It's been a while since the last newsletter and for good reason. The last time I emailed you was to tell you about the 'The True North' banner, and the Signature Program “From Chasing To Attracting”, a 28 days Residential Self-transformation & Wellness program at Dharamshala. Well... We did it! We launched it, ran it and enjoyed every minute of it. You may have followed us on our social media to see all the magic as it was happening and thank you, for those that wrote in with your good vibes and your questions. We stayed in the most gorgeous location way up in the mountains above Dharamshala, India. We were spoilt for choices of nature trails, waterfalls and sunset locations. We loved the quiet and stillness that we woke up to, the simplicity of the homestay and the luxury of mountain beauty that surrounded us all the time. We go back in October of this year for the same signature program and we have a lot of work to do before then.
Like I always do, I'd like to share with you some lessons and learnings for this adventure, so here goes:
I always wanted and still do, want to work WITH someone else instead of being a solo player. And in my need to fulfil this dream, I would dismiss any display of lack of trust or the lack of enthusiasm, mismatch of direction and small signs that I should have taken seriously. But with this project, I've involved myself only in areas which I am in love with and won't be parts of offerings which aren't in line with my joy, skills, and balance. My partner and I value each other and make sure we say that enough number of times, we each take up responsibilities that negate the other's weakness and we both feel like spending more time with each other. These are all the right kind of signs that tell me I am in the right place.
Who would come to live with us for 28 days? Where would people find the time? But we had tried offering a similar program in the city, once a week, and the results weren't as good as we'd hoped. We knew the kind of reflection, healings, meditations and inner work that the participants had to do to make a change, required time, nature and quiet. We help firm in our conviction, we could see what most couldn't. We've made peace with the fact that this program is not for the masses. It's not a quick fix offering, it is meant for an individual who wants to do it right, wants to make permanent changes and is matured enough to commit the time. And so we went ahead, announced it and began with the first set of participants even though we didn't sign up the capacity of 25. At the end of the program, each of them thanked us for the format, the insistence of the month-long time commitment, and the remoteness of the location.
From yoga to meditation, workshops and activities, concepts, to food, we kept it simple. With a total of five core concepts that comprise of our 'theory', we completed it by the second week, and we stayed focused on practice, practical applications, experiments and reflections.
When you try something, it could be a venture or it could be getting healthy, make it about yourself. Even with the best of intentions and all the right moves, the outcome may look different or you might find yourself forced to change the path midway. Don't be too hung up on the execution of the plan as is or with the look and feel of the outcome. Show up and do your best work. Written With Love and a Hope that you attend this Signature program soon! Ruby
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Next week I am to give a keynote speech for an organization on Peace of Mind. I've been putting together and organizing my thoughts on how best to convey, not what is peace of mind but talk more about how we lose it in the first place.
How is it that we find ourselves in a state of mind where we feel no peace? Most folks think that stress, anxiety or worry are a result of one event. And most folks think it is caused by external factors. This is far from the truth. Firstly, what we experience and our state of mind is not a result of ONE single event. It is a result of a series of choices we've been making for a substantial time period. Every thought, word or action either adds or depletes. Either we build or we chip away. When we experience that sense of chaos, restlessness or chronic upset, it means that we have chipped away so much that nothing remains. We depleted our connection to self, higher self, the divine by our thoughts, words and actions. Secondly, the loss of peace of mind or disruptions is not caused by external factors. It is a result of our inability to process and handle situations and people. It is rooted in our inability to control our emotions and our tendencies to react from them. When we are incapable of seeing the situation from a higher perspective, or when we aren't able to stay in control of our emotions we have a tendency to think, say and do things that are out of alignment. So ask yourself are you feeling anger, stress, anxiety, doubt, fear constantly? Then ask yourself, are you working out of uncontrolled emotions? Are you validating your actions and decisions based on what others might think? Are you taking time to think through the situation and do you actively bring compassion and understanding to the process? Have you caused or contributed to the present situation through your previous thoughts, words and actions? The answers will come and you will start to see the pattern. Peace is a state of mind achieved by a series of choices. It's not something that happens, it is built over time and with regular and deliberate choices that add and build our connection to self, higher-self and the divine. I will write to you next about the presentation itself and share my favourite tips and suggestions on this topic. You can follow Instagram or Facebook to get regular, live updates. May all your dreams come true, may you have the strength, courage and wisdom in thoughts, words and actions. Let Divine Love, Light and Power flow to you always. *****
