How I discovered the book?
It was during my college time in my period of low esteem and having sense of loss in direction. People are typically perceived highly based on their wealth and social status, though they may be "ugly" in the inside, which is not align with how I perceive things. The feeling was amplified when I lost romantic relationship and without any friends around me. In retrospect, it was a good thing as I wasn't ready for the relationship, especially financially
. That was one of my lowest point of my life then but has spark me to seek which has led me to discovery of the book. When I found it, instinctively within, I knew I have to complete the book for it will contain important lesson/directions for my life. I binge read the entire book within ~2-3 days together with TFOC (back then, the recommended sequence of reading was TFOC -> TP [ie the book]).Impact of the book
The book had the greatest impact to my life as it has shape me to the person I am today (and still continue to do so), ~18 years on. The immediate most important impact back then was it restored my inner view/confidence, that truly evolved spiritual beings are actually "beautiful" in the inside. If a person claims to be master of universe with many psychic abilities but with intention to cultivate a following after him, is he truly a master? Instead, the book has provided invaluable experiences with Thiaooubans (i.e. people from 9th category planet or role model). Over there, there is no fame / ego seeking individuals. Michel arrived at Thiaoouba expecting a big reception only to find everything being usual to them. Rather it is the opposite, they are selfless and loving people with great desire to share. A sharing that will also hopefully put us back into the right direction. It also struck me that the Thaori (i.e. leader/master of Thiaoouba) however are more "serious" in presence (as Michel put it) as they have the capability to be in direct connection with the source/spirit. This also collaborate with my experience where I will need to be disciplined to establish/connect with my higher self / inner teacher; the connection which has not only given me great insights/teachings but is also my main source of peace / inner joy, despite whatever unpleasant external circumstances that I am going through. It also has abilities to answer my prayers.
Greatest lessons from the book
The book contains countless invaluable important lesson which if not careful could actually lead to distraction from the main message. The book greatest message/lesson to me is that our primary purpose in life is to cultivate ourselves spiritually. Material/technology advancement should aid us in our spiritual journey, rather than enslave us in one.
I couldn't agree more with this message and has been the foundation of my journey thus far although I do not actively practice things like meditation. In my early years of discovery as a college student, I was very engrossed in seeking knowledge as it was very fulfilling, however, I soon realised, "knowing" / having paper knowledge alone isn't going to fully help me. I was also still living in the same material world with norm societal rules and eventually I will also be out there working much like others. Besides, I am also not ready to abandon my family nor share what I do know with others openly. Instead, I began to try to apply what I know. This was also partly influenced by teachings of Swami Rama (introduced by Vesko) where it talks about importance of applying what you know, it doesn't matter if you have all the knowledge in the world but dont apply them rather, you're much better off applying what little you know of instead. I absolutely agree and can be a testament of that. I began to purge all the knowledge that I know and simply focus on the important things in my ultimate simple goal of cultivating myself spiritually. I begin focusing to improve my own attitude and behavior and will help those around me in need of one without expecting anything in return. I have my inner teacher as my guide (still is till today) which have provided me with inner joy and peace whenever i consult it.
Fast forward to present day, 18+ years on (time indeed flies), I still live a normal live with family of my own now. I try to bring joy and provide positive influence those around me although not always successfully. E.g. In workplace even if other colleagues / superiors are "nasty" towards you, I will focus on the subject to solve the problem and not harbor any ill intent towards the other person. Eventually, those around you will hopefully be able to see that you meant them no harm and everybody is simply trying to solve a problem. I found that majority of successful solutions in life are found if you examine yourself (i.e. most of the answers can be found in your inner universe). It is often trying to apply them that is very difficult especially when people don't agree with what you do. I have also not shared the book with anybody except for a few close friends and those whom I had relationship with before. Majority except one were not able to appreciate the book unfortunately. I guess the more appropriate word will be they are unable to relate to it. The one friend whom did pick it up though, told me that it was after many years later, that he was able to better comprehend after he got into meditation and the teachings in those meditation camp largely corresponds to what I was trying to share in order to achieve inner peace. I had positive sharing in my short meetup with him and it reminded me of my journey. It was to me a beautiful thing able to listen to his journey and how I could learn from it as it was definitely insightful. I do however also did learn that though these camps, although very noble in nature, also do have internal conflicts when my friend was part of volunteer helpers group (task to help the manage camp's participant daily needs). This goes to show that there could be a lot of "advanced practitioner" in meditation out there but might not still learn the lesson of being respectful towards others. My wife also have somewhat similar sharing although less deep but ultimately, I guess not everybody is ready for this and we all develop at our very own pace. After all, we're inhabitants of planet 1 (i.e. planet of sorrow). Majority probably might not even agree that our primarily focus is to develop ourselves spiritually. From my experience thus far, it is not their focus and they simply could not relate to it.
Other notable lessons
I was particularly surprised when I first read the book that "religion" was part of the list of items that was most harmful to our civilization. After all, it was actually my reading of the bible when I was a young boy where I learn about Jesus and all the interesting stories in the old testaments that probably first instill the spirituality within me. However, I could not relate with bible class and the teachings in the church where they talk most often about having blessings and worshipping rather than cultivating ourselves spiritually. Eventually, I soon realised that religion and spirituality are indeed 2 separate things. We can teach/share about spirituality but eventually if one choses to use it to gain mass followers deviating from the right path, then this teaching would probably have been a new "religion" which might not have anything to do with the original teachings as how the book have pointed out.
