The Inner Revolution by Luke Hancock

About the Author
Luke Hancock is the author of the life changing book, The Inner Revolution.
Luke spent seventeen years building up a very successful career in the field
of global corporate sales in IT and telecoms in Europe. Having reached
the top of his sales career by his early thirties and following a certain
incident in his life, he made a courageous life changing decision that would
transform his life forever: the decision to leave it all behind and follow a
life long dream, to explore the world in the pursuit of happiness and the
true meaning of life.
Today Luke is a fully trained and qualified Nutritionist, Environmental
Practitioner, Professional Life Coach (with the International Coaching
Federation – ICF) and NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Practitioner
with the American Board of NLP – ABNLP. Luke works with clients (who
have both read and not read his book) through his life coaching practice
to actively help others find their passions and gifts in life and help them
realign their lives in accordance with their highest personal values so they
may live happier, more fulfilling lives.
Known worldwide as an inspirational life coach and spiritual teacher,
there is international demand for his guidance and dedication to helping
people and the planet reach their true potential. It is an opportunity to have
direct access to such a writer at this time. From this book, it’s clear that
his purpose is to share wisdom and communicate to numerous different
audiences across the globe. To unite people and help them utilize their own
gifts to contribute to what is truly the most exciting movement of our time.
He believes that information should be accessible to everyone and that by
using our resources and power of choice we can all make a huge difference
to both our own happiness and that of the planet.
Luke as an author has a wonderful gift but as a light worker his work and
teachings are even more powerful. You can’t help but feel empowered,
set free from old ways of thinking and behaving and shown a new way
forward towards the path of sincere authentic happiness. A path we can all
walk if we so choose.
Luke is now in the process of building a center in Laos. The centre - Sacred
Place, provides workshops about nutrition, permaculture, healing and
personal development. See www.sacred-place.com
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From the Author
I have written this book from my heart as if you, the reader, were sitting
in front of me. Through sharing my personal experiences in this book, I
hope I am able to add some value to your life. Please take from it what
resonates with you; leave what you don’t like. If you have enjoyed
reading this book, all I ask is that you might share it with others you feel
might benefit from reading it.
Thank you.
Luke.
To learn more about the author and the book visit

http://sacred-place.com/the-book/
If you would like to learn more about Luke’s work, please visit
www.sacred-place.com
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Acknowledgements
There are many people I would like to thank, who have helped me along
my path to write this book. First and foremost my family. My parents, for
their strength, love and support. My sister, Abbie for being my number 1
fan, with her unwavering belief in me and her quite brilliant feedback. My
partner Susana for her total belief and complete support in me, the book and
the vision of the business. I would also like to thank Lidija Ablamska for
her tireless and professional support as Creative Editor of the book. She has
been amazing. I would also like to thank all the friends and family that have
helped with the marketing of the flyers around the world. Finally there are
some friends I would like to recognise and thank for their support in reading
the book and giving me constructive feedback.
Simon Steenholt
Andrew Harding
Justin Robertshaw
Nawal Hamarass
Annie Weijdling
Ken Hawley
Pam Nixon
Zoe Howell
Bridge Meillon
Jade Humphries
Marina Remington
Christopher Stephenson
Shahram Sharif
Ralph Forde
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Outline Of Chapters
Part 1: Awakening
Chapter 1 What the hell is it all about? 7
Chapter 2 The slippery corporate ladder. 12
Chapter 3 The burn out. The Crisis. 23
Chapter 4 A light went on…to a new perspective. 26
Chapter 5 Brazil, drawing a line in the sand. 33
Chapter 6 A pact with myself to new beginnings. 41
Part 2: Exploration
Chapter 7 Guatemala here I come! 55
Chapter 8 The rainforests of Borneo. 76
Part 3: Transformation
Chapter 9 India…Vipassana meditation. 97
Chapter 10 The Turning Point. 120
Chapter 11 What is spirituality? 137
Chapter 12 Tushita Buddhist Retreat. 167
Part 4: Empowerment
Chapter 13 The Inner Revolution. 199
Chapter 14 A Call to Action. 231
Note from the Author 254
The Outer Revolution 255
Sacred Place 263
APPENDIX 265
Part 1:
Awakening
6
Chapter 1
What the hell is it all about?
‘It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly

sick society.’
Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian Philosopher, 1895–1986
We have never needed change and transformation both on a personal

and a global scale as much as we do now. When I look around me
today it seems like we have everything we could want in this modern
world. Plentiful food, warm houses, great cars and fancy phones.
But do we really have everything? Many of us in the Western world,
and increasingly in the rest of the world, are being led to believe by
our culture, government and the corporate world (media, advertising)
that through acquiring ‘stuff’, through buying things, we will be
happy. That accumulated wealth equals happiness. The mantra goes
something like ‘consume and you will be happy’. But does this ‘stuff’
really make us truly happy? Is what we are being told, the truth? It’s a
question that I have been faced with for many years and I now believe
I have an answer to.
Every morning I see people marching off to work like worker
ants to an indivisible, silent rhythm. A mechanized routine of people
‘going to work‘. Quite possibly feeling like I did - trapped in a job
I no longer liked, feeling suffocated by life and believing there is no
other way. When I look more closely at the faces of the people around
me on the buses, trains and planes, I see faces portraying boredom and
sadness. Not joy and contentment. I see closed hearts.
7
The Inner Revolution
You may ask why? Why does this unhappiness exist? Surely we
should be happy. We have jobs, homes, cars, stuff. I began to ask myself
this same question and wondered, ‘was I missing something?’
I believe these closed hearts are the effects of being born into a
partially sick society. A society driven by the ego (greed, power, control)
and not the soul (love, collaboration, sustainability). Through my life
experiences, I have come to understand that to remain closed and numb
is a protective mechanism to stop us opening up and possibly getting
hurt. I lived like this for most of my life. This ‘state’ of being closed
superficially helped me escape from feeling. From feeling myself, others
and importantly from feeling trapped and helpless. Remaining closed,
helped me numb the hurt and pain I felt inside. My abuse of tobacco
and alcohol only further served to keep me from feeling the pain and
emptiness in my heart and life. Addictive behaviours used to deaden
the pain. I now realise I was living in a state based on fear as opposed
to a state based on love, meaning expansion, choices and possibilities.
This state of mind stopped me from living to my full potential. In fact it
stopped me living. I became a robot.
Having supposedly ticked all the material boxes - a good career,
salary, car etc. was I truly happy? Was I truly happy with the direction my
life was going in? With my work, my relationships? With where I lived?
I looked inside and knew what the answer was. I felt it.
NO.
I was NOT happy. Worse. I felt empty. Like my life had no
meaning or direction. I used to think, “What’s the point? What the hell
is it all about?’’
Have you ever stopped to think or ask whether you are happy with
your life? Be honest. Are you doing what you really love to do with your
life? Stop if you need to and ponder this for a moment. But if you have to
think about this to get an answer you might question the validity of your
answer. I believe you know. You should feel the truth from inside you.
Deep down are you happy? Are you living a happy and fulfilling life?
Now you may be be thinking that deep down you honestly
know lasting happiness doesn’t come from buying stuff, but just as
I did, you are wondering where does happiness come from? I know
from my own life that when I buy something it gives me a brief
feeling of happiness but only for a limited period of time and only
on a very shallow level. So based on my understanding I now know
stuff does not bring me true lasting happiness on any deep level.
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1. What the hell is it all about?
The difference now, is that I do believe I know where true authentic

happiness comes from.
When I realised this a few years ago, whilst feeling increasingly
disenchanted with my life, I began to ask myself different questions with
the hope of finding different answers. I wanted to know what would make
me, and for that matter, any other person happy. And this is what this
book is about - understanding the true sincere path to lasting happiness.
In this book, I am sharing with you, a very personal, true story
of transformation from some degree of ignorance to some degree of
greater awareness, both personally and globally. It’s about me becoming
personally aware, of who I am and the resources I have within me, to
consciously choose to change my life for the better. Becoming aware
that people, things, events, actually have no power over me whatsoever
unless I let them. I am not anymore special than anyone else. I am
similar to all other human beings. However, I did take the time to heal
and grow myself. I believe we are all extremely special and powerful
human beings once fully engaged with our core self, and operating at
our full potential.
This is my story of personal transformation that started a few
years ago and now is in full flight. On my journey I have encountered
wisdom and knowledge that has changed my life forever, for the better.
In writing this book I want to help others on their path by sharing my
experiences. By sharing what I learned from my mistakes and the new
insights and perspectives on life I gained.
Change is a big part of my story and to my surprise I discovered
that change is not something to be scared of. On the contrary, I have
found change to be my friend. Through offering me the option to say
‘Yes’ to new opportunities and choices as they arise. Change has brought
me closer to my path, and I believe also closer to the real reason why I
am here on earth.
I’m a strong believer in the principle of what you invest now in
yourself with your present actions, you will reap the rewards of in months
and years to come. For better or worse. Conversely, if we carry on doing
what we are doing now we are likely to get the same results in future. So
if we want something different we must do something different. I think it’s
also very important to acknowledge that each choice we make in life has
a consequence for better or worse. I do believe we can all change our
lives for the better. Although, we may need a little support and guidance
in understanding how or where to start from.
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Once you realise that you are actually a very powerful

human being due to all the resources, skills and strengths you have
within you and due to your power of choice, you begin to feel more
empowered and more confident to make decisions and choices based
listening to your inner guidance. When you instigate change from
your inner guidance by listening to your intuition, you start to take
control of your life and the direction in which it is leading based on
what feels right for you and not based on fear and what other people
expect or want you to do. From here your self esteem grows, your self
confidence grows and so your personal power.
I believe this little four letter word, fear, stops us from doing many
if not all the things we want to do in our life and didn’t. Fear of what other
people might think or say or do. Fear of failure. Fear of the unknown. The
list is endless. I know because I have used fear as an excuse to not follow
my heart and do what felt right for me. I believe fear is not something real
but something made up by the mind or the ego. Fortunately from a young
age my parents got me to face the different fears I had, and when I did, the
fears evaporated into thin air. I now realise that it is of utmost importance
that we must break free from this contracted state of awareness, a social
conditioning of the mind, if we are to reclaim our lives and really live to
our true potential.
Choosing to see and experience life from this different
perspective, although has taken courage, has transformed my world.
Partly through my growth in personal awareness about dissolving the
limiting beliefs I carried in my head but also due to my understanding of
the Power of Choice. Probably the most powerful and profound force and
gift we have in our hands! Knowing that each choice we make in life has
a consequence, making conscious choices based on what feels right for
me deep inside and not based on what other people think I should do, is
fundamental to living a life aligned with my values, beliefs and intuition.
Being led by my intuition, my inner guidance, and not by societies or
other people’s expectations upon me.
Did you stop to think why you are reading this book right now,
in this particular moment in your life? If you are reading this, then it
could be a sign that it’s time for change in your life. You may not know
why. You may not know where to begin. My hope is that after reading
my story, you will be in a stronger position of awareness and strength to
go forward with your life having the courage to make decisions based
on what feels right for you. To begin or continue your own personal
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1. What the hell is it all about?
journey of healing, growth and personal transformation towards self-

empowerment and true lasting happiness. An inner strength and knowing
that cannot be bought or pushed around by anyone else. But instead can
be nurtured and supported by you, simply by the conscious choices you
make in your life, in the best interest for YOU.
Personal transformation is a journey and process of self awareness,
self improvement, self empowerment and finally self fulfilment towards
unconditional love and happiness. I have been able to transform my life
and would love to help you transform yours. This does require you keep
an open mind and heart while reading this book to the end. That way you
will get the most out of this experience with me.
This is my life and this is your life. Nobody else’s. Only you should
be in control of your life. Know that you are not alone on this journey. I am
with you. The journey of my personal transformation and its fundamental
steps are no different in their process from anyone else’s. I don’t see myself
as being any different from anyone else. However, I did have the courage
to listen to my intuition, take action and follow through to do what I am
passionate about. This has changed my life forever. For the better. So can
you! Right now. This instant. Do you want that?
Are you ready to make the first step?
OK, let’s go.
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Chapter 2
The slippery corporate ladder.
‘Greed and envy demand continuous and limitless economic growth of a

material kind. The aim should be to obtain the maximum well
being with the minimum consumption. The less toil there is,
the more time and strength is left for artistic creativity.’
E.F. Schumacher, Economist and Writer, 1911–1977
I was not particularly academic as a boy; I was more interested in sport,

making friends and, later, in girls. I was a regular guy. I went to boarding
school from ten to seventeen years old. I found it tough, firstly living at
home within a loving nurturing family environment in the countryside,
and then having to leave, being sent to a boarding school miles and miles
away from my family. I found it to be quite a competitive and sometimes
harsh environment. I was bullied, I bullied others. Hey, kids can be cruel.
I saw my family every two or three weeks for a weekend, which for me
was not enough. Each time we were separated the abandonment killed
me inside. Both Mum and I would cry. This all had quite an impact on
me and I left my boarding school at seventeen with only a few grades,
telling my parents I didn’t want to study any more. They said fine but that
I had to work, rightly telling me there were no free lunches. That suited
me fine. My Dad was successful in his career and so I was keen to get out
into the real world and start to make my mark on it; I really felt I wanted
to get out into the world and work. I was done with studying and I wanted
to experience the next chapter in my life.
My first taste of hard work came during my first job, selling fake
perfume door to door. When I didn’t make my quota for the week I had
12
2. The slippery corporate ladder.
to go out at night to pubs, bars and restaurants. It was pretty tough, to be

honest, some might say ‘character building’, but my Mum was worried
sick. She never slept, lying awake petrified about my well being and
safety until I got home each night, often around midnight. The initial
promise of my becoming a manager at such a young age, which appealed
to me, didn’t materialise and after nine months I moved on. My next job
was a filing clerk for an insurance company. Needless to say yawn yawn,
but I had got through my first year of working life. I had money in my
pocket and savings in the bank.
Prior to and in between these jobs I did manage to travel a little,
which I later found was to become a passion of mine. Adventure and
exploring the unknown. When I was sixteen I went to France for three
months with my friend Toby in his Mini Cooper. He was seventeen and
had just received his driving licence. Amazingly my parents were cool
with it. They were still probably in shock, hyperventilating in the driveway
as I left, but they let me go. It was totally awesome – the freedom of the
road, the unknown adventure, and the choice to do whatever we liked.
Simply unbelievable. Being on the road exploring the south of France,
we would find a river, park up, wash and swim in the river, pitch up our
tent, prepare a fire and cook. Of course, we stayed at campsites too but
this type of freedom I had never ever experienced before. I felt free. I felt
like an adult, that I could choose what I wanted to do when I wanted. I
loved it. Simply amazing. This was a very big and important experience
in my life at this time, being so young and being away on my own for so
long. This was a first for me. This experience opened my mind to new
possibilities, as did my second trip.
My second taste of travel and freedom was a year later, when I
was seventeen, with my girlfriend at the time, we stayed with her Mum.
Her Mum was an English teacher in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana,
Africa. We stayed two months with her Mum and step-Dad in their house
in Africa and together we made some road trips to the mountains, forests
and national parks. I remember clearly one incident when we were all
staying in Chobe national park in Botswana. My girlfriend and I were
booked into a simple but pleasant wooden shack type affair overlooking
the magnificent Zambezi river, with a very large orange sun setting across
the water. Our door to the love shack was open, letting the cool breeze
of the night come in, when suddenly my heart stopped. Literally. I just
couldn’t believe what I was seeing. A huge male elephant tiptoed through
our camp, just outside our front door. I was speechless and scared all at
13
once. My girlfriend said, “Welcome to Africa.” WOW. I had never seen

