2 October 2022

QUESTIONING OUR BELIEFS

We tend to hold onto so many beliefs about ourselves, about the world, and others, that seem to limit our experience. Whatever we believe, usually reinforces our identity as a certain kind of person in the world. When we question our beliefs, inevitably we end up questioning the most fundamental belief – the belief that I am a separate identity. This belief in a ‘me’ is the root belief for all the other beliefs to hang on. And in the process of questioning our beliefs, everything that we have believed was real, true and secure, starts to fall apart…. Who am I, if I am not who I believed myself to be…?

4 September 2022

FALLING IN LOVE WITH MYSELF

As we meet this present experience just as it is, there is more and more of an embracing of this human just the way she or he is. Acknowledging that our true nature is unconditional love and awareness of whatever is here, there is the freedom for myself to blossom in the most natural way. This is a falling in love with myself that doesn’t require any effort or doing. It is simply about meeting myself in all the highs and the lows and everything in between, knowing that it is all included in and as Life itself.

7 August 2022

WHAT IS TRUE POWER?

It seems easier to acknowledge our failings, limits and problems than to acknowledge our greatness and power. It can feel terrifying to truly acknowledge that who we are is unlimited power because it can feel as if we might even risk death.  If we stand out from the herd of apparently ‘average’ people, we might be rejected or ostracized.  But when we recognise our true nature, we know the unlimited power that we really are. Now how to actually ‘live’ this unlimited power as this incredible human that you are?

4 June 2022

HOW CAN I HELP PEOPLE?

There is so much suffering, whether it is in people close to you or in the world around us.  How can we help people without coming from a ‘helper’ or ‘carer’ identity? When the ‘helper’ identity is in charge, then although you may be going through the motions of helping, you are doing it for your own gain, and at the same time you even resent the person you are helping. How can we help people in a way that is true and real?

1 May 2022

THE WAR OUTSIDE IS THE WAR INSIDE

When we look at what is happening in the world, we can have our opinions about it, but essentially it is heartbreaking to feel. We believe it is happening ‘out there’ across the other side of the world or to other people so that we don’t have to face and really feel the awful pain of it. But what if we do let it in, and let it touch us? Then the war that is happening outside, is truly inside. 

3 April 2022

LIVING IN THE UNKNOWN

We never truly know anything, but perhaps we might have believed that some other authority really does know. In these times it is becoming more and more obvious that no one really knows anything much at all. We are all just free-falling in the unknown. Really waking up to this unknown reality can bring up all kinds of feelings including fear. Living in the unknown means living with fear. Learning to live feeling it all, and being open to it all. It is not easy, but this is what awakening to the truth is all about. 

20 February 2022

HOW TO DEAL WITH FEELING BORED

What is boredom actually? A restlessness, a wishing for more, or to be somewhere else, a feeling of flatness, a belief that the present experience is not enough just as it is…. Nowadays we have so many options and choices of things to do and places to go that we can forget how it is a privilege to live in this incredible world. We overlook the value of the present experience and label it ‘boring’. Let’s explore together how we can meet with these moments of so-called boredom with a fresh look.

16 January 2022

HOW TO BE IN THE WORLD BUT NOT OF IT

Traditionally, those who were on a spiritual path were always encouraged to renounce the world, to go off to live without such mundane cares so that they could focus on attaining enlightenment. But in our modern world and culture, we have to live in the world and take care of the daily tasks of making a living, paying bills, and taking care of the people in our lives. So how can we bring spirituality into the world? And the world into spirituality?

19 December 2021

STANDING ALONE IN YOUR OWN AUTHORITY

How can we know what is true when we are pulled and persuaded in all directions by others? It can feel so risky to stand alone with what feels right for us. But when we are rooted in our own true authority as Life itself, then there is no question of moving anywhere else. How to know this authority? Let’s explore this together.

21 November 2021

FINDING PEACE IN THE MIDST OF NOISE

When we are in a silent and peaceful environment it is easy to find peace within. But what if we are in the midst of noise, emotional turmoil, and chaos? Where is the peace then? True Peace is not disturbed by, or dependent on, circumstances. How can we discern the difference between the peace of the surroundings and situation, and the Peace that is our true nature?

3 October 2021

HOW DO I STOP BEING TRIGGERED?

