The Eöt-Wash Group
Laboratory Tests of Gravitational and sub-Gravitational Physics
Gravitational Constant
Equivalence Principle
Fused Silica Fibers
Spin-Coupled Forces
Cryogenic Balance
Lunar Ranging
Axion Search
About Torsion Balances
We pioneer new techniques to test and measure weak-field gravity, search for possible new interactions weaker than gravity and are involved in technology for LIGO.
1) Search for experimental signs of quantum gravity that violate Einstein's Equivalence Principle and/or the Newtonian inverse-square law.
2) Probe the largely unexplored region of possible interactions weaker than gravity.
3) Make sensitive tests for new interactions that couple to electron spin.
4) Develop sensitive low-noise instrumentation for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO).
A torsion-balance search for ultra low-mass bosonic dark matter (2021)
Initial Results from the LIGO Newtonian Calibrator (2021)
New Test of the Gravitational 1/r2 Law at Separations down to 52 μm Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 101101 (2020)
Short-Range, Spin-Dependent Interactions of Electrons: A Probe for Exotic Pseudo-Goldstone Bosons Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 201801 (2015)
Torsion-balance tests of the weak equivalence principle Class. Quantum Grav. 29, 184002 (2012), Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 041101 (2008)
Review of torsion-balance experiments Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys 62, 102 (2009)
Gravitational constraints on new particle physics Phys. Rev. Lett 98, 131104 (2007)
Test of gravity below 100 microns Phys. Rev. Lett 98, 021101 (2007)
Torsion Balance Test of Spin-Coupled Forces Physical Review Letters 97, 021603 (2006)
Review of Inverse Square Law Tests Ann. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci., 53 77 (2003)
Measurement of the gravitational constant Phys. Rev. Lett 85 2869 (2000)
Eöt-Wash in the news:
LiveScience: Physicists who disproved '5th force' win $3 million 'Breakthrough' prize
Nature: Even at short range, Newton's law still rules
Ars Technica: Experiment finds that gravity still works down to 50 micrometers
The Economist: The dark side of the universe
Nature: Frontier experiments: Tough science
Discovery Channel: Through The Wormhole with Morgan Freeman: Are There More Than Three Dimensions?
Physics for the 21st century: Gravity. Check out the video!!
Scientific American: String Theory's Extra Dimensions Must Be Less Than Half the Width of a Human Hair
Acknowledgement of Financial Support:
Our work is primarily supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant PHY-2011520, PHY-2012350, PHY-1812380. We are grateful for resources from the Department of Energy support for the Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics. Our experiments are conducted on the University of Washington campus.
© 1987-2020 Eöt-Wash Group. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Washington, NSF, DOE or NASA.
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Eöt-Wash Contacts
Eric Adelberger at (206) 543-4294 or eric@npl.washington.edu
Jens Gundlach at (206) 616-3012 or gundlach@uw.edu
Blayne Heckel at (206) 685-2401 or heckel@phys.washington.edu


Corey Taylor and the Duct Tape Phallus: Read Hilarious Excerpt From Lou Brutus Memoir
Radio icon shares insane story from 'Sonic Warrior: My Life as a Rock N Roll Reprobate'
Slipknot's Corey Taylor, 2005
photograph by Mick Hutson/Redferns
text Revolver Staff
Chances are, you know Lou Brutus' voice: He's been a rock radio icon for decades. And he has the stories to prove it. On April 14th via Rare Bird Books, he'll tell all with the release of his hilarious memoir, Sonic Warrior: My Life as a Rock N Roll Reprobate (Tales of Sex, Drugs and Vomiting at Inopportune Moments), which includes a foreword by Slipknot and Stone Sour singer Corey Taylor. You can pick up a signed or unsigned copy now.
It's is a collection of strange but true stories — each chapter recounts a separate insane tale — that careens across his 40-plus years of covering concerts, interviewing music's biggest stars and influencing generations of radio listeners.
Here, he's teamed up with Revolver to share an exclusive except involving the aforementioned Taylor called, "The Time I Escaped the Wisconsin State Police and Their Fake Phallus Felony Enforcement." Enjoy.
In 2005, Randy Hawke, program director for WJJO-FM in Madison, Wisconsin, told me that Slipknot was going to end their Subliminal Verses World Tour in town at the Alliant Energy Center. Randy and his station were among the first around the country to air my syndicated radio show, hardDrive, and I always looked forward to boozing and general stupidity with Randy and his staff. We arranged for me to fly in, surprise the band, and emcee the show.
First of all, a bit of background. I have a long history with the members of Slipknot going back to before their major label debut was released in 1999 on Roadrunner Records. I had received an advance of the release from Mark "Psycho" Abramson from the label of the still-as-yet-unmixed album and fell in love with it. Without waiting for the rest of the world, I began playing the song "Wait and Bleed" before its release and raved about the band from coast to coast on my program. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Corey [Taylor] listened to the show every Sunday night on his hometown rock station in Des Moines, Iowa, KAZR-FM Lazer 103.3. In those days, he worked the night shift at a local porno palace. Corey later told me in our first interview together that he would tune in each week believing he would one day be a guest on the show. My feeling of pride at a future rock star being inspired by my program is, of course, naturally offset by the shame that said show provided the beat for beating off in the video booths of the shop. (More on my adventures with Corey and the other lads in "The Knot" elsewhere in this tome, hopefully without any references to public masturbatory habits. However, I make no promises.)
Corey and I are both big fans of the writer Hunter S. Thompson. In fits of stupidity, he and I often banter back and forth in Thompsonian voices with quotes from his books, like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. We screech about bats, leeches, and sexual intercourse with polar bears. We boast top-notch impressions of Thompson's voice and body mannerisms. Those around us think we're on serious medication, but that's their problem.
A post shared by Lou Brutus (@loubrutus) on Mar 31, 2020 at 8:16am PDT
So, anyway, I thought it would be a splendid idea to show up dressed as Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson had taken his own life a couple of months before, and my costume was a goofy attempt to honor his memory. As I boarded my flight, I wore the full regalia of the late, hard-partying writer: hightop Chuck Taylors with athletic socks; brown cargo shorts; and a maroon, white, and blue Hawaiian shirt. The outfit was topped off by three key pieces: teardrop-shaped sunglasses, a red Dunhill cigarette in a holder, and a green plastic "Las Vegas" visor. Oh, one other thing, a flyswatter. Can't forget the flyswatter! It allows you to slap imaginary bats and smack people on various body parts.
A little background on venue for the show, the Alliant Energy Center, formerly the Dane County Coliseum. It opened in 1967 and had a capacity of 10,231. Other notable shows there included Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, The Doors, Def Leppard, REO Speedwagon, KISS, and Cheap Trick.
As the cab dropped me off at the arena, the loading area was packed with tour buses and semi-trucks. Most of the buses were for Slipknot and their crew, but there were also vehicles for the other groups on the tour: Lamb of God and Shadows Fall. I always look forward to seeing Randy Blythe, lead singer of Lamb of God. He is also an author and accomplished photographer. He specializes in black-and-white photography using high-end Leica cameras. He often likes to photograph other photographers, calling it "Shooting the Shooters."
I wondered if Slipknot would keep to the time-honored tradition of the headlining band pranking the opening groups on the last night of a tour. The pranks could be anything from throwing rolls of toilet paper onstage to unplugging instruments to fucking with the lighting or sound systems. Tonight would set a new record for lurid creativity for tour-closing hijinks.
"Brutus!" I heard my name called out by crew members several times as I sauntered backstage. Among them was their front-of-house sound man Dave "Shirt" Nicholls. "Shirt" was beloved by bands and fans alike for his incredible ears and ability to make even big, old, shitty arenas sound great for concerts. He was the preferred live sound mixer for both Slipknot and Avenged Sevenfold until his death from cancer in May of 2017.
Slipknot guitarist Mick Thomson was the first band member I heard coming. Mick's usual footwear is leather studded jackboots, so his feet sound like marching storm troopers. He's well over six feet tall, which gives him an extra menacing look.