this in London!
It was experiences like Africa and France that made me realise
there is actually quite a big world out there if only I opened my eyes and
had the courage to explore it. I realised that the seeds of independence
that my parents had planted in both my sister and me were beginning to
flourish and my interest in the world was gradually increasing as time
passed. For the first time I had the thought that I could actually work and
live abroad. Why not? So long as I had the courage and an open mind to
what could be, I felt I could do a lot more than I had previously thought.
These two trips had quite a big impact on me, in regards to my self-
confidence and broadening my horizons, at least in my mind. I wouldn’t
be the same after Africa and I felt invigorated and inspired because of it.
Of course, all things come to an end, as did this trip, and I
remember coming home and it not being long before I was telling my
parents that I didn’t want to work in London or even live in the UK
any more. I wanted to spread my wings and live abroad. Africa had both
inspired me and given me the confidence to look further afield. London
was too noisy and polluted for me, I didn’t like the fast tempo of it all,
work, work, work, and the commute each day was just the final straw.
Upon hearing all this my Dad began thinking and shortly came
back with a possible alternative. He worked with a man in Belgium who
had a TV facility company renting out television broadcasting equipment
to TV stations. I was intrigued to learn more about the television business
and to see if I could meet this man with a view to working for him,
perhaps as an apprentice. A few weeks passed and before I knew it I was
on a ferry with my Mum, Dad and sister, going to Belgium to meet the
owner of this company. I felt very excited but also quite apprehensive; I
was so happy to have my family with me for moral support.
Marc was his name. A big strong serious business man but a
friendly man too. I could tell by the look in his eyes. Dad and I met with
him in his large office on the top floor. We talked a lot. Marc asked if
I was really serious about living and working here in Belgium. Was I
committed 100% to this collaboration? I was thinking why not, I’ve got
nothing to lose and everything to gain from the experience, so I said yes.
Although I had not given it lots of thought. I was looking for change
and adventure and that is exactly what was knocking on my door. Along
with quite a challenge. Before I knew it Marc offered me a six month
trial period to prove that I was hard working and could learn Dutch. Not
14
French but Dutch, he said. “We are in Flanders not Wallonia; welcome to
Belgium.” Not that I chose Belgium, but I did choose a way out of the UK
to pastures and experiences new and so off I went. I travelled over a few
weeks later. Sometime in October 1991. I was eighteen years old! Can
you imagine? How young I was. Talk about things moving fast, I could
barely keep up! I think all my family were a little in shock at how quickly
this change happened.
Side note: This is Belgium. It’s a little complicated but in the
northern half of the country the Flemish speak Dutch and in the southern
half of Belgium the Walloons speak French. And right in the middle there
is a tiny capital called Brussels, in which the one million people speak
predominantly French.
Before I knew it I was living on my own in a small one bed
apartment, working in a foreign country, paying my own bills, beginning
what I would call my apprenticeship whilst trying to make some new
friends. All really very exciting but also at the same time quite nerve
racking. I felt a little anxious because it was all unknown and at times quite
a challenge to keep my head above water but, as I said, also very exciting.
I had no better alternative to do with my life at the time so I just grabbed
this opportunity with both hands. I did feel amazed at how fast my life
was moving in this completely new direction and all because I had said
‘YES!’. Can you imagine? Have you experienced that before? You say
‘yes’ to something, to an opportunity, and suddenly your life moves in a
completely new direction. It feels good. It feels empowering. The power of
personal choice. Your choice. Not someone else’s!
Well, I was working at a television facility house, not a TV station. The
TV stations were our customers, as I quickly found out. We owned and rented
out the broadcast facilities and TV studios that our customers needed to make
their TV shows. Initially I started off in the TV studio hanging up lighting and
sound for the different talk and game shows. I remember one time recording
a TV show; I was the cable guy following the camera man around the studio
making sure he didn’t trip over the cables attached. Well, we were filming, I
was following the camera man and unexpectedly I tripped over some piece of
stage set and made quite a noise. Then the stage piece fell to the ground and
it was no longer an accident that went unnoticed. The director said ‘cut’. My
face turned red. I needed to go to the toilet. Luckily this particular show wasn’t
being recorded and broadcast ‘live’ so we could do a retake. This was serious
business with serious people spending serious money. No time for expensive
mistakes. I had to learn fast and grow up fast, or else!
15
It wasn’t long until my six months were up and a second meeting

was held where Marc discussed my progress with me and my father. I
was a little nervous, of course, but I went into the meeting knowing I
had at least done my best and given 100% with all the different tasks I
had been given. After some time of talking, Marc spoke up and told us
that, after discussing my work with his business partner, they had decided
there was a job in their company if I was interested. The only condition
was that I must learn Dutch. I personally was eager to stay on and see
where this all might lead to and so I agreed. I received my first contract of
employment for an unlimited period of time or until I or Marc decided to
stop the working agreement. I felt really proud. A professional outsider,
a business owner no less, had deemed my work, my efforts worthy of
their time and money, to keep me on and help me grow and develop. My
parents were very proud too, even though we missed each other a great
deal. That was the sacrifice.
I worked in different departments, the hours were long, sometimes
recording late into the night, but I wasn’t complaining. I liked the place.
It had a good feel about it. Lots of young energetic people enjoying what
they were doing whilst working hard. It felt good. I learnt so much in
such a short space of time, recording at live concerts, broadcasting live
news and sporting events. I was happy there and I had made a couple of
close friends to go out and party with too, so that made it all worthwhile.
During all this time I saw my family every two months, either
in the UK or they came to Belgium, and I saw my friends back in the
UK every three or four months. That was the sacrifice I made and it was
tough, there’s no denying that. I was very young and missed both friends
and family but clearly not enough to come back to London so soon.
After about three years, during my free time at weekends I
started to learn to become a news Sound Engineer. I realised it was the
only logical progression for me onto a career path. A couple of camera
crews agreed to let me come with them on weekends to learn their trade
and after some time I learnt how to record sound for television news.
Simultaneously, it seemed my time there was coming to an end because
of office politics. I was enormously grateful for the opportunity and the
excellent work experience. I did my best so much so that I remained with
the company for a total of three and half years before leaving, and not
before learning to speak Dutch.
Thereafter, I landed a job at Reuters Television in Brussels, as a
freelance Sound Engineer working on news events throughout Western
16
Europe. Although reasonably happy, I was beginning to realise that my

skills and interests lay more with people and the business side of things and
not so much technical engineering. With that in mind I also realised that
if I was to have any career in business I needed an education. I am not a
technically minded person, I am not an engineer. However, I am quite good
with people, situations, relationships and I like numbers, so I had more of
an urge to move into the business side of things. Business and sales, to be
more specific, felt like more of a chemistry match as opposed to technical
engineering. But I quickly realised that if I was serious about this career
direction then I would need some thorough education to fill in the gaps of
knowledge. After some research I enrolled in a university, following night
classes to attain a degree in business and management. It took five years
of night class but I didn’t mind. My work load at the time permitted me to
begin and finance new studies. I loved them and did very well. I was in my
early twenties and felt I was on the right track. I was now settling into my
life in Belgium, getting a higher education, making some good friends and
business contacts and had a nice Belgian girlfriend.
After Reuters my next two jobs were indeed in the business
side of television, renting out broadcast equipment for different
projects and live events such as concerts, sporting events and breaking
news stories. I managed both the commercial relationship with the
customer and project managed the event on location. I enjoyed that
very much and after I graduated from my university I managed to get
a big opportunity to work in the mainstream corporate sector. Initially,
I was hired as a Sales Manager for the Benelux arm of BT Media &
Broadcast, responsible for developing and growing the media business.
I had the choice to move to Amsterdam if I so wished or stay in
Brussels. I chose to stay in Brussels. I was thirty-one and pumped. This
for me was a major career goal. Breaking into the major league, the
large multinational workplace. I believed this to be the ultimate playing
field to grow and develop my skills further. I felt very comfortable in
Brussels and realised that if I were to take on that big new job I needed
all the support I could get, being away from home (from my UK home),
in the form of my close friends and familiar surroundings. Brussels was
home. More importantly to me, it was also the first time in my life that
I could afford to buy a property. This for me was quite an achievement
at my young age. It had taken hard work and a lot of effort to get where
I was in my career right at that point and to afford me this opportunity
to buy an apartment. I decided to stay and buy in Brussels.
17
I managed to find a beautiful brand new apartment in just the

