Your Path to Success

Copyright © 2012 by Manfred Johannsen.

ISBN:          Softcover                                 978-1-4691-8104-2

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4691-8105-9

Translated from Danish by Manfred Johannsen

English translation editor: Thomas Hauck

Cover illustration: Detail of painting by HC Bøving

Pictures by: Manfred Johannsen

Graphic design: Manfred Johannsen

Illustrations: Manfred Johannsen

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CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

1.  Make a Decision

2.  Empower Your Strengths

3.  We Are Continuously Learning

4.  You Have Already Achieved It

5.  How To Be Open

6.  Take Action

7.  Make Changes

8.  How to Keep on Going and Keep Focused

Literature

Biography

Preface

Thanks to all those who helped me in the process of writing this book. I will not mention anyone in particular, but I would like to thank all who have given me support, ideas, tips, and insights for completing this book.

I would like to quote from the English poet William Blake. This poem is a brief introduction to the contents of this book. Do not to stay in the past, but enjoy the full richness of the now.

He who binds himself to a joy

Destroys the winged life.

He who kisses the joy as it flees,

Lives in eternity’s rising sun

—William Blake

Introduction

Learn to be quiet. Let your calm mind listen and accept.

—Pythagoras (580-500 BCE)

Captain Morgan Starseeker held the steering wheel in his steady hand. He had been in Danish waters several times and knew all the major ports. His ship was part of a large maneuver in the Baltic Sea.

Therefore, he had been selected to command this early morning.

They were headed for Elsinore, and the famous Kronborg Castle came into view on the starboard side.

He thought of Shakespeare’s Hamlet—an archetypal figure inlaid in the Danish psyche.

He had even seen the play not so long ago.

Because the order to come to the ship in Yarmouth came in February, he could not see the link to his upcoming trip to Denmark.

They had not been told where they were going until early in the morning the same day.

Morgan Starseeker lived in a village on a small farm outside Bournemouth. His sister Sophia was a schoolteacher at Bournemouth Private School College and the only female teacher. Sophia’ s knowledge had contributed to his knowledge as to what was going on outside his career within the narrow framework within the navy.

The ship and crew were like an old, high grandfather clock. It would be wound up at certain times and would then just go until it was time to wind it again.

The same could be said of the ship and the crews’ lives. It was both a blessing but also sometimes very strict routine.

Captain Starseeker always looked forward to coming home to Sophia. They spent the long winter evenings studying, debating, and exchanging views on life. Sophia would talk about local history and Morgan would tell stories from all the places to which his life as a sailor had brought him.

He was only thirty-two years old, but ever since he was fifteen years old he had the urge to travel, and the life at sea was the way he found most naturally to allow him to travel.

The urge for travelling was not as pronounced now as it was in the beginning. Sometimes he even felt, that now, he had enough of rushing about on the oceans.

It was just as if he had found out that the longing, which he had felt, had not been satisfied, although he had seen so much that was different, strange, mysterious and exotic.

It was just as he had found out that his eyes were turning into other directions.

By using a telescope instead of a microscope to detect the smallest parts, Morgan could see much more in his life. The smallest parts he could not find out on the horizon, but he had to use his inner microscope and explore the wonderful world, which he represented as a human being, as the strange vibration of body, mind and spirit.

It was here that Sophia was to him a great help. She had an insight, which he did not have, and he could take all his questions to Sophia.

These issues and questions were the catalyst for the renewal of her life. She had received the perfect vision of the world presented by Morgan, and Morgan used her quiet teaching to separate the important from the unimportant and the weeds from the clean seeds, and get behind Morgan’s longing while bringing her own personal horizontal paths to new places of wonder over life’s magical journey.

The yellow daffodils were beginning to bloom on the windowsill that afternoon when Morgan received instructions by one of the navy cadets to appear next morning at his ship in Yarmouth.

The last time Morgan had been away, he was away for more than six months, and he had just come home in October from a long trip to the Middle East and Asia.

From his trips, Morgan could tell Sophia about the most bizarre experiences.

A kaleidoscopic play of colors, sounds, smells, tastes, and physical and metaphysical experiences.

It was a Mecca of impressions and the few things that Morgan had brought home to her from these places gave her only a small taste of his experiences.

Sophia was charmed by his little gift—a little silk shawl, which he had bought for her and dressed her face and her dark hair as well as any native Indian woman.

Morgan teased her and told her that in fact, there was no difference between her and the women he met on his journey to the Indian Empire. To prove it, he pressed a small colored mark on her third eye, the place just above her nose.

In return, she teased him that he was still a bachelor and that he probably would become a strange old mariner who came to hang out late at night at the local pub to tell all people about his formidable naval battles and adventures at sea and on land.

People would respect him yet not quite believe him. Most people now were still very home bound and did not venture much further than Bournemouth and a few times to London in their lives.

Therefore, they had no imagination or insight into how the world looked outside their home town, and maybe their imaginations were so far out from reality that even Morgan’s stories would not be able to reach their fanciful imaginations.

Morgan told Sophia about a strange incident he had in a city in southern India, where he spent some of his time in order to learn something about the incredible country. Learning the history by looking at the properties or buildings and memorials, but also the story that was linked to the Indian metaphysical tradition. This tradition was much older than the European tradition. Morgan found out that in India, they had told stories reminiscent of the Christian history many years before they would appear in the European context.

