Author David Dennis - The next four years (1985 – 1989), were without a doubt the toughest, but also the most exciting and soul-searching, of my life. My employer press-ganged me into relocating to an office in Redhill, Surrey. I bought a pokey 1 bedder-house in the most miserable suburb in Crawley, Sussex. Having moved away from home and all my friends, I turned what should have been a wonderful period in my life into a living hell. (Just like Mrs Wilkins informed me people do). Instead of rejoicing at a well-deserved promotion, new house, 100% bank mortgage, generous relocation allowances, and a group of new friends, I made myself miserable by focusing on what I’d left behind and feared a lonely and mundane future.
Then, one night in mid-1997, Grandad came to me in a vivid dream to give me the biggest butt-kickin’ of my life. He told me to get off my laurels, quit wallowing in the self-pity, celebrate my successes, and create an exciting new life, (by following my life-plan). Next morning, I bounced out of bed and walked into work with a whole new fresh attitude. My friends and colleagues appeared to be quite shocked. I then booked my very first vacation to good ole USA (Florida) with my good friend, from Germany, Thomas. Wow! We had a wonderful time. I fell totally in love with America and her wonderful people and vowed to return.
When I got back, I immediately sold my 1 bedder and bought a lovely two-bedroom house in Worth, an old village located between Crawley and East Grinstead. By now things were going great at work and I was making a whole raft of new friends, plus I regularly visited established friends in Essex and Kent. What I learned from that is that we have a choice over what we think and how we relate to our circumstances. In so doing we can create a reality that supports us, as opposed to one that supports our misery.
It was about a year later that the heroic rescuer in me invited a young Irish girl, down on her luck, to lodge at my house until she got back on her feet. What I didn’t know was that she’d been involved with a religious cult (which I respectfully refrain from naming) and that their UK head office (an old castle) was just up the road from where I happened to live. She persuaded me to take her there to help her repair her damaged mind, which she insisted they had been responsible for creating. BIG mistake on my part! These cultists, (or, more accurately, occultists), latched onto me from day one, and the head of their intelligence arm insisted that I’d make a great intelligence operative. Oh, boy, did I get a quick lesson in occultism? On only my second visit, I had alarm bells screaming in my head (Grandad? or perhaps another guide or my own soul intuition?) I, therefore, high-tailed it out of that oppressive place and never returned. What I learned from that was: Be wary of anyone or any organization insisting that they have the solutions for you and others, when the truth is, we already have the solutions within us; we just need to learn how to unlock them. I also gave up being the rescuer for the Irish girl, who I took to stay with an old friend of hers in Croydon, London.
It was then that I said: “Screw it! I’m gathering some trusted friends and heading to Hawaii.” So, in Oct 1988, four of us jetted off to the beautiful island of Oahu. Best vacation of my life! On my very first day, I met a Maltese-origin girl from Adelaide, South Australia, while my friend Steve and I were swimming off Waikiki Beach. This Aussie and I hit it off immediately. It was as though we’d known each other forever. I remember saying to Steve, “Oh my God! I’ve just met my future wife!” Anyway, to cut a long story short, we stayed in touch and by December, she was living with me at my house in Worth. We got engaged, but she had to return to Australia, as I was unable to sell my house due to soaring interest rates and the onset of a massive global recession. She didn’t want to live in England and was keen that I join her in Australia. I tried everything to sell that house. It took me 11 months. It was only when I said, “Okay, I give up!” having abandoned any hope of selling the house, that the first potential buyer in 4 months rocked up and agreed to buy it. What I learned from that is: Focus on what you want but release any attachment. You can get excited, for sure. But the universe only responds when you release earthly attachment – which often results in negative fear vibrations.
The buyer and I exchanged contracts, I resigned from my job (after 11 long years, having turned down the promotion opportunity to my first managerial appointment), got myself an Aussie tourist visa, and hopped a Boeing 747 to Sydney, where I caught a transit flight to Adelaide. I had a weird feeling as I took off from Sydney airport though. Despite heading to Adelaide to join my fiancé, (whom I was totally besotted with), something deep down told me that Sydney was where I was meant to be ...
