September 25, 1998

THE TRINK PAGE

Lessons of the masters

It is the job of the soul to clean every facet of the diamond within all of us

Bernard Trink

A traditional psychotherapist, Chairman of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai Medical Centre in Miami, Brian L. Weiss, MD, didn't believe in reincarnation. As a scientist he learned "to think in a logical, dispassionate, prove-it kind of way".

Until a patient turned his life upside down. For 18 months, Dr Weiss used conventional methods of therapy to help Catherine overcome her symptoms. When nothing seemed to work, he tried hypnosis. In a series of trance states, she recalled "past-life" memories. Her symptoms disappeared.

"Nothing in my background had prepared me for this. I was absolutely amazed when these events unfolded. I do not have a scientific explanation for what happened. There is far too much about the human mind that is beyond our comprehension," Dr Weiss said.

Not only did Catherine remember the details of her past lives, over 4,000 years and as both sexes, but she recalled what the Masters taught between her deaths and rebirths: Knowledge to bring listeners close to God. She lived 86 times in physical state.

Arguably what the Master Spirits told Catherine, a laboratory technician - and through her Dr Weiss - aren't revelations. Philosophers taught the same in ancient Athens. But they have greater impact now, coming from the horse's mouth as it were.

What convinced Dr Weiss that Catherine wasn't somehow taking him in was her ability to tell him about his dead father and son, from having met them under hypnosis. Things about them which only he knew when they were still alive. He no longer scoffs at parapsychology.

Many Lives, Many Masters was written to share the lessons he had learned with others "Every word that you will be reading is true. I have added nothing. It took me four years to garner the courage to take the professional risk of revealing this unorthodox information."

In a dream he asked the Masters: "How is it that you say all are equal, yet the obvious contradictions smack us in the face: Inequalities in virtues, temperances, finances, rights, abilities and talents, intelligence, mathematical aptitude, ad infinitum?"

The answer was a metaphor. "It is as if a large diamond were to be found inside each person. Picture the diamond a foot long. The diamond has a thousand facets, but the facets are covered with dirt and tar. It is the job of the soul to clean each facet until the surface is brilliant and can reflect a rainbow of colours.

"Now, some have cleaned many facets and gleam brightly. Others have only managed to clean a few; they do not sparkle so. The diamond is perfect, not one flaw. The only differences among people are the number of facets cleaned. But each diamond is the same."

In another dream: "Balance and harmony are neglected today, yet they are the foundations of wisdom. Everything is done to excess. This is not the way of nature. In nature there is balance. Beasts destroy in small amounts. Ecological systems are not eliminated en masse. Nature will survive."

[*] WITHIN this vale/Of toil/And sin/Your head grows bald/But not your chin/Burma-Shave (1955).

[*] A READER'S definition. Ground beef - a cow with no legs.

[*] A GOOD deal of digging and filling in is being done in Pattaya, the daily downpours doing the filling in. Whether driving or perambulating, there's no telling whether the spot of water ahead is a mere puddle or a deep trench. A little wet if you guess right, a drenching if you don't. At least one motorcycle is lying at the bottom. And what of the next spot of water and the next?

The good news is the many trees being planted along Beach Road. In another 20 years, it'll look not unlike it did 20 years ago. Cases of "TIT" (This Is Thailand).

[*] HANS BAUMGARTNER has opened Butcher Hans Pub, situated at the Sunee Plaza Inn Hotel (a block behind the VC Hotel, South Pattaya). Daily business hours from 6 p.m. For Swiss-style "Butcher's meal" and barbecued spare-ribs, look no further. Fax: (66-38) 713-469.

[*] DON'T steal - the government hates competition.

[*] THE Belgian restaurant Klein Vlaanderen has moved to Pattaya 2 Road, opposite Soi 7. Apart from the Belgian menu, Peter and his crew also offer rooms for rent. Mosey on over.

[*] THE Captain's Corner Restaurant (on the road between South Pattaya and Jomtien Beach), run by Ib Ottesen, will celebrate its first anniversary on Thursday, October 1. Free barbecued pig from 6 p.m. All are welcome.

[*] IN a concerted effort to supersede the Golden Mile as the foremost nitery entertainment area of the resort, Top Class Entertainment Co Ltd, headed by Steve Burke, is in the process of developing Soi Pattayaland 2. To date, two of its clubs - Lipstick and Bubbles - opened.