We all get triggered sometimes. We all have those sore points that we can react out of if we feel threatened in some way. How can we navigate those times when we feel these trigger points moving us to act or speak in a way that is not in alignment with our true knowing?

5 September 2021

RELATIONSHIP WITH THOUGHT

What is your relationship with the stream of thoughts that pass through your awareness? Do you take them to really be important and meaningful? Do you follow everything they say as if they are ultimate truth? Awakening is about waking up out of the dream of thought and for this we need to start to change our relationship with thoughts.

8 August 2021

YOU ARE LIFE ITSELF

Your true nature is Life itself.  You are not separate from Life. You are not a part of Life. You are not the one you pretend to be. You are the whole of Life pretending to be a part. You already know this beyond all the stories and pretences. Let’s consciously acknowledge this together.

11 July 2021

WHAT IS FREEDOM?

Usually we think of freedom as freedom ‘from’ some kind of imprisonment. If we feel restricted in some way, then we try to break out of these restrictions in order to be free. This kind of freedom is dependent on circumstances. But there is also the Freedom that is not dependent on anything. This is the Freedom that you are. You are always free, even if you are imprisoned. This is not a belief, or a reason to stay imprisoned, but a knowing of your true nature that is beyond it all. 

4 July 2021

HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF

We often hear self-help or new age messages that you should love yourself. But when you recognise that there is no separate someone here, then who is here to love? How can you love yourself when there is no one here? And yet, even if we recognise there there is no one here, we can still keep believing that ‘I’m not lovable’ or ‘there is something wrong with ‘me’’. Loving yourself is not about a belief or attitude but more about letting go of all beliefs and attitudes. What is left is only Love. 

20 June 2021

HOW TO TAKE DECISIONS

In our modern life we have so many decisions to take. Whether they are big and important choices about directions to take in your life, or whether they are small and seemingly insignificant decisions, we still need to know how to navigate through these moments. When we don’t take our thoughts so seriously then weighing up pros and cons doesn’t help so much. What kind of compass can we use to know what is right or wrong?

6 June 2021

HOW TO SPEAK FROM THE TRUTH

Do you find that when you express yourself that you are mostly speaking from mental concepts, beliefs, and past memories? It can feel very painful to watch yourself interacting with others in this disconnected and mental way, all the while you long to truly meet and express authentically from something real. 

30 May 2021

HOW TO BE A PERFECT PARENT

Of course there is no such thing as a perfect parent really. We are all doing our best with the tools that we have. But when you are on the spiritual path there is the tendency to be hard on yourself as a parent, expecting yourself to be some kind of perfect spiritually aware parent. This usually only backfires and makes us feel even worse. So how can we parent our children in a way that is in line with the truth, and that serves both our children and ourselves? Let’s explore this together. This is relevant for everyone – not only parents. We all have parents, or are parenting someone, even if it is only ourselves. 

23 May 2021

HOW TO BE WITH DISCOMFORT

We all experience discomfort to different degrees at different times of our lives. How can we be with the discomfort without moving away or making it mean something? How can we feel it, while at the same time stay curious about it? Let’s explore this together.

16 May 2021

HOW CAN I WAKE UP TO MY TRUE NATURE?

You are already everything you are trying to become, but the thinking wants to know how to do it or get there. And of course it is very different to actually recognise your true nature, than to just think about it. To know this in a way that is beyond the thinking. To realise that the thinking is limited and is only ever a tool for being in the world. Let’s explore this together. 

2 May 2021

IS SPIRITUAL PRACTICE REALLY NECESSARY?

Usually we are driven to practice some kind of spiritual practice because we are hoping to achieve a goal of perfection. We are hoping to arrive at enlightenment or to be free from suffering. But if you recognise that the only real goal is to know that you are already perfect just the way you are, then what is the place of spiritual practice? Does it have a place in the endless evolution of this human?

25 April 2021

HOW TO STOP NEEDING APPROVAL

Do you try to adjust yourself so that someone else approves of you? Do you feel lost and insecure unless someone else says that you, or how you are behaving, are ok? It is challenging to stand alone as you are and risk people criticising, judging or even attacking you. We all need each other’s support, but is there a way to live without needing approval from others?

18 April 2021

IS THE WORLD GOING THROUGH A MAJOR SHIFT AT THE MOMENT ?