A week ago I attended the annual intensive for Arhatic Yoga practitioners of the World Pranic Healing Foundation. Prior to that, I was on the road, first at the Ashram, then a wellness centre and did 7 days of content and marketing work for an upcoming project. The details of this special project will be shared soon and I wish all of you to join us and sign up for this one of a kind intense transformation work. But more on that later. I want to share with you the main takeaways from the retreat, a few thoughts to help you move your personal transformation work. Written with Love ***** The Lesson and Teachings for consideration: Lesson 1: Karmic Bank Balance We all have an understanding of Karma. We get that what you sow, you reap. What you send out, comes back to you. But as regular practitioners of energy work, we must let this understanding go deeper and actively work to make the Law of Karma work for us. Just as we carefully and actively cultivate and maintain our bank balance, we must actively think of our Karmic Bank Balance. We all make mistakes, we all make errors in judgement, entangle ourselves in lower energies for time to time. None of us are saints. But if we actively look to create more good Karma, to increase our deposits into the Karmic Balance, we will never fall short even if we make grave errors. Also by actively looking to increase our Karmic balance, we are becoming more mindful, present and deliberate in our creations and as such we end up not creating a lot of bad karma. In your practice, this is an important ask, think on the quality of your Karmic Bank Balance. Lesson 2: Pay it Forward Creative energy works when it's flowing. When we are at the receiving end of good juju, we have to remember it is not ours to keep. Yes, we are benefited by it but its universal energy, it belongs to the collective. To allow for more to come your way, what you have received must be sent back, it must move on from you. Paying it forward, service, helping someone in need, these must become part of our lives. If you are fortunate to have things working for you, it is your responsibility to pass that along to someone. It could be your family, friends, someone at work, people who help you maintain your lifestyle, there are plenty to choose from. But move it forward. Keep the flow going. Lesson 3: Balance Faith & Intelligence To be effective energy workers, we must use both Faith and Intelligence. Both these must be balanced, it's not an either-or situation. If we lean too much on either of them, we will slow down our progress or in some cases not have any. Check to see if your practices lean too much on either of them. Is there too much faith, that now it's blind to the obvious solutions? Is there too much of intelligence and logic, that it's making the effort an uphill task? Using divine support along with our own will and intelligence is what we need to do. Lesson 4: Purification first For energy work to be effective and permanent, the first thing that needs to happen is a purification, of thoughts, words and body. Just like we would dust and sweep the floor BEFORE mopping it. Or washing and rinsing the vessel BEFORE we use it to cook. Any energy work that doesn't have a component of purification at the top of the creative practice will bring slower or no results. The toxins and blocked energies must first be removed before we attract or generate different energies to us. We must make the place for better energies by throwing out the old. May all your dreams come true, may you have the strength, courage and wisdom in thoughts, words and actions. Let Divine Love, Light and Power flow to you always. *****
We've been on an exciting journey this year. 2018 has been a year of learning and practicing new skills. 2019 is just around the corner, most of us are almost ready to go away for a short break and spend some time with loved ones. If you'd like some help with setting the intention for 2019, we'd done a 4-week series which can help. My favorite still remains the exercise to write down 100 Things You are Grateful for in 2018 and if you are game, a 100 Things Grateful for in 2019. If I could offer up one energy practice for 2019 that would change your vibration and would create a way to manifest all those stuck desires, it would be the practice of Mental Blessings. Each time you meet or are about to meet a person, instead of saying 'Hello' Or 'Hi', say something to bless the other with good fortune. Many pagan and older cultures already have this practice but it seems to be a forgotten manifestation skills Energetically what you give, you receive. If you send out energies of anger, you'll be met with similar energies. If you send out energies of love, you'll be surrounded by love. This is also why many meditations and prayers end with sending out blessings and good luck to all. So when you begin a meet with blessings, when you look at a person and intend well-being and prosperity, you are changing the energy within the person and the energy of the interaction to come. By constantly practicing this technique, you are aligning your self to love, compassion, abundance, basically all the good juju. And as your good juju builds, all those stuck, unmanifested desires will start to unravel and manifest out of nowhere. It is always about alignment, it is always about being a vibrational match. So if I had to offer a piece of advice for 2019, it would be to start using the Forgotten Manifesting Skill of Mental Blessings to everyone you interact with. 2019 is going to be a big success. There are lots of announcements and changes you may have already seen via Social Media. And there is more to come as we watch this year's prep come to life. Wish your loved ones a fantastic start to the new year. And to you, your goals and desire, an easy and safe manifestation. I am writing to you about Anxiety. And the reason I do is to try and build a better understanding of what it is and how we can use it to benefit us. Currently, anxiety-induced stress is the most common healings that have been offered for the last few months. This is true even when people come for healings to address physical ailments. When we deep dive and work over sessions, it always brings us to the element of anxiety that's out of control.
