Old Rope

Before we start I have to admit that there really are no new and profound ideas in this book. Only the way I have chosen to express things is different. The main ideas have all been taught before by far greater minds than mine in some form or other. Some of the main themes of this book have in fact been expressed before in many different ways, often perhaps more eloquently than in this. However I have reason to believe that they will enjoy being dusted off and brought into the light once more.

I would also like you to consider that this book, like all books, is composed of words, while reality is composed of something else, which is made real to us through our perceptions. I appreciate that words are often inadequate, and seem too often to express many different things to many different people. I have tried here to present an image, of a way of relating to the world, from the point of view of controlling our desires. My hope is that the way I have said things will help you understand, or perhaps 'see' would be better word than understand, the non-verbal truths that underlie these and many other words.

Whatever the outcome I pray that you will find the path or way that will allow you to free yourself from the burden of unwanted and unhealthy habits. Changing yourself is never the easier option, though undoubtedly it is the better one, and the only one that leads to freedom. However human beings are incredible creatures and you should accept that you can achieve amazing things if you go about it the right way. It does not matter if this will be your first attempt to rid yourself of cigarettes or if you have tried a million times before. Some actions, as anyone who has ever tried to open a door marked 'PULL' by pushing on it, will already know, work better when you get a new handle on them.

It is also my pleasure here to acknowledge my indebtedness to all of those religious, scientific and philosophical writers who have gone before and on whose countless shoulders my small understanding rests. The writers whose works I have enjoyed are numbered in their hundreds and span subjects from subatomic physics and modern neurobiology through psychology to philosophy, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism and on to many other, less known, thoughtful writings. My own scientific training is in biology however not psychology or philosophy. The sum total of human knowledge/understanding is vast and ever increasing, and one person, however dedicated can only know a small part of this total. There are reasons why I have chosen to pursue those aspects of learning that I have, though they need not be expressed here. However I appreciate that my learning is limited, in fact at times it seems almost non-existent, and I freely apologize to those who on reading this are disappointed more by what I haven't said than by what I have.

Hoping that you will benefit from reading this as I have benefited from writing it.

Mr Gordon J. L. Ramel B.Sc., M.Phil.