perfect area, right next to the European Community. Perfect for me but
also perfect for renting out if/when I would leave Belgium. It was a brand
new large modern apartment with two bedrooms, two bathroom/toilets, a
massive modern kitchen and living room and a terrace. It was all I could
dream of and I was so proud of myself inside. I was following the career
dream path and after fifteen years of working I had something tangible to
show for it. A beautiful apartment plus an excellent working contract with
all the trimmings. What an achievement I thought. Look at me!
I felt I had it all and felt quite strong and confident about myself
and what I had achieved. A six figure salary when I hit my sales targets,
so an excellent salary (although I lost over half of it in paying taxes), a
beautiful BMW that I just loved. The perks of the corporate way of life,
including all expenses paid travel with clients to fancy events. I would
take my clients to special global sporting events that they loved, such as
the World Cup rugby and Americas Cup sailing. I remember one year, I
managed to get a seat for my client, the CIO (Chief Information Officer)
and myself at the head table with the BT Global Services CEO (Chief
Executive Officer). This in turn helped me further extend our working
partnership and in turn our business with my customer. I was doing well.
Things were going well. I was living the career dream.
After my third year at BT, I got a promotion and was made a
Global Account Manager within BT’s main division, BT Global Services,
selling their full portfolio of IT and telecom services and solutions. For
me this was good progress and quite an achievement. I did feel the change
in pressure financially though. The sales targets were tougher, the sales
cycles were longer, meaning it took longer to sell the product, and the
deals were far more complex. Sales colleagues were often fired if they
didn’t perform. It was definitely a case of ‘you eat what you kill’. And
although I didn’t have a lot of free time due to long hours, international
travel, working with a global team, conference calls at night, I thought I
was doing the right thing. But it was tough!
I tried to balance this pace of work with playing hard too. It’s
just my style – ‘all or nothing’. I partied hard and often with my friends,
going out till the early hours of the morning most weekends, drinking far
too much, often enjoying the company of many girls unless, of course, I
was dating someone.
A year later, I was again promoted to the lofty position of Global
Account Director, the lead person managing one of BT’s global clients.
18
Interfacing with the board level of the company, the CFO (Chief Financial
Officer), and the CIO’s (Chief Information Officer) office and team all
the way through to the gatekeeper at the reception. Networking like crazy
within my customers’ organisations, studying their business, learning their
business challenges and needs. I managed in Europe with the objective
of developing and growing the business by X millions per year. Later my
remit included managing the BT Americas and Asia. As I said, it was a
case of meet your quarterly and annual sales targets or find another job.
It was very competitive indeed but succeeding in that high pressured
business environment excited me. As I mentioned, the sales cycles were
long and complex, not only regarding the solutions I was selling but also
the (personal) agendas of all the stakeholders involved both in BT and the
clients’ organisations. So that was all a big challenge for me but I knew
I could succeed. The reward of closing those large multi-million dollar
deals felt fantastic. I think the success fed my ego. The success made me
feel strong, important, confident and competent. However, for all the long
hours I did, the pay seemed somehow insufficient. I don’t know if I was
greedy or felt I deserved more.
This job was a lot of responsibility for someone in their early
thirties and although things were going very well on the work front, I
began to feel that was not completely the case on the personal front. I
was starting to lose balance in my life, playing less sport, becoming very
impatient with my girlfriend, seeing friends and family less, working
more and getting drunk when I did go out to forget all my stress. And
sometimes I would do the opposite and arrive home late on Friday night
and stay at home the whole weekend and not go out. I was too tired. I
would just sleep, eat and watch TV. Very sad really. Living to work, not
working to live. At the same time I also managed to become an insomniac
due to the stress and worry at work. I lay in bed for an hour or two almost
every night worrying about the problems at work I had to deal with. This
mental anxiety was terrible because it was constant. Throughout the day
and night. I wasn’t able to create a boundary between my work and time
at home. Having a mobile device with email only made matters worse as
I found it hard not to check my email all the time. Not being able to sleep
was the worst though because I would feel terrible the next day and yet
still have to perform. I would often wake up in the morning and feel like
I hadn’t slept because of my constant worrying, and then I had to really
perform at work that day. This whole cycle of events really concerned
me. My lack of sleep, low energy, constant stress and worry. Because a
19
person without a good night’s sleep cannot perform 100%. If you cannot
perform 100% you get into trouble with your work, meaning you can get
fired. You eat what you kill; if you don’t sell, you don’t get to keep your
job. Basically I thought I had the life I wanted, but when I looked at it
more closely I didn’t. This was someone else’s dream, not mine. I just
worked and worked and to escape the pain I just drank, smoked, went out
all hours of the night.
I went to see my doctor about the stress, insomnia and chest
pains. He asked me questions about the level of work I was doing, the
hours, the travel, and asked how much I was resting. Was I doing exercise
or doing any things that I loved to do in my free time? I was honest. I
had to be, otherwise, what’s the point? I told him I didn’t have much free
time and when I did I ate, slept, watched TV or went out with friends
and partied. He looked at me in a very stern serious way and said this:
if I chose to keep this pace of life up, not eating well, not sleeping, no
exercise, long hours at the office, massive amounts of stress, then I would
be on my way to a burn out within the year.
The sad thing was, I couldn’t laugh this off. My doctor knew
me, I knew me and I had almost experienced this burn out situation once
before in a previous job. I know what I needed to do. Turn the pace of
work down, take a break, not take all the responsibility from work home
with me and create a more balanced healthy lifestyle. All easier said than
done. But I didn’t know how. I didn’t know where to begin because I
didn’t know anything else. I suppose I could have got some pills for the
sleep problems but then what next? I chose to leave the sleeping pills
alone and stuck to drinking and smoking instead.
I felt suffocated. Trapped by this vicious circle. If I worked less
I would surely lose my job. But if I continued the same, I would lose my
mind and my health. The amount of work was almost unbearable. And
moving to a competitor in the same sector would be just as challenging
because I would not know the people, systems, products, prices etc. I
would have to prove myself once again during the trial period of three
to six months. And for what? The same money and same stress. What
the hell is it all about?
To make things worse, two of my dearest friends had the courage
to mention something to me, something that I wouldn’t like to hear. My
sister Abbie did this one day when we were alone together at the house.
My parents couldn’t bring themselves to tell me or talk to me about their
concerns for me but my sister could. She said to me that I was changing.
20
I didn’t know what she meant. I was a little perplexed by her remark so
I asked her to elaborate. She also said I was becoming colder and more
calculative in my ways. More aggressive and more manipulative. I had
changed for the worse. I was no longer my fun loving, caring, joyful
self any more but that my work environment had possibly changed me.
Well, this was all news to me. I was too busy making deals to notice or
to even care. So I guess I was becoming a little arrogant and selfish. So
what? Corporate sales is very competitive and cut throat. It takes a strong
character to survive. Coincidently, around the same time, a close friend of
mine, Helena, said something very similar to me one evening. She thought
my newly acquired wealth and status had made me somewhat arrogant, to
the extent that I was sometimes not even nice to be with, especially when I
was drunk. She said I was changing and sometimes I was not very good to
be around. What?
I will be honest. I really didn’t like what I heard and somehow,
somewhere deep inside me, their words hurt me. On the one hand it
shocked me and on the other it scared me a little that I could be changing
for the worse. I did realise I had become ultra-assertive, to the point
where I would almost bully someone if I didn’t get my way at work or
wherever. I know for a fact, due to my doing less sport, I had more pent
up aggression inside me that I had not let out and yet needed to. Perhaps
my changing was another reason why I wasn’t having a lot of luck with
long term relationships. I don’t know why. Perhaps too focused on my
work. My parents said they felt it had become like walking on eggshells
sometimes when they were around me. When I entered the room at family
holidays the atmosphere changed and you could cut the air with a knife.
Sleeping on this, reflecting on this, I saw it as a wake up call. An alarm
bell. Luckily so!
Rather curiously, just before all this I had actually started to
question my work, my hours, what I was doing work wise and why. And
more importantly, for whom! For me, or for someone else, for society,
peers, for my ego, my status, for whom? Was it really all for me? Did
I want all this? Was I still that happy? I began to have some strange
feelings arise inside me, feelings such as, am I doing the right thing
now in my life? Or, what’s it all about? I don’t know where they came
from but they slowly began to rise to the surface more and more. They
often came when I would lie awake in bed when I was experiencing
insomnia. Not very cool at all. Cracks were starting to show. I was
getting a little worried about questioning myself. I think because my
21
work was very tough, the hours very long, I was losing balance in my
life outside of business and possibly losing touch with myself. Who was
I? What did I want from life? Did I want this? I genuinely felt I was
giving far more than I was receiving back from the organisation as far as
support and money went and I think this triggered my questioning. My
happiness was subsiding and my work was becoming all-consuming
and less fulfilling.
With all these feelings bubbling up inside me I had then received
two very personal comments from two people very close to me but living
in different countries, effectively saying that I was changing for the
worse. It was a shock. I felt they were saying this to me from a position
of love and care for me, not malice, but I honestly didn’t know what to
make of it all. Was I turning into an arsehole?
Financially, materially, I was succeeding; this was true. This is
what I was supposed to do, right? I had followed the rules of society and
was making material progress, accumulating stuff, acquiring wealth. And
all at such a young age. But at the same time I began to see all was not
well deep down inside me. I was feeling discontent. Empty. A void was
growing inside me. But I didn’t know why.
I had been working very hard and hadn’t realised it yet, but I
was near burn out. On top of this, deep inside in my heart I felt unhappy.
Lost. Confused. Dissatisfied and unfulfilled, to be precise. I could not
understand why. I found this all very strange. I had done everything that
society deemed would make me happy and successful and yet I was
unhappy deep inside. Can you tell me why? I had the loving family,
the education, the career job, the financial success, the apartment with
all its modern trappings, a girlfriend, fast car, good health. Everything,
supposedly, to be happy, but something was not right. I had this feeling
of unhappiness, unease, discontentment, and for quite a while. For the
previous two years that feeling had been there inside me, popping up
occasionally. Raising its head up as if to say, ‘hello, it’s me, is anybody
listening, is anybody home? Have you forgotten about me? I am your
gut feeling, your intuition, you need me, hello’. I either didn’t realise it
or, probably more accurately, chose to ignore it, thinking, hoping those
feelings would go away. My intuition was hidden under the surface of all
the noise that was going on in my life. All that noise helped dumb down
the pain of feeling empty and unsatisfied. Unfulfilled. I was scared. This
began to really trouble me more and more. Why this change in me? What
was happening to me?
22
Chapter 3
The burn out. The Crisis.
‘God, grant me the serenity to Accept the things I cannot change, Courage
to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference.’
The Serenity Prayer
It was November 2006 (I’m 34) when I finally broke down. It was 10
o’clock on Saturday night. I was sitting on my sofa in my apartment on
my own, waiting for a taxi to go out and meet my friends. I was going out
for the usual dinner, drinks, dancing, get wasted evening when I basically
began to break down. I was feeling really upset and angry. Upset because
I wasn’t happy with what I was doing with my life. I felt my life was
useless, I felt frustrated. Frustrated that I was not doing something that I
really cared about. I was losing the hunger to constantly chase the carrot,
chase new business deals. The pay off, the financial pay off, was beginning
to mean less and less to me. I was sad because I thought I was wasting my
time somehow. Wasting my life. Sad because I couldn’t believe this was
my life. What I had supposedly chosen. I felt lost.
That was it right there and then. It started very slowly at first. I began
to cry on my sofa. Then I started asking questions out loud, tears streaming
down my face. Shouting, swearing at the ceiling. These were my exact words
while tears were welling up in my eyes and falling down my cheeks: “What
the hell am I doing with my life? Surely this is not all that I am supposed to
do with my life? What the hell am I doing here? This sales job, is that it?
What bullshit! I cannot believe this. If that’s the case and this is my life, it’s
complete bullshit and I am not interested in it any more! I want nothing more
to do with it. Keep it!” I sat there crying, sobbing. I was totally distraught.
23
Honestly, I was not even sure where all this had come from; it
took me by surprise a little. Perhaps less the sentiments but certainly
the outburst of anger and sadness. Obviously the feelings had been there
inside me for a while, but now I had reached a certain point I recognised
them and now these feelings and emotions were being voiced by me.
That unhappiness had been welling up over the previous couple of years
and at that moment I had actually acknowledged it openly, at least, at
that moment, to myself. I faced these feelings squarely in the eyes and
I tell you I knew at that moment things could never be the same again
in my life. It was the depths of my soul speaking and my ego could no
longer enable or allow me to ignore these gut feelings and emotions of
unhappiness and discontentment. If things did remain the same after that
evening then I knew I would be living a lie and become deeply unhappy
with my life choices. I could no longer ignore what I felt inside, somehow
things had to change. It was a struggle; on the one hand, with my head,
following what I was supposed to do according to the outside world
and its expectations – the corporate career, fulfilling the expectations of
peers, friends, family. On the other hand, my heart was starting to make
stronger and stronger impressions upon me about what I would like to
do, I mean really like to do, with my life. When I let myself listen, my
intuition began to become stronger and clearer as I focused my attention
upon it. It manifested itself in the form of feelings, gut feelings. As it
does for us all, I guess. It scared me because of the confusion that set in.
Well, supposed confusion. On the one hand there was peer pressure from
other people expecting me to rise up in my career and keep going. On
the other hand there was my heart, my true self, listening to my intuition,
my inner guidance to do things differently. Of course, I guess there is no
confusion, you must always follow your heart and your intuition, but I
didn’t know that or I was too scared to follow my intuition. I was never
formally taught that at school. It was more of an innate feeling that I
should listen to my heart. I guess the trick is aligning your mind to your
heart’s ambition so it serves you well, thereby avoiding internal conflict.
I think alignment is key but it does take courage. Confidence and belief
in trusting yourself and your intuition – your inner guidance.
Even if I carried on my successful unhappy corporate life, I
would not be the same ever again. I was going to become sadder, more
depressed and more lost. Or I could decide to take action, engage my
willpower and make a change. Either way I knew my life would not be
the same from that point on. Why? Because I felt I had crossed a line, a
24
3. The burn out. The crisis
point of no return, at least in terms of self-awareness. Purely because I

had openly faced myself and admitted that my so called career path was
not making me happy; in fact the opposite was slowly becoming true and
right then I had squarely acknowledged it to myself.
I was partly in shock because I had been led to believe from my
schooling, from my peers, from society, that if you got a job, then a career,
and earned lots of money you would be happy. It was a definite, society
said. I didn’t know what exactly but something fundamental was missing
from that life strategy that I had been fed and that I had bought. I was not
getting the happiness I thought I should get from the big TV screen, or the
beautiful BMW standing outside and the six figure salary. I didn’t know why.
I carried no blame towards anyone. They had good intentions to set me off
on a good direction and excellent career path. My parents giving me all the
unconditional love and support I needed to be independent. I just didn’t have
the courage, wisdom or maturity to listen to my heart at that time. I just
listened to the constant, often fear based, dialogue in my head. I hadn’t learnt
to listen to my heart. Therein lies the problem! Therein lies the truth!
My taxi arrived, so I pulled myself together and without thinking
any more about it I went out that night, hit the town with my friends,
got completely wasted and escaped reality as usual. A normal weekend
in a dysfunctional world. I woke up the next morning feeling like shit
and empty, but this time I had to reflect on the previous night’s event. I
felt quite scared, to be honest, because I had to face up to all that I had
become aware of, all the things I shouted out loud last night. I now had
to re-think my life’s direction if I was not to live a lie. Aside from feeling
shit I was now left with picking up the pieces of the previous night’s
eruption. Did I still feel the same inside this morning? Did my soul still
feel unquenched? Was it all real? I could not deceive myself, I could
not lie to or cheat myself any longer. I had to live with me so I guess I
couldn’t cheat me. That would be pointless. It would only lead to more
problems. I had to be honest to myself and that meant having a good,
long, hard look at my life, what I was doing, why, for whom? Was this
what I wanted from my life or was something major going to change?
25
Chapter 4
A light went on…to a new perspective.
‘You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it.
You must learn to see the world anew.’
Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist, 1879–1955
It is a total understatement to say that this was a very unsettling time in

my life. All the foundations that I had built up over the last fifteen years,
some of my main life values and beliefs that I had relied upon, were
crumbling away at a rapid rate. Beliefs such as I must accumulate stuff,
things, wealth in order to be happy, were beginning to be put in question
and doubted for the very first time. I felt angry, cheated and betrayed,
like I should have been told this by some person wiser than myself. I
spent all my life, my time, money and energy, to reach this point in my
career, in my life and I no longer knew what it was all about. Except that I
wanted no part of this rat race life any more. I honestly no longer believed
what I was being sold by society. The Rat Race is us constantly working,
like a rat running on a wheel in its cage. The Rat Race is London, New
York, Tokyo, Delhi. Any large city on the planet today. It’s a place where
everyone is running in the same direction, competing to be first for the
same prize, which is the money, the job, the salary. Like many rats running
in a field, competing to get a small piece of cheese at the other end. The
Rat Race in our world is us all competing in whichever sector we work
– IT, Advertising, Media, Finance – fighting for the limited number of
employee jobs on offer. Crumbs we are given in the form of an employee
salary for doing a job, which half the time we don’t even like. A constant
26
4. A light went on...to a new perspective.
fear driven goal of financial survival or, more truthfully put, financial
slavery. Serfdom. A goal, a way of life that inspires greed, competition,
fear and aggression simply because there are more people than employee
jobs. Because consolidation of the competition by large corporations in
the name of profit is the ultimate objective. Did I really plan to work like
crazy during the best years of my life and for someone else? Was this
my conscious choice? Honestly? Did I believe a good job, nice flat, lots
of money would make me happy, because it did not. I thought that there
must be something else, something deeper, more profound perhaps, that
I did not know about. That I had not been taught or had missed in my
education. Some knowledge of sorts, some wisdom perhaps that existed
but I was missing or had not been made aware of. At this point I had no
clue. I felt lost. Totally lost and deceived.
During the days that followed I had a lot of thoughts of doubt
in my mind. Doubt regarding what I was taught at school, that to be
forever competitive, winning, always striving to be number one, was
indeed the way forward and a valid belief. Doubt regarding whether
employers or politicians really had the best interests of the employees or
citizens at heart. More importantly, doubt that happiness could be gained
from outside of me by acquiring status or things by consuming, as I was
taught to believe. Is this competitive, individualistic, all-consuming rat
race concept really in the best interests of human beings and the planet? I
didn’t have answers but I did have questions and I wanted them answered.
I did not speak about this incident to anyone for about a week. I
just felt numb inside, like my body and mind were not functioning. I was
in shock. I felt sad and lost. After some time had passed and I had begun
to digest the past weekend’s events I began to feel that I did want to talk to
somebody about this traumatic personal experience. I decided to talk with
my sister Abbie and a very close friend, Shahram. I explained the whole
event to both Abbie and Shahram and the feelings I had been having those
last couple of years. This was not new to Abbie. She had known already,
for a long time, that I was unhappy, that I was on the verge of burning out
due to my work. That I had changed and become more cold, calculating
and manipulative. Not myself. I was no longer the fun loving, adventurous,
good natured Luke that I always used to be. I had changed for the worse
and now something deep inside had also changed, that being my growing
awareness and acknowledgement of my unhappiness. Even my physical
well being was showing signs of heavy stress and strain through continuous
coughing and insomnia. I didn’t know what the hell was going on with me.
27
Well, Shahram handed me a book called The Celestine Prophecy by James