* I am not a psychologist or a psychiatrist. The article and the tips are based on my own experiences and learnings from various coaching and healing certifications. Diagnosed Mental health issues should be dealt with under the care of a licensed professional. Anxiety in and of itself isn't abnormal. Anxiety is part of our normal existence and it is what motivates us to look for solutions and get into action to solve them. It is what helps us do better, to do our best. Every person has some anxiety on a daily basis and we all have anxious thoughts especially around important deadlines or decision points. It is only when we aren't able to transform these anxious thoughts into constructive action or when these cripple us by becoming irrational fears, is when something that is normal becomes a problem. So where should we begin? What can we do to transform anxious thoughts into a tool that helps us perform better? Here are a few from my list. I'd love to hear if you have a special practice that works (leave a comment on FB or in the comments, it might help someone tremendously)
We all have anxiety but the key is to learn how to process and manage it so that it is not a deterrent but a fuel to be our best. Written with Love This month we've been focusing on pride. Pride is a feeling of satisfaction derived from one's own achievement. It is knowing that our personal actions and thoughts were better than someone else or something else. It stems from our qualities and skills being validated and admired by others. It's a fantastic high. It always starts out innocent. We are told we should be proud of what we do and achieve. We are pushed to acknowledge and speak our truth. But Pride without humility manifests as criticism, judgement and self-righteousness. We start to raise ours on a pedestal and very slowly start to look down at everything else. Relationships are the first to suffer when this starts to happen. Pride is the greatest distance between two people. Simple talks turn into arguments, arguments drag out because of stubbornness and what matters is lost. Here are a few things that hint at pride being the center of any relationship:
If you identify with the points above and recognize them to be part of any relationship, it's almost guaranteed that the relationship is strained or not a fulfilling one. It most likely already hinders the quality of interactions and has probably stopped you from getting help and support in the past. Recognizing that we are overusing pride in our interactions is the only way to make progress. Humility is the antidote. Humility is concerned with what's right. It's not concerned with the 'who'. Here are a few qualities of Humility in action:
How much of these show up in your interaction with others? For the next month look for the overuse of pride in your interactions. Whether it be online or face to face, personal or professional. Look for ways to interject humility to those interactions. Observe how the interaction unfolds and if there is any difference. ******* Small Changes makes a BIG impact. Keep that in mind, as you work to better your life's experiences. Nothing is wasted and whatever you do, matters. Written with Love Ruby "When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help." - Thich Nhat HanhOver the past few months, I've been dealing with a lot of emotional healing and forgiveness. It's been a constant theme in my personal work as well as the people that have come to me for Pranic Healing. In my personal life circumstances have resurfaced that have placed me in a position (again) to deal with inner energies and level up. And no surprise the people that have found me for Pranic healing bring with them similar circumstances. Somewhere along the way I (re)found this quote. I've read versions of it and have seen it explained in many different ways. But it wasn't until this phase of my own healing did I truly feel a shift with the 'spilling over' part of the quote. *** What we have within us is what we are able to project outside of us. We perceive the world through our own unique lens. It is full of beliefs, expectations and memories from past experiences. On most days we aren't aware of which belief or expectations we are operating from. It's all a very unconscious motion. But on any given day we KNOW how we are feeling. We know if we are feeling calm, happy, hopeful, frustrated, angry or helpless. On days when we feel calm, happy, or hopeful we tend to display more patience, understanding, compassion towards others. We expect good things to happen. We draw from the best of our memories and beliefs. And on days when we feel frustrated, angry or helpless we tend to be snappy, judgemental, cruel towards others. We expect the bad things to happen. We draw from the worst of our memories and beliefs. We draw out from whatever is in the well within and pour it outside of us. What we continue to get wrong about people that hurt us is exactly this. When someone hurts us, we play a victim, we look at ourselves instead of bringing understanding to the situation. We