I was in the catering room attempting to pick up a slice of cheddar cheese with my flyswatter when I heard a voice yell from behind me, "SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" It was Corey Taylor crying out in his Hunter S. Thompson voice to greet me. He let out a laugh as he surveyed my outfit. He was smoking from a Thompson-style cigarette holder, though that's where the gonzo similarities ended.
We went back to the dressing room, where we met up with Corey's wife at that time, Scarlett. Corey walked behind a curtain, and I assumed he was getting ready for his set. I offered to leave, but he insisted I stick around. While the three of us chatted, odd sounds emanated from behind the curtain. It sounded like the tearing of tape from a roll. It seemed to go on and on.
Finally, Corey said, "Okay, Hunter. I'm ready."
I turned around to face my friend, expecting him to be wearing a Slipknot jumpsuit. But he wasn't wearing a jumpsuit. He was wearing nothing on his body but a giant penis.
Made out of black duct tape and a plastic bag.
That hung down to near his knees.
My eyeballs rolled out of their sockets and bounced on the floor.
Egad! This was no normal phallus made of polyethylene, fabric mesh, and pressure sensitive adhesive. It was an elephant-sized Johnson bigger than the tusks of the famed Pyrrhus Pachyderms of the Old World.
A schlong so huge it needed its own zip code.
A weenie longer than the guitar solo from "Do You Feel Like We Do" on Frampton Comes Alive.
It was one big mutha-fuckin' dick.
As I picked my jaw up off the cement and used it to corral my eyeballs back into place, I took a gander at Corey from head to toe. His shoulder-length hair was pulled into two pigtails. His current Slipknot mask covered his face like a second skin of singed flesh. He wore nothing else but an evil grin.
Well, nothing besides the Louisville Slugger–sized simulated schwanz waving back and forth between his knees.
I don't know how it was all held together. Maybe he wrapped his cock in a sock first. It's a mystery best left unsolved. Corey leered at me and said, "Let's go."
I thought, "Go? Go where?"
He put on a gold robe as he walked to the dressing room door, then pressed down on the duct-tape dong to keep it under the folds of the robe and picked up a drumhead that contained some kind of messaging from the floor. Scarlett gave me a small push from behind to get my feet moving. Corey was a man on a mission. He walked quickly and deliberately through the backstage hallways, ignoring the stares, points, and giggles from the crew and fans backstage. I quickly realized we weren't heading to catering, the production office, or the buses.
We were on our way to the stage.
You should know that everywhere backstage at big venues are neon arrows of tape on the floor pointing you toward important places like catering, the stage, or the dressing room. If you don't know where to go, look at the floor! The Rev from Avenged Sevenfold once joked to me, "If those arrows pointed to a cliff, I'd walk right off!" We seemed to be following the tape that pointed to the stage.
As we traipsed along, it hit me. This would be one of the greatest tour-ending pranks of all time! I chuckled as I pictured the faces of the Shadows Fall guys when they realized they were sharing the stage with a sticky gray tallywhacker of ginormous proportion.
The stage was crammed with the equipment of the three bands playing that night. Shadows Fall were soldiering through their set, oblivious to the penile indignity that was mere seconds away.
Scarlett and I stopped on the edge of stage.
Corey kept going.
Shadows Fall (SHADS for short) is a great band. Originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, Phil Labonte of All That Remains was vocalist before Brian Fair joined up in 1999. They are two-time Grammy nominees for Metal Performance for the songs "What Drives the Weak" in 2006 and "Redemption" in 2008. The band has toured the world and seen most everything touring musicians can see. But they had never witnessed anything like this.
Corey Taylor walked to the center of the stage in the middle of a song and parted his robe, holding his arms straight out. He held the pose for just a moment, much like Buffalo Bill preening for the video cam in Silence of the Lambs. Unlike Bill, he did not tuck his manhood away.
The giant duct-tape penis waved out in the open for all to see.
Wisconsinites love bratwurst, but they had never seen a sausage as large and fierce as the one waving across the arena stage though this one admittedly used non-meat filler.
The roar of the audience drowned out the intense volume of Shadows Fall as Corey dropped his robe and pranced about the stage in between the band members, his pigtails bouncing up and down to the beat of the music while his wondrous wang waved at a slightly slower speed.
Corey now raised the drumhead over his head triumphantly. It read "I ♥ SHADOWS FALL."
The eyeballs of the SHADS lads rolled out of their sockets and bounced on the floor. However, as they're total pros, nobody missed a note.
It was then that I heard Scarlett's voice behind me: "You're on, Hunter."
She shoved me hard and onto the stage toward Corey.
Time seemed to slow down as I stumbled across the stage trying to regain my balance. The sound of the music and the roar of the crowd melted away while the lights seemed to get brighter and I felt their heat on my face.
For a moment, I thought I felt the squish of a Shadows Fall eyeball underneath the sole of my sneaker.
It was then that my Hunter S. Thompson outfit–inspired reflexes kicked in. I began chasing Corey around the stage, waving at his Dong of Doom with my flyswatter.
I don't know how long this went on. More than likely just a few seconds, though it seemed like a few minutes. Twenty thousand eyes fixed upon the musicians, flyswatter, and ducttape trouser trout moving in an insane rock 'n' roll ballet. I dropped to one knee, intending to deliver a coup de grâce and claim victory over the imitation baloney pony before escaping to the dressing room. Unfortunately, I miscalculated Corey's next move. He doubled back as I raised my wrist above my head and I narrowly missed being slapped across the face by his sticky ersatz schnitzel.
There are a lot of humiliating things that can happen if you choose a life in rock 'n' roll radio. You could screw up on the air. You could be publicly fired. However, you won't know true humiliation until you've almost been smacked upside the kisser by another man's fake flesh flute in front of ten thousand screaming metal heads.
The first thought that came to mind in this pre-smartphone time in history was how lucky I was that no one would ever see this moment of my life.
As I looked into the pit before the stage, I came eye to eye with the lens of a professional grade camera.
"Click-click-click" went the shutter.
"Shit-shit-shit" went the voice in my head.
The photographer turned out to be the great Chad Lee. Yes, the images still exist. No, you don't want to see them.
While I did escape the chafe from of the chubby on my cheek, I'd wrenched my knee on the floor, and the pain reminded me to retreat to the far side of the stage. Corey went back to the side we had come from.
My exit wasn't as uneventful. I ran (with a slight limp) into two displeased Wisconsin state troopers. I've had to explain a lot of crazy shit in my career, but I had no intention of giving a demented dick dissertation to a couple of pissed off John Laws. So I took the manly way out.
I fucking ran for it.
My heels moved so quickly they kicked up sparks. I pictured some deputy district attorney drooling at the thought of bringing headline-grabbing charges like "Unlawful Possession of a Phony Pork Sword" or "Illegal Discharge of a Fallacious Love Gun" against me and Corey. I had no desire to find out what the penalties (penal-ties?) would be.
I made my way toward the luxury box reserved for WJJO, doing my best to avoid anyone in uniform. I changed into a Slipknot concert T-shirt and darted between concertgoers in the hallway, ditching my glasses, cigarette holder, and green visor in the large pockets of my cargo shorts.
Yes, as I mentioned earlier, I had cargo shorts on. It was part of my Hunter costume. Please don't make fashion fun of me about it, as the rest of this chapter should be embarrassing enough as it is.
Bursting through the door of the radio station's suite, I saw Randy Hawke and WJJO promotions director Bonnie Oleson, among others. Before they could quiz me about the onstage stupidity, I cried out at the top of my lungs, "I'm not here!"
Then I locked myself in the bathroom where I noticed my now slightly bloody knee beginning to swell up.
Naturally, I missed the rest of the set from Shadows Fall as well as most of music from Lamb of God. It was especially tough not seeing Lamb of God. I really wanted to catch the set, but not so much that I was willing to risk being pimped out for a pack of smokes in lockup that night.