Redfield and said I had to read it and see if anything came up after having
read it. Well, I thought, I had nothing to lose. I’ll try anything, especially
reading a book.
I started reading The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield and
as I did big lights began to go on in my head. Concepts that were being
described, that I had never heard before, resonated strongly inside me.
An example of this would be that everything, so that means all matter,
you, me, plants, animals, oceans, stars, planets, the universe, all are made
of dynamic energy. The differences in frequency of the vibration of the
energy determine how the energy manifests itself – either in solid form,
liquid, gas, sound or light and so on. I found out that modern science
agrees with this, that at the quantum molecular layer everything is energy.
Wow. Did you know that? I didn’t.
That we too are all connected to this energy. That this energy,
often referred to as ‘universal life force’ or ‘divine intelligence’, pervades
the body and gives it life. Without it the body would be just a corpse. I also
read that in China this energy is known as ‘Chi’ and in India as ‘Prana’ and
apparently these are the beliefs of more than ninety cultures around the
world today. In addition, that everything is interconnected. Meaning that
nothing can exist on its own but is dependent upon other things, beings
and environments for its existence. That it is this mechanical thinking
Western mind that wants to dissect everything to understand it. This same
mind still has not fully grasped the bigger picture of everything at its core
being made up of energy and interconnected. Furthermore, that our lives
are full of signs, mysterious coincidences and synchronistic encounters
that seem destined to guide us along our way. By listening to our intuition
and interpreting the signs we are led on to our individual paths. Wow!
Amazing, I thought. It all made sense to me.
This is what struck me when I read this book and later wrote
down in my journal. The notion of energy, that we are all connected and
not entirely alone. That there is a growing consciousness among human
beings today that they are beginning to evolve and listen more closely
to their intuition. Especially in the materialistic West, where we are
currently in a dark age of being conditioned to consume everything in
sight to attain so called happiness. It was my first ever spiritual book and
the seeds of wisdom were being planted. It was priceless. From that week
on, the book, the wisdom gleaned set me on a new course of research and
discovery in my life for which today I am truly grateful.
28
These concepts, ways of looking at the world, beliefs, were all

new to me, my logical business brain, my societal, cultural background.
I must tell you it made a lot of sense to me on a deeper level within.
Somewhere inside me these messages resonated strongly. Almost as
though I knew it was the truth after having read only one book about
these two concepts. That all matter in its purest form is energy and that
everything is linked, interconnected.
At the same time it sparked an excitement inside me. A curiosity.
A curiosity to explore my life and newer ways of looking at my life. This
new way of looking at the world shone a light on my own personal crisis.
It made me think a lot about completely new things that I had never
thought of before. It gave me more perspective to making me realise there
is more to life than just a career as a means to an end to consume. What an
eye opener! This new knowledge that now became my awareness made
me realise that I should indeed listen to my intuition, that guiding inner
voice. I shouldn’t ignore it or be fearful of it. To the contrary, it was my
friend and for my benefit. For the benefit of all. It was an all important
guide, and I realise that now because when I think back to times when
I have ignored my intuition, almost always afterwards I regret it. Do
you know what I mean? Have you experienced that? When you had a
gut feeling to choose one way, you ignored it, went the other way and
then later wished you had listened to your inner feeling, your intuition.
I always wish I had listened to my intuition and chosen that choice. A
very interesting observation, I thought. I made a mental note that from
this point onwards I would always try to listen to my intuition. Where
possible I would try to have the courage to follow my heart. I would
see what results that might lead to, even for small things. For example,
whether I wanted to go out or not. Whether I wanted to buy this fruit
or that. Just simply practising listening to my inner voice. I thought, of
course, that this could and should apply to big things in my life like my
chosen career path! I mean, if intuition is my connection with all that is,
then why not follow it? What did I have to lose?
It intrigued me to learn more so I started to read some other books
on the subject of spirituality. Whatever I could find. Caroline Myss, Deepak
Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, Wayne Dwyer, Louise Hay. Anything I could get
my hands on. Meanwhile I did keep this all to myself. OK, I was beginning
to look at the world through a different lens, with a different attitude, but I
kept my head down for now and did my job while I learnt and acquired new
information on these new concepts.
29
Interestingly, at the same time my relationship with Shahram

began to deepen. He was what I would describe as a very spiritual person.
He told me how he had been on his path for a few years now and was
happy to talk with me. Shahram also really helped me along my way,
guiding me in what books I might like to read, talking with me at length
about all the different concepts and meanings that explained about the
world we live in. He became a very important spiritual guide and friend
to me and still is to this day. I would read a book and then we would
discuss at length the different thoughts, points and ideas being presented.
Shahram was invaluable, and I will say this now – when you are in the
same starting period of your spiritual journey it might be useful, and
important, to have a more senior experienced spiritual person as a guide
to help you, answer questions and help guide you. Of course, if that is not
possible that does not mean stop and discontinue your enquiry, it might
just mean things may take a little longer for you to fully understand. Or
you may feel strange that it’s only you thinking these thoughts, which, of
course, within the bigger picture, is not true.
I started to see the world in a very different light. From a different
perspective. Not a religious perspective, not an atheist perspective, but
a spiritual perspective. A perspective of being true to my authentic self,
my soul, not my ego. Of listening more seriously to my inner guidance,
my intuition for direction, not the outside world and people’s opinions.
Of beginning to realise I needed something more fulfilling from life than
just money. Seeing coincidences as having meaning, becoming aware of
synchronicity, two or more events that may appear unrelated but are in fact
related and do have meaning. That I should focus more on what I want and
not on what I don’t want, whilst being guided from within.
Alchemy, change, was beginning to take place within me. I began
to see and learn about a new side of me. A side of me that was growing
and evolving. That started to pay more attention to my heart, my intuition.
My inner guidance. It may not have been completely new in the sense
that it could have always been there before; however, it was only now that
I was starting to pay attention to this side of me. My intuitive side. An
example was about to present itself shortly in the form of an opportunity
to travel to Brazil. It felt right from the start, but I slept on the idea for a
few days. After about a week the idea still resonated strongly with me and
I had always wanted to visit Brazil. You will read what transpired after that
decision. It contributed to changing the course of my life, but it’s amazing
what happens in your life when you say YES to things that feel right.
30
This was extremely interesting and exciting. It was the beginning

of a new dawn of not only being guided from within as opposed to by
the outside world, but of many things. I knew it right then at the time; I
would never be the same. I would never see life the same. It’s impossible
to change once you start beginning to understand certain dynamics about
the world we live in and your potential role in it.
So, although I continued to do my job I began to feel and
then soon to realise I could not remain in this sector for the rest of
my life. Although IT and telecoms was a growing fast moving sector
and I am a professional always giving a 100% if not more, something
was opening up inside me that was now out of my control to a certain
extent. An awareness and change. Possibly a transformation. That
said, I was able to strike a certain balance, being very focused and
applied at work, and in my free time, in the evenings, I would read
and write my thoughts. I wouldn’t call it a struggle between two sides
but more a co-existence, at least for the time being. At least until I had
created a situation where I could evoke that change I wanted; but that,
I suspected, might be some time away.
The change happening in me felt like a flower in spring
opening up to the warmer longer days of sunshine; it just continues to
open each day and there is nothing you can do to stop it. It’s nature’s
way. Evolution. However slow that process might be, you can’t stop
it once it has started. Once the seeds of (self) awareness have been
planted. I realise only ignorance and fear stop or impede such seeds
from being planted, taking root and blossoming into full awareness.
Small changes were certainly taking place inside me; my awareness,
thoughts, feelings were slowly changing. For example I tried Reiki for
the first time. I would never have tried such a healing as that in the
past. (I will explain what Reiki is later in the book.) I read a flyer about
Reiki at the hairdresser’s and just had a feeling I should try it, so I
called the person and made an appointment. I met a lovely girl who
told me about her travels in India and how she learnt Reiki there, which
I found super interesting. She explained to me the principles of how
Reiki works, using or transmitting the universal energy by placing her
intention and attention upon the flow of energy from and through her
hands into me. She performed the Reiki healing for about an hour and
thereafter during the days that followed I sincerely felt revitalised and
reenergised. Cynics might call it a placebo effect, others call it energy.
Well, it certainly felt hot wherever she placed her hands.
31
I was happy about this new openness of mine and I embraced

it although I did not know where it might lead to. I didn’t hold onto
any fear I might have felt, I let go, relinquished control and embraced
the unknown of where this evolutionary change in me would take me. It
was exhilarating. And I only had my sister and Shahram to talk to at this
point, but that was enough. My other friends didn’t appear to be spiritual,
they were too busy working in the stock market and the corporate ladder,
too busy getting drunk to notice any changes that might be happening in
them. To be fair, we all were at the time, including me. Our focus was on
earning lots of money, fast cars, loose woman and plenty of intoxicants.
Well, why not? That’s the recipe to happiness in life, is it not? Attain
our state of happiness through external pleasures. That’s what we in the
West, and even some now in the East, aspire to, is it not? Certainly it is
in our twenties; the question is, whether that possibly harmful behaviour
continues on into our thirties, forties and the rest of our lives.
32
Chapter 5
Brazil, drawing a line in the sand.
‘Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.’

Neale Donald Walsch, Writer and Spiritual Teacher, 1943–To Date

I was still working stupid hours at work despite my recent realisations.

It had been an extremely tough year at work and I needed a break. I was
thinking of Brazil. It was now October 2007, almost a year on from my burn
out that Saturday night in November. Now I had received a promotion. I
wasn’t aware of it, but this was the last thing my health needed. To deliver
a large IT outsourcing contract with the support of a team, but I had neither
the correct nor right amount of resources. I was caught slap bang in the
middle between my customer, my team and my employer and was going
through a seriously hard time. So much so that during that period of time
the turnover of the team was so high due to the stress of the work, I was
the sole person who remained constant on the account until the day I left.
At the same time I was still getting a lot of pains in my chest so
I went to see the doctor again, even though I think deep down I realised
there was little he could do. He couldn’t give me a pill to solve a health
issue that was related to my lifestyle. Well, the doctor told me quite
plainly that these high levels of stress were detrimental to my health and
completely unsustainable. He was greatly concerned about my insomnia
and the physical pains in my chest and heart. He said I should take a more
philosophical view to my work, not get so emotionally involved with
it, but take distance. He also said I needed a break or I would burn out.
It came across like a kind of subtle order or ultimatum. I think he was
actually genuinely concerned for my health. I probably wasn’t the first
33
case of corporate sickness he had witnessed. And wouldn’t be the last.

But he knew the short and the long term remedies. A holiday in the short
term and a change of pace and lifestyle in the long term.
Well, I thought, that was easy for him to say and he was right. I
know. But when you have a large customer spending millions of dollars
on services that you have sold to him and you manage these services
for his business, you need to get everything just right, even if your own
organisation makes your life difficult. My customer was not difficult;
however, it was painfully clear that we were having a lot of trouble
delivering what had been promised contractually. And although at the
time I had, amazingly, managed to stop smoking after 15 years by reading
Allen Carr’s famous book Easy way to Stop Smoking, I was not really
well, either physically, mentally or emotionally. Corporate sales is a very
tough game. It pays well, if you manage to close some deals, which I
was able to do, but the side effects of that intense level of stress for me
were insomnia and pains in my chest. Basically I was becoming a bit of a
nervous wreck. Furthermore, I previously mentioned that my family and
close friends told me I had changed from being a nice fun loving person
to a cold manipulative person. If I am being honest, I knew I had changed
over the past two or three years. I would go to bed each night, my head
racing with all the problems I would have to solve at work the next day
or week. So much so that it would take me an hour or more just to get to
sleep. My body as tense as a wound up spring.
Finally I did decide to take a break. Brazil was calling me.
I needed one, that’s for sure. It was time for my annual leave. Three
weeks away from the office. Great. I didn’t feel guilty one bit. I felt I
had earned every right to take a break. I was starting to feel angry that
my calls for help at work were not being taken seriously enough. So I
thought a break now would be perfect. Let them manage without me
and find out exactly how much fire fighting I was actually doing. It is
easy to be made to feel guilty by peers, bosses, employers for leaving
your post to have a holiday. I don’t believe in being shamed one bit. I
don’t think it’s selfish at all. A holiday or a break is vital to keep one
sane and balanced so you can struggle on. Although at this pace I was
just postponing the onset of inevitable poor health and burn out. But
I knew I had to take a break. No one else aside from my family and
doctor would encourage it. The work ethic was too strong. The horse
in Animal Farm by George Orwell comes to mind when he is always
saying to himself in regard to his boss, the pig: ‘I must work harder, I
34
5. Brazil, drawing a line in the sand.
must work faster’. That’s how it is in corporate life. I believe we are

