Read more about the article Trusting Your Way

Trusting Your Way

There are SOOO many different ways of doing this work of holding space and guiding & supporting others. And so many ways of awakening to our nature and integrating and embodying that fully in the human expression that we are. Infinite ways of Being. If I could ever impart anything to anyone - It is to trust YOUR way. To not assume that just because there's someone, a teacher or such, that seems amazing, and they have all the answers and they are doing it the way you aspire to even, that their way is the "correct" way (for you). Do not diminish and take for granted the wisdom that you hold, through your life experience, through your body, through the embodied spark of consciousness that you are, the particular flavour and footprint of your life. That this is actually what life has gifted this world and birthed into existence and it's not a mistake at all. We cannot dishonour life or ourselves by assuming that there is any part of who and what we are that is incorrect. And in that way you can use other people as a model and a mirror, but never step away from the…

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Read more about the article My Heart Breaks, I Pray for All

My Heart Breaks, I Pray for All

What is going on in the world affects us all on many different levels, both seen and unseen. For me, what's currently happening also feels a touch personal, closer to home in some small way. I made the mistake of going on social media today, barely a moment in and I realised this was not the place to be, not for me, not right now. Especially during a retreat, the very thing I advise people against during a retreat! So here I am instead, on beyondimogen.com - my little nook of the internet. I'm not sure if this post will ever make it elsewhere. -- I am horrified by what is going on in the world on all fronts. The divisiveness, the hate, the lines we have drawn in the sand, too many to count. It all feels impossible. How can we make our way through all of this? What is to be done? Today is the anniversary of my grandmothers death. She walks with me closely still to this day. In someways closer than ever... but that's a story for another day. My grandmother's family were Ukrainian Jews, my grandfather's, Russian Jews. The current war between the two was…

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Read more about the article The Difficulty of Pretending with Others

The Difficulty of Pretending with Others

I was asked the other day how I deal with being around others, particularly when there's a level of pretending or not speaking your truth that seems to be required of you. --- I too know all too well this feeling of suffocation in the company of others. The subtle unsaid permissions of what you can say, which topics you can touch on and how deep that can go. The unsaid permissions that someone can't give for fear of threatening their own sense of Self, views and place in the world that they hold so tightly so as to keep the facade of security and knowingness intact. I think this is why the idea of Sanghas can be so enticing, a place to commune with others who were of like mind and place in their journey of unfoldment, of seeing. A place when you can find common ground and openness, common experience and views. Alas it's not as easy as it sounds to find the 'right' sangha! You are lucky if you can find this in a partner or in a close friend or two - this is what I have with Martyn and this is what I am eternally…

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