Ruthorn went on with his explanation, “In fact, all the sciences that you know are interconnected and are one same thing, but you only have a partial and superficial knowledge. Without a broader and deeper knowledge, you won’t be able to see the connection between them.”

“When you master the art of seeing everything without any distortion, and train yourself to be present at every step of your life by applying the technique of deep breathing, this will help to reinforce your thought power. And as it gains intensity and strength, the power of this thought will surprise you. We call this ‘intuition’. Whenever you wish to know something, you only need to send out a request. In simple terms, this method is nothing more than always questioning everything. Every time you form a question, electromagnetic waves are transmitted from your brain. As you become more proficient in the three stated qualities, the wider and farther your questions can reach. On the other hand, if somebody sends a thought to you, the less distortion you have, and the lighter your emotions and feelings are, the better is your ability to receive this information. And this isn’t limited only to the people around you, as you’ll be able to receive information even from the furthest edge of the universe.”

And after a small dramatic pause, Ruthorn added “And when you have developed this level of intuition, you will be able to develop yourself to the next level.”

“By eliminating all distortions, not only are we able to access knowledge and gain wisdom, but we are also able to think and make the right and sensible decisions in every step of life. We then avoid making mistakes or creating resentment and new karmic contracts. Eventually our soul will become light and free of all burdens and enter a state that you usually call ‘pure’ or ‘empty’. Make no mistake, this pureness can’t be achieved solely through meditation, chanting, or other mind-emptying techniques; this kind of emptiness caused by temporarily blocking yourself off is not the ultimate pureness. True pureness can only be achieved when our souls face traumatic triggering situations and deal with them without creating additional karmic contracts.”

Ruthorn looked at me and smiled. “It will take you some time to adapt yourself to the natural way of deep and long breathing technique, hence, you should begin right now. When you can do this simultaneously while speaking, thinking, or doing anything, it will be considered perfect because our souls are designed to multi-task while anchoring your focus on one certain thing. Right now, I have selected for you to anchor your focus on your life force. This life force is the breath that you inhale, and this very breath represents the state of being alive. This state of being alive is the perfect harmony between the physical and non-physical, or the body and soul. Once this is achieved, we are in both states simultaneously.

“By using our breath as our anchor, we stay conscious of our existence. In your daily lives, most of you on Gaia have never truly been present in the now. You were consumed by the situation in front of you and let that control your actions. For example, if someone scolds you, you get angry right away. This means that all of you are under the influence of the environment rather than being in control of yourself. You’re always driven by external factors that influence your behaviours, thoughts, and feelings. At no time are you conscious of being ‘your true self’, so, focusing on your deep and long breathing helps to bring you back to yourself.”

“But this is how I practised meditation in my world, focusing on my inhalation and exhalation,” I said.

“There are two mistakes in what you do. First, you don’t know why you’re doing it, as I mentioned earlier. Second, your practice is not natural and cannot be applied to your daily life when you speak, think, and interact with the people around you. You escape to an empty place and sit alone with your eyes closed to meditate. This method has more disadvantages than advantages. The advantage is that it’s easier for you to focus on your breathing, but the disadvantage is that you won’t do it anywhere outside of that place. Moreover, as long as you don’t understand the real purpose of this breathing technique, your emotions, whenever they erupt, will be twice as intense.”

“You get a first taste of relaxation and serenity from meditation, because you remove yourself from the daily troubles and emotional triggers. But when you go back to your daily life or when you encounter the next unpleasant situation, the memory of this temporary serenity will backfire and the intensity of your emotions will double, when compared to those who do not practise any meditation at all. This means that when you encounter anger, you will be twice as angry, and when you are annoyed, you will be twice as annoyed,” Ruthorn explained.

“Are you aware that what you just said is totally in contradiction to my religious principles?” I protested. “If I share this theory with my people at home, they will denounce me as a rebel or a heretic.”

“I’m only telling you the truth, “Ruthorn answered gently. “The truth is reasonable, profound, and in harmony with everything. And more importantly, it’s never been hostile to anything. This truth has existed for such a long time, it’s a rule that has always existed in the whole universe. Even if a handful of people on your planet have a different view, to the universe it doesn’t make a difference – the truth is still the truth,” Ruthorn added.

“But meditation is the doctrine taught by a great man of my world, the Lord Buddha. What you are saying sounds contrary to his doctrine,” I insisted.

“Yes, I know that,” said Ruthorn, “and his teachings are correct in all aspects, but the problem is the people who have been teaching his doctrine after his passing. They continue to give incorrect instructions, either out of their ignorance or based on their inadequate knowledge. With the passage of time, you all believe that those are Buddha’s original teachings. However, I’ve noticed that people in your world often choose to cling to matters that only comply to their needs and manners, and to behaviours that rely on institutional power. Therefore, those spiritual leaders choose to pass on teachings that create rules for you to follow and comply with. And, of course, his original teachings have been distorted.”

“If you want to follow the original teachings of your prophet, why are you still doing what he explicitly forbade? He forbade man to create images of Him. Priests are not allowed to handle money, and the building of temples is forbidden. Killing animals is forbidden, as is eating meat. All of these things are forbidden for those who continue his teachings, but you can clearly see that they have always ignored those rules. In fact, these teachings should rather be called ‘commandments’ not ‘teachings’ because they explicitly use the wording ‘Prohibit’*[i]. But all of you choose to do only what complies with your desires,” Ruthorn said.

“In my opinion,” he went on, “the violation of these commandments is the real insult. What I am sharing with you is the knowledge you should have. I have explained the entire interconnected principle, and now it’s up to you to process and apply it by using your past experience and your intellect.”

“But most importantly, I’m doing the same as what your Lord Buddha did. I’m trying to help you understand so that you stop relying on anyone, on any rites, or any institutions. You have the capability and potential to understand everything. You can deal with everything on your own, become cleansed and purified, and liberate yourself from the engine room of the universe all by yourself. Actually, all of these steps can only be achieved by yourself. Whenever someone asks you to follow him by promising you that only he can set you free, you can be sure that he’s not telling you the truth. If you think that believing in someone or being faithful to someone will make you free, I have to tell you that this is impossible. No one else but you alone can liberate yourself from that engine room, and everyone must try to do it and ascend on his or her own.”

“Again, only by doing will you be able to free yourself from the universe’s engine room. And in this case, doing doesn’t mean sitting in a place with closed eyes or purifying your mind by not interacting with anyone; that’s not what doing or practising means. In fact, doing means going out there in your daily life and testing yourself how much love you’re able to show to the rest of the world,” Ruthorn paused, and I interjected.

“Master Ruthorn, I’d truly be contented if this can help me understand the soul language.”

“I’m explaining the unity of knowledge,” he responded. “True knowledge has to be seen in the context of every dimension. All the things that I’ve explained are the interconnected principles of the soul language. If you understand the soul language, then you’ll be able to access knowledge from everywhere. This knowledge will tell you what you should – and should not do – when you find yourself in difficult situations. When you act without making mistakes and without offending anyone, then you’ll have the chance to release yourself from the bonds of karma. And only then, can your soul finally be free.”

“I … erm …” I was about to ask a question, but Ruthorn cut me short by saying: “Now let’s begin. From now on, focus on what I’ve told you and master the art of deep breathing whenever you’re awake, when you talk, eat, walk or sit.”

“Alright,” I agreed, “I’ll try to do that.”

[i] Note: The Five Precepts prohibit Thai Buddhist lay people from committing five sins which are killing, stealing, misuse of sensual pleasure, misuse of speech, and intoxication from drugs and alcohol.