As your willingness to become more self aware grows, you cannot flow easily without allowing all that arises within to be seen clearly and with equanimity. What do we mean by this?

Since you are a multi-dimensional being, the movement of thoughts, emotions, body changes and existential experiences comes and goes. These movements are not YOU. You can treat them like watching a movie but with virtual reality plus  sensations added.

Although these sensations feel so real and they are real, they are happening to your slave self or illusionary self.  By choosing to be this more expanded being watching this all, it begins to be easier to see that you are not any of these actions and that they are happening within your greater being.  Self acceptance naturally emerges. It may not be without bumps and hollows but the path to self knowing becomes so much easier because you are not denigrating yourself and getting caught up in the details of the illusionary programs being fed through that slave self.

You will become so much more gentler on yourself or at least begin to practice self care more often which may include a diet changes, relaxation time, meeting with friends, nature walks, gentle exercises, environment detoxing, begin new ventures with less fear and doubts and less mental thinking. Even just doing breath awareness for a minute can divulge so much and destress the body. Its like your laptop needing the battery charged and as soon as you plug in the cord, you can see the charger increase the percentage of charge almost immediately. We are vast electrical frequency beings that have been dumbed down to a mere shell of a self trying to decipher all the problems of life and the world through programs that we didn't design. 

Self acceptance is the first phase to stepping up our journey to knowing our true self. Its a huge step but once momentum is gained, you will soar to greater acceptance of things that cannot change or take much longer to shift or switch to another positive direction altogether.

An Introduction to Self-Awareness

Why would you focus on expanding your self-awareness and what exactly is it anyway? Isn’t it happening regardless? 

Our personal growth is in fact moving forward no matter what our subjective experience feels like at the time. However, the mind clouds us from seeing what is truly happening. So if we just intend to start knowing more about our personal process, we can more consciously participate in its progress and become more self-aware. This self-awareness is the beginning of a joyful and loving life.

In the beginning, it may feel a bit daunting as you start to see how you are thinking, how you are feeling and how you are treating yourself and others. You may not like it at all and desire to turn it all off. That is a natural aspect of growth. Allow it. Sooner than you think, those u-g-g-h moments will be fewer or you will glide through them more effortlessly.  You will have moments of realization about yourself that you can then acknowledge and let go. These ‘ahas’ lead to more ‘ahas’ and life changes very profoundly into a more peaceful, allowing state. The challenges of life may continue but you no longer become a prisoner of your emotions and mental constructs. You more easily accept them and move on by creatively finding new and better ways of achieving what you want.  Although you may be nurturing personal development skills like self-esteem and self-confidence, you will move beyond this stage of progress to another level of experience; a more mature consciousness.

The Benefits  

There are numerous qualities that will emerge by starting on the path of self-awareness. Here are just a few:  

• Self-Acceptance
• Less stress
• Increased intuition
• Calm Courage
• Willingness & Openness
• Clarity
• Clearing and healing psychological fear
• True Happiness
• Harmonious relationships
• Kindness
• Being of Service to others
• More unconditional giving
• More accepted receiving
• Appreciation
• Creativity as a flow
• Humility
• Abundance
• Faith
• Ability to surrender
• Compassion
• Unconditional love
• Inner authenticity
• Clearer expression
• Gratitude
• Causeless Joy
• Experience of a greater power within

Over the next number of  months, I will be talking to each of these and sharing with you the richer and deeper context of these qualities and how to nurture these to become more experiential for yourself. This will turn you to True Meditation. 

The first thing you can do right now and over the next couple of days is to make the intention to be more willing to be open to change. This may seem easy to say but is another matter in reality and forms the foundation of your transformation to freedom in your personal development. All intentions set in place a new pathway in motion and begin to manifest instantly whether you are aware of it or not. If it all seems a little overwhelming, you can choose to take on the changes one at a time.  
The other aspect I would like to mention is that if you think you know meditation, reserve that idea for now, and allow yourself to be innocent and approach True Meditation with fresh new eyes and mind.
So tonight, after you are nicely tucked into bed and about to go to sleep, bring this intention in mind and see yourself already successfully flowing with it easily. In the morning upon just waking, envision the intention again for a few moments. Then go about preparing for your day and be open to being pleasantly surprised.

