Murder at the Cooking School: Book 7 of the Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series

by Dianne Harman

  “How do we make money? Lots of it?” asked one man.

  “Yeah, that's a good one. We’re not happy living like this," said an older man. "A fat bank balance is always welcome.”

  “Anything else other than money?” asked the chairman, with a twinkle in his eye.

  “Ooh, ooh, and happiness at all times,” said a young woman.

  “Yeah, and a stress free life,” said an elderly lady.

  “All three if possible,” said one girl.

  “That would be asking for too much, I guess,” said a young guy.

  “So money, happiness and a stress free life are your top three wishes for the year. That’s doable, although there are far more interesting challenges in life,” said the chairman.

  “We’ve had enough challenges. There's so much pain and suffering even amongst the educated. A few on top shittin' on the rest of us,” said one man, in a slightly frustrated tone.

  “That’s understandable, so let’s start with money,” said the chairman. "Before we start, wouldn't it be nice to know the personality traits that the rich possess?"

  "We already know that. They're smart and intelligent and come from rich backgrounds…," an impetuous young man retorted before he was cut off by an older man.

  "We're here to listen and learn from him. I think there's more to it than meets the eye. Yes, we'd like to know the personality traits the rich possess," said the old man, sounding a little irritated.

  "They're not smart, not intelligent, not rich, not lucky, not talented, not beautiful, not privileged, not confident, not achievers, not the most popular, not likely to succeed, been laughed at the most and have failed more than most," said the chairman, much to the astonishment of all those gathered.

  "That gives us so much hope," said a young man. "You just described me perfectly."

  "That means you'll be rich, happy and stress free," a middle aged woman chimed in.

  All of a sudden the mood changed. There might be a chance after all, everyone thought. Something deep within them stirred. Really? Was it really true that most rich people came from such wretched backgrounds? Wow, who would have thought?

  "If that's the case then what about the things we see on TV and read in the papers?" asked a young woman, still not convinced.

  "The media gives people what they want. If they portrayed boring people who wore boring clothes and drove old, ugly cars and lived in modest homes then no one would watch the TV or read the papers anymore," said the chairman.

  "Makes a lot of sense," a young woman said. The rest nodded in agreement.

  "Moving on, does anyone know the First Law of the Universe?" asked the chairman. He scanned everyone's faces, waiting for an answer. When none came forth he replied.

  "Whatever you want will be yours!"

  "Then how come we don't get what we want?" a young man shot back.

  "Well, when I asked you what the first law of the universe was, you didn't reply," said the chairman with a smile. "Then how do you expect to get what you want?"

  "Also, when you ask for something there's a lack of clarity. Because of this lack of knowledge and lack of clarity, you ask feebly, and you get a feeble response, which, as we all know is not what you wanted, but you got what you deserved.

  "The first law of the universe is also the deadliest law of the universe. It's a double edged sword. Exercise caution - for the cosmos will indulge your every whim and fancy."

  "So let's get right to it," said the chairman with a wry smile.

  CHAPTER 3

  Plugging Massive Energy Leaks

  “Before we can even begin to talk about money or anything that we aspire for in life, it’s best to understand one simple fact - your ability to create is directly proportional to the energy resources at your disposal,” said the chairman.

  "If you are vibrating at a higher energy level, the incoming energy is high and the output too is high. So you will project a powerful reality or in others words attract people, places and things that vibrate at high energy levels.

  "In many cases the readiness to forge ahead exists, but the chains that bind you are still in place. So it's best to begin by taking a look at what's holding you back, break free from them, and then begin marching on the path to prosperity.

  “Most (99%) are stuck in a low energy realm and hence your ability to live the life of your dreams remains a dream.

  “Are you aware of the fact - that not only are you in a dream state while you sleep, you’re also in a dream state while you are awake. It’s one big continuous dream,” said the chairman.

  “How come we’re dreaming/sleeping while we’re awake?” asked one guy, scratching his head as he shifted around awkwardly.

  “How many of you daydream during the day?” asked the chairman.

  “Most of us do that,” said one man.

  “And how many of you brood or get melancholy?” asked the chairman. “When I say brood, I mean to ‘blame, complain and criticize’, which happens to be the single biggest pastime most engage in.”

  “This tape that whirrs in your head for ever and ever until you go to sleep, exhausted,” said the chairman. “You see, more than 80 percent of the waking state is spent either day dreaming or brooding i.e. thinking about the past or the future.

  "Only the remainder is spent doing something fruitful; this is when you are fully awake and not leaking any energy,” the chairman said and then asked, “How many of you blame, complain and criticize on an hourly basis?”

  Everyone raised their hands, except for a young man up who had been busy daydreaming.

  “Now, how many of you are infatuated with celebrities? How many of you dream of marrying them or hanging out with them?” asked the chairman.

  The daydreamer suddenly realized that everyone had raised their hands and raised his hand slowly, so that no one would notice. Everyone noticed.

  “Infatuation sucks you bone dry on a daily basis, beware,” warned the chairman. “When you daydream you are projecting the future and when you are blaming and complaining (tape whirring) you are projecting the past.