At the moment there are so many theories out there about what is happening in the world. It is easy to get swayed in all directions by all these points of view. How can we really know what is happening and why? Isn’t everything we come up with just another theory? 

11 April 2021

UNPROTECTED LIVING

Life can feel frightening. People can say or do things that can hurt, so we close up and protect ourselves. But living in this closed and protected way can start to feel even more painful than the hurt that we are protecting ourselves from. At a certain point there is a longing to let down the protection and take the risk to be hurt, to lose everything or even to die, in order to truly come alive. 

4 April 2021

THE WORLD IS DIVIDED BUT YOU ARE NOT

In these strange times that we are living in, many people are divided in their views about the virus or about the vaccine or about many other issues. No matter what your opinion or position, your true nature as Life itself, never takes any position. How can we navigate these times including all divisions, while all the time knowing that Life is playing a game with itself. 

28 March 2021

HOW TO BE FREE FROM ANXIETY

Anxiety is sometimes crippling when it comes to daily interactions and tasks. How can we live with this anxiety, meet it with love and acknowledgement, and also go beyond it?

21 March 2021

THE FULL CIRCLE OF COMING HOME TO YOURSELF

Perhaps you began the spiritual search with a longing to come home to yourself, but on the way it became about a dreamy future goal. How can we consciously acknowledge the Home that we never left and come full circle back to where we never left?

14 March 2021

IS LIFE MEANINGFUL OR MEANINGLESS?

The paradox of meaninglessness is one that the mind struggles to understand. It wants to come to some kind of conclusion one way or the other. But fullness and emptiness are one and the same. 

28 February 2021

USING NON DUALITY AS AN EXCUSE

When there is no one and nothing, then this can be used as an excuse to do or say anything. It can even become an excuse that you give yourself for staying safe in old comfort zones. Lets shed some light on these non-dual excuses.

21 February 2021

HOW TO BE AWARE OF AWARENESS

When we hear about Awareness, it is natural that the mind tries to do or become that. But the Awareness that you are is beyond the mind. So then, how is it known or recognised? And what is the point of recognising Awareness?

14 February 2021

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

We all long for love. Whether it is in the form of a perfect romantic partner or whether it is learning to love yourself, love is what it is all about. In fact Love is another word for who you are. Let’s spend this Valentine’s Day webinar exploring Love in all it’s forms. 

7 February 2021

HOW TO GET RID OF MY IDENTITIES

The identities that play out can be the cause of a lot of suffering, so it would be natural to want to get rid of them. But does that actually work? Perhaps its time to find another way to live with them…

31 January 2021

HOW TO NAVIGATE BETWEEN CHAOS AND ORDER

There are times that life brings such chaos and darkness. It can feel overwhelming and we struggle to navigate through it all. Other times we find ways to bring order to the chaos and we feel in control and on top of things again. But once again chaos comes to rock the boat and ruin all our plans.

24 January 2021

HOW TO BE ALONE WITHOUT FEELING LONELY

Feeling lonely is a feeling that most of us can relate to. Perhaps it even comes from our childhood. In any case it feels as old as we are. How can we be alone without this familiar feeling of lack taking over and making us feel miserable?

17 January 2021

HOW TO SET BOUNDARIES IN BOUNDLESSNESS

Ultimately there are no boundaries in our true nature as boundlessness. However, in the play of being human there are many boundaries. In our interactions with others we often need to set a boundary so that we can feel safe so that how we feel is acknowledged and respected. Pretending that there is no need for boundaries or that you can accept anything and everything is simply a mental game and not true. Let’s explore how we can discern when it is time to set a boundary.

10 January 2021

HOW TO RELATE TO PEOPLE WITH AS MUCH EASE AS TO NATURE

When you are in nature, there is nothing to prove, no-one to be. It is peaceful and easy. In contrast it is often challenging being with other people and their judgements, hopes and fears. We spend our time adjusting ourselves to fit in with others to be loved and accepted. How can we discover a way to be with people that is as easy as with nature?

27 December 2020

HOW TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE KNOWING OF THE THINKING AND TRUE KNOWING

The thinking can be very sneaky how it seems to replicate true knowing. It comes with some beautiful spiritual concepts and imagination. It can be hard to differentiate between what is thought about and what is recognised. Let’s investigate the differences so that it becomes clearer. 