Stress Detox  – Going Beyond Emotional Intelligence
 
There is a reason why stress management strategies are not sustainable. There is a reason why most of us get stressed trying to apply our stress relief tools. There is a reason why many of us do not stick to our new resolutions. There is a reason why we keep being triggered when we try hard not to be. There is a reason why we keep getting sick from our stressed out jobs. More willpower is not the answer; more focus is not the answer; more goals are not the answer; taking naps is not the answer. Well, what is?
 
In 2017, the founders of O & O Academy from India, a world-renowned consciousness and meditation school for transforming humankind, decided it was time to take their time-honoured transformative curriculum to the mainstream world. They have been offering courses giving participants life-changing shifts since 1989 and have effected over 30,000 Western students including business owners, industry leaders, government officials and independent thinkers. These attendees were then able to go back to their countries and adjust back into their lives with greater self-awareness and ability to observe the self-limiting programs and practice the meditative tools applying ancient wisdom teachings, meditation practices and insights from support calls. These tools are applied in real-time as they meet with challenges and obstacles either in the workplace or in their personal lives. Their transformation makes it easier for them to then apply the focus, meet their goals, achieve their vision and all with grace and class. But what about the rest of us who cannot just fly off to India. The new Stress Detox course was conceived to be delivered in our home countries thereby making it more feasible to more people.
 
The business sector has long-realised the importance of emotional intelligence and most recently the ability to adapt to the fast-changing evolution of business practices, growth strategies, industry disruptions and world opportunities. This is of course good progress, however the on-going deeply-rooted tensions within the individual continues to be the bedrock for the continual need for ‘stress management’.  If the roots and pattern of this anxiety, stress, frustration, disappointment, lack of confidence, doubt, etc. is not resolved, then the wheel of recycled triggers continues on, hence the need for on-going ‘stress management’. There comes a juncture when it is time for each individual to jump track and forge new ground in personal development that is more sustainable and builds on itself and becomes self-fulfilling. When one focuses on self-awareness, the accrued growth exponentially and quickly establishes higher consciousness as its own feedback loop and compounds its natural qualities, that of causeless joy, compassion, true intelligence, liberation, unconditional abundance, infinite creativity, love, deep contentment and silence.
These attributes then have a ripple effect saturating everything we put our focus on and even without interaction.
 
The ‘stress-busting’ lessons from the Stress Detox program are not mere strategies, self-help tools nor conventional psychology. The founders have created wisdom lessons, pathways and processes so that the participants are able to channel or direct the incredible power of a transformed consciousness with the mystical power of the Source. This brings about a deeper and sustainable transformation in the individual which naturally affects those around them bringing more peace in families, friendships, workplaces and projects in the world arena. As the number of transformed people increases, the greater the effects for healing the world. It is in fact the time for this ancient prophesied event to materialise and it is brought about by the healing of the individual self, making it more achievable, sustainable and relevant to these fast, evolving times.
 
The newly released Stress Detox course is the answer to our emerging requirement for renewed and sustainable healthy growth within business, community and the individual thereby allowing fresh creativity to flow into every facet of society bringing about friendship, respect, peace and compassion in our world. 
 
In March 2018, the first One Consciousness Trainer graduates from 22 countries became qualified to present and teach the new Stress Detox Course. Anahata Ishaya and Walter Geursen from Christchurch are the first trainers for New Zealand. They have been attending O&O Academy since 2005 pursuing their evolution in consciousness consistently since then and are getting set to offer this life-changing curriculum from June of this year. 
 
Any queries or interests in registration, can contact Anahata at 02102360730.
 

I have always been enamoured of the space between objects in artworks and what  its purpose is. 
You may have seen diagrams of two side head portraits facing each other and the space in-between looks like a vase. Also illustrations by Escher where his objects start one way and merge into different objects across the page. Scientists have long said there was nothing in-between the atoms until quantum physics was discovered and now they realised there was much more going on in the supposed black empty void than in what we could see. This brings us to the inner world within ourselves which we cannot fully see except when our unconscious thoughts bubble up to the surface. There are also our perceptions which are limited by this unconscious world so we do not fully see all there is to experience.