all too often made to feel like what we do is never enough, that the
ridiculous pace of life never stops and if we try to have a break or slow
down we may be punished for not working hard enough.
I think I was reaching a tipping point. A point of burning out. But
there was something else going on inside me at the same time during all
this stress and anxiety. My heart, my intuition, even my body was saying,
‘how long are going to keep this false struggle on for before something
actually breaks in you?’ and my mind was now coming round to this point
of, ‘why am I doing all this for so much pain? For whom? Why?’ To be
honest I didn’t have a decent answer, which worried me. Simultaneously
that made me realise that something had to change. If I had lost sight
of why I was doing these long hours and putting in all this effort. Was
this a sign? A sign to wake up and question what I was doing and why. I
didn’t know; but I did know that I desperately needed some time out of
the wheel to think about my life. Although I was now beginning to listen
to my intuition, my inner guidance, I was still putting myself through this
punishing corporate pace. Something had to change.
So, as I mentioned, there was an opportunity for me to go to
Brazil. I was speaking to a friend about my needing a holiday and he
suggested we go to Brazil together. I am not sure I would have gone alone,
possibly too scared, but my friend assured me together we’d be just fine.
He had been to Brazil four or five times already. He loved the country
and spoke Portuguese. He always spoke so fondly of the Brazilian people
and their culture. So I said YES! Sun, sea, surf and Caipirinhas. Hell,
yeah! We booked our plane tickets and left a few weeks later. I was on
my privileged three week annual leave. Grateful and shattered.
The large majority of Brazilians I saw seemed quite poor;
however, their love for music and life itself seemed extremely strong.
This passion for living life simply brings them up above the hardship
of having very difficult poverty stricken lives. Music appeared to me to
be very firmly in their heart and soul; I saw it and heard it everywhere. I
was quite frankly amazed. I had never come across this type of attitude
to life before. Beautiful. Brazil itself is a very colourful country with
fertile green landscapes, clear blue waters with golden cream sandy
beaches. I just felt so happy and relieved to be away from it all. Hearing
a different language being spoken, tasting delicious fruit I had never even
seen before. Drinking fresh coconut milk on the beach. I would even say
there is a layer of sexual energy in the air. The Brazilians seem very alive
35
and sexual, not prudish or shy but exciting. All these new sights, sounds,
tastes only served to build my curiosity and appetite further, to take that
step towards fulfilling a life long dream of mine, to travel the world.
I bumped into other foreigners on my holiday, travellers who were
not there for three weeks but nine months! Nine months, I thought, how
is that even possible? I couldn’t believe it. That’s a long time. I was very
envious to say the least. I thought to myself that I would just love to travel
like that one day but somehow I was trapped in this rat race, locked into
this career path. It had been a dream of mine since I was seventeen to travel
again, since my two trips (France and Africa). But now I would never be
allowed the time away from work. It seems that once you start your career
you somehow get ‘locked in’ to it and if you should choose to take a break
you are looked at in distain. What the hell! Why not take a break?
One sunny day on the beach I had been busy following one of
my passions, surfing. I surfed my ass off all morning, caught some waves,
had a nice lunch and then chilled on the beach and started writing in
my journal. It was one of those occasions that when I wrote, pages and
pages came pouring out of me. I often write what I think and feel. I don’t
write much about day to day stuff unless I feel it’s important. So I started
to write about how I felt being here in Brazil on this beautiful beach,
looking out over the great blue ocean, the waves, the golden sand with
these wonderful vibrant people, whilst also reflecting on my life back
home. The quiet people, all closed up, living half lives. Again I started to
have feelings welling up inside me of discontent, dissatisfaction, of being
unhappy with the direction my life was going. Corporate, corporate,
corporate. Boring, boring, boring comes to mind. No life came to mind.
Honestly, I felt like just another cog in the wheel. No one important, just
an expendable number. I really felt like I was giving more than I was
benefiting. It didn’t feel good. It didn’t feel right.
It was right here sitting on the beach, listening to music, writing
in my journal when I got this strong feeling inside me. A strong feeling
of wanting change. Wanting to take charge of my life. Of personally,
consciously instigating change in my life. Not have someone inflict change
upon me but me deciding what change I would make. I wanted to travel.
That is what I felt I wanted to do. And I just knew that if I did not act
upon my strong feelings of wanting to travel around the world, well then,
I would live with regret for the rest of my life. This thought struck me like
a bolt of lighting. This is my life. It’s short, it’s precious. It’s not a dress
rehearsal. It was my life, no one else’s. Simple as that. I thought to myself,
36
if I took this decision to make this big change, it could be one of the best
decisions of my life and who knows how many new opportunities may
come from it. But how curious, I thought, these are contrasts. This could
have become the biggest regret in my life. It was the hardest decision I
ever had to take up until now. And yet it was potentially the best decision
in my life. I pondered this for a while. This was a massive decision that
I could take whenever I wanted to in a split second, like NOW. It would
completely change my entire life forever. Wow. How exciting. So right
there and then, on the beach in Brazil, I took the decision that would change
my life forever. I would leave everything I knew behind. Everything I had
built up I would leave behind to explore the world! Wow. I felt exhilarated,
like shouting, telling someone of my courageous plan.
There was no one around, so I wrote in my diary. I would research
what it would take both financially and in other matters to take a career
break and travel around the world. This was momentous. Huge. Writing
it on paper made my decision seem more real. I had drawn a line in the
sand so to speak. Starting from here, things would be different in my life.
I was really beginning to feel I could change my life. Really, start to take
control of the direction of my life. Start to think about why I am doing
something and whether it feels right or makes me happy. Not seeking or
needing approval from other people or doing what others expect me to
do. People-pleasing. I felt extremely happy and excited inside about this
decision. Almost jumpy. It’s like I had finally acknowledged that I had all
this drama in my life (my crisis leading to awareness) but that I was no
longer prepared to live with this discontentment in my life. Something had
to change and now I was facing it head on, with the intention of taking
action to change my situation and my life. It felt good, empowering.
Like I was going to try to start afresh, a new start but this time I would
consciously make the decisions that felt right by me. Not knowing what
the future would bring, which in itself I found very exciting, but just
being conscious and present about each and all decisions I would make
now and knowing why I made these decisions. Knowing the motivator
behind the decision was my heart, my true self, not my ego. For my life
and my better future. That felt good.
From then on in, using my spiritual teachings on the Law of
Attraction, I applied and focused my thoughts and intentions to my wish
to travel. (The Law of Attraction states, what you focus your mind and
energy upon, good or bad, you will attract into your life. Like attracts
like.) I would see for myself, test for myself my understanding of
37
intentional thoughts. See whether this universal law really is true and
whether it really does work. OK, so I have this strong feeling in my heart
to travel, to explore the world. This feeling won’t go away. It is far deeper
than a whimsical desire or craving so now I shall see if there are any signs
within my environment that guide me along this new path. If there are I
shall follow them, meanwhile being a good little corporate lamb, doing
my job to the best of my ability. No harm in that and no one will know but
I must remain open to any and all signs that could help me with this huge
change I wish to make in my new life. So I did. How did I do this, you
might be asking. I was taking note, being very present and becoming very
aware of all conversations, events and situations that I was having with
people over the coming weeks and months. Listening and looking out
for signs, messages, asking the right questions of people I met (have you
ever travelled? how did you make it happen? etc.) and seeing what was in
their answers. Having a philosophy of remaining open to everything, all
invitations, thoughts and suggestions, etc. and filtering only on what felt
right, seeing where it led me. Of course, if something felt wrong I didn’t
follow up. This is how I did it. Testing in real life this spiritual theory
of universal intelligence, that we are not alone and that we co-create by
having clear intentions and focus coming from the heart and looking for
the signs to guide me on my way! Aligning my mind with my heart’s
intention and getting my willpower into action. Using my mind to tackle
any and all obstacles, solve problems. Having the courage and willpower
to follow through. Aligning my mind and will power to my heart, my
inner guidance, my true self. Wow. This was all rather new for me. It
was very unsettling to begin with. This new way to approach life and the
world, from the inside out. From my true self and not my ego.
A coincidence or a sign?
I arrived back from my holiday feeling good, relaxed but also
with purpose. I may have been coming back to the same routine but I was
coming back with a very different perspective. Although, sadly, it didn’t
take me long to get back into the rat race treadmill again and at full speed.
I think a couple of days max, and yet I had just been away for three weeks
and certainly managed to properly disconnect from corporate life for at
least half of that. Frightening. And I know it’s not the first time either that
I get sucked back in so quickly after a long break. It’s really messed up
and I know how some of you feel. You come back from an amazing break,
feeling alive, invigorated, inspired even to do some things differently in
38
your life, then you get sucked back into the inertia of the wheel, the rat
race where creativity and inspiration are stifled by rules, conditioning
politics and fear. I know it’s the world over, but I believe we all would
feel differently about this if we were doing something we loved and were
passionate about and not just living to work to get money to pay bills
and have a little bit of saving money. Making the fat cats richer. What
bullshit! Well, I was coming back this time not only reenergised, but,
more importantly, with renewed purpose, to research my world travel.
The following week I was invited out for a drink with some
colleagues, so, in keeping with my work ethic, I said yes. That evening I
chatted to lots of different colleagues about how amazing Brazil is. One girl,
whom I had had little contact with, overheard me telling my holiday stories
and asked if I would share with her, she was interested to learn more about
Brazil. I retold my adventures, then I started to tell her how I had met these
guys from the UK who were travelling in South America for nine months and
how absolutely jealous I was. She listened with intent and then replied to me
with something that left my jaw open. So why don’t you take a break too, she
asked? A career break. She told me that the Belgian government had a scheme
whereby an employee, if they have worked a minimum of three years with
the same company, could take between three and twelve months’ paid leave
and come back after the career break and be legally due to receive the same
job, financial package etc., with no exceptions. Five years with the same
employer and you get offered a little more financial support. My goodness!
I could not believe my ears. I had never heard of such a scheme. Regardless,
I started calculating. In three months’ time, in January 2008, I would have
been with BT five years! I was speechless. I couldn’t believe this. I felt a
natural high coming on immediately. I tried to stop myself bouncing off the
walls with premature joy. Silence suddenly came upon. Was this a sign, I
wondered? Just as it was described in The Celestine Prophecy. Conspiring
to help me on my path. I didn’t know but I was so intrigued to learn more. I
wanted to leave instantly, go online and research this employment law.
That night I couldn’t sleep, but this time it wasn’t due to stress but
excitement at being alive. I could hardly believe what my colleague had
shared with me. I guess that’s why I have been paying 50%-plus tax on my
income in this country these last few years, which I know is wrong, but this
news could make it more digestible. This was a ‘sign’ and I had to follow
up with action. The colleague sent me the link to the government website
and I downloaded the document. I had a quick look and it seemed quite
interesting. It mentioned the things she spoke of, like the time allowed off
39
work. I printed it out, put it in my briefcase to read at the weekend.

I spoke to both my sister and Shahram that weekend. I told them
about my great time in Brazil, mentioned privately that I had give some
serious thought to leaving it all behind and really travelling around the
world. I would not just ‘talk’ about it but would research it. I also mentioned
the drink and chat with my colleague last week just to see their reaction.
How funny, they both said immediately the same thing. “Oh Luke, it’s a
sign, honestly, you must look further into that, really. It sounds like the way
forward to get you onto your path. How exciting. You must go for it and
follow it up.” I didn’t expect they both would take me and the conversation
with that girl so seriously. I guess they knew I was so unhappy.
Shahram even started saying something about intentional
thoughts, which I didn’t fully understand. That I must focus my attention
on my intention. With my intentional thoughts I can influence the outside
environment. That where attention goes, energy flows. This was a
very similar message to what I had just read in my book on holiday. I
suppose you might call it a little coincidence. It was all a bit much for
me to take in and I wasn’t entirely sure what he meant. This concept of
intentional thought, I mean. But, hey, I was definitely going to check out
the government document and go from there. At least see where it led to.
I had nothing to lose, everything to gain and wanted to remain open to
all possibilities. I also wanted to test this spirituality perspective and see
if it really works. Well, now was as good a time as any to test this. I was
considering completely uprooting and changing my whole life. I wanted
to see first hand whether I could get so called ‘guidance’ as to my right
path. I was curious, open and ready for change.
40
Chapter 6
A pact with myself to new beginnings.
‘If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been
there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living
is the one you are living.’
Joseph Campbell, Writer and Lecturer, 1904–1987
I felt empowered and ready to make some life changing decisions.

Decisions that would take my life in a completely different direction.
What was needed now was courage and action. From a work and certainly
corporate perspective this kind of choice is not welcomed. Someone in
their prime, taking their life and, more importantly, their energy away from
the corporation is totally undesirable and, to be honest, unacceptable. They
don’t want people following their heart, leaving their jobs and changing
their lives, not after they have invested in them. I had a feeling that if I did
go ahead with this I somehow would not be welcome back, but hey. I think
on a deeper level this suited me. I could live with that. It was all part of my
changing the direction of my life.
It was Sunday evening, I had seen my girlfriend all weekend
and was now finally home alone. Excitedly I went to bed early and
began reading this government document. I read it slowly cover to
cover with pen in hand. I saw detailed all the different areas my
colleague spoke of. It detailed the time allowed to be taken off, three
to twelve months. It talked about the activities you could and could
not do during your leave. It clearly stated that you were allowed your
job and full financial package back after the sabbatical period. And
there was a contact name and number which I thought to call the
41
next morning just to see if this was all for real. To be honest I was
completely amazed. It seemed too good to be true.
I must share with you something important that I agreed to
on this particular Sunday evening. I had five specific questions that I
wanted answered and clarified to give me more confidence in what I was
intending to do. That night going to sleep I made a pact with myself and
the universe. My pact was this. If those five questions were answered
correctly by the Belgian government in the manner and way that I wanted
and liked them to be answered, I would stop my work, take a long break
from this corporate world and really think about my life. The direction
it was going and why. I would leave my girlfriend, career, apartment,
my friends, family and my life in Brussels. Leave it all behind to travel
around the world on a shoestring budget. Assuming I could get the extra
money needed. This was serious. That night I hardly slept a wink. I was
too bloody excited!
This is major heavy stuff. But at the same time extremely
invigorating and exciting. To consciously take my life into my own hands
for probably the first time in my life. To consciously make decisions to
do what I really wanted to do and not what I ought to do. It was an
empowering feeling. Starting to take control of my life. It felt good. But
I had to be patient and wait for the phone call tomorrow morning and see
how my questions were going to be answered.
I hadn’t even thought, what if this all doesn’t go through? It
never crossed my mind, I don’t know why. I think I was so focused on
my intentions and following the signs that I was saying, ‘Of course this is
going to work. It has to, it’s my path. Why wouldn’t it? It’s meant to be.’
This is what I am supposed to do right now in my life. I began secretly
praying at the same time, pleading this would all manifest, feeling excited
inside at the thought that I will travel.
The next morning, Monday morning, before going to work I
called the government department of employment. My stomach was all
tied in knots. Damn, I was nervous. The phone rang, I got through to
a friendly man called Frank. I explained my situation, that I had been
working almost five years at BT, that it was the BT Belgium Branch in
Brussels. That I had a Belgian local employment contract and was paying
Belgian taxes. And that I had some questions for him that I hoped he
would kindly help me with.
I first asked him to confirm whether this law was indeed still
in place and to confirm that I could leave under Belgian law if I was
42
6. A pact with myself to new new beginnings.
employed for five years. He asked me about my employment contract

and then confirmed that the career break system was still in place and
that I could legally take a break. He then confirmed the maximum period
of time I could take was twelve months and that after this period my
employer was legally obliged to give me my job and financial package
back under Belgian law. I could barely contain myself, jumping up and
down, nearly dropping the phone on the floor. I asked him what I had to
do next to begin the process; it entailed filling in four simple government
documents including signatures from my employer.
Finally I asked him whether my employer could make
me redundant during my break and if so what were the penalties
and compensations involved under the national law. He told me
redundancy during a career break was not allowed and that if this did
happen the employer would have to follow a specific HR payment
formula thereby paying me severance leave or face being taken to
court by the government.
Well, I just couldn’t believe it. It was like I was living in my own
dream. I put the phone down. We spoke for at least twenty minutes. I
was in total and utter shock. Silence gripped me! Then disbelief. Then an
overwhelming realisation came over me. That was the point when time
stood still and I felt inside I would leave one path in my life and begin
a new path. My true path for being here on this planet. My true path
because I was listening to my true self.
For me, that conversation was probably the first instance of
my being able to say that I was confident it felt like a sign. This way
of seeing the world, this spirituality, was all new to and so I was taking
time to find my way and gain my confidence in interpreting what I
thought might be signs. However, after finishing this conversation I felt
it to be the first time that this intention of mine to travel really could
happen. That this huge change I was instigating was indeed totally
possible if I put my mind to it. That indeed this was the right thing for
me to do in my life right now and that I should stop living with any fear
about ‘what if’ and just continue on with this goal. I am so excited I can
hardly contain myself. I had already come this far and yet I had only
been home a couple of weeks since I came back from Brazil! I was not
getting any obstacles from the outside world. Everything seemed to be
flowing seamlessly. I know, take a deep breath it’s just the start, but still
inside I was in ecstasy. Taking my life into my own hands, following a
life dream of mine. Un-frikkin’ believable!
43
That morning driving to work I had the tunes pumping at full