20 December 2020

HOW TO SURVIVE THE HOLIDAYS

Although this year we may not be gathering in quite the same way as usual, still most of us will come together with family for the holiday period. Do your old patterns get triggered when you are in old comfort zones with family members? How can we survive the holidays in a way that is with more ease? And how can we use this time as an opportunity to explore these patterns and perhaps make peace with them? 

13 December 2020

HOW TO HAVE A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH MONEY

Money is so linked to survival that for most of us it is a very challenging subject.  Do you live in fear of not having enough or losing what you have? What does money mean about who you are? Money is energy, just like anything else, and when we try to control life energy it is only an impossible struggle. Let’s explore our relationship with money and whether it is possible to let go of control. 

6 December 2020

COPING IN A PANDEMIC – THE THIN LINE BETWEEN DENIAL AND DRAMA

How do we relate to this pandemic? Do we believe everything we read on the news? Do we believe other perspectives (commonly known as conspiracy theories)? Do we get in a panic about how we are all going to die, wallowing in how everything is going wrong, and how everyone is against us? Or do we just bury our head in the ground and pretend it isn’t happening at all? Let’s share our fears and explore how we can navigate this strange time when no one really knows what is happening.

22 November 2020

HOW TO STOP BELIEVING YOUR THOUGHTS

Awakening is about waking up out of the dream of thought. But thoughts can seem so compelling and believable. Some thoughts are like a veil that seem to prevent us from seeing clearly what is really happening. How can we stop taking our thoughts so seriously as if everything they say must be true?

15 November 2020

HOW TO BE COMPASSIONATE WITHOUT PLAYING THE HELPER IDENTITY

We have all been taught that we need to be kind and helpful to other people, but perhaps we don’t always feel that kindness comes from a genuine feeling of compassion’.  Perhaps you have learnt that if you are a ‘helper’ then people like you more? In other words, your motivation is selfish, rather than genuine compassion. So what is genuine compassion? How do we feel it and then act from it?

8 November 2020

STUCK AT HOME WITHOUT HOPE

It’s starting to get colder and darker and many countries are now heading into another lockdown in the midst of a second wave of Corona virus. It is easy to lose hope and feel depressed. We long for connection. We long for freedom of movement. The first wave was almost a novelty with the hope of an end in sight. But now as we head into winter, there seems to be more fear, frustration, and hopelessness. How can we stay in tune with truth and love? How can we find our flow? How can we feel alive in this situation? Let’s come together to express how we feel, rediscover our aliveness, and to meet in Truth beyond hope or hopelessness.

1 November 2020

TAKING RISKS

When you think about taking risks, perhaps you think about things like provoking an attacker or jumping out of a plane. But we take risks in small ways in our everyday interactions that can seem big and feel life threatening. When we risk exposing how we feel, or standing up for ourselves, it can feel as if we risk death. When we risk relating to others without the usual protection mechanisms and identities, we discover that there is no safe ground under our feet. These risks may seem small, and yet sometimes it can feel as if jumping out of a plane would be easier. 

4 October 2020

EXPRESSING FEELINGS

It is a thin line to walk between remaining aloof and apparently beyond all feelings, and the opposite extreme of being a drama queen (or king) expressing everything as if it all means so much. Knowing that there is no separate ‘me’ to own the feelings can be taken as a sneaky spiritual identity and way to hide. And yet, feeding the feelings and identifying with the one who feels, is also not true. Let’s explore how we can walk this thin line between any identity, feeling, expressing feelings, and still knowing that none of it belongs to, or has anything to do with, ‘me’.

20 September 2020

RELATING IN TRUTH

Do you long to be yourself with others and yet find yourself acting out some kind of old pattern or protection? Do you long to meet and be met beyond all boundaries, and yet when it does happen you find yourself running away in terror? We all want to connect and relate with others but sometimes it can be so challenging that it can be easier to just hide away. Let’s explore this together.

13 September 2020

WHAT IS THIS ‘ME’?

From the day you are born you are related to as if you are a separate ‘me’. It is an assumption that most people never question. There is the sense that if I start to question this most fundamental point, then maybe my whole life and everything I have assumed myself to be, will start to unravel. But what is this ‘me’? Is it just a thought? Is it a sensation? A feeling? Where is it located? Are you really that ‘me’?