In the meantime, the angry denizens of the luxury box banged on the door of the bathroom as they suffered the pain from their beer-swollen bladders. I felt bad for them, but not bad enough to risk possible arrest. Only the need to return to the stage — to do my short emcee duties shortly before Slipknot — brought me out of the john.
How intent the coppers were on finding the culprits is unknown. I vectored around anyone with a badge as I returned to the stage, hoping I was safe without the Hunter S. Thompson getup. I gave the quickest stage announcement in history.
" I ' M L O U B R U T U S F R O M T H E W O R L D F A M O U S H A R D D R I V E O N N I N. T Y F O U R O N E W J J O A N D S L I P K N O T W I L L B E U P I N J U S T A M O M E N T!"
I was going to exit the building soon after my second visit to the limelight, but then Slipknot hit the stage. Their set began with the searing "The Blister Exists." It was during the second song, "(Sic)," that Shadows Fall attempted a bit of payback in the prank department.
While hiding on the side of the stage, the SHADS members placed a large, yellow, radio-controlled dump truck on the floor and sent it onto the stage. It was a nice try at a bit of fun, but it did not take into account the fact that there were nine fucking lunatics flailing about onstage.
After the dump truck got a few feet out, percussionist M. Shawn Crahan ("Clown") hit it with his aluminum baseball bat. Chris Fehn ("Long Nose"), the other percussionist, joined in with a large metal pipe. In mere seconds, the dump truck was beaten to pieces.
One of the larger truck parts skidded to where I was standing, and I picked it up as a souvenir. I later had Shawn and Chris autograph it. I don't remember if it's buried someplace in the crates of memorabilia I've collected through the years or if I gave it to WJJO for a charity auction.
Which brings me to an important tip: SAVE EVERYTHING! Passes, ticket stubs, wristbands, and anything else related to a rock show are collectible. Throw nothing away! If it's not readily identifiable, add a small piece of masking tape with a note of what it's from. Anything from the stage is extra collectible. Well, except thrown water bottles. I don't know anyone who collects rock star backwash. However, as I once scooped up fake wig hair trimmed from the head of Tobias Forge of Ghost, I'm the last one who will point fingers at anyone collecting anything.
Sadly, my night was about over as I saw the Wisconsin state troopers eyeing me inquisitively. I darted offstage, out the back door, and into a cab.
While the physical scars of the duct-tape weenie eventually healed, I will carry the emotional scars forever.
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Practice & Study Resources
Slow on the Uptake
Chogyam Trungpa on Path Without Goal
Chögyam Trungpa on Spiritual Materialism
Homage to the Only Father Guru
Reflections on Kalapa
Namkha Drimed and Shambhala International
Money Flows Diagrammed
Keeping Alive the Transmissions
FAQ – Shambhala
FAQ – This Site
Keeping Alive the Transmissions of the great Vidyadhara, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
by Bill Karelis, copyright 2008
His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche clearly stated in 1990 that there is no one in our sangha at the level of realization of the great Vidyadhara, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. And how could there be—since the Vidyadhara was, indisputably, a Mahasiddha? Not only Westerners, but many of the community of Tibetan practitioners of the Dharma, including the tulkus, especially those with contact with the West, or from Kham in Tibet, believe he was greatly enlightened. His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse also said of the Vidyadhara that "the son has surpassed the father," meaning that the Vidyadhara's enlightenment surpassed his own. This is saying something, as His Holiness is revered among all the sanghas; he served as the supreme Head of the Nyingma lineage, educated dozens of young tulkus, and gave teachings to the 14th Dalai Lama. If the Vidyadhara was greater than he, then the Vidyadhara was very great indeed.
I was present once with Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, whose realization was so great that the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa prostrated to him, even as Tulku Urgyen regarded the Karmapa as his own guru–when Tulku Urgyen was given a Tibetan copy of the Sadhana of Mahamudra, one of the Vidyadhara's terma. Tulku Urgyen remarked, "The person who wrote this must have been an amazing being."
From the discoveries of Karma Senge Rinpoche, the Vidyadhara's nephew, in Tibet, it has recently come to light that the Vidyadhara manifested as a tertön from the age of about eight. The incredible texts and practices he discovered during that period, such as Ati yoga practices, are now being translated and transmitted.
I once heard Ato Rinpoche say that the Vidyadhara was so fearless that he used to scare the other tulkus.
My calligraphy teacher, Eiichi Okamoto, at one time remarked to me that the black in the Vidyadhara's calligraphies is somehow "blacker" than others'. To me, and to many, the Vidyadhara's calligraphy alone speaks volumes of great depth.
And so the reports go of the Vidyadhara's countless manifestations. Each of us has his or her favorite stories about him, no doubt—all pointing in the direction of his inconceivable enlightenment.
Literally millions worldwide have encountered the Vidyadhara through his books–that is, through the power of the truth they convey. And those book sales continue strong year after year, after thirty years or so, with no promotion. I understand that several of them have sold about a million copies each. They will without doubt define the direction of the Dharma worldwide for hundreds of years.
But it is not, of course, the number of books sold, nor other objective standards, which tell the depth and the breadth of the story. We, the Vidyadhara's students, most of all, know his greatness to be expressed in vastness of his vision and profound realization, appearing personally before each of his students in a different light, but always the epitome of great kindness and strength. Since we met him personally, we have no doubt. He was, and still is a second Padmasambhava–the one who opened and continues to open the West to the genuine Dharma. The extent of the impact of his teachings is impossible to measure, now or in the future.
In fact, everything about the Dharma we understand, every wakeful form we have, every breath of uplifted spirit expressed in mudra, every manifestation of enlightened society from which we benefit, is due to him. There is no one in our sangha who can say this is untrue of themselves, including those who never met him; for the newly arrived among us, all the teachers are the Vidyadhara's students, or students of his students. If he were not what he was, if he did not do what he did, we would have no living lineage, no centers, not the upayas, nor the environment, nor the confidence, nor the view that we are so fortunate to have inherited. He is truly haunting us, in the best and most pervasive sense. We are nothing without his manifestation, example, command and transmission. This is literally true.
The words of a Mahasiddha, and his instructions, the places he inhabited, how he conducted himself, his very clothing and the relics of his body, are regarded as inviolable in the Buddhist tradition. As an example of this reverence, at a teacher's gathering at the 1999 Vajradhatu/Shambhala Seminary, the Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche said that we should not change "one word" of the Vidyadhara's teachings, and compared him to the omniscient Longchen Rabjam, the great expositor of the Nyingma tantras, in this regard.
The loss of blessings and wisdom associated with changing or otherwise losing the instructions and forms left behind by such a one as the great Vidyadhara, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, would be irreplaceable, and sad beyond bearing. It would be a tragedy for humankind, owing the Vidyadhara's pioneering role in bringing Eastern wisdom to the modern world. It is our task, as his students, trusted by him to propagate his lineage, to prevent this decline in his teaching stream, and to preserve the forms he left us, as well as to carry the oral tradition in our own beings.
The confidence about which he taught so thoroughly applies most profoundly to this last point. He said that one doesn't have basic goodness—one is basic goodness. We are that. If we feel we are not, then we have not understood. But someone must have pointed it out to us for us to know this, even though it is in our being. We also communicate this to others, whether we have a big project to do so, or whether we are just going to the grocery store.
Nonetheless, even though we may carry the teachings in our person, in order to give to others what was given to us, we need relative means. Those means are his bequest to the world. Surely we must keep intact and alive not only his spoken and written words, but also the forms and symbols he conveyed in all the realms of speech and body, which also point to his mind transmission, so that future generations, hundreds of millions of beings, may benefit from his enlightened activity. Obviously, that inheritance must be kept alive and pure, as close to its original form as possible.
