Water: More precious than Gold
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Water: More precious than Gold
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Chapter One: Water is More Precious Than Gold Author Introduction For most, it is get up every day, shower, get ready for work... than the traffic and the day to day, with the night waiting for a drink with friends, and chat about whatever. Hey... Welcome to the World of Mr Normal. Most people know it well, and hate it. I know I do… I look for interesting people, but so often all we find are people repeating stereotypes in conversation and talking about how bad there relationships are. It annoys me, it always has. And so the rage of the young artist emerged... Angry with the world and not knowing my place. It is another cliche' but I really did spend years questing for truth and something more than the mundane. Yet seeking and finding are different things... Yet at every turn, the fire to discover was sustained in secret ways, in those Golden Meetings with the rare, unique Souls that linger in unsuspected places. Every now and then it happens… I meet that special Soul who introduces me into a new world where things are different and interesting. Every now and then it happens, and I am always grateful for the experience. That's why I am grateful I met Rusty Harris... For he IS truly unique, and so is his world of the environmental protester, those those brave Souls who have accepted their non-acceptance by the norms of society. People tend to thin of the Greenies that chain themselves to the builldozers and dangerous fringe looneys ... And you know what... They ARE! And that's OK. We need everyone, we need the whole to make up the whole-some society. But Society is less than Wholesome. The stark fact remains... People are mentally and emotionally killing each other in the worship of the Dollar In our culture, making money is more than just a right, it is a demand. Our culture is BASED on the Law of Supply and Demand, and on the CASH to keep the wheels turning. Money is a measure of a person’s worth, and acquisition is a way of life. I once heard a solicitor comment on how one man apparently misrepresented himself to another man, in order to make money… The solicitor simply said "There can be no question of the right of a man to seek a commercial gain. As long as a law isn’t broken, it cannot be argued that he has done wrong." The fact he knowingly appeared to misrepresent himself in order to obtain this commercial gain was not the issue. It wasn't even questioned. The right to earn money is equated with the right to survive, and no one can question your right to survive. Our law defends it. Most of us understand the basic principles... IE: If someone attacks you, you can defend yourself… But there appears to be another, more Invisible Law at play in Western Culture. This is as follows:
It IS a jungle out there. We build walls of law in the world to protect our interests as a society... We build walls of do's and don't ensconced tidily inside safe conversations in order to protect ourselves, and all the time we live in fear. We live, as Thoreau said: "lives of quiet desperation" Only recently have we been questioning this value, this so called ethic of personal survival at all costs. Work, money, relationships, environment … All these things that were just issues for the few in the 1970’s have grown in the Years 2000 to become major issues that we all need to look at and resolve within ourselves. And so with these thoughts as a backdrop, we find this book emerges. It started with a chance meeting … A meeting that set this writer on a journey to investigate the underbelly of the commercial world… A chance to visit the people who live on the fringe of respectability, and who conduct their own business outside of the nine to five of what Stuart Wilde calls "tic tock". The title should give us all a clue… "Water is more Precious than Gold". Who has ever questioned the value of Gold? Who could ever imagine that plain drinking water could ever be more precious that the commodity that has thrown men into war for countless thousands of years. Guess what… A growing body of young men and
women are doing just this. A growing number of people are not dedicating their
lives to retirement and pension plans and cars and mortgages… No, a growing
number of Souls are looking at things like human values, the value of the tribe,
the value of your personal being. The biggest surprise is that these are ordinary people. Just like you and I. This story takes a focussed look at one of the not quite ordinary, ordinary people. Because while Rusty Harris is like every man... He really is not entirely what we would call the norm… Yet I promise you, this is what he grew out of. He was once "normal" and grew to become more than this... Read the book, and remember that you too can grow into more than you might have ever believed... You too can find your wings and become free.
