Selected
Excerpts
From Secrets
of the Silk Road
By Larry
Andrews
›››
Thod looked at me with an expression of surprise. “The meaning
of life?” he said. “Life has only one purpose, and that is the unavoidable
pull towards evolution and greater intelligence. But for you, there’s
only one place you can find your so-called
‘meaning’ in this life, and that’s in the opinions of others. You could
spend your entire life trying to live up to the expectations and beliefs
of your family and friends. That sort of meaning has no value at all.”
›››
“Until you find your freedom, life will insist on enlisting you in
its missions. It will compel you forward to solve its problems. And
if you try to ignore these directives from life, it will be at your
peril. But this is only true until the day – and the hour – that you
re-discover who you truly are. Until you find your freedom, you are
only a pawn in a game that is eternal. It is a game that never ends.
You have to find your true voice, if you want to be free.”
›››
“We are all vulnerable to Mortal Wounds – each and every one of us.
We can defend against almost any attack, but a Mortal Wound does not
heal on its own. It is an unavoidable part of the human condition and
many people waste away and die from one. Only love, forgiveness, and
pure will-force can heal these wounds – and each of these always requires
making a difficult choice, and taking difficult action. It is the only
way.”
›››
“The Supreme Lie is found in the declaration: ‘I am.’ Whenever
you say ‘I am...’ and finish the sentence, you’re telling
a lie, because you are much more than whatever limitation you just created
for yourself. When you tell yourself stories long enough you begin
to believe them. You forget that they are only stories – and maybe
not even your own stories. We try so hard to fit into this world. And
in doing that, we can become completely identified with other people’s
dramas.”
›››
“I don’t think I’m ready to go back into my old life. Other people
haven’t changed, but I have, so how do I deal with that?”
He smiled. “Now, that is the right question to ask. And you
are in the right place to find the answer. It is all a matter of reversing
ancient habits. When you interact with people in your daily life, you
are always talking to yourself about how you feel about yourself,” Thod
said. “Your inner voice says, ‘what does this mean to me?’ But I can
promise you, if you stay grounded in the Supreme Truth there is no more
need for self-pity or self-judgment. What other people do or say will
not be important to you.”
›››
“Whatever anger you are feeling is not coming from others. It is inside
you. You will not resonate with another person’s feelings if you do
not identify yourself in their suffering. You are still looking for
revenge for some past injustice.”
›››
“Everything in this world is born out of nothing,” Gil-Hamesch said
to me while Thod spoke his words in English. “If you stay rooted in
this awareness, you can create anything you want. Enlightenment doesn’t
mean running away from life. Enlightenment seems like the ultimate
goal of life, just as freedom is the deepest wish of a prisoner. But
enlightenment and freedom are just the beginning. If you want a beautiful
life, you must create that vision, have faith in your creation, and
follow the natural patterns of life. It will come to you.”
›››
“The Supreme Truth can never be fully grasped by the mind; it can only
be experienced directly. Therefore the experience is different for every
person. So it’s pointless to make rules about it, or say that there
is only one right path to reach an experience of it.”
›››
“The Song of Eternity is not a philosophy of words or concepts.
It is a philosophy of freedom. And it definitely is not a faith. …
This is not a matter of religion.”
›››
“Once you fully embrace the Supreme Truth, you no longer have a personal
destiny to fulfill. You have effectively cancelled your personal destiny.
The only real and true destiny of every human is to awaken from the
illusion of what he is not, or she is not, and to realize the truth
of one’s existence. You have a unique voice, a song that is yours alone.
You have rediscovered yours. Your old habits are no longer useful to
you. That is why you feel so empty. When you let go of the old dreams
of your life and overcome the fear of loneliness, you will discover
another land, a land filled with wonder and miracles. Beyond the desert
is the Valley of Miracles.”
›››
. “It is essential
that you understand the experience of ecstasy that comes from feeling
your unity with life has always been available to you and to every person
in the world. It is not owned or controlled by any priest, swami, or
mullah. The Eight Jewels represent the inner path that you must ascend,
the steps you must finally master along the way. You might skip some
steps and still achieve the higher levels of transcendence, but your
happiness will soon fade. Only when you master your full integrity
step by step will your bliss stop deserting you.”
›››
“Integrity with your
sexual energy leads to integrity with the rest of your life,” he continued.
“And integrity with the rest of your life keeps your sexual energy forever
fresh and blissful. I have been to the mountains many times in my life,
but I do not tire of their beauty. In fact, they grow more beautiful
every time I see them. So it is with everything of true beauty in life.
Your lover is always different today than she was yesterday. True love
is eternal, yet ever-new.” Thod’s eyes shimmered now. “The secret
is to pay attention, so that it never becomes routine. If your relationship
is an eternal romance, then the rest of your life will be one also.”
›››
“Your cry at birth is your first call to the Divine. That call is
always answered, though you do not remember now. Your next call to
the Divine is the first expression of your True Voice during your youth.
And that call is always answered too, by the appearance
of an opportunity that comes only once in your lifetime. But
when we are young, we are often too weak or distracted to respond when
our destiny appears before us. That is why we have the Song of Eternity.
It is a new opportunity to regain what we have lost.”
›››
“The Divine is that which everyone knows intimately – and no one talks
about. It is the presence of Spirit that sparkles in the light and
touches you in the wind.” She moved her hands as she spoke, imitating
the wind and the dancing light. “It is the eternal awareness that wants
to experience life through your eyes. It is the true author of your
deeply personal life story.”
›››
“The Divine is the universal singer that wants to sing through your
True Voice. And in the long run, your True Voice is all that matters
– not your body, not your emotions, not your personal history or your
accomplishments. Only the unique message that you
have to share. Because life is a symphony, an eternal song,
made up of each of these unique voices singing their songs to the stars,
over and over again, but in ever-new combinations. The Song of Eternity
is the Fundamental Harmonic that goes on forever, ancient and new at
the same time. Hold this in your heart and never let it go.”
›››
“Go inside,” he said. “Find the secret place where you hold revenge.”
He looked benignly at me and waited for me to think about this. Then
he continued. “So long as you are fighting one hundred
injustices from the past you will be weak…an easy target for others.
Because the roots of that desire for revenge might be very old, many
people don’t even remember why they are angry.”
›››
“The power of the
Supreme Truth is so subtle that it cannot be seen or heard or touched.
So we must work with it in a different way – according to its terms,
not ours. Few people have the courage and discipline to set aside their
self-importance and unquestioned beliefs long enough to experience this
power, let alone develop a relationship with it. And so it is called
by many people a ‘secret source of power,’ although there is nothing
secret about it.”
›››
From “Secrets of the Silk Road: Finding the Lost Sacred Books of the
Gobi” by Larry Andrews, © 2006. Published by Saint
Lynn’s Press. Available at most retail bookstores and online Oct 2005. Special
order: ISBN 0-9767631-2-5.