Everything he created must be noted; every detail which is related to form, every literal instruction, every bit of advice, every flash of prajña he manifested, every thing he conveyed to each of us personally, must be carried on, in whatever way we are able to do so. This is for our own sake–at the very least for the sake of our self-respect–as well as for the world. And it must be done with meticulous attention to detail. Overall, this is a huge task, which no one person can accomplish; fortunately, there are many, many of us, each with our own particular piece of the puzzle. If each of us contributes that piece, that larger picture will become apparent, surely.
As he said, if we don't do it, who will?
Some say that forms always change, and so changing the detail of our inheritance from the Vidyadhara makes no difference, if we preserve the spirit. This is a naïve view of how the genuine Dharma is actually transmitted on the relative level. In practice, it is too laissez-faire; and it misses an essential point of Dharma. There is a necessary relationship between the trangdon, or literal transmission of the Dharma, and the ngedon, the actual meaning. The trangdon is the way the Dharma is communicated on the relative plane. The real meaning depends on literal detail to be understood, unless one is capable of transmitting mind to mind, or through wordless signs and symbols—and even the sign transmission requires detail. Since most of us do not yet enjoy the higher levels of perception, or, even if someone among us does, since others in the future may not, the Vidyadhara left us means by which to convey the true meaning of his teaching stream. Thus it is that he gave specific instructions, and thus it is that he left behind specifically designated forms. His instructions and forms are precious trangdon, invaluable upayas and media for enlightened mind to move into the future, through the vehicle of the present moment. It takes a siddha to have created such amazing forms as he did, and to have evolved such instructions. It is something an ordinary being cannot do with the same power, profundity and effect. His instructions and the forms he created are special, very special, beyond special—they are priceless.
He did not do these things arbitrarily. His enlightened activity and capability were and are so accurate and far-reaching, that following the detail of his instruction carries profound implications, blessings and potential realization for the practitioners lucky enough to receive them. I am not making this point up out of hope for permanence, or a quasi-Talmudic rigor, or some kind of conservative bias—it is the traditional Buddhist view of the magnificent and profound bequest of one with such a great enlightened manifestation as the Vidyadhara. For example, to this day we practice the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as they are taught in the Satipatthana Sutta of the Buddha. If we cannot practice or do not understand that Sutta, as practitioners, we would do well not to attribute our disconnection to a fault in the Sutta itself, or to a flaw in the Buddha's teachings generally, and especially we would do well not dismiss the original words as inapt or random. We do well to try to make the meaning evident through study and practice of the original teachings, with updated commentary. The only doorway into understanding the meaning of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as taught by the Buddha is reverence and respect for the words of that amazing text, along with reliable commentary, which, traditionally speaking, may be composed by a realized being or a great scholar. Otherwise, we cannot absorb them fully into our being, because we are obstructed by some kind of concept, perhaps in the form of a subtle grudge or sense of competition with the teachings.
When Khenpo Tsütrim Gyamtso Rinpoche taught the higher tantras at Karmê-Chöling throughout the 1990's and into the 2000's, he changed a few sentences which he felt were subject to clerical error in the Tibetan text, based on his unsurpassed scholarship and realization of the meaning of the words; but, besides this enlightened editing, he did not change one iota of the original tantras and later shastras. He made comparisons to other tantras, and he contributed his own dohas [realization songs], but as far as the texts being studied, he simply commented on those incomparable works, with a very light touch. That is the genuine tradition. The ur-texts and the great commentaries by enlightened masters stand on their own. The students trust in receiving those teachings in their purest, undoctored form.
We must hope and expect that millions of sentient beings, now and in the future, have faith in and will have faith in the instructions and forms the Vidyadhara laid out. These individuals' credulity in the guidelines depends in turn on their faith that such guidelines are being passed on to them properly—in both the letter and the spirit accompanying their original transmission.
It is worth noting, also, that a distinguishing characteristic of the Mantrayana or Vajrayana method is to follow the literal instructions of the guru. So the detail takes a great deal of significance from the Vajrayana point of view. It relates directly to the transformation of one's relative world. For example, at the Vajrayogini Abhiseka in 1996 at Shambhala Mountain Center, the Ven. Tenga Rinpoche, who served as the Dorje Loppön of Rumtek Monastery, whom the Vidyadhara called, "one of the truly joyful ones"—and who bestowed the Abhiseka-said we should not change an iota of the Vidyadhara's instructions regarding any aspect of Vajrayogini practice. It was not a casual remark. There is no question in my mind that Tenga Rinpoche's direction includes doing the practice by numbers, rather than by time, as Shambhala International now permits. Also, I believe it is safe to assume that Tenga Rinpoche, would extend this admonition to Chakrasamvara practice, as well as to the Karma Kagyu Ngondro, both of which again have recently been reworked by the Shambhala International Office of Practice and Study, on the advice of some Acharyas.
The change in Chakrasamvara requirement is based, once again on the perception of some Acharyas, that the practice has been too hard. The reasoning largely relies on the demographic observation that not everyone has finished the practice. But only about 50% of the people who began Karma Kagyu ngondro within our lineage have finished it, and about 50% of the people who have taken Vajrayogini Abhiseka have finished it, and about 50% of the participants in Shambhala Training Level I go on to Level II (this is an international statistic, that holds nearly everywhere), and about 50% of the people who take Level II make it to Level V, and only about one in seven people who enter a Shambhala Center return, and about one in seven of those who return actually stay into the future, and so on. These statistics are not demonstrably founded in the quality of programming, or practice content, or sitting time required, or any other identifiable external factor. They do not at all necessarily indicate there is something wrong. Perhaps, in the end, it is better to have encountered something challenging and have met that challenge somewhat, than to have encountered something easy and to have accomplished it. In the former case, perhaps, one learns more by experiencing some kind of endlessness and frustration of expectation. Who can say? Surely the karma of encountering the genuine article is profound. Yes, programming should adapt to people's circumstances, but we should be very careful not to project our own habits and interpretations when we are adapting the reliable forms of the proven historical tradition.
Since Chakrasamvara practice as handed down to us has led to enlightenment of many adepts from the time of Tilopa (and before) to the present, somehow making it easier to finish the recitation practice seems inadvisable. Furthermore, the people I know who have finished this practice, as given us by the Vidyadhara, noticeably carry a level of shinjang, clarity and sanity which marks the path of solid practice. Personally, while I found that doing the full Chakrasamvara retreat of approximately three-and-a-half months challenging in the extreme, mainly owing to the number of hours one needs to practice each day, I also found that such retreat reaches to a level of the psychology which cannot be reached in group practice, daily practice or by lesser exertion in seclusion. Our practice tradition, particularly on the Karma Kagyu side, is famously one of "rock meets bone in insight." Where else will this occur if not in Chakrasamvara retreat? All in all, it seems very necessary to warn the sangha about a change like this one to the Chakrasamvara guidelines, so that people may exercise intelligence in deciding their own direction.
Another change, about which I have recently been told (but did not read myself) is that it is no longer required to complete the Four Karmas Vajrayogini Fire Offering in order to attend Chakrasamvara Abhiseka. Why not? Would it be such an inconvenience? The Four Karmas Fire Puja is one of the noteworthy markers on our path.
I am making these points about our Karma Kagyu practice stream, not to disrupt the faith of new students, who may be following Shambhala International's recent guidelines. If someone has faith in these guidelines, because they come directly from Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, and/or his representatives, and carry the blessing of the lineage, that is a wonderful thing. As stated, following the literal instructions of the guru forms the core of our lineage tradition, an, reputedly comprises the road to enlightenment. Faith of that kind is surely only good. I wholeheartedly support the paths of these individuals and their devotion to the instructions they receive, and I truly admire them for it. I do not feel they should feel badly about, or have doubt in their decision to follow the changed guidelines.