Here is Morgan’s story.

In the late afternoon, it was still extremely hot; Morgan passed a house with a small door. In this shop one might have one’s horoscope read with palm leaves. The strange thing was that the old man who met him, Ram Sri Omega, was not at all surprised that Morgan showed up. Rather, it was as if he welcomed him as an old, familiar friend, whom he had not seen for many, many years.

Ram explained to Morgan that he did not write the horoscope, but it was already written and he just had to find the right palm leaves in his filing system. One side of the store was filled with palm leaves from floor to ceiling, carefully archived in a lot of small rooms, so it resembled a giant beehive in an oblong shape.

The old man offered him a cup of hot tea and asked him to sit down. He went into the nearest room, where he would be studying his remarkable archive of palm leaves.

Morgan never found out how the old man came up with just his palm leaves or how the file system was built.

The old man also had a special archive room in another room, in the extension of the store, but he did not enter this room to find Morgan’s horoscope.

When he had finished his second cup of tea, the old man came and sat down opposite Morgan with a pile of carefully selected leaves.

The old man could now tell him the name of their father and mother, how old he was, and that he had a sister who lived in their home and her name was Sophia.

Then the old man talked about Morgan’s future life and told him that he would meet his wife in a foreign country. He told him her name and how many children they would have. Finally, he asked about whether he was interested in getting to know how old he would become.

It was not possible that the old man knew where Morgan came from, since he did not refer to his name or parentage. The ship was moored in a different city, so the old man could not possibly know which ship he had come with.

Ram Sri Omega told that he could come next morning after sunrise and then he would tell more if he was interested in hearing more about his future and what he would do.

Morgan thanked the old man, paid him what he wanted, and went out into the hot evening sun, which blinded him with the strong light after he had been inside the cool, dark shop for almost an hour. He had agreed that he would meet him next morning after sunrise.

As Morgan told his story, Sophia was exceptionally quiet. She thought intensely of an explanation, but she could not give her brother a suitable one. She was equally intrigued by the story as Morgan had been, when the old man told him the story about himself that was already written in a palm leaf in South India.

That would mean that Sophia also had a palm leaf lying around, but if she never came to South India, her story would not be found. Only those who came to the place found their own leaves. This was how the old man had explained Morgan what he called karmic wires of connection.

What is the name of your loved one? Sophia asked her brother finally. She wanted to find out from which country or area her brother’s coming wife would originate.

It was something like Antoinette.

It sounds French, said Sophia. Are you going to France on your next trip?

Morgan could not say anything about his next trip. Before the contract was shown to him when he came on board ship, he never knew where the next trip would take him.

With Sophia paying close attention, Morgan continued his story.

The next morning, very early, Morgan met Ram Sri Omega. The old wise man started their conversation by talking about finding a treasure and that he would be willing to help him find this treasure—if he would invest time and effort to meet with him during the coming week.

Morgan agreed, and then returned to his ship.

The next day Morgan came to see Ram Sri Omega, who greeted him and welcomed him by serving a fresh, well done, but rather spicy cup of tea. This time Rami Sri Omega asked Morgan to enter a room a little further in the shop. The room had a window with a view into the yard. In the yard, Morgan could see a well and a big tree with red flowers. He did not know the name of the tree, but he had seen the tree several places. He could not see other people, but he could hear the sounds of pots and pans. He also could smell a delicious aroma coming from the half-open window.

Ram began talking of building a new house:

When you are building a new house, you will have to use much time with planning and find the right contractor, design, and bricklayer. For sure, you are also using a lot of time to find the right materials for your house, and the color of the material. How about the kitchen? Many decisions, which you have to consider. The architect will show you his sketch and you have to go through all rooms, materials, and a thousand other things.

But what is even more important than finding the right architect, contractor, and professionals?

Morgan did not know what to reply. However, even before he really could think about the questions any further, Ram Sri Omega, provided the answer himself:

Location. Location is everything. Your feelings for the energy in the area. You cannot find the energy on a map or in a book. No, you have to go yourself and find out on the spot.

You can look at a decision about building or any other decision in two phases.

You have to look at from a relational point of view and you have to go to the place and find out on the spot and how the energy of the spot, which you are receiving, and are feeling from this spot you eventually are considering being your new home. Therefore, this first point and the most important point of your decision is something, which cannot be measured.

Hereafter are you able to consider all the practical circumstances about building your new home on this spot, if your number one point is a positive response. Your logical part of your mind is now able to take over and you can start planning all the details and processes.

Therefore, my question to you is as follows: What is the biggest project in your life? Where are you? Moreover, what drawing or sketch do you have of the biggest project in your life?

Morgan was taken by surprise and did not know what to reply. What was the most important project in his life? Coming home again? To find a partner or soul mate? To build a new home of his own?

Again, Ram Sri Omega did not wait for him to reply:

Your life is your biggest project!

Upon hearing this, the response from most people is, I do not have a drawing of my life and I do not know where I am going to be in the future!

Ram Sri Omega said:

How are you going to get a drawing