Money is also indeed the most harmful to our civilisation but is also hardest to change. I was particularly amazed from the book we do have in our history real civilisation that was able to exist without using money. People were able to freely take what they need which is something unthinkable today. Back then in my college years when I was busy "seeking knowledge", I did ask this thought-provoking question in a forum, what will happen if we live in a society without money. What needs to happen to make it realistically possible. Most suggested that was simply not possible and we will then have to revert to barter (which is of course again not truly a society living without money). There were however plenty of replies that suggest that if this were to happen, it could actually be a much better place to exist as one will eventually work based on their interest rather than for money. The goal of the society will then be to improve ourselves collectively rather than enriching ourselves materially. Alot of things will however probably need to happen for this reality to really happen, though not impossible for a Planet Category 1 as shown by our past civilization by the book. Back then however, I was also surprised and could not understand why our ancient civilisation had colonies. It seems not everybody was given the same level of access of information / knowledge. Why being so selfish? I eventually realised that not everybody is ready to handle such information and it could probably be easier to be guided. I supposed when Mu was established, if memory serves me correctly, there also were not fully alone and eventually they were other civilisation that co-exist that led to being colonies around motherland Mu. I grow to understand more as I live in the world today, it is extremely difficult to lead in a spiritual way following "the right path".
I also grew to appreciate the concept of wheel describe in the book. We could be top of the wheel being a "king" but could be at the opposite bottom as a beggar in the next, however it is not to say that the king is more superior than a beggar. Both provide the necessary environment to learn the lessons required of them. Although being a right king will likely yield bigger influence and impact to its surrounding than a beggar. But when it comes to learning, being a beggar actually could potentially result in more learnings due to its unique surroundings. I grow to have bigger appreciation for those who are going through hardship but yet try to persevere on with a smile. The day could be bad but tomorrow they will go on persisting through with the same smile and passion that the world will eventually be a better place for all. It is truly not the action of the person but the intention behind him that matters most.
What I will like to share with others
I wish to share critical lessons that has help me in my journey to develop ourselves spiritually. Hopefully this could be of some beneficial use to others in need out there as much as it has help me.
For a start, as shared above, after obtaining sufficient knowledge on what our purpose and developing inner confidence on our intended direction / path on Earth, we should begin to apply our knowledge (i.e. what we know), only then will we really gain true understanding. Having paper knowledge and true understanding are 2 different things. We also do not need to constantly search out for external masters for there is also a true master living within us, provided we seek it out. If we need to have a teacher around us, its job will be to help guide us seek the internal light / inner teacher / higher self as the book pointed out.
This is also very consistent with the teachings of Swami Rama (introduced by Vesko) who was influenced by teachings of "ancient himalayan masters" and any other spiritual teachers. They emphasize the pursuit of spirituality as the goal. Any psychic / mythical abilities if not consistent with our goal of pursuit of spirituality only serve as a distraction and he/she will be better of not having it. The most important teachings that struck me most were (1) importance of seeking within and (2) the 4 main parts of our mind (i.e. buddhi, manas, ahamkara and cihtta).
(1) In order to seek within it is actually not actively seeking. Rather, it is the opposite where we "let go" / surrender. When we're most cluttered and troubled, what we should do is simply to sit down silently observing our thoughts as though we're a third person. Do not associate with the thoughts be it positive or negative and just let it simply flow through you. Do not need to forcefully empty your mind for it will be virtually be impossible to do so. Let all emotions / thoughts flow through you regardless of how powerful / provoking it is and just ride along with it, we're simply just being an observer to our own minds. You might also attempt to learn lessons from it but only if we're ready, having some form of understanding of our mind (see point #2). Eventually, our mind will turn calm and blissful [Note: It could take long time for this to happen and we could be back to square 1 with our noisy mind the next day when we wake up again; However I guess if we were to develop it sufficient enough, it will eventually get easier when we allow our inner self more to guide us. Sometimes the answer to it is simple but it is whether we are able to accept it]. We could also develop a way to communicate with our my inner self. Most of my profound insights typically come through in this form. It is as though a 3rd person is trying to speak to me and I find this extremely powerful but I grow to feel more natural about it.
(2) 4 main parts of the mind as introduce in yoga are buddhi, manas, ahamkara and cihtta. It needs to exist in balance in order to be beneficial to you. If imbalance, when a faculty overpowers another, it will typically lead to unwanted behaviors.
Buddhi (intellect) is the ability distinguish "right". Manas (sensory mind) is the ability to process sensitory information while ahamkara (ego) is our own individual identify and chitta (memory) houses our unconscious memory etc. If guided right, it will be able to empower us. Imagine if we are in meditation having an enourmous flow of information from the source through manas with our buddhi able to discern what is beneficial for us with our own identify (ie ahamkara) and eventually storing this into our chitta (memory). When we need it, it will be recalled to us by our mind. The same can also be applied in our work or day to day task to solve any problems or issues.
However, if it is imbalance or uncheck, it could lead to e.g. (1) over-questioning that could overwhelm / consume us, (2) being egoistic thinking we are know it all or (3) over-sensory leading to cluttered mind.
This are all my opinion though and if others have different interpretation, welcome to chip in or correct me