volume, dancing away in my seat, meanwhile trying to act totally normal
at work, with not such a huge smile on my face. Colleagues asked me
what the big grin was all about; I just said I had had a cracking weekend.
After that I began to research what money I would need for the
trip. I definitely wanted to take the full twelve months. I started comparing
round the world flights, spending six months in Latin America and three
months in Southeast Asia and three months in India/Nepal. I found out
one my sister’s friends who had done something similar to what I was
about to embark upon. She had spent six months travelling around both
Central and South America. We spoke several times on Skype, talking
about budget, routes, dangers etc. She said I should budget $20 a day
($600 a month) for Latin America excluding any special things like doing
my PADI scuba diving course or visiting sacred sights such as Tikal,
Machu Picchu, or any internal flights. I then managed to speak to a friend
of hers that had recently travelled through Southeast Asia. It seemed
Southeast Asia was slightly cheaper at around $500 a month and that
India/Nepal was cheaper still at around $400/300 a month. These budgets
were based on staying at simple cheap accommodation, eating simply,
taking very long bus journeys, sometimes 20 hours. So basically not too
many comforts. OK, cool, I could live with that, I thought. I wanted to get
to know the places I was staying in, I didn’t want to stay in hotels. That
being said I did want to have some extra money for any special activities
or the odd splurge. But at least this gave me a very real baseline for my
budget. My round the world ticket of five main flights and a couple of
smaller ones with travel insurance cost $3500. So six months in Latin
America, three months in Southeast Asia and three months in India
would cost me $6500. I basically needed to find $10,000 dollars bare
minimum for this to happen but ideally eleven or twelve thousand would
be better for some splurges along the way. Just to give me a little financial
breathing space. I mean I am totally up for the shoestring budget but I
would hate to not be able to do anything because I was short a few dollars
and it would impact the rest of my trip. I aimed for $12,000. That was my
goal, of which I had $4000 in savings, so $8000 was missing. I only had
$4000 now because I had invested my money in other projects. The point
I am trying to make is that it doesn’t cost a fortune to travel.
I didn’t know how I was going to get the rest but I can tell you I
thought, what the hell, if it’s meant to be, it will be. By now I was literally
thinking, if the universe wants this to happen, I will get help somehow.
44
For now I just need to keep my head down, do my sales job as well as I
can for any possible sales bonuses to be earned at the end of this financial
year in March (four months’ time). In parallel, complete my research, get
the vaccinations and visas sorted anyway. Plan as if I was going and most
importantly get into the mindset that I will actually go. Have the intention
that this is going to happen and that I need to be 100% on the lookout for
any possible signs out there that might help me, however, small. I focused
my attention upon my intention!
I had been on my so called spiritual journey a year by now and it
was due time for these sort of life changing events to be tested. To see if
things do happen to conspire and help us along our paths. I wanted proof
myself that if I followed my gut feeling, my intuition, if I did follow what
felt right that I would somehow be helped along the way. Well, here was
a perfect test. I wanted to give up all I had to travel around the world. I
didn’t have the money I needed and didn’t know how I was going to fill
the gap. Let’s see. If I wanted to leave at the end of the financial year that
was just over four months away. I was working on a large sale with my
customer that my boss wanted me to close before year end. The bonus of
that would certainly help me fill in the gap of the $8000, if not more.
I must share this with you though – while I was doing all this
activity there had been a strong sense within me that if it was meant to be
it would happen. It would all fall into place. The universe would conspire
to help me along my way. All these many loose ends would somehow tie
up. That I shouldn’t get too stressed or hung up over the HOW. I will do
my best and take all the necessary effort to make it happen from my side
and if it does come together then clearly it’s meant to be.
I also realised that this is the first step I had ever taken to give
myself a chance to have a break. A break from the incessant wheel, from
the noise, from the non-stop pace of corporate life and all its conditionings
and trappings. A chance to have a break and possibly a chance of new
beginnings. New direction. I know I would be giving up a lot. My job,
my financial security, my apartment, my comfortable way of life, and for
what? It was for a chance to travel the world, to gain perspective, new
rich experiences, for adventure and the unknown. To meet new people
from different cultures and have no regret in my life about not travelling.
To create space in my life to give the universe a chance to influence my
life through chance meetings, conversations or events. Who knows? But
it was certainly a chance for me to live out one of my life’s dreams – see
the world. I was very open to it. I wanted it. And living each day without
45
routine but as completely unknown, where all manner of possibilities and

happenings were possible.
I wanted to see, experience other cultures and ways. I wanted
adventure. The Unknown. Richer experiences. A more intense and
exciting life. To jump into the unknown. To take a risk, and I had the
courage to do so. To better understand the major challenges we as a
civilisation face today, especially in the developing world (pollution,
deforestation, consumerism, hunger). I wanted to understand the level
of environmental destruction our planet is facing from humans, perhaps
even do some voluntary work. I wanted to give myself a chance to grow,
to transform, to get to know myself better. I wanted time and space to
think, to reflect, to ponder my life, its purpose, its direction. Travel for
me is a vehicle to help me with this personal transformation I am going
through; that we all go through, in our lives.
Some two months had passed since I got back from Brazil and it
was Christmas time. I had been researching as much as possible, double
checking with the government and all seemed well. Speaking with my
doctor, planning what injections when, whilst working on my big deal
at work that could really help me financially. My intentions were still
resonantly very strong and although I had not made a final decision at
least to the outside world, inside I had. I wanted to do this. I wanted to
leave it all behind and travel. Well, this was part of the journey; now I
was going to visit my family and share with them my news. I was a little
anxious. A little worried of how they might react.
I enjoyed the time with my family, I knew it would be one of my
last times with them all together. One night I got everyone to sit down with
me at the table because I had something I wanted to share with them. I now
planned to tell my whole family what I wanted to do. I was nervous but
I started the ball rolling. I explained how I had been feeling towards my
work and life within the corporate world these last months and years. This
was not new to them, they knew I was unhappy. They knew I had many
sleepless nights due to a lot of work related stress. That I was near the end
of my tether and heading for a burn out. That mentally, emotionally and
physically I needed a break. I had been pushing myself too hard and work
had been pushing me too hard. I needed a break. A change. I explained
what I had been thinking since I came back from Brazil three months ago.
The thought of travel was nothing new to them. I spoke of this many times
throughout my life. My dream, my wish to travel the world and experience
all these new fascinating cultures, places and people, but due to finances,
46
my buying an apartment, my career, it just didn’t seem realistic. That I had

wanted to visit Latin America and Asia all my life. That I didn’t want to live
my life with any regret regards my not fulfilling this life dream and journey.
That all the signs were very positive up until this point and they were all
pointing in the same direction.
I could see the expressions on their faces changing, from somewhat
normal to panic mode. They were thinking, ‘Oh no, what’s he telling us?
What’s he going to do? Surely not what I think! Has he completely lost his
mind? Is he mad?’ Their concern and worry was because I had built up a
career over fifteen years only to throw it all away. But they knew me, I was
not sharing an idea but telling them a fact. I explained all my thoughts and
plans and then there was silence. The news sank in.
I talked them through all my research, the vaccinations, the
budgets, the air tickets, trying all the time to put their minds at rest, but I
could see it was no use. It was enough for one night. After I said my piece
there was just silence in the room. Like I dropped the bomb. Little more
was said on the subject that night.
I too felt anxious and concerned. I loved my family, we were
close and of course I wanted their support, but if I didn’t have it, it would
not stop me from going. It would just be easier for me, selfishly so, if I
did have their support. To leave with their acceptance, understanding and
support for what I was about to embark upon. This is what I had wanted
to do all my life and now I was slowly bringing all the pieces together to
make this happen. I had no wife, kids or anyone else dependent on me,
just myself. It was the perfect time to fulfil my dream. This was something
that had been inside me for all my adult life, that I had neglected, and if I
did not take this opportunity that I was creating, I may never get another
and would have to live with regret for the rest of my life. It was my
choice. I did not see living with regret as an option right now.
One or two days passed and Mum and my sister Abbie were
starting to speak with me on the subject. I shared where I wanted to
go. They asked me about money and how I planned to support such a
romantic project. I told them I did not have all the answers yet but that I
would find a way. They were concerned for my safety. During this time
Dad was quiet. He too had his concerns. Dad had concerns about my
leaving my career, a career that I had been shaping over the last fifteen
years. A career that was serving me well financially and that had many
future career opportunities within the fast evolving world of IT and
telecoms. He could not understand why I would want to throw it all away,
47
explaining to me that one’s career really begins to fly between the ages of
30/35 and 45/50 and that I was just at the beginning of a career that was
just taking off and yet now already throwing in the towel.
I tried to explain that I did not see things this way, it was not so
black and white and also not that uncommon for people in my generation
to have two or more careers or work activities in a lifetime. This was a
new concept to my Dad but I saw it raised some thoughts in his mind;
progress was slow, but happening. I headed back to Brussels to get on
with my work and setting the wheels in motion. Possibly, hopefully,
irreversibly so.
Although my family was not initially keen on my going
travelling around the world, I had to listen to my inner guidance and have
the courage to follow through.
Oh boy, am I really going?
Perhaps. Almost. I had only one real hope to get the funds I
needed and that was to close a deal with my customer before I left and in
addition I would have to tell my customer I was leaving even before we
closed the deal. I knew my customer would not be happy about it.
I went back to work a few days later. However, I will be honest,
I did begin to have some feelings of doubt about the whole plan. Perhaps
I thought it was all too ludicrous, just completely crazy, I don’t know, but
I didn’t like the feelings that I was getting. Something like cold feet. I
think the feelings were based on fear. Fear partly about what I would do
work wise if/when I came back. Would BT accept me? Would I have to
find another job? Am I being stupid? Should I not just be quiet and get on
with my current life and even be thankful I have a job. Another fear I had
was of travelling around the world on my own. It was a thought that both
excited and intrigued me. The freedom of the road, the unknown. But it
also scared me. Being alone. Would I get robbed? Beaten up? Or worse?
I think also in addition to this I was reaching, or could reach, a point of
no return once I showed my cards at work.
I guess this could all have been a form of double checking how
serious I was, but I didn’t choose these feelings, they just came. I decided
to see how long they might last and how strong they became. I thought
it could just be nerves before speaking to my work. I decided if the
bad feelings remained like this and didn’t go away, of course I would
reconsider because it didn’t feel right. However, they may pass and if
they passed then I would carry on as planned. No one except my family
knew anything so I could easily change my mind.
48
The feelings of my doubting myself and the plan lasted about

three weeks after my return from Christmas holidays, then they began to
subside. Thank goodness! I honestly had not thought about what I would
do if these feelings hadn’t passed. If I remained with cold feet and doubt,
finally deciding not to go, I am sure I would have lived the rest of my life
with regret. Always thinking ‘what if?‘ That in turn would lead to more
emotional turmoil and probably more unhappiness, so I was quite happy
that my feelings went back to their original state of wanting to go. Very
happy in fact, and this time with even stronger conviction. I took that as
a good sign. I sat with my original feelings for a few days, again testing
the water. You never know sometimes how you feel, you just have to find
a quiet spot to sit calmly and listen to how you feel inside. I guess like a
kind of meditation, although I had never meditated before. Purposely I
planned a very quiet weekend. I had a very quiet weekend just being with
myself and by the end of it was convinced I should take this big exciting
new step and put the worry and doubt down to being part of the process.
For now, no one at work knew anything of my plans but one
conversation with a colleague would change everything. My plans would
be out in the open. On a positive note I would hopefully start to see the
manifestation of my dream. To travel the world. I knew that was coming,
the day I would drop the bomb at work and tell everyone I was leaving.
Now over these first few weeks in February I was thinking literally daily
when to speak to my boss, then suddenly the time came as if by magic.
I got an invite to a one to one meeting with my boss to review my sales
targets for the next financial year. Our financial year started April 1 so we
began to review in February as per usual.
I met with my boss and before we went into any detail regarding
the next fiscal year and my new sales targets, I began by telling him that
I wanted to take a career break. I just had to get this out of my system,
into the open air and now was the right time. He looked at me with an
incredulous expression of disbelief. Almost confused. He said, “Sorry,
can you repeat what you just said, I don’t think I heard you correctly.” So
I told him again, saying that I would like to take a twelve month career
break in six months or so. I still needed to get some cash together and I
wanted both my annual bonus and the bonus from this deal. My boss sat
there not believing his ears. He replied saying he had never received or
even heard such a request in all his work life. Certainly not from someone
in the professional sales environment. I replied saying I was happy to
be the first and then he said he wasn’t even sure if it was at all possible.
49
To be honest he wasn’t sure what more to say, he was still in shock. The
meeting didn’t last very long after that, I asked him if he would speak to
HR (human resources) and come back to me. He agreed. Needless to say
it was a short meeting but that was it now. No turning back.
Ten days passed and with a surprised look on his face my boss
called me into a meeting room again. I was really quite anxious as to what
HR had said as this would be the all important milestone if indeed it was
validated. He began to tell me that according to HR it was apparently
possible under Belgian law for me to request and take a career break so
long as I had not used up this time in a previous request. I was so happy to
hear this I had to try very hard not to have a massive grin on my face. We
talked a little more about the next steps, he telling me what HR said they
needed in the form of papers. I had them ready and signed. I handed him
the necessary papers to get the ball rolling and complete the administration
side of things. The meeting didn’t last more than ten minutes but he began
to acknowledge and accept the reality of the situation. He left with papers
in hand. There was no turning back. I could not believe it. Now I really
couldn’t stop things; not that I wanted to. Everything was out in the open
now and for sure rumours were going to start spreading around the office
like crazy. I knew it. There was no going back now, even if there was a
problem that I had not perceived, that was it. I had shown my cards. They
would surely fire me if I did not leave. Well, I didn’t want to stop it now, I
had come so far. I wouldn’t stop now, regardless of any persuasion tactics.
I felt strong in my shoes, like this was the right thing to do in my life right
now. There was going to be no turning back. To the contrary, I thought, full
steam head, let’s break the grip and chains and set ourselves free!
My god, am I really leaving?
Simultaneously rumours were flying around the office. I had
told no one except my boss but that’s where they start. I didn’t mind.
It all felt quite liberating. I felt very excited inside. Colleagues asking,
where are you going and why, when, to do what? If I liked the colleague
I would spend a little time with them explaining what I was doing and
why. Their face portrayed an expression of shock and awe. Although
some colleagues were a little shocked, the ones who knew me were not
surprised once they found out. They knew me better. They knew that an
adventure like this was right up my street.
Right now I needed cash and I needed to book my round
the world ticket. The paper work was in full flow with work and the
government. I worked hard at work and focused on my goal of getting my
50
deal closed and earning the money I desperately needed. I was missing
several thousand dollars but I had a belief that all would come to fruition.
I had faith in me and my abilities to do all that I could do to close the deal
and I had faith in the universe to help and guide me so I could get this
money in the short period of time I needed it by. Then during a follow-up
conversation with my Dad he asked me if I had bought my ticket yet. I
had not. Out of the blue, he kindly offered to buy it for me. I was taken
aback. What a really kind gesture. I felt touched. How kind, loving and
generous. My Dad was supporting me on my world tour. I gratefully
accepted this generous and thoughtful gesture. It meant a lot to me. I
thought it was perhaps my Dad somehow beginning to believe in what I
was going to do.
Simultaneously I was looking for a trustworthy person to rent
out my apartment to. I did not want to come back and find the place
destroyed. Furthermore I had to sit down with my girlfriend, who knew
I wanted to travel, who didn’t want to go herself, and break up with her.
I honestly wanted to be free of everything and everyone. It was a lot to
manage all at once but I had to stay focused and persevere. I knew why
I was doing this and I wasn’t gong to break down or give up now. But
truthfully, I couldn’t wait for these last two months to pass.
Regards the business deal, it was long, complicated and at times I
questioned whether I would close it. The different agendas at play within
the customers’ organisation, playing the competition off against us, our
past performance, my now leaving the account. It was a real challenge for
me to close the deal, to be honest, but I did it with help from others. I kept
my focus on my intention and the bigger goal. I did this continuously for
the last nine months since I got back from Brazil. It was not easy, keeping
focused and closing the business with my client while planning my world
travel. As of February people in the office and my team became aware
of my plans. As of March my client knew the situation and of course
was concerned about the deal and the follow-up implementation. The
customer was not happy but they did understand why I wanted to do
this once I sat with them and talked through my intentions. I think it was
partly due to my hard work with them over the past years and the excellent
relationship I had developed with them individually that I managed to
sign this crucial deal. Coincidently or not, I earned $8000 bonus from
this large multi million dollar deal. Coincidently or not, exactly as much
as I needed. I sincerely believe the universe was helping me along my
way. I was so proud of myself. I had come so far, not lost my cool and
51
kept my focus upon my intentions and goals. Persevered regardless of the