As you have already experienced in your life, when you take courage to step thru challenges and come out the other side with more confidence to continue your life journey, the darkness or unknown self slowly emerges to lighter times. So in negative space painting, you begin with a conscious but unclear background and slowly utilise darker and darker layers to bring out shapes and objects hidden within. Then when the setting is right, you slowly begin to add light by adding lighter hues to brighten and bring the whole composition alive. Isn't that like life?  Slowly we are like an artwork,  transforming from darkness into the light; from the unconscious to the conscious into Awareness.

We always seem to be negotiating with ourselves about self-inflicted rules and boundaries and schedules. Sure some are real and practical like getting to employed work on time for our illusory security however the rest of the time is ours to choose with what we wish.

Family takes a certain second or perhaps first but after that we get to choose what is most important depending on our dreams, visions and purpose that we have acknowledged in our life. Time, although also illusory, can expand or contract depending on our focus and depth of our participation and action.  As we decide, time allows.  But we ask ourselves, am I ready?; for this vision and purpose. We do not realise that we are bargaining with an uncertain self and that self will always win. I asked that question of my art coach when I was considering her business art course and she said, " If not now, when?"  That did it for me.  My uncertain self had no recourse since the passion to proceed with my art future was non-negotiable however hard my limited self tries to undermine and question my desires.

"If not NOW, WHEN?" Spiritually and cosmically speaking, there is no other time but NOW so why not start.  Start that heartfelt project you have been putting off for ..how long?  Even one small step or task each day will get you closer and closer and then it is done.  So much fulfilment comes and satisfaction and joy with the process and the end product. Give that to yourself and you will have more of your enjoyable self to share with those you love and  important in your life.

I finished that business course and although it opened up so many more projects and ideas, the question still comes, if not NOW, WHEN?"

The timely passage of art meditation releases deep spiritual and creative passion. The process is taken over by the deity being painted and she/he guides the colours, background and peripheral objects, the composition and the music to surrender to.

All done in the ancient tradition of Tibetan Thangka painting, you begin to paint the skies, the earth, the plants, the Sun and the Moon.  For the Green Tara, you then proceed to the robes which float over the body and do not touch her as nothing materialistic is equal to her divinity. The leggings represent rainbow light, her armlets and anklets serve as her "Perfection of Discipline", her skirt and belt act for "Perfection of Effort", her necklaces symbolise "Perfection of Giving', her body scarves embody "Perfection of Patience" and her crown personifies "Perfection of Meditation and Wisdom". The blue utpala flowers encompass the past, present and future in their varying degrees of blossoming. We finally beckon her body into Life lightly contouring and modelling her form.

At last, and only on the Full Moon, do we paint her mouth and ultimately her eyes. With the ability to now breathe and witness, She come Alive! The Green Tara, sitting on her Lotus & Moon cushion, ready to leap into action for any who call for assistance, transforming passion into Compassion.

If we don't have a spiritual vision, life will be very challenging as we tackle our obstacles which show up from time to time throughout our lives.  We are then creating from a state of loneliness, fear, insecurity or depression. When we adopt a spiritual platform we act from courage, passion and connectedness thereby creating a beautiful state of living and loving.

If not relating from a beautiful state, we won't enjoy our relationships fully, our partners, our kids, our work and our life in general. As part of that spiritual vision, when we include regular meditative practice, we begin to see more clearly, attain states of calm, develop real confidence, grow our inner integrity and are of better service to those around us. In a beautiful state, meditation becomes more powerful when we also apply liberating wisdom; clear teachings to guide us about Truth. When both happen, meditation and clear wisdom, we become on purpose; get on the right path of the dissolution  of our suffering and life becomes more sustainable in its growth of consciousness.

We also begin to have powerful experiences that can completely transform us as human beings; revolutionise our thinking, lifestyle and relationships. We achieve success in our projects, attract beautiful opportunities for wealth; form loving and lasting relationships and create potential for many innovative ventures to renew our community, our country and the world.

It does not have to be difficult to begin; just navel gaze a bit and form a picture of what is your highest desire for your life. Then allow that to sink in and become a part of you. Make a strong internal intent that this is what you want as you are focusing on your heart, your centre point. Doing the Soul Sync Meditation on a regular basis will quickly help set that intent in place and begin to transform your perception of life and bring about your spiritual vision.