Dr. Bob Rich interview – by Sleepy Lion Publishing

by Dec 12, 2021Bob Rich, Interview, Michael Amos, Spirituality, Writing1 comment

by Kateryna Kovarzh

 

Reincarnation, the divine mother and aboriginal history

First of all, I would like to offer you a huge thank you for the opportunity to work on this project! I have greatly enjoyed working this past year on this beautiful book, and I look forward to future collaborations together. With this in mind, I would greatly appreciate more of your time in diving deeper into the background behind this story, into areas of inspiration, and themes that appear throughout Maraglindi: Guardian Spirit.

After our video conversation, a series of key inquiries have come up that I think readers would find interesting.

1: Having read some of your other works, namely Ascending Spiral, the theme of reincarnation and death seems to play out quite often in your works. Why do you think this is an important area to explore for you and your writing?

Michael, I have a serious secret to share with you. There is only one fatal disease: conception. Every being that has ever been conceived is guaranteed to die.

But if you look around nature, everything is recycled. We are made up of atoms from exploded supernovae somewhere else in the Universe. Matter and other forms of energy can never be destroyed, only transformed into another kind of energy. Wouldn’t it be surprising if that was not the case for spiritual energy? Death cannot be the end of a book, but merely the end of a chapter.

I wish someone had told me this when I was a youngster, because I was a complete sceptic. I explained consciousness away as an emergent quality like a candle flame.

An emergent quality is something like the beauty of a building. You can analyse the bricks and beams and paint chemistry and the like forever, but the aesthetics of the building is something new, not predictable from the components.

In the same way, the flame of a candle is an emergent feature. You have a wax-soaked wick. Provide it with energy, and you have a flame. Withdraw the energy by blowing out the candle. Where did the flame go?

Oh dear, I hope it hasn’t gone under my chair or I’ll get all the hair burned off my body! (My daughters call me Daddy Bear for some furry reason.)

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear.

Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair.

Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy,

Was he?

So, if that flame is anywhere, it could well convert me into charcoal Fuzzy Wuzzy.

Sorry, Michael, I have this problem: as a character in one of my books set in 700 BC said, “Life is too short for the seriousness it deserves.” I learn a lot from my characters. I have learned a great deal from darling Maraglindi.

Back to work.

Over the years, I’ve had my nose rubbed in the evidence: we live over and over and over, recycled exactly like energy and matter. I have a dear friend I’ve never met, Petrea King, who is one of my inspiring lights. She has written, “Your body is only a space suit for surviving on this planet.”

I won’t give a lecture on the scientific evidence for reincarnation, but a whole chapter in my book, From Depression to Contentment: A self-therapy guide, is devoted to it. Being a terrible businessman, I have posted this chapter so people can read it for free at my blog, Bobbing Around

As you said, reincarnation is central to several of my books, particularly Ascending Spiral. This book is my fictionalised autobiography. I have two reasons for turning my personal experiences into a novel. One is to protect the guilty: I have no wish to be sued. The second is a very powerful tool of therapy, which I am happy to share with our readers. Write a movie script (or in my case, a novel). At this stage, there is no plot for what will happen in the future, but design the hero in as much detail as possible, and then a little more. Give this hero your exact history, circumstances and body, with one difference. The hero handles your life events in the way you wish you had. Then step into the role, and do your best to BE that hero from here on.

As I report in that book, in 2007 I found a therapist I could work with, not an easy thing for a therapist other professionals send their most difficult cases to. I wanted her to help me to process the traumas of my infancy. She did, but also gave me multiple glimpses of several past lives. One of her past lives intersected with one of mine, so she was intended to be my teacher. I am the person I am in this life because of what happened between us several lives ago.

So, I simply couldn’t have told the story of me without including the stories of me when I was different people (including nonhuman people). And if that sounds bizarre, so be it. I know that Earth is only one of many schools for souls, because I have attended two others.

OK, now for the payoff. If I were still the sceptical person of my youth, I’d probably die of despair. If you want to know why I live a contented life instead, and how the concept of reincarnation helps me, read the essay “No, I won’t jump off the planet” at https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1Qt

The heroine of our project, Maraglindi, is a person who has lived as a material being as many times as was necessary to graduate, and is here to be a guardian spirit to us. (Hey, I get it! Is that the reason for the subtitle?) You see, every sentient being is an apprentice Buddha, an apprentice Jesus. Our job, life after life, is to do our best to learn the ultimate Lesson, then we don’t need to do the life business anymore. Some enlightened spirits, like Jesus, the Dalai Lama — and Maraglindi — chose to return, in order to be of service, to teach us. As I said, Maraglindi has been a great teacher to me, especially because I hate being preached at, and she does the opposite.

