Author Archives: C.J. Birch

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About C.J. Birch

I was born on Thursday 13th July 1972 in Harare, Zimbabwe, to an English father and a South African mother. I was christened Catherine Jane Birch and - from the outset - I've been inquisitive about most of life's elemental questions; its myriad paradoxes and unpredictable anomalies, their sources, solutions and their propensity for unmitigated change. From a very young age I was captured by the enigmatic life process, the challenge of living and what it 'means' to be alive. I spent countless invaluable hours in nature, watching the world at its work. I had a fascination for everything around me, curious about what things were, how and why they worked, what they represented in relation to one another. I began writing at the age of 5. Journals, stories and poetry, illustrations, have been a constantly evolving source of quiet self-reflection, expansive expression throughout my life. I'm fortunate to have travelled many miles, to have visited a variety of differing destinations and though I've learned a lot about life in the last 50 years, my questions about its complexities are neverending. I currently live in the south-east of England, having returned to the United Kingdom after a particularly harrowing period of 7 allegedly 'invisible' or 'non-existent' years of absolute hell in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. I've decided to erase those memories, altogether. My 15-year-old son lives in Switzerland, with his father.
30 Aug 2015 · 14:00

Love Letters

africanmoon

7.

TRUTH

How can it be said that the truth is unkind?

It may sound harsh to uninitiated ears, but it is kind – always.

This is because the truth knows what the truth is, and some clever marketing lies cannot hide that.

There is an advantage to being straight with yourself at every given opportunity.

When you can trust yourself to hear your honest unadulterated truth without being a self-righteous bigot

You might be ready to embark on your journey to your hereafter.

If your hereafter is there, after all is said and done.

Winds change.  Things move.

Like wind and footprints in the sand.

…

There are idiots who will try to convince themselves that they don’t know what they are feeling.

That I don’t either.  On both counts they would be wrong.  I do.

It is not possible to convince someone that they are mistaken when they are not,

no matter which tactic you choose to use.

And that is not arrogance.  That is confidence.

i.e. there is irrefutable proof.

I intend looking at it all.  I am sure it tells an interesting story.

The story of the truth began many moons ago, and it is set to continue.

Illumination – and the translation thereof – are not for the faint-hearted.

…

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24 Aug 2015 · 14:23

Impressions – Blog No. 13

Chesire Cat

First impressions do count.  They are, in fact, seminal.  If you are the sort of person that is able to look others in the eyes then whether or not they return your question becomes immaterial.  Fear often prevents eye-contact.  Respect, too.  However, I would suggest that meeting another’s gaze – even for a few moments – will do you and them, wonders.  In a case of respect, looking down after saying hello will demonstrate humility.  And yes, humility is very important in a world like this.  That does not ever mean you need to feel ‘lesser’ or be subservient to any other being, or put their opinions or needs above yours.  Yours – are as important as the man’s standing next to you.

Impressions are what is left behind, as such.  You can recall a strong impression in minute detail if you concentrate.  First impressions are like red wine-stains – they take some washing out.  Some may even remain forever.  Like scars.  Or blood.  Blood – when you have seen enough of it – always makes an impression.  A deep one.  A voice makes an impression.  The way a smell makes an impression.  One that can last a lifetime, in fact.  And some lives are very, very long.

When Alice first hit Wonderland she noticed the pea that had been sleeping under her mattress for the past months.  The pea apologised profusely for the bruises she had caused Alice and they went to make an impression.  They thought the best place for that would be at the palace of the Queen(s) of Heart.  They were right.  Fortunately, the pea made it into one of the Queen’s delicious soups and Alice was invited to partake of the fare.  She saved the pea and sent the Old Queen into orbit.  That is the way Alice works.

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18 Aug 2015 · 13:45

Love Letters

hearts

6.

Love is one word that definitely suggests unity.

Magic is one word that explains Love.

If you cannot spell magick properly that is just as well, it is safer that way.

Why they call it ‘falling’ in Love is another question.

Why?  Perhaps it’s a parachute.

…

Your body cannot lie.  A heart is a finely tuned instrument.

When it spells Love the way it should be spelt you will know.

You will feel it.