Still, the point about the Vidaydhara's instructions being bypassed, or otherwise amended, may be helpful for the students wishing to follow them, once they know what they are. If one does not know what they are, then one is deprived of the choice to follow them. All should understand the implications of the decisions they make, with adequate background information—ideally before they make the decision, but also, in the absence of advanced notice, at least at some point. I do not believe that adequate information has been generally available from the Shambhala International Office of Practice and Study, which seems bound by loyalty and good intention, and perhaps wisdom, to present a simple, doable version of the path to the students. Therefore, I am initiating this discussion, because perhaps the full implication of these decisions has not been made clear. There is no blame, but the full facts should be known.
Nor need there be conflict in the sangha whatsoever over such differences in practice instructions. I don't think it is appropriate to become angry over such differences or the revelation of such differences, for example. It is a private decision in a person's practice path whom they seek to trust, and what instructions they seek to follow. There is room for different ways. Certainly there should be accommodation in Shambhala International for the paths the Vidyadhara laid out, side by side with whatever paths the Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is laying out, where they differ. Clearly, there are some significant changes between the Vidyadhara's guidelines and the Sakyong's; and so, just as clearly, there are now parallel, as well as divergent paths. So far, Shambhala International has never taken the position that the Vidyadhara's original instructions should not be followed, and one has no reason to expect that the organization would take that step. Therefore, following the Vidyadhara's instructions falls within Shambala International's practice and study guidelines, and, I hope and believe, always will.
In terms of people receiving help with following the Vidyadhara's literal Karma Kagyu path, if they choose to do so, there are hundreds if not thousands of his students, authorized instructors at every level, who can help a student upon request. I would personally be available to take such an email or phone call, and to assist in connecting any student seeking this guidance with a local instructor qualified to give it.
Another example of a change in curriculum and practice is in the realm of shamatha practice. There is new emphasis on a form of shamatha practice, which does not link easily to non-conceptual vipashyana as the Vidyadhara taught it. And the non-conceptual vipashyana the Vidyadhara taught he also presented as the basis for the Vajrayana path; in addition, he said it is that which threads the whole path from beginning to end. And, indeed, the shamatha/vipashyana instructions he left us act as a bridge to Mahamudra. A great translator, belonging to a cousin lineage, asked me a few years ago, what has happened with the Vidyadhara's basic meditation instruction? I answered I thought there was no contradiction between it and what the Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche has taught. I have presented about twenty-three weekend seminars on the Sakyong's shamatha presentations, so I hope I know the material a little (I have also presented seven weekends including his vipashyana instructions, which also differ from the Vidyadhara's presentation). I have now come to the conclusion that there is no problem if the practitioner receives the instructions and the theory associated with the both Vidyadhara's and the Sakyong's teachings in this realm, and learns and practices them both. But if a person learns only the Sakyong's shamatha instructions, there is a problem. The problem is the absence of a discernible bridge to non-conceptual vipashyana. This is likely show up later in one's practice life as ignorance.
The XVIIth Karmapa said in Boulder during his June 2008 visit here that shamatha per se does not automatically lead to vipashyana experience; he did not invent this view–it is quite traditional. In other words, the basic meditation instruction from the Vidyadhara, with its emphasis on letting go, and which does naturally lead to non-conceptual vipashyana, is a far cry from what students now entering a Shambhala Center are likely to receive in an introductory program (except Shambhala Training Level I). The transmission of basic meditation from the Vidyadhara is half cut in that regard.
It is as if the continuity of the past, so carefully wrought and selected, were being supplanted, for reasons which are beyond the scope of this article to explore. The sangha should know, in my view, what we are losing. The Buddhist world is growing around us quite healthily. (To put it this point business terms, we are losing market share.) The main point is that we seem to be losing the heart of our inheritance. We seem to be tasting various practice streams, changing yidams, shrines, and lineage affiliations every few years, searching for an identity, when we already had the best possible resources and the best possible identity, from the best possible authority and judge, the Vidyadhara himself.
It is not as if there is not room to grow and create within the forms and container the Vidyadhara left us. Quite the opposite! By respecting and growing those traditions, we could evolve the most mature, lovely, spacious, rich and salutary Dharma environment and teaching stream in the world. Any other practices and liturgies could be included beautifully. But by a lack of fidelity to our own inheritance, we are throwing out the old vines, the ones that produce the best wine, in favor of an experiment.
Anyone steeped in the Vidyadhara's teaching stream will acknowledge, without question, that it is not surviving fully or even well in Shambhala International. Those who did not know him have no way to make this determination for themselves—so it is for them and for the future, really, that I am writing this article. Probably the Vidyadhara's direct students could live out their lives peacefully, regardless of Shambhala International policy, if we had no concern for the next generation, and the one after that, and so on. So I hope the newer students will understand this motivation, and take it as it is meant. There is no intention to drive a further wedge between generations or between supporters of the Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and his non-supporters, but quite the contrary: the intention is to bind together the divergent views, by calling on the one great master who could really help us now—the Vidyadhara. Since, like Padmasambhava himself, the Vidydhara is still around, this is possible—highly possible.
Preserving the Vidyadhara's teaching stream and keeping it alive only benefits everyone. I do not know one person who would say other than that. The Sakyong increasingly invokes the Vidyadhara in his talks, so he must feel it as well. If one were to take the view that the Sakyong should, as our current lineage holder, make the changes that seem appropriate him, in order to help beings, that is also not contradictory. Let those changes be made. Let us at the same time codify, acknowledge, venerate, practice and pass on the Vidyadhara's teaching stream entire.
Let us not dance on the Vidyadhara's grave in the process—as, I am sorry to say, actually occurred on July 20th, 2008, after the Speech Empowerment of the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya at Shambhala Mountain Center. We actually danced to rock music on the ground floor of the Stupa, which the person standing next to me, who has been with the Stupa since ground was first broken, and every year afterward, said to me was "a first." This kind of action imprints one in a very negative way. The Buddhist tradition, going back to the time of the Buddha, is to circumambulate a Stupa, and practice silently at a Stupa, or to do mantras, as it represents the enlightened mind of the guru–not to dance to rock music on it. From a non-theistic point of view, the reason for not engaging this kind of action has not to do with notions of what is holy, as opposed to what is profane, but with what happens to the state of mind of the person who takes that action. It is matter of respect for the Nirmanakaya of enlightened mind; the Stupa is the teacher himself, not a monument to his memory.
The claim that remembering the Vidyadhara obstructs the fresh manifestation of our lineage has no basis. That is like saying we should cease referring to the Buddha, because we have our own living guru. The Buddha is not going to obstruct our Buddhist lineage in any way, obviously. I heard one of the Warriors of the Lodge say once that he is sick of hearing about the Vidyadhara. Perhaps he was referring to habitual patterns of some students living in the past. Perhaps fifteen years ago, there was a point to making a sharp distinction between the past and present. But that logic no longer serves the situation. It is simply not true that we, as a community, or we, as senior students, are clinging to the Vidyadhara's memory, instead of living in the present Dharmic norm, generally speaking, although perhaps it does occur. The problem here is not clinging to the past. The problem is competing with it.
An egregious example of a change in Buddhist form is the placement of the main shrine in the Seminary tents. It is being placed on the western side. In the matter of feng shui, the Vidyadhara stated, "We have our own Karma Kagyu (feng shui) tradition." The renowned Karma Chagme, a great Karma Kagyu adept, for one, elucidated principles of feng shui according to the Dharma, and recommended that shrines always be placed on the eastern or northern walls, as in fact they invariably are, in my experience, in India, Bhutan, Korea, and Tibet. Now we have our principal shrines being placed in the direction of the setting sun, which seems highly emblematic and ironic. Of course, from a certain point of view, it's all arbitrary—from this same point of view, so are the colors of any mandala. But that does not mean we regard the directions and colors as random, nor the subtle dictates of our own tradition, with their universal implications. (And if we did so, then there would be no reason to put the shrine on the west wall.) It is the opposite. The subtlety of such arrangements should be left to the great Buddhist masters to determine. In this case, they all agree on the particular form—shrines to the east and north.