Due to open next month is Desperado American Bar and Grill. The decor will fit the name, plus jacuzzi rooms upstairs. Next, All Girls A-Go-Go will open. Followed by Cafe New Orleans which'll feature Cajun food, baby back ribs and live jazz all night.

Then Planet Rock - six storeys high. Expect Go-Go dancing set to live rock n' roll, a lounge and restaurant, jacuzzi rooms, an arcade with shooting gallery and other games, and a parking lot behind for customers.

Not least, Lipstick Massage, offering physical massage and four jacuzzi rooms. Clean relaxation rooms, hygienic washrooms promised in all establishments. All in all, an ambitious and costly undertaking. I see no reason why it shouldn't succeed. All the best.

[*] THIS happened about 25 years ago and is still talked about, though it may be apocryphal. The German controllers at Frankfurt Airport were a short-tempered lot. They not only expected you to know your parking location, but how to get there without any assistance from them.

So it was with some amusement that Pan Am 7 listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground and a British Airways 747 (radio call Speedbird 206) after landing:

Speedbird 206: "Good morning, Frankfurt. Speedbird 206 clear of the active."

Ground: "Guten morgen. Taxi to your gate."

The British Airways 747 pulls onto the main taxiway and stops.

Ground: "Speedbird, do you not know where you are going?"

Speedbird 206: "Stand by, ground. I'm looking up the gate location number."

Ground (with impatience): "Speedbird 206, have you never flown to Frankfurt before?"

Speedbird 206 (coolly): "Yes, in 1944. But I didn't stop."

-THE combination of heavy rain and the Night Bazaar make the Patpong area unappealing after 9 p.m. Covered by water, unseen wires snake along the street to provide electricity for the numerous carts (mostly neon lights). Vendors erect plastic sheets overhead, tying them down with rope and string, making walking hazardous if not impossible. Only regulars with a bad thirst will make the effort.

Nana Entertainment Plaza is also uninviting during downpours. Getting through the parked motorcycles, there's no shelter short of entering the ale houses. Even the narrow second and third floor balconies offer no protection from the rain. And the escalator packs up then. Figure to get soaked through.

If on Soi Cowboy during a storm, there's a restaurant or two apart from all the gin mills to sit it out. Don't be surprised if the water rises above the sidewalk and enters establishments without the foresight to surround the entrance with sandbags. Oh, well.

-A READER wonders whether criminal lawyer is an oxymoron or redundant...

-JIM DAVISON wishes to thank all those who applied to re-locate to Phuket - some applicants as far away as the US. Don Sullivan, with his great voice and wide experience, has been chosen as anchorman for the new English language service at 89FM in Phuket, which begins on October 1 at 6 p.m. Among the many changes will be the participation of the Voice of America in Washington. Some great listening is in store for the Isle in the Sun.

-I'M not afraid of flying. I'm afraid of crashing.

-FROM October 1, Thai Immigration will increase the daily overstay charge to 200 baht. And the tom-toms have it that the maximum overstay charge - one year plus - is about to double to 40,000 baht. (You might enquire about multiple entry one year category "O" visas.)

-WHY were all the European castles of old built within rounded walls? According to L.M. Boyd, theory was battering rams would be less able to crash curved buttresses than to punch down angular corners.

-"GOOD MORNING!" is an opinion, not a greeting.

-THE beer-bar outside Pretty Girl (NEP), run by Kob, is having an opening party tonight. Free food. All drinks (except cocktails and lady drinks) 50 baht. Well-wishers welcome.

-UP Chiang Rai way, a bistro has just opened next to Mars Bar. Phatpong A-Go-Go is on Jed Yot Road. Any comment would be superfluous.

-IN men's underwear, what does BVD stand for? For the three founders of the company - Bradley, Voorhees and Day.

-INSULTS usually refer to bodily parts, oral sex or incest but there are exceptions (e.g. suggesting brain damage, terminal bad luck, cowardice). Several follow: "X" is a few beans short of a burrito.

- A few beers short of a six-pack.

- A few clowns short of a circus.

- A few pickles short of a jar.

- A legend in his own mind.

- A living example of artificial intelligence.

- About as bright as a black hole.

- About as sharp as a bowling ball.

- About as sharp as jello

- As screwed up as a football bat.

- Constipation of the brain and diarrhoea of the mouth.

- Knitting with only one needle.

- Risen from obscurity and headed for oblivion.

- Doesn't have all the dots on his dice.

BUT, I DON'T GIVE A HOOT!