I look at the insanity of a global society ruled by greed and hate through the lens of reincarnation. Anything going wrong in my life is an opportunity for me to grow spiritually. I can somehow cope with the pain of my overdeveloped empathy for the suffering of others, because I know that the victims of cruelty will have another chance in another life, and that karma will catch up with the perpetrators.

I can separate people doing insanely destructive things from their actions, because I know they are young souls, and have a long road of spiritual growth ahead of them. My motivation is not to punish them, judge them or hate them, but to do my best to lead them to spiritual growth.

So, the concept of reincarnation is one of my major tools for staying sane, calm, positive and effective. It can serve anyone that way.

2: In a similar line, the title Maraglindi means Glindi’s sorrow. We see the role of the mother as important in this book. What does the archetype of the mother mean to this book and your other works?

Michael, you are very perceptive for a young fellow, you know that?

I’ve been a mother all my life, and yes, I know I am a guy. My brother was born when I was nine-and-a-half years old, and I was his second mother. Because I don’t always have the leisure to explain myself, I say I am a Professional Grandfather. I even have a T-shirt and a badge to say so. Every human born after 1993 qualifies as my grandchild.

During my past life recalls, I have had several um… conversations? in-between my lives with a superior Person. I cannot give a visual description, only an emotional one, but one thing I am certain of: this Person is a Mother; a female Spirit. Like Maraglindi, but much older, She is a guide to us little-child souls, and has been coaching me on my road toward enlightenment.

Maraglindi is a Mother soul.

In my science fiction novel, Sleeper, Awake, the artificial intelligence Artif is everyone’s Mother.

As I said, in Ascending Spiral, there is a Mother person who guides me (well, Pip, the fictional me) from life to life.

Hit and Run is the personal diary of Sylvia Kryz, an 84-year-old lady who is a grandmother figure.

Anikó: The stranger who loved me is the biography — of my mother. I wrote it not because she was my mother, but because of her extraordinary life.

And in the Stories of the Ehvelen, set in 700 BC, I report on the REAL Little People, whose entire life revolves around serving the Mother.

Now to answer your question: I don’t know.

3: How did you find writing about Aboriginal backgrounds? Could you talk a little about your research and work in this area?

One morning, many years ago, I woke with Maraglindi demanding that I should write her story. I had her name, appearance, the basic outline of her story all complete, waiting to be recorded. I had no choice in the matter, but needed to be an obedient scribe.

I explained to her that today’s descendants of the First People of Australia own their history. They don’t take kindly to outsiders like me telling yarns from their point of view. I agree with them. In fact, I spent considerable effort seeking an Aboriginal person to co-author this book with me, in order to ensure cultural validity.

The next best thing, I got detailed advice from a number of Aboriginal advisors, who have approved the content, and advised me on historical and cultural details.

Also, I have personally worked with people of two Aboriginal nations, and I feel I understand them as well as any outsider can. My aim, in this book and elsewhere, is to strive for justice for them, and equality, and respect.

As well as consulting with my advisors, I have about 20 relevant documents within my computer. All were either written by Aborigines, or in close consultation with them.

So, I am confident of the facts. I am also confident of the way the people in our book respond to their situation, because, well, that’s what they told me.

4: Finally, psychology and environmental concerns seem to feature strongly in your life and writing. For example, in Ascending Spiral, you mention “Live simply so you may simply live.” This quote to me strongly embodies both those areas of life. How does this relate to Maraglindi: Guardian Spirit? As the key message of the book seems to be about unconditional love.

Since 1972, everything I have done has had the aim of working for a survivable future, and one worth surviving in. The young people of today deserve a tomorrow, and a good tomorrow.

“Live simply so you may simply live” is the solution to the first: creating a survivable future. I explain this in more detail in an essay, “How to change the world” http://wp.me/P3Xihq-5

Maraglindi’s message of unconditional love for all is the Buddha’s message, of Confucius’s message, Jesus’ message. It is explicitly endorsed in the Qur’an, so it’s Mohammed’s message too.