insomnia, chest pains and stress. Now my last day at work would be June
30, 2008! Amazing! I would be flying to Guatemala in Central America
in a week’s time!
Look how far I had come! I could not believe it. Really I
couldn’t. If you think about what I have just described to you, it’s quite
an achievement. My discontentment and dissatisfaction with corporate
life that led finally to my breakdown, and crisis. Which in turn led me
to question the status quo, seek answers and start listening to my heart,
my intuition, my true self and less so to the constant mind chatter or
inner dialogue of my mind. From there I started to become more open to
other concepts, beliefs and perspectives in life, which in turn led me to
a new understanding of the world around me. From then on in I became
more aware of the different things happening in my life and started to
interpret synchronistic events, conversations, signs and coincidences
differently. With new meaning. This new perspective helped me to start
asking different questions about my life. The why questions. To help me
start consciously choosing and making decisions and not just reacting to
situations that were flung upon me. One key way for me to start this new
process, I knew, was to create some space for myself through travel.
It is hard for me to explain how I felt. I felt truly alive, completely
elated. Grateful. Grateful to be alive. Grateful to be me. To have a dream.
To have the courage to follow that dream. To have the courage to follow
my heart, not be dissuaded by other people’s opinions but do what it
takes. Research. Hard work. Whatever, to make my life dream come true.
And I tell you this, all you rich successful corporate friends out there just
like me. You cannot buy experiences. You cannot buy the life changing
experience of exploring yourself, the world, interacting with people and
cultures from far away places that might not even exist by the time I have
children. The job, the career, the rat race, it will always be there, always.
What will not always be there is your youth, your health, possibly your
ambition or drive for that specific dream, or even your independence or
courage to stop what you are doing and go fulfil your dream. See who
you meet along the way, see where it takes you. You will never know and
how sad that could be, knowing that this precious life we have is not a
dress rehearsal but the real thing. And for those of you who say ‘but what
about your career, it will suffer, you being away for a year’, I say this. If
I was hiring someone and I had two candidates in front of me, both with
the same amount of skills, expertise and experience in a sector and job
52
but one had taken a year out from their career to experience the world,
well, I would hire that person; and if the potential future employee does
not agree with me, well then we are not destined to work together. It is as
simple as that. This worldly experience cannot be learnt and it will give
me such a richer depth of character, wisdom, appreciation. I am sure. I
just know it. Travelling on my own for a year, keeping alive, meeting
and being with local people, their cultures. Meeting other like minded
travellers too. How enriching. How enriching for a person of any age!
Wow, I cannot believe it. I’m so ecstatic. I’ve done it! I am about
to have one of the best years of my life, ever! Bring it on, life!
53
Part 2:
Exploration
54
Chapter 7
Guatemala here I come!
‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover.’
Mark Twain, Writer, 1835–1910
My dear friend Matt organised a farewell BBQ in Belgium, as did my

parents the following week in the UK. It all felt quite surreal. I was actually
going to leave all this behind. I felt quite emotional, somehow managing to
talk and laugh with everyone without breaking down. So I said goodbye to
all my friends here in Belgium and to this chapter of my life. Belgium had
treated me well and I thank and am grateful to Marc (my first boss) for that
first opportunity he gave me to begin a career.
My parents organised a fantastic leaving party with all my close
friends and family. Again another very emotional occasion. My Dad
had organised that everyone would say a little something as a goodbye
message to me. When my Mum and Dad spoke it made it all feel so real,
sending shivers down my spine. I felt a tremendous amount of love from
and for my family and friends. Honestly, my emotions were all over the
place. I felt nervous about the coming days because of the big unknown!
Simultaneously I was also on a natural high. I felt so elated that I
had achieved so much by myself to bring me to this point. I felt proud of
myself, for having the courage to follow through on my dream and now
making it happen. It was surreal because what had been a dream for most
of my adult life was now very quickly becoming a reality. My reality that
55
I had orchestrated. It felt great. Great to take control, real control of my

life and the choices I was making
The next days after my leaving party I just prepared my things
to leave. Dad took me to the airport. I think it was too much for the girls
to say goodbye at the airport so we did that at home. It was very difficult
to see their faces, so sad and tearful, full of worry. I too was crying. I had
the odd lightning flash thought of, well it could be the last time. I wonder
if they did too. I tried to be brave but its so hard when you are sad, full of
emotions, crying. Not knowing what next. I bet they felt helpless. At least
I had a good head on my shoulders and I could, hopefully, protect myself;
all they could do was pray. I felt for them too. I don’t remember us talking
too much, it was all too emotional. We spoke through our eyes.
For Dad and me it was difficult too. We talked a little in the car.
Again it felt surreal, as if, is this really happening? He said how proud
he was of me, that he supported me and that he did now understand the
concept of people of my generation having two or even three careers
and sometimes needing a break from them to explore themselves and the
world and find out what they really wanted from their life. I was so glad
to hear this from him. It was comforting to have his blessing, although, of
course, I would have done all this without out it, but family is important
and likewise it’s nice to have their support. I didn’t feel any tension in the
air between us, I just felt love.
We parked up at the short stay car park and walked into the
airport. I was happy we were both there to figure out what I had to
do. Checking the departures board we saw my flight, to Guatemala. I
looked over at him, my heart was pounding, I could feel it in my chest.
Even my throat started to feel blocked. Dad was nervous too. What do
you say at these moments? Be safe, watch out for yourself, enjoy each
day to the most? What do you say to your son or to your Dad, whom
you may never see again? I am not sure we knew. My emotions were
starting to well up again inside and Dad sensed that. We checked in
my bags and ticket and we spoke only a few words. He said, “Don’t do
anything stupid”, and that he looked forward to seeing me in a year’s
time. We hugged and we parted. We both had tears in our eyes, both
trying to stop them from flooding out.
I was now officially on my own!
I walked on through the gates, partially sobbing whilst trying
to hold myself together. Once through, I sat down, breathed and tried to
collect my thoughts. My heart was racing, pounding in my chest. What
56
7. Guatemala here I come!
was I feeling right now? I took a few breaths and tried to calm down
for a moment. It was all happening so fast. I hardly spent any time with
Dad in the airport. My thoughts were racing. I was feeling a little panic
stricken now that I was finally on my own and the full realisation of my
decision was upon me. Apprehension consumed me. Where I would sleep
the following night? Would I be OK? Will I be safe?
Some of you reading this, who have left their known world,
separated from a job, a situation, relationship or country, who decided
to step into the unknown, the abyss, will have an understanding of how I
was feeling then. I felt worried, anxious, nervous, but also excited. Many
thoughts going through my mind and many feelings pumping through my
veins. I felt like I might begin hyperventilating.
I sat for a little while and tried to calm myself down and begin
breathing normally again. I felt OK. This all felt right. I wanted to do what
I was about to embark upon. I had to get used to the feeling of not knowing
where I would sleep the next night, but I also thought the unknown adds
excitement to the journey. That’s the point! Isn’t that partly why people
travel? The excitement of not knowing. I was nervous but I wasn’t scared.
I was ready for this change in my life. Deep down I wanted it and I knew
I would love it once I found my way. I felt better after these reassuring
thoughts and walked on through to my departure.
***
Don’t dream your life, live your dream!

Holy ****! I was on the plane! I don’t even remember who I
was sitting next to. I was too nervous and anxious, to be honest. I didn’t
know what to expect, I mean Guatemala, isn’t that a dangerous country?
I wasn’t aware until much later that they had had a civil war that lasted
more than three decades and over 200,000 local people had been killed.
The civil war only ended in the mid 1990s, just over a decade ago. I
wasn’t too sure how tourists were received. I was a little naïve. I hadn’t
really thought about it like that. I just wanted some adventure. To explore
Central America and some of South America. Right now all I knew was
that I was arriving in ten hours at Guatemala City airport, 2:00am local
time. Not the best of times I know. My heart was pumping again, a little
too heavily for my liking, and I had to sleep. I didn’t want to feel like crap
when I arrived, looking like some victim ready to get mugged as I stepped
out of the airport. Meaning, I had to stop all these thoughts. I had to sleep
57
but I was wide awake. This was a job for valium. I took one and it quickly
helped me to quieten my mind and the constant thoughts. Within twenty
minutes I was dribbling on the passenger beside and asleep. Brilliant.
Cleverly, I had arranged to have someone from the hostel pick
me up at the airport and bring me home. Home? Well not exactly home
but hopefully to a safe place where I could stay the night and not get
robbed. Arriving at the airport I felt OK. The valium had worked. I had
slept well and felt somewhat refreshed and not drowsy. Outside the
airport was a very different story though. It felt very dodgy. Limited
street lighting. A few people outside the airport. Eyes following me,
checking me out, perhaps seeing a potential victim to get rich off quick.
Me with this big brand new rucksack on my back, probably worth a
year’s local wage. I don’t know if I was being paranoid or just starting
to freak out at my reality. I walked slowly out of the exit and looked
around. I could feel the eyes on me. Damn, I hoped someone would
show up for me soon. The nervous tension in me was increasing.
I didn’t see anyone from a hostel. I walked out further into the
street outside the airport. It was warm, humid, dark. It had rained recently,
there were puddles on the tarmac road. I kept on looking around while
trying not to make eye contact or look lost. I didn’t want to attract any
undue attention to myself. It was a hard act to pull off.
And then it happened. This guy started walking towards me. Oh
shit. What does he want? He was looking right at me and I was the only
person standing there. I was starting to get paranoid. Panic swept across
me. What should I do? He then suddenly pulled out a sign from his side.
Phew. It had my name on it. What a relief. He’s not an axe murderer but
the driver from the hostel. I swear, you wouldn’t know by looking at him.
A middle aged man, short, unshaven, scruffy, overweight with very bad
breath. In my very broken Spanish I managed to establish he was from
the hostel, I think. We walked into the dark car park and I got into his old
banger of a car and we left. I couldn’t see much out of the windows, it was
dark, there were no street lights and there was raindrops on the window.
We didn’t talk much because I still spoke very little Spanish at
this point of my travels. I tried to confirm we were heading to a hostel
while praying for my safety at the same time. We drove through what
looked like suburbia, houses and apartment blocks on streets with trees.
At least it wasn’t a barren waste land where no one would hear me if I
screamed. Fifteen minutes later we arrived at the hostel. A small house on
a residential road. There were no lights on except a small one downstairs.
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I spoke to a large middle aged woman, confirmed my details with my

passport and she checked me in. The room was simple. A double bed. No
window. I’d like to say clean but I’d be lying. I locked the door, closed
my eyes and prayed for my well being. It was quiet. I had seen other
doors in the hallway so I might not be alone.
Phew, I had made it. Guatemala here I am.
I managed to sleep OK during the night and the next morning
I got a lift from the hostel owner to the local bus station, from where
I took a bus to Antigua. It’s about two hours south west of the capital
Guatemala City. I read on the way that it was a UNESCO heritage site
and I had heard it was beautiful, safe little town. I felt relaxed, I was
getting into my stride. I felt good. I splurged and found a nice hostel
with a pool and a garden although it was too chilly for any swimming.
I got on really well with the local owner and manager. There were one
or two other travellers at the hostel whom I also managed to strike up a
relationship with and went out with a couple of times in town. It seemed
OK, the place, the people. I was beginning to feel more comfortable.
Antigua, I discovered, is a quaint pretty little town packed with locals
and foreigners. A beautiful picturesque old colonial town full of brightly
coloured houses, a pretty central square with a church, of course, and
lots of small windy streets coming off from the square. It seemed a safe
enough place to me, although I wasn’t about to let my guard down.
Antigua Town Guatemala
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Antigua Town Guatemala
Market Town Guatemala
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While in Brussels I had taken some Spanish classes in the evening