In the new curricula designed for the Shambhala Centers, publicized this summer (2008), the principle of the Three Yanas is largely absent. The principle of the Three Yanas provided the main format for the Vidyadhara's Buddhist presentation; many of his books are divided according to this format, and his Seminaries also followed it—because it is the format to which our entire Kagyu/Nyingma tradition adheres, based on the Vajrayana teachings of India.
There is virtually no Abhidharma left in the Sutrayana and Vajrayana Seminaries, which now run five weeks (taken together), instead of the ten weeks they ran during the Vidyadhara's lifetime. So the concerted preparation of the entering student before receiving Vajrayana transmission is being cut back, apparently out of concern for numbers (that is, it has been made more convenient to attend both Seminaries, on the theory that then more people will be able to attend). One now receives transmission at the beginning of Vajrayana Seminary, in other words, after two weeks of Sutrayana Seminary experience, plus a few days of Vajrayana Seminary, as opposed to the seven-nine weeks preparation required during the Vajradhatu Seminaries of the 1970's and 1980's.
The hallmark of careful preparation of the entering student, one of the Vidyadhara's greatest contributions to Dharma in the West, which has purified the motivation and resolved the doubts of so many, before they entered the Vajrayana, has now been abridged. Who knows what effect this will have on the practice momentum of students later. Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche has remarked that the Vidyadhara's students are good practitioners; this reality appears very closely related to early preparation on the path. It is definitely my experience that more preparation helps a great deal (I was a backwards student and had to do a lot of practice before being admitted to Seminary).
Ngedon School, initiated by the Vidyadhara with great deliberation, and put in the hands of Reggie Ray and Judith Simmer Brown, no longer hosts classes in person. There is an on-line version. As a result, the Ngedon School is losing its life strength. As a core faculty member of the Ngedon School who has not taught in the School for five years, it appears to me that the future of the Ngedon School is in question.
The Vidyadhara's Seminary talks, great gems of Dharma, are barely studied any more. They are falling out of use in the core Shambhala curriculum.
In sum, our beautiful, comprehensive Vajrayana path from the Vidyadhara is being let slowly slip away by the organization he founded to perpetuate it.
That has been a summary of some of the issues on the Buddhist side of the equation, with regard to following the Vidyadhara's instructions and the paths he laid out, and propagating the associated forms. I make this offering with the aspiration to garner, for all beings, the blessings which accrue to following the instructions of an enlightened being.
Those students who take the Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche as their guru and who find continuity, rather than discontinuity in our practice stream are very fortunate indeed. For those people, there is no contradiction. Perhaps their view is very pure. It is a great cause for celebration indeed when the devotion of the student reaches this far, so as to find no break between generations with regard to the teachers/student relationships.
For myself, having had the incredible privilege of presenting the Dharma almost ceaselessly for fifteen years in all corners of the globe, I have also discovered that we, the Vidyadhara's students, do have a good chance of carrying on his work and to give what we know to the world. As it says in the Supplication to the Takpo Kagyu:"I hold your lineage." Yes, we, the Vidyadhara's students, hold his lineage. It is not that we seek to do that; we simply do. We cannot deny it any longer, if we ever did. If we feel we are too neurotic to do so properly, or if we are in fact too neurotic to do so properly, then we cannot quite yet. There is no problem in either case. It is not a matter of proclaiming ourselves; one should not do that. It is a matter of life unfolding in a way that actually helps others.
I regard my peers, the original students of the Vidyadhara, my Vajra brothers and sisters, as like a string of pearls. Each is distinct, each is lovely and deep, and together they make a breathtaking display. Of course, we become more eccentric, in a sense, the older we get, as all practitioners seem to, but we also become rounder and fatter, fuller with wisdom, humor and pzazz–and this makes the string of pearls even more lustrous, and more opulent. We may, as a group, have a lot to learn, but we also have a lot to give, and a great deal of fearlessness, knowledge and good cheer, coming from devotion and Dharma practice and study. John Roper, for example, faced his death with equanimity, at least from what I saw. (I checked this with his wife, Karen, recently, and she more or less confirmed my observation–with a wry smile such as only a spouse can convey.) Robin Kornman, who died last year, flourished the Shambhala virtues, such as lungta, with such joie de vivre, intelligence and unselfconscious generosity, I wonder who else will come along in my life with that particular brilliance. Lisa Hilliard has recently passed away; it seems to me, she held the understanding and ability to transmit Mahamudra. At my Seminary, in 1978, the Vidyadhara remarked, "There are many great teachers in this room." How he knew that is hard to say, of course, but he did say it–and it is turning out to be true. Above all, he taught us confidence in who we really are—and thus we especially delight in being his students, and in this open secret which he always taught.
Needless to add, this view, this confidence can be passed on to the next generation, and should be passed on. No doubt the next generation is also a string of pearls in the making.
I believe that we, the senior students of the Vidyadhara, do already, all of us, in our ordinary lives, keep the Vidyadhara's teaching stream alive. We do this simply by continuing to practice what we have already learned, simply by continuing to live as we do and to be as we are. We can't help it in a sense. Certainly, a relationship with the mother organization is not necessary to continue to embody and propagate the Vidyadhara's mind. And in fact, mostly that embodiment is happening in everyday circumstances, not in an organizational context.
This is both good and bad news. It is good news in the sense that we cannot really lose our understanding or our connection, no matter what Shambhala International chooses to do. It is bad news in the sense that we have become dispersed, and we have perhaps put too much faith in the organization itself to carry on the Vidyadhara's work. We have been too naive. We need to pass on what we know. At the same time, we are all growing old. This reality gives our ability to act a certain edge. We actually don't have much time.
The main point is that we, the senior students, to a very great extent, much greater perhaps than we would like to believe, hold the Vidyadhara's transmissions. To preserve those transmissions in living form, we must be unafraid to manifest ourselves. What has all our training been for, if not to do this? Now is the time to make our warriorship available to the world.
We, the students of the Vidyadhara, and also the students of the Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, hold the Surmang Kagyu tradition in our very hands. If we do not perpetuate it, it will very likely not be perpetuated at all, because the Surmang Monastery may not survive is current political environment. So the Surmang practices must continue in the West. Vajrayogini and Chakrasamvara practice is dying in some or even most of the urban Shambhala Centers, owing to deëmphasis, loss of focus, loss of heart and other reversible causes. The future promises to bring more attenuation, until these practices no longer survive in the Vajradhatu/Shambhala community, unless we do something definite to change the current direction.
I offer these few words about preserving the life of the forms, words, instructions and transmissions of the great Vidyadhara, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, to his students, to the next generation of practitioners, and to society, so that all may recall his greatness and honor it. I supplicate him to continue to awaken in us the prajña to know dross from gold, the motivation to pursue the Satdharma in this life, and the compassion to show his world for all to see.
Bill Karelis [bkarelis@yahoo.com]
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Home News New Wimpy Kid title revealed
New Wimpy Kid title revealed
Published April 29, 2016 by Charlotte Eyre
The 11th book in Jeff Kinney's Wimpy Kid series, which will go on sale on 1st November, will be entitled Diary of a Wimpy Kid:...
The 11th book in Jeff Kinney's Wimpy Kid series, which will go on sale on 1st November, will be entitled Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down.
Penguin Random House (PRH) Children's UK will release the book this autumn simultaneously with 19 other publishers in the US, Canada, Germany, Australia, Turkey, Greece, Japan, Brazil, Spain, Catalonia, Romania, Portugal, Hungary, Sweden, Latvia, Norway, and Taiwan.
Francesca Dow, m.d. of PRH Children's UK, said the release will be one of the "biggest and best" book events of the year. "Jeff's creativity and ability to entertain young readers with his storytelling is boundless," she said. "Millions of children are readers because of his books and with his renewed commitment and wonderful new stories we look forward to converting millions more in the many years to come."
Kinney said he wrote the book after a crossroads in his career after the 10th book. "I wasn't sure if I should continue writing Diary of a Wimpy Kid books or go down a different path," he said. "Book 11 is really special to me, because it reflects a renewed commitment to the series and a plan for the future."