6 September 2020

WHAT IS LONGING?

When there is a feeling of longing, usually we are so focused on what we are longing for. We imagine that if only we would arrive at that state, place or situation, then our longing would be fulfilled. But, no matter what words we use or what we think we are longing for, we are all essentially longing to come home to ourselves. But looking for that home outside of ourselves will never work. The longing is always an invitation to meet the longing itself. It is never pointing out there into the future. It is always an invitation to meet yourself right now. 

30 August 2020

THE GREAT PRETENCE

Have you ever had the sense that none of this is real? That this whole life thing is some weird trip that you have no idea how to ride? Perhaps you have interpreted this feeling as if there is something wrong with you. But maybe it is true that no one knows what it is all about. We are all going about our business, but let’s stop to acknowledge that we are all just faking it… 

16 August 2020

FACING DEATH

Death is always the unspoken elephant in the room. We are all heading towards it and there is no escape. We can leave facing this reality until we are on our death beds, or we can face it now. Facing death now, can mean that we really start to live. 

26 July 2020

SPIRITUAL BYPASSING

Recognising our true nature as the Absolute, can become an easy way to escape the human mess of our lives. Just flip to the Absolute and its all gone! This is a mental game that many spiritual seekers play with themselves. Disappointingly, recognising the Absolute does not save you from your human mess. Let’s explore how we continue to use this mental spiritual bypassing game in obvious, or more subtle ways, in our lives. 

19 July 2020

FOLLOWING THE ALIVENESS

You may wonder how to be motivated to do anything, when you recognise that there is no ‘me’ to do it. There is nothing to achieve or get so why even get out of bed in the morning? And yet, life still goes on. The motivation then changes to simply following what feels more alive. Life keeps revealing what that is, moment to moment…

12 July 2020

LIVING COURAGEOUSLY

When we believe our thoughts that say ‘there is something wrong with me’ we tend to shrink back from life. We suppress the natural flow of life energy to express freely. It can then feel like it takes a lot of courage to step out of these thoughts and beliefs.  But at a certain point it becomes too painful to live continually suppressing ourselves. Then courage is the only option. 

5 July 2020

LIFE IS A PLAY

When we were children life was simple. We just played and explored our world and that was what life was all about. But as adults we have grown so serious. We have learnt that if we don’t take life seriously then so-called bad things can happen. We are afraid that we won’t survive if we step off the treadmill of endless achieving. But at the same time we tend to long to just let loose and play for no reason at all. How can we find a middle ground between being able to pay our bills, and playing freely?

29 June 2020

TRUSTING LIFE AND LIVING IN THE WORLD

How can we live in total trust and surrender, while at the same time making sure we have enough money to pay our bills? Do we have to leave the real world and go and live in a cave or a monastery so that we don’t have to deal with these mundane matters? Or is there a way to live in trust and still take the action necessary to be in the world?

22 June 2020

RELATING AS NO ONE TO NO ONE

When you recognise that there is no ‘me’ here, then it becomes obvious that there is no ‘you’ there. So how then do we relate to others like that? How do we have an intimate relationship when there is no one here to relate to anyone? Could this become the perfect excuse to stay safely aloof when called into intimacy by someone? Or perhaps the knowing that there are no separate ‘me’s’ means that you can risk it all, and lose yourself in relating with the other.

14 June 2020

LIVING THE TRUTH

It is one thing to have had an experience of Awakening or recognising your true nature, but it is another thing to come back down to earth and live as that in your very human life. Your true nature is the Awareness that is untouched by any experience but this doesn’t mean that you can use this to avoid or escape the lived experience of being human. What does it mean to live as the truth in your daily life? Let’s explore this together. 

7 June 2020

AWAKENING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES – 7th in the Series

Last in the weekly series of webinars exploring the impact of the Covid-19 situation and our relationship with it.

31 May 2020

AWAKENING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES – 6th in the Series

6th in the weekly series of webinars exploring the impact of the Covid-19 situation and our relationship with it.

24 May 2020

AWAKENING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES – 5th in the Series

5th in the weekly series of webinars exploring the impact of the Covid-19 situation and our relationship with it.

