At home with Michael Beckwith-Concluded

I finally felt I was less alone… in this room with 300 people… It was so relieving to see that here on this little green Isle, there are those who view life from a similar viewpoint as I do… I don’t have to travel the world to find like-minded people! And I’d never have been introduced to this awakened and lighter aspect within the Irish community, if it wasn’t for Lorraine inviting me… But then again, she’d never have invited me, if she wasn’t publishing my book… I guess it’s the book, the story of my life and the nature of me, that’s starting to open up doors and I’m—simultaneously—opening up to reveal my own truth… Suddenly I’m meeting people here in Ireland that resonate with me, that recognize my passion… and by embracing the connections that form, in such a state of giving, we can help each other, and so many more, to move forward and to keep the purpose of this life ALIVE—setting ourselves free. Wouw… It’s quite amazing.

So, we listened, we raised our energy frequency, we meditated, we envisioned, we danced, we sang, we laughed, we let the barriers go and opened ourselves up to our inner potential. Afterwards, it was like the after party began! No music or alcohol required! Just people in a positive frequency, mingling, exchanging experiences and networking. And wouw… I met some great people… I spoke about my book to quite a few as well, spoke with some other authors who are just getting started too, spoke with a motivational speaker that’s based here in Ireland… and was invited to some other gatherings (similar to this one, but on a smaller, more local scale). I can get more involved with ‘things’ and realize the opportunities that are out there, only so ‘close’ to my front door, when trying to be more of an inspiration and motivator to others. Because it’s the only way I can be heading from here… given the purpose of the first book, as well as the second, and the energy I have that can be put to MORE use out there in the world… My passion for life doesn’t ONLY have to be injected into writing books. It’s a part of it, but writing is already leading to my literal voice to be heard and not only my written voice to be read.

It’s a process however and something that only evolves as time comes to pass. It can only emerge if I don’t force or pressurize myself. In a state of ease, I can see how more things can happen. Not forcing the path to unfold and not forcing for directions to appear, will actually makes each step appear and in taking each step forward the next step will appear. I have to learn that this is not just an approach that I have to associate with this particular time in my life, but it’s an approach that needs to be practised for all of this lifetime. Only THEN can the most devotion be injected into living a life that’s based on truth.

Back to Sunday evening; I was one of the last to leave the hall. I spoke with Michael and his wife… such open, giving, loving people. I left and was walking on air… OPEN! Stepping outside again, was the strangest thing… it was as though I’d been travelling for a period of time I can’t say, during the hours of being inside the seminar hall.

Suddenly back on the ground, I was sitting on a green Dublin city bus making my way to the bus station in the city centre. I was looking at the crowds of football fans going in and out of the pubs, intoxicated, shouting abuse at each other… guards everywhere… One guy was in handcuffs, being pinned down to the ground by 3 cops, blood streaming from his mouth… and the Dublin folks were just ecstatic to get that bit of excitement. What a different world…

It didn’t bring me down… it just brought home how important it is for us to BE the change we wish to SEE in the world around us. If I wish to see people feeling love and happiness—regardless of our circumstances, place, relationships—then I myself have to be that same state… This doesn’t mean I’m ignorant or that I don’t care about other people’s pain. It means I know I’m of more use to the world, if I send suffering individuals understanding, compassion and positive vibes, instead of feeling miserable myself as a result of all the crime, pain, abuse and destruction that’s out there in this world. Life’s too short to engage in the pains of the world, from a manner that brings us down. Instead I choose to view the pains of the world, from a perspective that’s changing, moving forward and elevating all those who are open to positive growth. I could write about this forever, but I won’t… I’ll let this be for now, as life takes on a different dimension...