react, flare up and unknowingly 'pick up' the energy that the other person has put out. We take it with us, and we know the rest of the story... Take a step back and imagine the helplessness, breathlessness and suffocation of the person who is overflowing with anger, frustration or sadness. One can only feel compassion for them. When someone is overflowing with anger, frustration or sadness they don't need more of that same energy from us. They need the bucket of love, compassion and joy to be filled. This is not to say, we must stand there and take whatever is thrown at us. Walk away. But intend unto them energies of compassion, calm and love. Fill their empty bucket don't add to the ones that are overflowing. It's the only way to not add more suffering to ourselves and to those that are in pain. Yes everyone is meditating. Or at the very least talking about meditation, or planning to start meditation or expressing their frustration with meditation.
While most of us are in consensus that meditation is useful and has real health benefits, we still remain a little mystified by what it is, what it’s supposed to look like and how to know if it’s working. So let’s set the record straight about meditation. Over the years improper teachings, quick sales tactics and packaging have led to everything being labelled as Meditation. And in the process caused unnecessary frustration amongst practitioners and beginners who haven’t been told the difference and the stages of practice or what to expect. A lot of people get frustrated with ‘meditation’ because they aren’t always experiencing the bliss or the oneness. Or they get frustrated because they can’t seem to cease the thoughts and the mind drifts. It’s like waking up one day and deciding to run the Ironman and then getting frustrated when you can’t even finish the swim. The Yoga Sutras describe a certain process using three words; Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. The experience that these three words bring for the practitioner is lumped into one and this is labelled as Meditation but these are distinct stages and layer on top of each other to take the practitioner to the final experience. Roughly translated, Dharana means focusing or directly attention; Dhyana means single-minded concentration; Samadhi means oneness. *To further clarify, there are various levels of Samadhi that are achieved but we won’t go there for the purpose of this blog. These three words are listed in sequence in the Yoga Sutras and are meant to convey to students the path of achieving oneness or union with the source, what to expect and what to work on. If we understand the process and the meaning of these words, we can easily identify where we are, what we experience and what needs to be worked on. When we start our practice of ‘meditation’ we actually need to start with Dharana, focusing or directing our attention. This means that we need only to narrow down our scattered thoughts and noisy minds. Maybe we narrow it down to a couple of thoughts, one thought, one object or one mantra. The objective here is to train and master the mind so as to cease generating random thoughts and to narrow our focus. That’s it. The next level of our practice is Dhyana, a single-minded concentration. This means that we work on and bring complete awareness to the present. In addition, the objective is to train the mind to stay for longer periods of acute awareness of that singular thought or present moment. This practice continues until we have complete control and mastery over the duration of acute awareness. The next level of the practice is the experience of Samadhi, oneness with the source. The experience and the descriptions vary based on the practitioner. The objective, however, is to become one or be in a state where the individual self, ceases to exist. It could be a moment or several moments where one moves beyond the body and mind and experiences, what often gets described as ‘bliss’. The three stages or levels are the recommended design so that practitioners can gradually prepare their minds to experience the bliss for long continuous periods of time. Most of us actively look for some out of body experience each time we sit on the mat and get frustrated when we don’t find it. Now that we understand the difference, let’s ask ourselves, where are we with our practice? Now let’s ask ourselves, is it worth getting frustrated when all that we need to do is to work at the appropriate level. Let’s all relax about it. The more we relax, the more we find success. The first step is to master narrowing the focus of our thoughts at will and control if a new thought is generated. This takes time. When we’ve got that in the bag, we need to master holding focus for long periods of time, at will, on call without breaking focus or getting distracted. This too takes time. Yes, there are moments when we will experience the bliss even if we haven’t mastered the first two stages. It happens. But even if we don’t doesn’t mean that our practice was a waste or we aren’t doing it. Some days we