  "So even when your eyes are wide open, your awareness 'is zero', since you are busy day dreaming(future) or brooding(past), hence the dream continues even when you are awake,” said the chairman.

  "Is dreaming at night a good thing?” a young girl asked innocently.

  “There are two things that happen while sleeping and it's important to make a distinction. When you are just about to wake up, you get flashes which last for a very short time and are normally forgotten by the time you are fully awake,” said the chairman. These flashes are helpful, they are symbols i.e. coded information that comes in the form of an image along with an emotion, and they point you in the right direction.

  "Nature by default is very lazy or super-efficient, call it what you may, so it always tries to do things using the least amount of energy in the shortest possible time period.

  “Dreams on the other hand go on for a much longer duration and are a massive energy leak. They take on two forms. In most cases you dream of things that happened to you during the day – as is. The second form also replays the same information, but in the form of symbols and emotions, so you feel that something new is being revealed but it's the very same thing.

  "For example, you run into a person you dislike and later on that night you dream of a snake that symbolizes the dread and dislike all rolled into one.

  "Dreams go on for a very long period of time whereas when it comes to intuition it only takes a matter of seconds. So dreams violate nature's law of 'doing things quickly by expending the least amount of energy.'

  “Once you stop daydreaming and brooding during the day, you will have no dreams during the night, and when you do get an intuitive flash you’ll remember it much more easily. You’ll wake up fresh and with lots of energy,” said the chairman.

  “Is daydreaming good or bad?” asked one man.

  "A daydream is a desire," said the chairman, "a desire for a b
etter life. How long does it take for desire to take birth? Nanoseconds? So why do you need to daydream for hours on end?

  "Once you have a desire, 'Act'. It's the fastest way to accomplish your desires. Once you focus on accomplishing the task at hand inspiration flows freely and abundantly, you progress towards your goals with lightning speed and the end result is bliss.

  "Instead, what do you do? You daydream. Stop dreaming and Act on your desires. Your inability to act is the single, biggest reason for failure. Take that first step immediately.

  “Watching a one hour movie on the big screen is a tiring process," said the chairman. "Now imagine how tiring an eight or ten hour movie can be? This is what you do every day - you mindlessly project the past or the future (daydream) and blissfully forget about the present.

  “This is how disease and lifelong sickness enter your body because you're bleeding energy all the time.

  “With all this happening, awareness goes for a toss. You dream and brood even more of the 'good life' or the lack of it, and the cycle repeats itself for eternities - your dream state continues unabated,” said the chairman.

  “Nize explanation,” said a young gun.

  “Yeah, it does make a lot of sense,” said a woman. The rest nodded their heads - none more vigorously than the young man awoken from his daydream.

  Chapter 4

  Empty Yourself First

  "Ok, let's move on," said the chairman as he gazed around the room. "Does anyone know the most important instruction one has to keep in mind if one has to move forward in life?” asked the chairman, with a quizzical look on his face.

  Everyone stared straight back at him, barely moving a muscle physically or mentally.

  “Empty yourself! Empty yourself of your memories, your conditioning. Your inability to let go of the past poisons your body,” the chairman proclaimed.

  “Remember how you said 'That would be asking for too much',” as he pointed to our dear daydreamer, now almost fully awake. "That’s what I’m talking about, there’s too much memory, too much baggage, too much conditioning that keeps you chained to the same spot.

  "Before I go on I would like to add that we're specifically talking about your conditioning, your superstitions, your warped view of the world etc. We're not talking about erasing good memories."

  "Why is memory the culprit?" asked an elderly woman.

  "How many of you have seen 'the walking dead'?" asked the chairman.

  "What do you mean by 'the walking dead'?" asked a middle aged man.

  "Those who have suffered a set-back in the past and are emotionally scarred by it, to the extent that the incident controls them for the rest of their lives and they can't go past it," said the chairman.

  "My aunt suffered a terrible tragedy, she's alive but only physically," remarked a young girl.

  "So how many of you belong to this group called 'the walking dead'?" asked the chairman.

  A few hands went up. The Chairman waited some more. A few more hands went up. He waited some more and after a while almost all the hands were up.

  "Yes, you there young man, haven't you experienced an emotional setback that tore through your heart like a hurricane?" asked the chairman.

  The young man thought for a moment. He had suffered more than a few setbacks that had numbed his senses to the point of no return - frozen like a glacier. At that moment he began to realize the gravity of his situation. He raised his hand slowly.

  "Well, that's the story of humanity. All of us are shackled to our past, our memories hold us hostage until awareness sets in and begins to untangle the emotional knots," said the chairman.

  “Just the sheer weight of your memories keeps you rooted to one spot forever," said the chairman. "It leads to resistance and resistance leads to failure. 99.9% of your thoughts are just outpourings of your memory (energy) that bubbles up and expresses itself.”

  "How do we get out of this self-marinating pickle?" asked an elderly gentleman.

  "Good question," said the chairman. "Periodic use is the best form of maintenance. Disuse results in death. The more active you are, the healthier your body is. If you were to rest all day in order to preserve your body, you would shrivel up and die.