At home with Michael Beckwith

Last Thursday I was chatting on the phone with Lorraine, my publisher (still quite strange to be saying this!). Anyhow, she spontaneously mentioned she was going to a Vision Seminar on Sunday, held in Dublin, and invited me along. She was a sponsor of the event and would be setting up a stand so as to promote her business (as well as my book!). I was ecstatic of course that she asked me to come along… it would be the first time I’d ever put myself ‘out there’ as an author! Wouw… This would turn out to be quite an event. I was even more excited when she said that Michael Bernard Beckwith would be giving talks all day!  

For those who don’t know him by name, they may know him by face… He stars in the movie ‘The Secret’. He’s a meditation teacher, visionary master, healer, motivational speaker, author… on and on the list goes as to what this man does with his life. I couldn’t believe I was actually going to be seeing this man speaking, in real life!

With many of the world famous motivational teachers, self-help authors, coaches and healers, I’ve often felt they were so ‘out of reach’… I’d be learning about spiritual progression and I’d hear big names of the teachers/coaches/healers/authors who have helped, and continue to help, millions of people in the world to change their lives for the better. They teach about becoming free from pain and fear so as to eventually discover the purpose of one’s life. They teach certain perspectives that will bring each person to realize what they truly are, to gain insight into their soul and to THEN motivate the individual to let the discovery of their spiritual essence inside become the drive throughout their life, so the spirit can live in this lifetime and be free.

What an amazing day it turned out to be. There were around 300 people in the audience, Michael was on stage, with his wife—who was playing music and singing at certain intervals (she’s got the most amazingly powerful voice by the way, totally blew me away) I sat at the back, in my own zone, and how at home I felt! At first when I saw him on stage, it was like: wouw, a celebrity… But that soon wore-off when I realized that everything he said, is everything I’ve been writing about, living by and feeling from a deeper level. I felt at home because it was like somebody was finally speaking the language that goes round and round my head, all day long, with little means to express it! And it got even better, when I realized that not only was Michael speaking and living this language, but 80% of the people in the room, spoke that same language too! 

Man, how blessed I was to be surrounded by people who ‘get’ the whole process of visioning, expansion, energy and DEEP love that needs to be spread as much as possible, throughout this world; by people who meditate and GROW through every experience; by people who understand the importance of gratitude in life and know how privileged we are to be alive and on this amazing planet today; by people who ‘get’ that it’s normal to be in love with life at all times, for ‘no real reason’ at all! The seminar was full of people ONLY wishing to do good for others in this world, people with understanding of their own inner power and with strength to always realize how they themselves are the creators of their own lives, their own joy, their own destiny.

The talk went on most of the day. But he wasn’t lecturing though. Michael was just LIVING and being amazing in that state! I spoke to a few during some of the breaks and the Irish scepticism was coming through, when I heard: ‘it’s quite over the top…’ Meaning Michael’s over the top! But, oh how I would never call it that… This man loses his inhibitions; he lets himself go… without needing to have 3 beers in his belly—and THAT to me is LIVING! He totally embraces LIFE, wraps himself around it and isn’t afraid to stand up to the world and say: THIS IS HOW I AM… I AM FREE… I AM ME… I LOVE MYSELF… AND EVERYONE HAS THE NATURAL BIRTHRIGHT TO LOVE THEMSELVES JUST AS MUCH. He loses his inhibitions for the sake of getting the message of life across to the people who are stuck in their limited ways of seeing life, stuck in their little worlds of worry and pain… He’s spreading the message, using the power of his spirit… the power of his life… even when he’s not on stage… It’s not a performance, it’s a way of BEING, always… either in front of 3 people, 300 people or 3 million people… So, I‘d never consider him to be ‘over the top’… Ireland, and actually the whole world, needs to see how it can be, if we all just let ourselves go and become fearless of judgment, criticism, failing… Fearless of what ‘letting go’ of all of our ‘stuff’ will do. He’s fulfilling such a huge purpose in life: getting people to wake-up to what life is TRULY all about.