might hold focus, some days our minds are running wild and that’s OK. This is exactly why we practice and what we need to master. We need to figure a way to instruct the mind instead of being dragged by it. So don’t be frustrated with your Meditation practice, just keep at it. May we all find ‘The oneness’ and melt the ‘I-ness’ For us to use deliberate creation successfully we need to become masters of the Art of Allowing. Until you understand the potent energy of allowing on a deeper, spiritual level, its power, your power will always be amateur at best. Which could mean you will journey through life’s experience with a hit or miss deliberate creation process. Why is it that we struggle with allowing? How come we manage to keep the good stuff away while the icky stuff pours in? And if we are powerful creators, why is it that our process of deliberate creation isn’t a guaranteed success? Let’s first understand what it is that we are hoping to ‘allow’ and why does this process exist? In the LOA world allowing is talked about as the situation where the universe has what we want and all we have to do is energetically line up to what we want. And once we are aligned it comes into our reality. I find this explanation to be too narrow because it's all good and we are OK when things we want, show up but it leaves open to the imagination what we are to do when things that we don’t want show up. And the one thing we have lots of is a wild mind, with plenty of time for creativity, which in happy circumstances works wonders but when things aren't going as per plan, can get out of control. Hello! Spiral into my deepest darkest fears! So, Allow me to offer an explanation which is one of the principles of the State of Happy course we did a while back. This I find is the unsaid process of the Art of Allowing. All of our physical experiences are a result of our individual soul’s journey. The current reality is a physical reflection of thoughts of the past. That is to say, the current reality is the manifestation of something you asked for in the past, it is not based on or related to what you are thinking now. What you think, do, or say in the present creates the future reality that you will experience later on. The universal law at play here is that every action (thought, action, word) has a manifestation, and the person creating it will experience it. There is no escape or way out of it. If you create it, you experience it. It is a circle of life, the infinite loop that is the law of creation. Our creative control or the power to create is on the onset of that loop. With our thoughts and intentions, we send out into the creation circle what we want to manifest. But beyond that, we cannot stop the loop. The intention must complete the cycle and come back to us as an experience to be had. Look at the image above (it’s the best way to illustrate my point). The part where the sun is just a bit brighter? Think of that point as the onset of our power to create. We send off into the circle our intentions and it loops back to us, as a manifestation of reality. So far this is information we are familiar with. This next bit is the additional explanation. When we experience something in our reality and we engage with it, either through feelings, thoughts, actions or words, we start off another ‘loop’. And although it is a new loop of creation, whatever is the energy with which we engage, it brings the same experience as manifestation. So when its the good stuff and you engage, you'll see more of the good stuff come in. If its the icky stuff and you engage you'll see more of the icky stuff come in. If you allow whatever shows up in your life to play out without interacting or reacting to it, you allow that loop, that past creation, to close. And this is particularly useful to remember for when the icky stuff shows up. If we keep in mind that whatever is playing out right now are loops closing from past creations, allowing as a process can be a hopeful and serene event. Over the years we've created so many loops, however, our higher-self, knows what it wants to create because it knows what lessons and experiences it wants to have. We have to trust what it has already kick-started. With the art of allowing we must allow the loops to close, learn the lessons for our soul and keep our focus on choosing which news loops we want to kick start. Allowing the icky stuff in, is not a sign of weakness or giving up or being powerless. It is you aligning yourself to the universal laws. It is a way to move forward and keep the focus on creating what you want next. The more you ‘react’ to the icky reality without consciously choosing your thoughts, the less control you have on bringing the good stuff in. Because you are spending time creating new loops of the icky stuff when you could be creating new loops of the good stuff. Like everything else, the art of allowing is mastered with practice. Sometimes you might find yourself in the thick of things, that's where you want to have support. Find someone who can guide you through your process