17 May 2020

AWAKENING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES – 4th in the Series

4th in the weekly series of webinars exploring the impact of the Covid-19 situation and our relationship with it.

10 May 2020

AWAKENING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES – 3rd in the Series

With the spread of Covid-19 virus all over the world, our ‘normal’ lives have been turned upside down and inside out. We are reinventing what is ‘normal’ now, and that is changing everyday. These are uncertain times. We are locked into our houses in a kind of enforced retreat. This can be a blissful relief for some people, where there is no longer the pressure to do something or be someone in the world. But for others, this can be a very challenging time. Our security, health, family, finances, and even our lives, are potentially being threatened. There can be fear, anxiety and all kinds of old beliefs that come to the surface to be felt and explored. Whatever your experience is, we come together each week to share and explore. Let’s turn this enforced lockdown around, and see it as a gift of self-exploration and awakening to the truth.

4 May 2020

AWAKENING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES – 2nd in the Series

With the spread of Covid-19 virus all over the world, our ‘normal’ lives have been turned upside down and inside out. We are reinventing what is ‘normal’ now, and that is changing everyday. These are uncertain times. We are locked into our houses in a kind of enforced retreat. This can be a blissful relief for some people, where there is no longer the pressure to do something or be someone in the world. But for others, this can be a very challenging time. Our security, health, family, finances, and even our lives, are potentially being threatened. There can be fear, anxiety and all kinds of old beliefs that come to the surface to be felt and explored. Whatever your experience is, we come together each week to share and explore. Let’s turn this enforced lockdown around, and see it as a gift of self-exploration and awakening to the truth.

19 April 2020

AWAKENING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

With the spread of Covid-19 virus all over the world, our ‘normal’ lives have been turned upside down and inside out. We are reinventing what is ‘normal’ now, and that is changing everyday. These are uncertain times. We are locked into our houses in a kind of enforced retreat. This can be a blissful relief for some people, where there is no longer the pressure to do something or be someone in the world. But for others, this can be a very challenging time. Our security, health, family, finances, and even our lives, are potentially being threatened. There can be fear, anxiety and all kinds of old beliefs that come to the surface to be felt and explored. Whatever your experience is, we come together each week to share and explore. Let’s turn this enforced lockdown around, and see it as a gift of self-exploration and awakening to the truth.

12 April 2020

SELF NOURISHMENT

When we are in search of our true nature, we are in fact searching for what is beyond this body/mind and the whole of the play of experience. But at a certain point, it is time to come full circle back to consciously acknowledge and appreciate this body/mind and even take the time to nourish it. By slowing down and becoming sensitive to what this body needs right now, we start to listen to what is present. Honouring this body as the vehicle for self-exploration and experience. Being gentle and kind to whatever needs to be here. 

22 March 2020

BOUNDLESSNESS AND SETTING BOUNDARIES

Knowing that your true nature is boundless doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have any boundaries in your daily life. Sometimes you need to say no. Sometimes you need to set some kind of limit whether it is in time or space. Your true nature is always limitless, so this gives you the freedom to play at setting limits. This play of experience is all about limits whether you like it or not anyway. You don’t need to pretend to be unconditionally loving or absolute freedom in this play of limits. You can say ‘I don’t like this’ or ‘I want to commit to you’ and you never risk losing your true unconditionally loving and free nature.

4 March 2020

ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOURS

Are you constantly checking your phone or social media? Do you find it hard to stop drinking or eating or some other kind of obsessive habit? Even if your addiction is not as destructive as alcohol or drug addiction can be, it can still feel like you are stuck in a rut and a slave to a habit that doesn’t make you feel good about yourself. Are you trying to avoid the emptiness of who you are by filling the gap with something? Of course dealing with heavy and long term addictions takes more work than just an hour webinar, but still we can start to look at the motivation for any kind of addiction. 

16 February 2020

HOW TO HELP OTHERS WITHOUT COMPROMISING YOURSELF

We look around us and so many people seem to need our help. But are we moving from an idea of what we think we should do, or what we think should happen? Are we moving from an identity of ‘the very helpful or caring person’? Or are we really being sensitive to what is needed here, and allowing ourselves to be moved to help. Actually no one needs our help, unless the help comes from a genuine pull to move in that way. But it can be hard to discern the difference, especially when we have been taught that being helpful and caring is ‘good’. Let’s look together at how we can discern where this movement to help is coming from. 