I must say, when I first saw the dreadlocks, the deep thinking, dark eyes, and the work hardened body, I already knew there was something extra about this man... But other than this, he looked a lot like so many of societies dropouts that lived in the Northern New South Wales town of Nimbin. Yet I was curious … We got to talking, and it turns up this fellow was anything but your "usual" Hippie. Sure he had the dreadlocks, the beard, the clothes, all the normal paraphernalia … But his eyes were clear and focussed… And he did not have that sense of a life wasted which you often find in those gentlemen that have spent their lives contemplating the universe while living in a grass hut. As I talk with the fellow, I come to understand he genuinely seems different from the average person you meet... So I ask him (As I do) what his philosophy for living was… He answered: "I do not receive Government help. I grow my own food, I own my own land, I am a grandfather to one as well as a father to two young children. I believe in this planet, I believe in Mother Earth. I protest the wrongs done to her. I have been visited by beings both inwardly and outwardly that tell me to give this message out to the world, and this message is a very simple one. ‘Water is more Precious than Gold’." Huh? "Visited by beings both inwardly and outwardly?" I was very curious now, because it was very clear this was something the man truly believed. "I have seen the Golden Babies that want to come to this planet… But the conditions are not right for them. We are so full of greed. Cows are given the best real estate while children are dying in the streets. We need to take the minds of people far past this idea of the Year 2000… That is just a band aid for change… We need to look at what life could be like in the year 50,000 and we need to focus on this. We can just go there right now… (This puzzles me, but later I am given to understand that what was meant is that we can take our attitude straight to the place where we have learned peace and harmony and goodwill towards others.) "We need to understand that through the fibre of the hemp plant we can create sustainable communities. The plant has unique properties… We can build with it using the fibre, we can make our clothes with it, we can weave matting with it and use it to control the weeds in our permaculture gardens… It has no end of uses. "I do not advocate the use of a drug, but the use of an incredibly useful plant, and this is what I have been told. That the fibre of the Hemp Plant can assist us reach the sustainable levels of agriculture, can help us build sustainable communities, and this is a key element in creating the climate for the Golden Children to come to this Planet… "They will be the ones to teach us the higher ways, and they will be the ones who will bring the key to unlock the prison we have built for ourselves… But we need to start the process now, to build the way for this to come about. "This Earth started as a Garden… And it can be a Garden again. The Earth is meant to be a Garden. This is the message I want people to know and understand. Here in the Bungalung, the Place of the Dreaming, it is coming about. I want it to spread, so that others can see and touch a new world, and be free within themselves. I want people to learn to value themselves and their brothers, and to awaken every day to the deep joy of the Garden. "My land is a Garden, and it feels so good to wake up every day surrounded by green. I walk out, and pick my food for the morning, and I know it is good. There are no sprays, no pollution’s, only goodness. I am a wealthy man because I know my true worth, and I want others to discover this for themselves as well." As you can imagine, this seemed a little far out even for a writer sitting in a Byron Bay Café in the Northern Rivers District of Australia … This is a place known for the odd and different... And yet there was something compelling about this man. He was not manic, but reasonable and well considered in how he spoke. More than this it was clear he truly believed what he spoke of. My experience has taught me to watch for subtle things, like a shift of pulse in the veins of the neck, and a flick of the eye that almost always occurs when someone tells a lie. I saw none of this… The man was genuine. This was Rusty Harris, and over time I have come to know him better. As he is dyslexic and cannot record the words the way he sees them inside, I have agreed to write his story. And I must tell you now, at the start of this journey I certainly had my doubts … I am one of the great sceptics in regards to many of the ideas for world change. As a previous editor of New Age magazines I quickly learned that many of the so called "New Age" people are really irresponsible misfits who can’t bring themselves to do an ordinary job, and though they can be pleasant enough in conversation… Well... You wouldn’t exactly pick them as a candidate to change the world. In fact, the only thing I saw them change was their minds, and they did that regularly with whatever cause was fashionable at the time. What I discovered over time with Rusty was that here was something of real worth. Here before me was a genuine Australian Elder… Accepted and loved by the indigenous people who knew him, accepted and loved in his community, accepted and loved by his family, accepted and loved by those he taught. And more than this, here was a man who cared about something other than just himself, or his immediate circle of friends. This was a good man. Naturally at the time I reserved judgement, but after speaking with him I agreed to consider the notion of writing his story. So what you have before you is this journey I have most recently undertaken, and for me it has been a life changing experience. I have taken a walk into and seen another side to life, one that I would suggest few