of allowing. When you are stuck you find it with your mentors, confidants, or with Free coaching or GVCA coaches or me. The sooner you become better at allowing, the faster you will move towards accomplishing your purpose on Earth. Written with Love PS: Get in touch for coaching and healing. You don't need to do this alone. Advice is the kind of thing that is offered in almost every conversation, on every topic and is delivered with so much enthusiasm. It's the one thing people love to give away for free till their heart's content. It's no wonder most of us either become tone deaf to it or get pulled in different directions by it. But we've all have had that one piece of advice that turned our life around. The one that changed us like never before. The one we wished we paid attention to sooner. This blog is about one such piece of advice that I got told, not once but too many times to keep count, the one that I didn't take, for a long, long time. It's the one I know helps me the most yet still remains one that I hesitate to act on. I find this particular advice to be so universal that it's the one that most of us not only need to hear but more importantly it's THE one we need to practice. Before I write down that advice, let me ask this, how many of us feel the need to do something 'more' with our lives? Maybe it's a new skill we've been meaning to learn or we've wanted to live differently, or change some self-defeating behaviour, become independent and break away from the chains that hold us back. Since we are all work in progress, I bet we all have something that we've wanted to act on for some time now. We all want to be more, do more. To that effect, we all have good intentions and grand ideas of how we are going to make it happen which is followed by long periods of silence and inaction. This, I believe, is the most common shared experience with people. Think about it, have you done this? Are you doing this now? The answer probably is yes. It could be about a job move you've contemplated, or starting on your own, or making a change in your relationship, or working in the field of your choice, it could be that 20 pounds you've been meaning to lose, or that book you've wanted to write... Whatever that 'need more, do more' is for you. We've ALL have experienced or perhaps are currently experiencing that long period of silence and inaction where its all talk but no change in reality. That brings us to that precious piece of advice that I hope all of us, specially me, take to heart and follow. It has been given to me on countless occasions by my mentors, coaches and loved ones. And that advice is actually a powerful word, START. Start doing. Start with whatever you can. Start right now. Start with one action. No matter what you are wanting to do, whatever your goal or vision, there will never be a better time, you will never know everything there is to know, nor will everything be perfectly synced. So start with one thing, take that one step. There have been so many times I didn't take this advice because I didn't think I was ready. I didn't think I had the time, I didn't think I would succeed, I thought tomorrow would be different. I didn't trust how taking the first step would lead me to my next. All these doubts ever gave me was to delay my becoming. Delay fulfilling my vision. I want to actively stop following these doubts and instead JUST START. Remember, all grand ideas and lofty goals need that first step. And the only ones that can take it is us. We need to remind ourselves that all the masters and experts began as apprentice and amateurs. Here's what you do first, ask yourself, what can I do today that will get me one step closer to who or what I want? And take that step. Start small. Of the 10 things that will make your vision come to life, think of what one thing can be done right now. You don't need to choose the most expensive, time consuming or risky item on that list. The main thing is that you are performing an action that is moving you in the general direction of achieving your goals. Secondly, think of what or who can support you? And get that help or support. Most times we take longer than needed to begin something that will impact our lives for the better only because we feel the burden of doing it alone. There is unsurety, insecurity and doubt that occupy our minds. That's when a trusted person can make a huge difference. Start now is really good advice. It sets us up with a mindset to continue working towards making our vision come to life. Soon we realize that all those small steps have taken us further than we ever thought. We start to see our goals being fulfilled and come to life. And that's how it's done. Because when everything does line up and when it all comes together, we would've had taken several steps and would show up in the spotlight already a success. Written with Love PS: Get in touch for coaching and healing. You don't need to do this alone. |
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June 2019
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