26 January 2020

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ‘MY TRUTH’ & ‘THE TRUTH’?

Truth in the relative play of experience can only ever be ‘my truth’. It is my feeling of what is true now. It is my sense of the flow of energy now. But ‘the Truth’ is absolute and is beyond this play of experience. It is known in a way that is beyond thought, feeling or any kind of sense. In fact all senses are appearing in it. In recognising that there is no separate ‘me’, then the line that defines relative and absolute, is blurred and blended. Let’s explore how this blurry line is lived.

5 January 2020

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SURRENDER & PASSIVITY?

When we hear the teachings about surrender, we try to ‘do’ not doing. ‘Thought’ takes on the idea of surrender and this just becomes an attitude of passivity. It may look very surrendered, but in fact it is a very controlled attitude of doing passivity. We tend to just wait for things to fall into our laps and overlook that true surrender also includes taking action when it is needed. Let’s explore together how it is possible to act out of surrender, without it becoming an attitude to cling on to.

15 December 2019

HOW TO STOP NEEDING APPROVAL

Do you spend so much energy trying to second-guess what other people think about you? It can seem so difficult to do ‘it’ right according to what you think people want. Sometimes they like you and give their approval and love, and sometimes they reject you and criticise you. When you are dependent on people’s approval, you get blown around by their every little whim. You are constantly looking outside of yourself to find, yourself. And it is never there. This brings only pain and suffering. Let’s come together to examine this movement outwards more closely, to shed some light on it.

24 November 2019

WHAT IS TRUE AUTHENTICITY?

In a world of fake smiles, and sweet words which don’t match the feeling or energy you sense, you long for something reliably authentic. If you have a sense of what is real, but you don’t find it reflected in what you see or experience, it can be very confusing and painful. But the problem with searching for authenticity, is that it is thought that searches. And thought has no clue what true authenticity really is. Thought can not find Truth in the facade which is Life. So then how can we know how to live authentically?

23 October 2019

BROKEN AND MESSED UP

The truth is that we all know how it feels to be broken and messed up, and most of the time we are making a lot of effort to either cover it up, space out, or fix it.  But being broken and messed up is not a problem to hide from or change into being some idea of perfect. It is an invitation to really break apart and surrender to what is here. This breaking can feel painful, and can also feel very liberating, or flip flop between both. Feel the mess. Be a mess. And let go of trying to do anything about it. You might be surprised at the gift in the broken mess.

25 September 2019

JUST SAY NO

We are often trying to get other people’s love and approval by always saying ‘yes’ to everything. Perhaps you are afraid that saying ‘no’ will mean that they will reject you or that there may even be other frightening consequences. So instead you say ‘yes’ and feel resentment inside. You start to hate yourself for compromising what is true for you. You hate the other person for ‘making’ you do what you don’t want to do. When all you need to do is say ‘no’ and stand in what is true for you. What is worse than turning your back on yourself? Yes, it may be a risk that people won’t like you, but at least you will like you.

4 September 2019

WAKING UP VS BECOMING A SAINT

One of the biggest confusions about waking up to your true nature, is that it will transform you into some kind of perfectly saintly person. The truth is that awakening is nothing to do with being good or nice. So the fact that sometimes you might have unkind thoughts or reactions, doesn’t mean that you are not ‘there’ yet. You don’t have to try endlessly to change negative thoughts to positive thoughts, because waking up is about waking up out of all thought, even the positive ones. You don’t have to maintain some kind of spiritual image (in the hope it will stick), because waking up is about waking up out of all images, even the most spiritual ones. Your true nature is always love, compassion, wholeness and openness. But as a person, you will never be all of that. When you are no longer so busy with trying to become what you already are, then there is space for real sensitivity in how you live and respond to others, because you recognise them as yourself.

21 August 2019

WHAT IS TRUST?

In difficult times, we look for something to hold onto so that we don’t feel so alone and frightened. But holding onto a belief in trust is actually doubting that this moment is perfect just the way it is. In truth there is nothing to hold onto that will save you from whatever challenges life brings. Life is an absolute free-fall with no parachute and no safety net. Letting go into this, is Trust. In fact who You are, is Trust. So let go and free-fall.

