you had to come to the point of forgiveness yourself. Despite what evil exists in the world, or what negativity tries to throw at you, or the lies and illusions of a world run by bad people, you did it.

Wizard doesn’t profess to be an expert on magic, but white magic is in abundance where forgiveness is present. To be good is to be white magic. You are making paths in space and time that cannot be undone. ‘For what is done cannot be undone.’ No matter how hard the journey or how isolating and confusing, you did it. You came through awareness to forgiveness and ultimately saved yourself. You have healed yourself. The emotional wounds which once had significance are evapourated. They no longer exist in you. You will focus on the adventures of the days to come, and of the love and beauty surrounding your heart. You will be closer to the connection of the universe than ever before. It is a wonderful experience. Light will radiate around you and no darkness shall befall you, for God will have seen your empathy and compassion and will command his angels regarding you.

Thank you for reading.

The Lonely Path

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison 
A heart that is beating at a million miles an hour

I don't think I can make it this hour

the hour is upon us

not so long ago...

vast landscape

and breeze and the howling of the wolves at night

birds of prey screeching 

sounds like the moon will last an eternity

bringing into my retina

such a ghastly sight

upon that time

when I recollected my consciousness

felt that divine wisdom

set upon my own path

free from the pain inflicted by others

no longer a pawn for their evil

standing by thy brothers who are afraid

I will not be made

or cast into some geometrical shape

I am the One.

I wanted to share The Lonely Path. It is about the path that we all face. I have talked about it before. The path that divides, the other path. There is one path. I see one way. But just because you are walking the lonely path does not mean you cannot be with other people. Life is about giving as much as it is about receiving. it is more than believing. it is about doing. You have to show the world your light, so that you can shine in the dark when you meet your demise. Just because a seed grows into a flower, that does not mean we should discard it when it drops its leaves in the fall. Rather, we should nurture the plants so they will regrow, and the leaves will reappear. And when we too lose our faith, so too shall we steadfast and nurture it, because it will come back and it will be the same.

…’amazingly, the saviour found his voice’

Rambler

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison 
He rambles on down the turnpike

snaking around the fallen leaves

mouth agape 

slithering snake

darkened walls

all befall

on you

Expanding and Growing

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison 
"No more sorrow filled journeys"

sent on a mighty quest

... without even realising

Praying and seeking

forgot to look

in the only place it could be

that much is to come

here we will be done

in no time

no time left to cry

prepare for the end

say goodbye

surrounded by ...

I could not have know that this album would be the best part of my life at one point. Released in 2013, a year of big memories. Listen to “Behind the veil” too from the same album.