Like you can feel goosebumps, rising, without eyes.

Let your being, be.  Let your heart love.  It is safer that way.

…

A message meant to be sent is always received.

When it is received by the right conductor it helps.

When it isn’t, it won’t.  Love is like that.

She is selective when it comes to her representatives.

And she has every right to be.

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18 Aug 2015 · 12:27

Love Letters

loveletters

5.

AND THEN THERE WERE FIVE

There were ten green bottles hanging on the wall and now there are five.

That is how it goes when time is concise.

When there are more than five you have to show concern.

You need not actually feel concerned, but you should show it.

How you feel is your business.  What you do about it is mine.

That is no farce, that is authentic.

…

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17 Aug 2015 · 13:25

Chronology – Blog No. 12

chronology

It is necessary to get things in their correct order.  That is not hierarchy, it is a process through which we reach the right outcome.  You cannot know what is next if you do not know what came before.  If you do not bother to find out what came before you can rest assured that your outcome will not be what you think it is.  It is not wise to decide that 1969 comes after 1972, for instance, because in this world, it doesn’t.  1972 would not have been what it is if 1969 had not come first.

Priorities are best in chronological order.  That way, you can see where you are versus where you were and you can then plan where you want to be.  In retrospect – using hindsight – chronology also gives you an accurate breakdown of your progress along your journey.  You can see where you made mistakes and how you overcame them, and you can work out why doing certain things at certain times is pointless.  Chronology is like A, B, C, D, E.  Or 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.  It is knowing that if you will fly, you must first grow wings.  Growing wings in 2015 is advisable if you will fly in 2017, for example.  Wings do not grow overnight.

A timeline is another kind of chronology, and it is somewhat like a map.  If you can read numbers, orders, you can read your future past and thereby arrive at your present destination with all your ducks in a row.  I have heard it said that ducks in a row are too easy to shoot, but that is perhaps a pessimist’s view.  Ducks in a row can slipstream.  That means unless you are using a bazooka you are unlikely to hit all the ducks with one shot.  Work out your timeline and trust its message.  We all have our own times and places to be – your timeline is not mine, mine is mine.  Yours is yours.  Timelines are exciting when you establish – and follow – their lead.  In essence they know more about you than you do.

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14 Aug 2015 · 09:37

Floored – Blog No. 11

flooring

Being floored can be a stressful event for certain types of people.  For others, it is an essential experience – hence it is regarded as one of Life’s greater pleasures.  It is preferable to be of the latter type, unless you have no choice, in which case you simply deal as best you can with the hand you have dealt yourself.  Stress is a serious disease.  As is bitterness, hatred.  It is a shame for those who are floored with a heart filled with hatred because their longevity depends on their ability to get grounded in Love.  Love does not invite hatred into its sacrosanct space.  Ever.  In fact it chases hatred right out.  That is its way.

There is a technique to a perfect flooring.  It takes practice.  Landing takes practice, too.  In some instances the floor will be there for you when you fall – in others, it won’t.  Be sure you do not need a floor if you haven’t got one, otherwise you might find yourself landing badly.  It is possible on the odd occasion to floor yourself.  This is the best position in which to find yourself because a personal flooring is quite possibly the best learning curve, ever.  Tripping yourself up, on the other hand, is not advisable.

When you floor something – or someone – properly, the reason behind said flooring becomes immediately apparent.  You do not question the reasons.  You accept your grounding with good grace and you take gratefully the lessons that are learned when your head hits the deck.  When your body hits the deck you best hope that you did not have far to fall, else it will hurt.  It is like that with unplanned landings.  Once landed, floored, grounded, it is advisable to get straight back up.  You know what they say about getting back on track – the sooner you pick your lip up off the floor and stiffen your resolve the more likely you are to begin getting where you think you are going.

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09 Aug 2015 · 09:42

Love Letters

loveletting

4.

LOVE GROUNDED

Love’s essence, upon being earthed, grounds itself.

Once firmly rooted it spearheads hearts with its message.

It does this in a number of ways.

Love has no limitations when it is naturally anchored

nor

when it chooses to spread its surface tendrils.

Love’s reach is not bound by human rules.

…

A proper conductor is necessary to earth Love’s essential charge.