Crossing paths

(Belated post)

17th of March; St. Patricks day. I’ve never really been into celebrating it much, so this year isn’t any different. The thing that’s marking it however, this time round, is a friend who is staying with us. He’s from New Zealand (living in Australia), travelling Europe and making a stop here at 136 Knockmore, Arklow Co. Wicklow (which is where I live). I worked with Mark on the melon farm in Australia in 2007. We’ve been in contact through Facebook for a while and when it just so happened that I was back in Ireland and he was hopping from country to country, it seemed the only thing for him to do was to hop to Ireland too.

A crazy world it then seems to be; crossing paths with people who I never ever imagined to see again. This really is the case. When saying goodbye to the people we meet along our travels, we often say; ‘we’ll meet again’. But not always do we actually EXPECT to meet again, or EXPECT either of us to go ‘out of our way’ to make it happen! But Mark did go out of his way, and now, 5 years down the line, he purposely came to Ireland to visit me, here at home in Arklow. And the world really is a tiny place.

Another thing happened only yesterday (Friday) that just proves my point. We went to Dublin for the day. On Thursday I was just randomly thinking of a guy I met in the ashram in India back in September. Eoin. He’s from Dublin and studying at Trinity college (the most well-known college in Ireland, right in the heart of Dublin). As I was thinking of him, I wondered if I should get in touch, maybe to meet up the following day. We got along great and having him at the ashram was like a having a little piece of Ireland and home with me. When we said goodbye to each other, of course we said ‘we should arrange to meet when we’re both in Ireland!’

Now, honestly, at that point in time I wasn’t thinking at all about heading back to Ireland. I figured I’d be travelling at least until the end of 2012, so actually meeting him in Dublin was the furthest thing from my mind! I also never expected to WANT to meet up with somebody I’d met along my travels, not back on the home front anyhow; because when you’re on the road you connect differently with people than when you’re back at your ‘base’ and to meet them again can sometimes take away the fond memories you shared with that person, the memories that had been ‘made’ on the other side of the world.

Either way, on Thursday I wondered whether to contact him. But I decided against it. With Mark being here, I didn’t think the timing was right. I let the notion fly and figured if we’re destined to meet, it would happen, because I personally wasn’t going to go to any lengths to get in touch (I know that sounds really harsh and it’s nothing personal against Eoin, but it just wasn’t a priority for me).

So, on Friday we went up to Dublin to see some of the amazing sights of the city! We walked around in the rain - the Irish weather will never fail to let us down…haha - and we went to a few museums. As we were walking around Trinity, of course I secretly hoped I’d bump into Eoin. And 30 minutes later, just when the hopes of seeing him had been dampened by the drizzle, suddenly there he was, leaning against the wall, talking on his phone. Wouw! Blast from the past and yes yes yes it was fate! It was the craziest thing to have happened!

I walked up and as he saw me his eyes sprung out of his sockets, he started shouting down the phone to whoever was on the other end; ‘oh my god, this is fate! I’ve gotta hang up!’ With that, we both squealed in excitement, gave each other the biggest hug and the most abbreviated versions of both of our lives. Then we exchanged numbers in between 5 hugs and ended the random meeting with a promise to see each other properly sometime soon. And that was the high light of my day! I was so excited. In the middle of the dark, cloudy and wet Dublin city, I bumped into a guy I met in the southern tropics of India… so unexpected… but it wasn’t by chance.

As I’ve said before, I don’t believe in coincidences anymore. Everything happens for a reason. I reckon I already know the reason for meeting Eoin like that. It’s probably because I was never going to go ‘out of my way’ to get in touch with him and arrange a meeting – for being too wary of not getting along in the same manner as we did when we were in the ashram. But some forces brought our paths to cross, without either of us putting in any effort… meaning we were meant to meet again! And the way we both responded to each other was confirmation enough of there still being a friendship, regardless of where we are or what we’re doing in life. Oh, and I might just add, there’s not a inkling of a romantic vibe between us AT ALL, as it’s impossible when both people fall for the same gender ;)

I just LOVE the way the world works!