The great psychiatrist Carl Jung once had a dream in which he found himself behind a meditating yogi, in a temple. On walking to the front of the yogi he discovered that it was himself.

In his dream he knew, at that moment, that when the yogi's meditation was over, he, Carl Jung, would die as a human.

It is a very ancient Hindu concept that we and the universe are fragments of a dream, or a meditation of God.

I have been astonished to read the savage comments on Facebook about the ‘mosque’ that is being planned a couple of blocks away from what is called ground zero of the 9/11 incident. What was apparently planned as a conciliatory gesture was turned into an insult by the spinners.

I am a Reiki Master in two traditions of Usui Reiki and have taken dozens of students from beginner through Master Teacher certification in Reiki at the Ministry of Sophia. A not unusual question from those who first experience the flood of energy through their hands that apparently does good things to improve the health of their clients is: “Was Jesus doing Reiki? Is this how he healed people?”

My father left school before he was fourteen years old, as did many boys of his generation. He spent the rest of his brief life in a love affair with books. He was severely practical in his reading, being of the opinion that whatever you want to know is in some book, somewhere.

He died on Christmas Day in my ninth year, and one of his only legacies to me was the axiom in the title. His extensive reading and life’s experience had made this plain, and he made sure that I understood it well.