  "It's the same with memory - keep it active and it gets stronger and stronger. Stop using it and its gets weaker and weaker until it is forgotten due to inactivity.

  "So you're saying that the key is - to forget bad memories?" said a woman.

  "Yes," replied the chairman. "And how do we do that?" she asked.

  "There is an indirect approach which works pretty well," said the chairman. "Your body is a chemical factory and when these chemicals are at optimum levels life is bliss. One example of such a chemical is glucose.

  The body is the staircase, the roof is paradise. Once you reach paradise, the staircase is of little use, but to reach paradise, you need all the help the staircase (body) can offer.

  "When life is blissful you automatically focus on 'the present and the pleasant' rather than 'the past and the unpleasant'. To be in a state of bliss your body must be in a position to maintain these chemicals at optimum levels day in and day out. The moment there is an imbalance 'the past and the unpleasant' take control of your mind.

  ”For that you need three things - good food, sound sleep and vigorous exercise. If you screw up in any one area then life will turn ugly. It sounds beguilingly simple but it's not. Many have perished when this simple yet delicate balance has been disturbed.

  "Sleep and exercise are for free. If you want to get out of the muck you're wallowing in, then a large part of your budget will be spent on quality food - skip this and all bets are off. You'll be amazed at how much money you'll spend on quality food when you get started.

  "For those who say that they have no time for sleep and exercise, the simple answer is - focus on 20% of your tasks (the most important ones) and the rest will eventually take care of themselves.

  "It's hard to work on the 20% because you have to use your brain. So people choose to do the remaining 80% which is repetitive and requires almost no cerebral activity.

  "Good food, sound sleep and vigorous exercise will set off a chain reaction that will result in bliss, and this bliss will ensure that you remain in the here and now and live a great life, free from the burden of the past, free from your memories that have haunted and imprisoned you for so long."

  "I've always bought cheap, unhealthy, processed food to lower my grocery bills. I never realized my foolishness until now," said a young man.

  "A lot of us know about sleep and exercise but never really cared about food, and never really understood how intimately it's tied to success and well-being," said another.

  "I really want to get out of this 'walking dead' club as soon as possible. I didn’t even know I was a member until you brought this whole memory stuff up," said a young woman.

  "Well, as we go deeper you'll begin to realize that moving up the ladder is not tough or difficult, it's tricky. A sound foundation and common sense will take you far; there's nothing complicated about it. Be very careful about what you eat or else you will remain in the same spot forever," said the chairman.

  “Ok, so let's move on. Back in the day and to some extent even today, in some parts of the world, couples are matched sexually based on the group they belong to - a dog, horse or elephant,” said the chairman.

  The young were smiling and the old were blushing. What had sex got to do with money, everyone wondered? And the chairman went on to explain 'resistance' in more detail, once he had obtained assurances from his audience that they would do their best to empty themselves of their memories and their conditioning.

  CHAPTER 5

  Resistance Explained

  In some parts of the world men and women are divided into 3 distinct groups, namely – dog, horse and elephant. In the wild, elephants don’t ride horses, and dogs are not enamored with horses or elephants. However, when it comes to human beings plenty of examples exist where such mi
smatches can be observed, if one cares to pay a little attention.

  When the resistance of the source (man) is equal to the resistance of the load (woman) then the maximum amount of energy/power flows, and everyone is happy. When resistances match, then everything is in “harmony” or “in resonance”.

  The source and the load must always be matched, as closely as possible, for maximum energy/power transfer to take place. This law of the universe is a fundamental law (Impedance/ Resistance Matching) that covers all engineering disciplines. Failure to follow this law always ends in a fiasco.

  The universe offers no resistance to the flow of energy. It can transmit infinite amounts of energy, instantaneously. However, most of us have very high amounts of resistance (when it comes to embracing change and accepting new ideas and possibilities).

  If you have built up a lot of resistance (primarily stored as memories, most of which are of no use) you will obstruct the flow of energy. So in this case the universe is the elephant and you are a housefly. The universe wants to and has the resources to give you so much, but you've made yourself so small. So you get a little.

  Ultimately, you will be surrounded by people who have more or less the same energy/resistance levels (as yours), hence dogs are with dogs, horses with horses and elephants with elephants.

  Ultimately, the lower the resistance the better your growth prospects!

  "So how do we lower our resistance?" asked a middle-aged man.

  "Great question," replied the chairman.

  “A human baby is born with very poor eyesight, it is almost blind. It relies more on touch and sound during the first few weeks of its life.

  “Light streams in when it opens its eyes. The brain senses this, resulting in a rush of neural activity. New pathways are formed rapidly that result in good eyesight. Here’s the important point,” emphasized the chairman.

  “The only thing a baby does to develop its eyesight is - open its eyes.

  “This act of ‘opening up’ plays a critical role in helping you lower your resistance. The universe does the rest. The universe is just a mirror - whatever vibe you emit is reflected back to you. The openness of your heart and mind will break down your walls of resistance.