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Northern Back Streets
Born in the industrial north of England in
the post-war era of austerity and
ration books, I earned my passport away from the back streets with a
grammar school scholarship and a professional qualification. Then, with a
new wife, came the usual struggle involving hard work, risk,
disappointment, achievement and adjustment, in my case culminating in an
unexpected rags-to-riches story.
Rejecting the Business World
I became a successful businessman, traveling the world and providing
financial expertise for complex deals of corporate acquisitions and
mergers. As a company director on four continents I was also responsible
for overseeing the affairs of our high-tech operating subsidiaries. But at
the age of 42 I turned my back on the financial rewards of the business
world to write a spiritual book.
From the Pentagon to Lhasa
First came the years in the wilderness, or more correctly, years
living with my wife and son in relative seclusion on the edge of a lake.
My career had taken me to coffee plantations in the West Indies, a steel
mill in the jungles of Central America, the Stock Exchange in London, The
Pentagon in Washington, and large computer installations in a score of
countries. I had always made time for other experiences: a night-time
ascent of Blue Mountain Peak in Jamaica; walking through the Forbidden
City in Beijing; flying over Australia's Great Dividing Range in a light
aircraft; visiting the Buddhist Temples of Bangkok; but now the focus of
my journey became self-discovery. Months spent in solitary introspection
restoring a neglected piece of Cumbrian woodland were interspersed with
exotic trips: white-water rafting on the Zambezi; attending the Ceremony
of the Tooth in Sri Lanka; seeing the living goddess Kumari in Kathmandu;
ascending to the roof the Potala in Lhasa. I joined two local Buddhist
groups and had a short poem entitled Full Moon published in a
Buddhist magazine. Then I began to write the book that feels like my
life’s work.
The Secret Doctrine
I first read Madame Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine when I
was still in my teens, and throughout my business years her unified
concept of spiritual and physical evolution (which she called 'Theosophy')
made more and more sense. It
brought together philosophical and spiritual teachings from around the
world, for Blavatsky claimed that most modern religions have a common
source. The Secret Doctrine is dense, almost impenetrable, prose
writing covering fifteen hundred pages with small print. The ideas within
could do much to dispel the ignorance behind our abuse of the planet, its
resources and its inhabitants, but very few people take the trouble to
read it. I set out to re-package Blavatsky’s ideas in a form which
anyone could understand. The result is
O Lanoo!
Given the opportunity we would all like
to make a difference. I hope that O Lanoo! will make a difference ~
that people will read it and accept on some level the concept of unity
which will help us move towards a more harmonious future.
Climate Change
After O Lanoo! I
returned to the business world, working in a voluntary capacity as a
director of a community wind farm co-operative. In the seven years
that followed I was instrumental in establishing Energy4All, a
not-for-profit company that helps communities establish their own
renewable energy projects. Individuals working as a community, in
harmony with nature for the good of the planet and all life forms?
This was theosophy in action!
The Bigger-Picture
In the Dalai Lama's book Ancient Wisdom, Modern World, His Holiness
comments on the earth's population of some six billion. He suggests that
less than one billion are dedicated religious practitioners, and following
this line of thought I have to accept that the ideas in O Lanoo!
are going to be ignored by the vast majority of people. Nevertheless, I
feel that my unique blend of skill and experience, gathered from a broad
range of human activities, might benefit others. This site, therefore, is
a simple commentary on some of today's current affairs. It focuses on
harmony and unity, rather than God, but remains true to the concepts
outlined in The Secret Doctrine and O Lanoo! A few poems are
there for entertainment only, but in each article
I strive to present a Bigger-Picture.
Harvey Tordoff
December 2006
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