Imagine a world in which every human treated everyone and everything according to this dictum:

Above all, do no harm.

If you can, do good.

If you can’t do good, change the situation until you can.

I learned this from another person within my computer: Bill Sutcliffe, who is the Doom Healer. His story is still to be published, but you will find snippets at my blog https://bobrich18.wordpress.com/stories

That’s a future worth surviving in.

But also, we are in trouble right now because of a global culture that encourages and rewards all the worst in human nature: hate and fear of the Other, aggression, short-term thinking, and above all, greed.

If you care with all your heart for everyone and everything, like Maraglindi does, then you don’t do things that way. Greed becomes impossible, because there is no point to possessions, to luxury. Being of service is far more important than stuff.

If everyone became a Maraglindi, we would have a future.

So, the message of unconditional love is the key to reversing the insanity that is killing everyone.

Look, Michael, there is documented evidence that already in the 1970s, the big oil, coal and automotive companies had accurate predictions of how their business activities were leading to universal destruction. So, they have invested many billions of dollars to make sure these predictions came true. How sane is that? Similarly, every living being on this planet contains measurable doses of agricultural toxins, “forever chemicals” like PFAS, microplastics that release carcinogens. The decision-makers of the companies that make and market the sources are living beings on this planet.

They are now getting that emergent quality of the flame under their seats, converting them to charcoal Fuzzy Wuzzies. Their reaction? Buy more politicians, resist any attempt at fixing the problem, “blah blah blah” in Glasgow instead of effective, immediate action.

They simply could not, would not do this if they followed the rule,

Above all, do no harm.

If you can, do good.

If you can’t do good, change the situation until you can.

 The global economy is a device for turning nature into pollution, as quickly as possible. We need to change it to one that cares for people, for nature, for the future. So, we all need to act that way.

That is, exercising unconditional love for all is the solution to the environmental problem, too.

I think this time I did answer your question.

Finally, if you would love to hear more about Bob Rich, then make sure to check his Blog and books! Additionally, anyone who chooses to follow his blog, Bobbing Around, has the opportunity of getting a free book from time to time. Also, make sure to check out his latest book, Maraglindi: Guardian Spirit, published through our publishing company. You can also find a copy internationally through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, Booktopia and many more…

Furthermore, if you would like to hear more about Bob’s recent interviews and appearances:

Mary Tod’s blog is one of the most important centres of historical fiction. She has asked me deep and thought-provoking questions about Maraglindi, which has provoked me into giving hopefully thought-provoking and even more hopefully, entertaining answers.

Dr. Nina Savelle-Rocklin is an eating disorders specialist — and inspiration. She says, food and weight issues are not a problem but a symptom, and she is right. On 11 am PST 17th November, she grilled me on toast on her popular show on LA Radio. That was 6 am Thursday 18th my time, so needed to splurge on chocolates and coffee so I wouldn’t fall asleep during the show.

I’ve had a wonderful interview with Professor Claudia Monacelli. Our chat went live on 11 November. Here it is on Spotify.

Kevy Michaels has invited a guest post from me. After looking around his blog, I sent him a 2800 word essay with the title, Are we God’s puppets?

Writers Exchange e-publishing is the publisher of Hit and RunThey have interviewed me, and have generously included material relevant to many of my other books as well. Appropriately, the interview is labelled “Bob Rich, Author and Environmental Warrior.”

 

If you have enjoyed this article and wish to see more, than make sure to keep updated through our social media page and on this website for more content! Additionally, make sure to check out our Books page! Additionally, we are also always on the lookout for interested beta readers and reviewers, so if you are interested, do make sure to get in contact at enquiries@sleepylionpublishing.com 

As always, please feel free to comment and share.

 

 

1 Comment

  1. Bob Rich

    Michael, thank you for featuring me at Sleepy Lion, and for your thoughtful questions. But really, that fellow you interviewed should have treated things more seriously. You should whack him on his fuzzy wuzzy bottom!
    I will answer comments, questions, and even whacks on the bottom from anyone who cares to participate in a chat.
    And please note, every follower of Bobbing Around, and subscriber to my newsletter, is entitled to a free book. Currently the title on offer is “Lifting the Gloom: Antidepressant writings.”

    Reply

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