Without one, its energy dissipates quickly and is wasted.

A few volts of Love’s power, when correctly channelled,

can work wonders above the ground

and

below the earth’s surface.

This synchronicity is not a coincidence.

…

When your bare feet walk the ground under Love’s touchdown

you will sense the message being sent.

When your head registers the identical message, there will be equilibrium.

Love travels best in waves, frequencies

and

it makes its statement through people.

Where is the Love?  It is here, on earth.  And that is where it should be.

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07 Aug 2015 · 11:16

Love Letters

The Divine Comedy

3.

RESPECTING YOUR ELDERS

It is a deep love that reaches out to us from our pasts.  A love, with understanding.

In the present we can forget to understand, caught up in our reactions.

We can overlook the truth of a matter.

Trust a Love learned:  time-tested and trialled by Life

and

let it guide your heart of hearts, home.

…

A heart is respected for the length of time it has been alive.

For what it has seen and felt on its journey.

Heart – as such – does not die.  It cannot.  It is the domain of the brave.

The longer you live, the more pain you are likely to witness.

You are likely, too, to experience intense joy.

…

When discussing Love with your elders, trust their understanding.

Believe in their insight.  They have it for a reason.

If you cannot discuss Love openly with those who know its nature, that is a pity.

They are the ones to thank, in fact, when all is said and done.

It is their flawless execution of Love’s plan that has changed our days.

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07 Aug 2015 · 09:56

Identifiers – Blog No. 10

identifiers

The way you go about your daily business identifies for you who you are.  The nuances in your behaviour are clear indicators of how it is to be you, and why it is that you bother.  There is always a reason to bother being yourself.  As we have heard countless times before, there is no one that can do that better than you can.  It can be interesting at times to watch other people try.  It can be extremely irritating, too, especially when they will perpetually fuck it up.  Once you have identified your true self you will not need to put up with pretence.  Not from yourself, and not from others.

There are those in our midst that are trained identifiers.  That means they have learned how to see what is in front of their eyes.  It would make sense as an identifier to trust your first instincts.  They are usually the right ones.  It also makes sense to identify a positive rather than a negative.  Like it is preferable to meet the truth in a person than it is to make excuses about the lies they use to conceal their real.  What on earth is the point of dealing with what is unreal?

When you find that you can accurately identify your every aspect – and for some people that takes a very long time – you will find the ‘inner peace’ that you seek.  Until you have identified and accepted your entire being, your past misdeeds and concealments, your basic building blocks – that ‘peace’ will seem to elude you.  You can chase peace around in circles for eternity – it is notoriously skittish.  If you cannot take on board everything that you are, we are, then there can be no real peace on this planet.  If peace is contrived, it is not authentic – and then calling it ‘peace’ is pointless.  What does a word mean if it has no substance?  Until you show unconditional love for yourself, your fellow earthlings and the vast expanse that is our collective unconscious, peace will forever be one step ahead of our efforts.

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04 Aug 2015 · 08:37

Kings and Queens – Blog No. 9

Love

Whether or not they realise it, the Kings and Queens of this world are on the front line.  That is simply how it is.  Kings certainly do not desert their men in battle and Queens are quite capable of managing their domains from the front, too.  That means they do not desert their men, either.  In an ideal situation all the men of the Kings would unite with all the men of the Queens and together they would not only be a more effective line of defence, they would perhaps see in one another’s eyes that their objective is ultimately one and the same, i.e. it is a common one.

Kings and Queens – in the traditional manner – are elevated to their status because they have the wherewithal to handle the weight of such a title.  Being a King or a Queen is not part of being in a fairytale.  It is a very serious business.  The Kings and Queens that turn up thinking their job is a picnic are soon deposed.  That is called Natural selection.  A King is denoted by his honour, his word.  A Queen is denoted by her honour in combat and her determination.  In this, they have equal power.

In the royal enclave there are such things as Kingcesses.  Those who can identify upon sight a Kingcess are fortunate.  He who catches a Kingcess is a lucky man – it is like finding an angel flying on solid ground.  That – like being struck by lightning – is not a common occurrence.  In fact, it happens only once in two blue moons.

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