9 August 2019

PARENTING YOUR INNER OR OUTER CHILD

Whether or not you are actually a mother or father, you are always parenting. We are all children that have never really grown up. Appreciating and deeply resonating with the innocence, spontaneity, and freedom of the child, while at the same time setting clear boundaries to create a sense of safety for the child to play and relax, is important for our own ‘inner child’ or ‘outer child’. No parent really knows how to do parenting. We are all groping in the dark, copying what we have learnt, trying our best. Let’s look at parenting afresh and see what we can discover together.

10 July 2019

HOW TO GO BEYOND GETTING IT & LOSING IT

On the spiritual search we develop an idea of what ‘it’ is. The final arrival point that will make everything better. The spiritual awakening when everything makes sense. An experience of bliss and peace. Perhaps you have even had experiences of getting ‘it’, when thoughts fell away and a sense of spacious expansion was felt. But after a while, you probably experienced losing ‘it’ as these experiences passed and thoughts crowded in to replace them. This roller-coaster of highs and lows is incredibly painful. How can you see through it all and stay in the peace beyond the roller-coaster? Let’s explore this together.

24 July 2019

RELATING IN ALONENESS

The truth is that you are absolutely alone. The whole play of separation is happening in you. This means that whoever you are relating with is never outside of you, but an appearance in you. You can never get anything from anyone else, because they can never have anything that you don’t already have. Knowing this is the freedom to play, to commit, to share, and to see all your relationships as a love affair with yourself. An opportunity to explore yourself in this particular way, and with this particular challenge. Let’s explore this in more depth together.

26 June 2019

NO ESCAPE FROM THE DARK SIDE

Look at the nature of life. It always includes the opposite polarity of whatever appears: male, female, you, me, creation, destruction, birth, death, pain, pleasure, light, darkness… You can not know one without knowing the other. On the spiritual path you have, for so long, assumed that you are on a path towards the light, and away from the darkness. But again and again you are confronted by the obvious fact that there is really no escape from the so called darker side of life. It exists in and as you. It is as unavoidable as water is wet. In order to know the wholeness and freedom that is your true nature, you have to see that it includes the whole spectrum of life, and not only the good stuff.

5 June 2019

THE DRAMA OF LIFE

When you are going through some life tragedy, or even when some minor event happens, you can see how thought tends to add a layer of drama on top of whatever is happening. We all have the tendency to be ‘drama queens’, believing that whatever is happening, means so much more than it really does. There is the original feeling or experience, but then there is some extra excitement, or tension that usually comes with the subtle, or not so subtle, thought story that it all means so much to, or about ‘me’. Then, not only do you perceive yourself through the veil of drama, you also become blind and insensitive in the way you approach others or deal with particular situations.

21 May 2019

SELF-NOURISHMENT

In our busy lifestyles with work or family commitments and obligations, it is easy to start to be sucked into old identities that want to be taken seriously. You get used to living in survival mode and see life as a permanent struggle. Perhaps when you do find time to relax, you sit in front of the computer staring at the screen watching all kinds of nonsense. It is important to give yourself the time and the space to honour your love and commitment to the truth. Whether it is a particular practice, or just staring at nature, it is a time to stop. Let’s explore various ways that we can nourish this human that you are. What do you need? What is your body asking for? What would soothe your mind?

14 April 2019

MONEY

Money seems like such a touchy subject for most people. We all have ideas about money and what it means about who you are. Especially when you add those spiritual concepts you’ve picked up, money becomes a ‘dirty word’. Making or spending money becomes an area filled with fear and confusion. Let’s expose and explore these ideas about money together, and attempt to bring some clarity to this very murky area.

24 March 2019

LOSING CONTROL

You think you are in control of your life. You think you are in control of what you do, and how things happen. You think that if you maintain a certain structure and go along with what is ‘normal’, then maybe life won’t be a complete chaotic mess. If you keep tidying it all up, if you keep pushing back the chaos with the walls that you build and the protection that you keep up, then maybe you can avoid the ultimate loss of control: death. Are you really in control? Can you define how things should or shouldn’t be? You build walls. You try to tie yourself down so that the wild river of life doesn’t wash you away. But eventually you have to see that it is an uphill battle. You can not force life into how you think it should be.