of us have ever had the time or inclination to look into. I have talked with people in the Environment Movement, I have spoken to the Managers of Gold Mines, I have visited Country Towns, attended court hearings, heard testimony from other people committed to creating freedom here on Planet Earth. I have dealt with politicians, and government officials, and solicitors as much as I have spoken to shop workers, real estate agents and hippies who thought they lost their dog… You name it. I have picked up hitchhikers who told me their aspect to this story, and I have spoken to mercenaries who had a different view… And now I am speaking to you. Listen well my friend … It may be important for you to hear this. This book is a composite picture of an entire society that you or I rarely get a glimpse of, let alone the chance to look into. I believe you will enjoy it… It has Flying Saucers, Spiritual Experiences, extraordinary tales of courage by protesters in the face of violence from Mining companies, and the extraordinary process of the evolution of a remarkable culture called the Rainbow People. These folk in many ways epitomise the culture that is now emerging from the dust and remnants of the 60’s explosion. The 60’s are over, but a whole new wave is about to emerge as we venture into the uncharted territory of this new millennium. It is a process that invites us to revisit our values, and see where we can fit into a new society, free of the mortgage, free of the bullshit, and in short… Just plain free to be who we are... It is also a process that says "Rest in the arms of community and bask in the rhythm and sureness of the village" … And yet the process invites us retain our connection with technology and the modern world. It is a party, a dance, a gathering of the tribe… It is something joyful and free, and something the 60’s promised but could not quite break through the crust of material possessions enough to sustain. This book and the people featured in it are inviting you to take a look at what can be. To shift from your routine, and inspect an amazing new emergence, a new emanation of the Human Race that can bring into being a culture promised but not quite achieved in the 1960’s Rusty Harris is in many ways a prophet of a new life. Like Christ who stepped into the culture steeped in material travail, Rusty has stepped from the society of Western Culture, and turned around to come back to give us his message. "Water is more Precious than Gold". Curiously, as I looked at him I noted a very odd thing… His wrists and ankles bear scars strikingly similar to some sort of stigmata. Like some modern day messiah, he bears the scars of the battles he has fought, and the beliefs he has held … Please understand me when I say to you that I was surprised as I stepped into this new world. I know if you read this book with an open heart, you will be surprised as well… More than this, you will be changed. What will happen if you read with an open heart? Firstly: You will want to revisit your values. You will also want to ask yourself if you want to experience some of the ideas expressed here, and you will ask yourself if you, too, could be apart of this revolution. There is a new freedom that is emerging from the dust of man’s harshest Millennium and if you are awake, and prepared to fight for your new ground, you will be at the forefront of an exciting and vital world. You will be a part of a movement from slavery to freedom destined to be as important to the world of today as the American War of Independence was in shaking off the colonial chains. In a sense there are a new "Chosen People" emerging. They believe in simpler values, not the restricting compromises that form the legacy of the Roman Civilisation, but more the flexible independence and freedom that was epitomised by the Celtic Cultures… And after all, these are the root stock of countries like Australia. From a convict settlement we grew to be settled like convicts in jobs we hated and tasks we deplored. From men chained to a ball, to men chained to a mortgage, we traded prison under the gun for a prison under money. It is time for the chosen ones to break away… to get themselves free. I believe it is time for this new "chosen people" to rid themselves of the 9 to 5 prison of the Post Industrial Era, and to step out and really investigate the alternatives that are now coming into play. Our happiness, our lifestyle and our work can all be combined into a harmonious gestalt, and if we follow our dream, in a few decades we will look back and realise we have brought to birth a new life. A life where the Golden Children can come and talk with us, and show us the greater freedoms within our hearts that we have locked away in graves of fear and compromise. You CAN be a part of it. But it requires you to make a stand. We need to decide what direction our lives will go, and we need to decide if Love will give us our direction, or fear. People say that we stand now on the brink of the second millennium. Is this true? No, this is a lie… We have been on this planet for countless millennia. What we stand on the brink of is a new found ability to CHOOSE. Are we going to choose to live as an evolved, free Soul… Are we going to choose to live as if this were already the years 50,000 … Or are we going to continue in the dedication to the demagogue morals and false pursuits of the Social Consciousness as it plays out its rape of the planet and the people of this planet. You do have a choice… It is my sincere trust that somehow this book has found its way to you in order to help you choose. Let us start with the Aboriginal Elders view on the whole matter of Rusty Harris and the cause which he defends in this book... the natural rights of the Land, and the rights of the people to share this treasure given by the Gods:
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