For the release of the 11th book, PRH Children's is partnering with kids digital platform SuperAwesome. The SuperAwesome app will feature a Wimpy Kid home page takeover, encouraging awesome user generated content from kids around the cover reveal.
Kinney's last book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School, reached number one in eight territories with more than 1m copies sold around the world. Overall, his books have more than 165 million copies in print globally, according to PRH.
Wimpy Kid
PRH Children's
Francesca Dow
Wimpy Kid's best friend takes centre stage in new Kinney novel
Kinney's 16th Diary of a Wimpy Kid coming in October
Twelfth Wimpy Kid coming in November
Puffin reveals new Wimpy Kid title
Kinney celebrates 10 years of Wimpy Kid


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My home is worth around
I'm looking to release
This is a guide to the lifetime mortgage products we offer and not advice or a personal recommendation. You can only buy a lifetime mortgage through a financial adviser.
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Based on the information supplied, you could release the amount you specified:
The maximum amount you could release is:
This is an estimate of the amount you may be able to release. The amount you can release depends on your property and individual circumstances.
Based on the information supplied, you could release up to:
Thanks for submitting your details. We'll be in touch soon to discuss your lifetime mortgage options.
Now that you know how much you may be able to release, why not take a look at your options for releasing the money. You can continue your journey by choosing to personalise your lifetime mortgage below.
Interest is charged on the loan, plus any interest already added. So, the amount you owe can increase quickly over time. There may be cheaper ways to borrow money.
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How would you like to receive your money?
There's more than one way to release your money with one of our Lifetime Mortgages.
A lifetime mortgage will reduce the equity left in your home and the value of any inheritance. A lifetime mortgage is usually repaid when the last borrower dies or moves out of the home and into long term care.
A lump sum, or series of lump sums
You can receive the money as one lump sum or as a series of smaller amounts over time to suit you
As a regular income
You could get a fixed monthly income for a set period of up to 25 years
In year year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
I'd like to take an additional lump sum of
Your options for taking a lump sum
Depending on how you need the money, you can receive it as a one off cash lump sum or as a series of smaller cash sums as and when you need it. The option to take lump sums in the future is not guaranteed and will depend on whether you're still eligible to borrow more money.
There's an option to pay the interest off as you go. Ask our Customer Service Agents for more information.
You may be able to borrow between and
Total you've chosen below:
Total remaining:
Add another lump sum
Your options for a regular income
If you're interested in a regular income, you can select this to be paid for a set number of years.
Once the fixed income term ends the monthly income will stop but interest will continue to roll up until the lifetime mortgage is repaid.
Over how many years would you like your income to be paid?
I'd like to take a lump sum of
Though you've chosen a regular income, you have to take an initial lump sum of at least £2,500. You can take more than this. It's your choice.
I'd like a monthly income of
You've chosen a and an initial lump sum of . That means you could receive a monthly income of up to for .
The information you've provided means that you don't meet the minimum eligibility criteria for the Income Lifetime Mortgage. Please consider another option.
You're interested in a lump sum of
This is an estimate of the amount you may be able to release. The amount you can release depends on your property and your individual circumstances. Taking a lifetime mortgage could affect your eligibility for state benefits.
You're interested in a series of lump sums
You're interested in a regular income
Initial Lump Sum:
We'll be in touch shortly if we haven't already called. In the meantime, consider these products.
If you'd like to take a lump sum, or a series of smaller lump sums, without having to make interest payments, take a closer look at this option.
Optional Payment Lifetime Mortgage
If you'd prefer to take a lump sum, or a series of smaller lump sums, and pay off some or all of the interest as you go, take a look at this option.
Income Lifetime Mortgage
If you need a regular income, after an initial lump sum, take a look at this option.
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To have a chat about your options for releasing equity from your house, call us on the number below.
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You'll receive your guide soon. In the meantime, why not explore our 'Rewirement' section? It's a great place to find articles, interviews, tips and ideas to help you enjoy a more colourful retirement.
If you would like us to email you our later life mortgages guide and further information about the products and services provided by Legal & General Financial Advice, please complete your full name and email address. You can also provide your phone number if you'd like to opt in to receiving calls about our later life mortgages. Details on how we process your information can be found in our privacy policy
By providing your email address you consent for us to send you emails with news, information and offers on the products and services provided by Legal & General Financial Advice. We'll never share your details with third parties for their own marketing purposes.
By submitting your phone number you consent to us calling you to discuss how our later life mortgage options may work for you.
You can opt out of marketing at any time by emailing lgrroptout@landg.com
Making decisions about how to finance your retirement is important so it's worth shopping around and using available guidance and advice, before you buy.
Retirement guidance
Equity Release Council
Legal & General Home Finance Ltd is a member of the Equity Release Council, a trade body setting standards for providers. Take a look at their consumer brochure for more details.
Consumer brochure Go to the Equity Release website
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By submitting this form you consent to us calling you to discuss how our Lifetime Mortgages may work for you.


Kuldeep Yadav: Whenever I get my chance, I just think about performing well
As he enjoyed another Player-of-the-Match award in the second ODI between India and Sri Lanka, all Kuldeep Yadav would want for his three for 51 and 10 not out is a fair run.
KOLKATA 12 January, 2023 23:05 IST
India's Kuldeep Yadav celebrates the dismissal of Sri Lanka's Dasun Shanaka during the second One-Day International at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. | Photo Credit: AP
Kuldeep Yadav can't be blamed if he starts thinking about the chances of getting dropped from the playing XI once again when India plays the final ODI against Sri Lanka at Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
Not everyday does one get eight wickets in a Test and scores a valuable 40 only to be dropped in the next game on a track that offered significant turn. It happened to him in Bangladesh.
KL Rahul says international comeback after injury layoff is 'very difficult'
As he enjoyed another Player-of-the-Match award, albeit in coloured clothing, all Kuldeep would want for his three for 51 and 10 not out is a fair run.
"Since the last one year, I have been trying to back my strength and not think much. Whenever I get my chance, I just think about performing well. I am enjoying my bowling a lot. The team combination matters, so I just try to give my best whenever I get my chance," said the talented left-arm spinner.
Kuldeep said that in IPL (Indian Premier League) and T20Is, he pushes the ball a bit faster and he did the same on Thursday.
"I bowl faster in the IPL and T20Is also to give the batter one run. So, I just did that here also."
His batting has improved by leaps and bounds since his comeback from injury and working hard in the NCA (National Cricket Academy) on fitness is also paying off.
"I have worked on my batting a lot of late. Same with the fitness. Whenever I get time, I go to the NCA. So, thanks to the trainers there. That's one thing I have tried to do in the last one year. Earlier, I wasn't much into it."


Interstellar opens top in first 35 international markets
By Jeremy Kay2014-11-07T00:50:00+00:00
Interstellar has grossed an estimated $8.7m from it first days in 35 markets as Warner Bros rolls out the film in 62 countries this weekend.
Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic opened number one everywhere led by $1.8m in South Korea, $1.3m in Russia, $687,000 in Germany, $638,000 in Australia and approximately $1m from two days in France.
The film took $375,000 in Italy, $347,000 in Mexico and $236,000 in Brazil.
Interstellar opens in the UK and Spain on November 7 and by the end of the weekend will be active on more than 13,000 screens.
Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway and Michael Caine star. Paramount opens the film in North America this weekend.
Unsurprisingly the other studios are lying low. Fox International, which leads the Hollywood rankings for global box office for the year-to-date, releases Mexican smash Guten Tag, Ramon in Colombia, while Mr. Turner arrives in Germany.
Sony Pictures Releasing International has The Skeleton Twins in the UK, Heaven Is For Real in Germany and Tusk in New Zealand.
UK box office preview: 'Bombshell' battles 'Bad Boys For Life'
Also opening: 'Just Mercy', 'Waves', 'A Hidden Life'.
UK box office admissions fall slightly in 2019; blockbuster concerns for 2020
Admissions recovered from a slow start last year, although revenue fell, a trend which may continue into 2020 with less surefire hits due for release.
Little Women climbs to $129m worldwide.
'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' hits $1bn at global box office
Sci-fi becomes fifth in franchise to cross milestone.
Admissions reach record levels in Colombia in 2019 (exclusive)
Monos first non-comedy to lead local-language chart in 10 years.


News, Arts & Culture
Erin Goodpipe loves a good challenge
Angela Hill | April 08, 2022
Erin Goodpipe, 27, is an artist, instructor, masters student, TV host -- and next on her list is a theatre festival in May in Sweden with her theatre group Red Sky Performance.
"A lot of my life is just saying 'yes' to things, and taking an opportunity, and really just doing the best that I could and learning as much as I could with these opportunities," she said. Goodpipe plays Speck, an Indigenous child, in the play Mistatim, which is a reconciliation story about friendship.
"Playing the role of youth means you really have to get into the mindset, you have to tap into being a child again, and play, and how we interact as children," she said, adding she thinks the play is asking people "to go back to these baseline ways of looking at relationships."
Goodpipe has wrapped filming Season 8 of the APTN series "The Other Side," which airs next fall, and is getting ready to co-host Season 9. It's not the first time she's hosted a program. Goodpipe started in film as the co-host of "RezX," an Indigenous lifestyle show, alongside now-Chief Cadmus Delorme.
"I didn't grow up thinking or even wanting to do any of the things that I am doing today, which I think says a lot of where I've come from, and where many Indigenous people and especially youth come from," she said.
Growing up, Goodpipe just focused on making it through, while her family dealt with the impacts of colonialism, drugs, alcohol, and broken families. Family, both biological and ceremonial, is a large part of her inspiration.
"The love for my people and the healing of our people," she said. "I once heard that as Indigenous people when we go into certain places we actually carry all of our families and all of our communities, we represent them, and that's always been a driving force for me."
She is working on a masters through the First Nations University of Canada that looks at Indigenous stories, and health and wellness through an educational lens. She also teaches as part of the university's Indigenous Education faculty.
While based in Vancouver, Goodpipe spends a lot of time in Treaty 4. She is dakhota winyan / anishinaabekwe from tatanka najin oyate (Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation) and recently returned from a 1.5-month trip, working with Regina's Globe Theatre.
"It's such an honour to learn from her and exchange thoughts and a passion for theatre and storytelling," said Jennifer Brewin, artistic director of the theatre.
"She's grace, and smarts, and she's fierce and kind and funny, and I just want to be around people like that all the time."
< Back to EFN Arts & Culture


Ningen Fushin no Boukensha-tachi ga Sekai wo Sukuu you desu (Dub)
TV 23 min
Veteran adventurer Nick, mage Tiana, cleric Zem, and half-dragon Curran each show up alone at a tavern, only to find themselves seated at the same table. As the night goes on, they take turns divulging their grievances and the hobbies they have taken up as a means of coping. While their stories are utterly different, there is one common thread: betrayal. Each of the four, having been bitterly betrayed by someone they treasured, has developed a deep-seated distrust of humanity. But in addition to their similar worldviews, the four have one more commonality: a critical lack of funds. Realizing that things cannot continue as they are, they decide to form a party, rank up, and make as much money as possible to spend on their respective hobbies. What these disillusioned adventurers do not know, however, is that they will one day save the world from unfathomable peril. Nick used to be a member of a veteran adventurer party, helping his undisciplined friends with the accounts whenever he could. But what was his reward? Getting accused of embezzlement and kicked out by the leader he respected. Before long, he finds a few other jaded adventurers and kindred spirits, and together, they form their own unstoppable party!
Kissanimes is a great site to watch anime Ningen Fushin no Boukensha-tachi ga Sekai wo Sukuu you desu (Dub), SUB online. You can also watch Ningen Fushin no Boukensha-tachi ga Sekai wo Sukuu you desu (Dub) in HD or SD quality.
Other names: Apparently (Dub)Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World (Dub)
English name: Ningen Fushin: Adventurers Who Don't Believe in Humanity Will Save the World (Dub)
Studio: Geek Toys
Scores: 6.93 / 10
Aired: Jan 10, 2023 to ?
Year Release: 2023
Premiered: Winter 2023
Source: Light novel
Genres: Action Adventure Fantasy
EP 1/1
Stubborn, spoiled, and naïve, 10-year-old Chihiro Ogino is less than pleased when she and her parents discover an abandoned amusement park on the way to their new house. Cautiously venturing inside, she realizes that there is more to this place than meets the eye, as strange things begin to happen once dusk falls. Ghostly apparitions and food that turns her parents into pigs are just the start—Chihiro has unwittingly crossed over into the spirit world. Now trapped, she must summon the courage to live and work amongst spirits, with the help of the enigmatic Haku and the cast of unique characters she meets along the way. Vivid and intriguing, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi tells the story of Chihiro's journey through an unfamiliar world as she strives to save her parents and return home. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
MV 25 min/ep EP 1/1
EP 13/13
The final hour of the popular virtual reality game Yggdrasil has come. However, Momonga, a powerful wizard and master of the dark guild Ainz Ooal Gown, decides to spend his last few moments in the game as the servers begin to shut down. To his surprise, despite the clock having struck midnight, Momonga is still fully conscious as his character and, moreover, the non-player characters appear to have developed personalities of their own! Confronted with this abnormal situation, Momonga commands his loyal servants to help him investigate and take control of this new world, with the hopes of figuring out what has caused this development and if there may be others in the same predicament. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
TV 25 min/ep EP 13/13
Aslan Jade Callenreese, known as Ash Lynx, was a runaway picked off the streets of New York City and raised by the infamous godfather of the mafia, Dino Golzine. Now 17 years old and the boss of his own gang, Ash begins investigating the mysterious "Banana Fish"—the same two words his older brother, Griffin, has muttered since his return from the Iraq War. However, his inquiries are hindered when Dino sends his men after Ash at an underground bar he uses as a hideout. At the bar, Skip, Ash's friend, introduces him to Shunichi Ibe and his assistant, Eiji Okumura, who are Japanese photographers reporting on American street gangs. However, their conversation is interrupted when Shorter Wong, one of Ash's allies, calls to warn him about Dino. Soon, Dino's men storm the bar, and in the ensuing chaos kidnap Skip and Eiji. Now, Ash must find a way to rescue them and continue his investigation into Banana Fish, but will his history with the mafia prevent him from succeeding? [Written by MAL Rewrite]
EP 2/366
Bleach Ova
Ichigo Kurosaki is an ordinary high schooler—until his family is attacked by a Hollow, a corrupt spirit that seeks to devour human souls. It is then that he meets a Soul Reaper named Rukia Kuchiki, who gets injured while protecting Ichigo's family from the assailant. To save his family, Ichigo accepts Rukia's offer of taking her powers and becomes a Soul Reaper as a result. However, as Rukia is unable to regain her powers, Ichigo is given the daunting task of hunting down the Hollows that plague their town. However, he is not alone in his fight, as he is later joined by his friends—classmates Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, and Uryuu Ishida—who each have their own unique abilities. As Ichigo and his comrades get used to their new duties and support each other on and off the battlefield, the young Soul Reaper soon learns that the Hollows are not the only real threat to the human world. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
TV 25 min/ep EP 2/366
Tate No Yuusha No Nariagari
Jojo No Kimyou Na Bouken Diamond Wa Kudakenai
EP 148/148
Hunter X Hunter 2011
TV 25 min/ep EP 148/148
Kono Subarashii Sekai Ni Shukufuku Wo
TV 25 min/ep EP 1049
Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken
EP 8/13
Overlord Combat Maid Chibi Comedy Spinoff
TV 25 min/ep EP 8/13
Jojo No Kimyou Na Bouken Ougon No Kaze
004 25 min/ep
1049 25 min/ep