during these last few months so I could speak a little bit before arriving in
Guatemala. I heard that travellers that don’t have a few words of Spanish
under their belt really have a hard time of it. The locals speak Quechua
as their mother tongue, Spanish as their second language, but it was too
much to ask them to speak English as a third language. I managed to find
a Spanish teacher to help me improve my very basic Spanish, a young
local girl who spoke very little English so the lessons went slowly. We
chatted in Spanish, did some vocabulary and some writing. I just wanted
to slowly improve. My current level of Spanish was certainly not enough
to get me by, never mind about making any real contact with the locals.
So I made some effort to improve it, which I did after a few a months of
practising and a couple of weeks of class.
From Antigua I travelled north up through Guatemala, visiting
the amazing and sacred Mayan site of Tikal. Tikal was the headquarters
of the Mayan empire that existed from 2000 bc to ad 1500 (with its peak
in the classic period of ad 250–900), of course, until the Spanish arrived.
Their territory spread from the bottom of Mexico to the middle of Central
America in Honduras and El Salvador. In its heyday there were upwards
of two million people, of which 100,000 lived in and around Tikal.
I was so fortunate to stumble across a local guide who allowed a
small number of us into this sacred site very early one morning to watch
the sun rise. I was with three other travellers, three girls from the USA.
We all woke up at 4am, got in a van and drove to the park entrance. From
there we joined a slightly larger group and walked for over 30 minutes
to this sacred site through the rainforest. It was pitch black, a little scary;
we had the stars shining bright in the sky, our head lamps shining the
way over very large tree roots in the ground that we all kept falling over.
There was a little chatter in the group but not a lot, partly because of
what we were hearing above us. We could hear these monstrous calls.
Loud animal calls or howls, not quite screams but still very vocal coming
from the canopy above our heads. The howls were coming from howler
monkeys apparently, communicating with each other, possibly about us
walking into their territory. Honestly, it was a little scary. The girls were
huddling together. No one dared leave the track or get left behind – hey, it
was pitch black and we were walking through a rainforest! It was the first
time I ever did something like this and I had only just arrived. Suddenly
I tripped up over a massive root of a tree and fell to the floor. Ouch. If
that wasn’t a wake up call to the system then I don’t know what was.
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Slightly shocked, I got up quickly and caught up with the group. I wasn’t
about to be left behind with all these creatures in here. Then suddenly a
girl in the group screamed so loud, we all froze in our footsteps whilst
simultaneously beginning a mild heart attack. What a shock. I turned to
her and she had a massive spider web all over her face and hair. She had
walked into a low hanging spider web. She looked horrified, poor girl.
Well, on one hand it was exciting, walking at night through a rainforest,
but I think we city folk just wanted to get the site.
After about 45 minutes of walking we finally got there. We then
proceeded to slowly climb up the side of the monument. We sat there in
the darkness, waiting for the dawn to arrive. Waiting for the sun to rise.
After about fifteen minutes or so a slight silhouette of the forest canopy
could be seen in front of us in the distance. A dark silhouette of tree cover
against the sky. As time passed I began to see slightly more of the outline
of the trees, my senses picked up on the noise from the forest canopy. The
noise of the forest began to increase as it began to get lighter but it was also
annoyingly clear to me that the forest noise had to compete with the noise
of the chattering tourists. I was feeling annoyed. The others couldn’t be
still and appreciate the moment. They had to chat and eat crisps. I thought
to myself, is nothing sacred any more? Suddenly, with an angry roar our
guide came up and shouted at the whole group to be silent. He said he got
up at 4am so these fortunate people could witness and participate in this
special event. He said shut up and appreciate what was about to happen.
Finally, there was silence. Well done, I thought. (I wonder whether the
chattering mouth is a mirror to the chattering mind?) My mind was quiet in
anticipation; I was just trying to take it all in.
Well, now the forest was waking up to the natural rhythms of
the day, a new day was dawning. I was perched high up on this stone
Mayan site overlooking a forest canopy, but also overlooking, from
what I could make out, two, perhaps three stone temples in the distance.
Just within view but still hard to see. Beyond these stone temples upon
the horizon a small orange ball was rising above a misty cloudy tree
top. The temperature was cool, the night’s fog had not been burnt away
by the sun but I could see the moisture of the fog slowly evaporating.
The stone felt cold under my bum, cold from the night before. I couldn’t
make out the movement of the animals in the canopy but their noise was
becoming louder and louder. Now that the people were quiet my hearing
sense was zooming in on this orchestra of sounds. Howler monkeys, all
manner of birds, all checking to see everyone had made it through the
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night all right. The air smelt very fresh, very clean, like you couldn’t get
enough of it in your lungs.
As the time passed the fog lifted from the canopy and bits of blue
sky began to slowly emerge. The sun was now just above the canopy but
still only a small orange red colour ball of fire. Shafts of light started to
radiate out across the tree tops. The orchestral sound of the forest grew
louder as dawn broke and daylight arrived.
Tikal Guatemala
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I sat there excitedly observing, listening, marvelling at the

unfolding of this natural event. It felt like one of those mindful meditations
I had read about. Sitting, quietly observing, the mind being still, the senses
on full alert. I guess this is what teachers mean by saying live in the Now
and be present. Very special. And to think it is an event that has happened
each day for thousands of years and I was witnessing one of those days. I
wonder whether it will be there in another thousand years? I felt privileged.
From Guatemala I travelled up on through into Belize, Honduras,
El Salvador, covering all of the countries of Central America by local
bus. Bus travel here is quite an experience. Honestly, sometimes even
dangerous. The locals come on with animals, chickens, small pigs, cats,
dogs. They have massive sacks of food, corn, potatoes, using the bus as
their little lorry to transport stuff. The local buses themselves are rickety
old things, often old American school buses that have been passed down
before going to the scrap yard. They have been painted with all sorts of
colours, motifs, stickers and words. Each being completely personalised.
The buses are full to the brim both inside and out. People are climbing all
over the roof to secure bags or take bags off. I prayed each time that my bag
would still be there at the end of each journey. It can be quite easy to strike
up a conversation if you can speak the language and are in the mood and if
you can hear yourself think. Sometimes the music is so loud you can hardly
have a conversation, and at six in the morning, that is seriously unmellow. It
can be a tiring experience using the local buses but really it’s the only way
to see the countries and get across them. They stop everywhere and you
can buy food from street hawkers without even leaving your seat, although,
trust me, due to the small space, you want to get off and stretch your legs
whenever you can along a ten or twenty hour bus ride. You certainly don’t
forget you’ve been on a local bus. My back was killing me by the end of
one twenty hour journey. Oh, well, the joys of travel.
Honduras and the Shaman

I only stayed a few days in Copan, Honduras, where one of the
famous and most beautiful Mayan sites lies. The town had the typical
Spanish-style square with church, surrounded by little shops, cobbled
streets and coloured houses. The magnificent Mayan ruins lay just outside
the town. While I was there walking around I noticed a sign in a shop
window advertising meditation and yoga classes. I had done yoga the last
couple of years back home but the meditation intrigued me so I looked
into it further, made some enquiries and telephone calls. After a bit of a
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search it was this coming Sunday that I should meet this woman at 8am
on top of this very high lookout point that was also a retreat. I took a tuk
tuk taxi to the point, some twenty minutes outside of town. It was quite an
idyllic magical location. I got there just after eight and when I did finally
find someone to direct me to the place I came across a group of people
just about to start a yoga session. The yoga instructor beckoned me over
and said I could join. I mentioned there had been a misunderstanding on
the phone and that I was looking for a guided meditation. She hesitated
and then said I should wait around if I could. She pointed to an old lady at
the back of the class, telling me she was a Shaman and that I should try to
see her if I wanted any spiritual guidance. Well, I didn’t know what to say
except thank you. I waited until the end of the class and then managed to
catch up with this older lady. She came up to me saying that we could meet
up in thirty minutes after she had eaten breakfast. Again I said no problem.
I had nothing better to do, I had been there already two hours or more so
why not wait a little longer? It was a warm sunny day, I went back to the
quiet place I had found before and waited for her to finish.
She had very warm brown hazel eyes, long greyish white hair and
generally a sense of welcoming calm about her. I cannot remember her
name, it was a Quechuan name. Something quite odd. We sat at the very top
of the viewpoint looking out over the valley and the river winding below
under a tree. I lay down, she noticing I lay with my feet pointing west
away from the tree. Whatever that meant. Then she started with her guided
meditation. She spoke of love. Loving thyself, thy family and close friends.
She spoke of forgiveness, again of thyself, family and close friends. I felt
generally quite calm, I had no expectations, I didn’t even really know what
meditation was except that I was interested to learn more.
During the guided meditation, the shaman lady spoke softly to me,
about love, about forgiveness, about having faith in my soul to guide me. I
felt sometimes sadness, with tears coming to my eyes, or joy and a smile on
my face. Depending on what she was saying different feelings and emotions
were brought up in me. Natural, I imagine. After about forty minutes she
finished and clasped my hand as if to say I may wake now. We then talked
for a while. Firstly she said she noticed all along throughout the meditation
there was a bird on a branch looking at us the whole time. She said this was
a good sign, it meant the angels were watching over you. Who knows if it’s
true, but the main reason why I tell you this is because of what else she said.
She looked me firmly in the eyes and said that during the meditation she
got messages that said that this journey that I had just begun was the right
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thing for me to do right now. She said that this was my time to ‘awaken’. To
awaken to begin to do my work, whatever that meant. That I had something
purposeful to do in this life but she would not let on what.
I found this all a little astonishing – she knew nothing of where
I had come from – but I was happy to listen to her. Her message meant
something to me because I had only been travelling a month and already
I had found a shaman woman who echoed what I believed inside. Who
confirmed what I was doing was the right thing at the right time and that
it was the beginning of something new. I know, I can hear your thoughts,
one can read into it what one wishes. Of course, I could take it with a
pinch of salt and ignore it, but for me at this time, it was a sign. A strong
sign, a clear sign that I was on my right path and that felt good. The
beginning of a new chapter in my life, of a new direction.
Leaving mainland Central America there are only two ways, by boat
or by air. You cannot go by land due to the guerrillas; not the furry type, but
those who traffic drugs, cocaine, up and down the rainforest between the two
continents. I knew what I was going to take and it wasn’t the plane. Having
done a little research I managed to find a captain, boat and crew to sail to
Colombia. I sailed with nine other really cool travellers and our crazy captain
Guido, Ze German. We set off at night and due to our delayed departure we
sailed all through the night. We all settled into our new surroundings, the ten
of us paired up in twos and took turns with the cooking and washing up each
day and the night watches when necessary. To be honest, of the five days we
were at sea, we spent three of them on islands, swimming, snorkelling and
relaxing, basically having a very hard life ;-).
Sailing through the San Blas islands Panama

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San Blas islands Panama
San Blas islands Panama
Me in San Blas islands Panama
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Dolphins San Blas islands Panama
Due to several electrical storms in the area, very shallow waters

and huge cargo tankers using the same straits (Colon-Cartagena) we had
to take it in turns to do night watch. I was on from 2am until 4am and
I remember thinking at the time, oh no what a terrible watch (selfishly
thinking of my interrupted sleep). How wrong could I have been? When
my time came to watch out for other boats, and electrical storms, my team
mate sat inside at the back of the boat looking over the controls and dials.
I was out front sitting on the front edge of the boat in the cool midnight
breeze. There was a full moon so I could see quite well, a silver light
clearly shimmering over the flat calm sea. I could see many electrical
storms all around me all the time, quite fascinating. Lots of electrical
stormy weather happening simultaneously all around me. I had never
seen anything quite like it. Bolts or forks of lightning and sheet lightning
happening in the clouds. There was no rain, it was a clear warm night and
I could see clearly into the night sky. It was a bizarre and wonderful sight
to behold. My first ever electrical storm.
However, that was not the highlight of my watch. I was sitting out
there on the front of the boat, quiet alone on our first night, when I heard
this splash to my left side. I didn’t know what it was and yet I had a feeling
I knew what it was. Adrenaline started to pump inside my veins, my body
and mind being set into action. I jumped to the side of the boat and in the
moonlight in the wake of the boat, playing in the waves was this large
beautiful silver body. I couldn’t be sure at first what it was. I guessed it
was a big fish, but what? I looked more carefully. Yes. It was a spectacular
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dolphin over a metre in length jumping up and down in the waves of the
boat. I was astonished. All the way out here in the ocean to come and
play in the wave of the boat. A second later I heard a similar sounding
splash on the other side. I ran over and then saw a second dolphin, silver in
colour, possible his mate, swimming and playing in the waves of the boat.
I was just in awe. There I was, I couldn’t wake anyone, it was three in the
morning. It was dead calm, a slight breeze in the air, the ocean and the quite
starry night. I just enjoyed the moment on my own with the dolphins.
How could I possibly imagine this to ever happen? I felt blessed.
This is what can happen if you are brave enough to leave your safety zone,
and I don’t believe you need necessarily travel the world if you can’t afford
it. You can explore your own country, its people and nature. Priceless!
While I sat out there in the front of the boat I felt I would rather
be nowhere else in the world but there. Sitting in a dazed state of quiet
calm excitement, not sleepy but totally chilled out and relaxed. Legs
swaying beneath me above the water. I looked out across the horizon
and onto the distant electrical storms around me. I had never seen
anything like it before. Sitting there, I reflected on how far I had come.
Three months into my voyage; OK a few close shaves, a few dodgy
situations, that I was aware of, but otherwise I had landed on my feet. I had met
many good people already and I also noticed my intuition becoming stronger
and stronger as the weeks passed. A sort of internal guidance mechanism
that gave me confidence in my decisions and appraisals of situations and
people as and when they unfolded. If a situation or person was not good, I
immediately began to feel uncomfortable and would look for an alternative
solution. Like an early warning siren that kept me safe and free from harm.
I thought, this travelling business isn’t all that difficult and from
what I could see, I wasn’t alone doing it. Many other travellers were too.
I felt really good in my skin and again proud that I had made it this far.
I had no feeling of wanting to fly home. I wanted to continue on into
Colombia and South America. Why not? I had made it this far and had
had some amazing experiences already. I was sure there would be more
to come. I was also changing, growing slowly, my stronger intuition was
proof of that. I let out a big sigh; this felt right. A smile came across my
face as I looked up at the stars. I felt at peace.
Colombia and Latin America

I was now in Colombia, in a very small very colourful village
called La Salento located in the middle of the country in a beautiful
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coffee growing mountain region with houses, little shops, bars and
eateries surrounding the square. The village had a square with a
colonial church and several coloured houses. Often I would arrive at a
small town and would just stay for a few days, maybe a week, and just
observe life going by and reflect on it. Not doing anything in particular
except people watching, soaking up the atmosphere, getting a feel for
the place. I saw local people in Central and South America still dressed
in traditional clothing, which I found pleasing. I had never witnessed
this before in real life, having only see this typical dress on posters
in travel agents. Of course, there were young people wearing T-shirts
and jeans, sometimes even branded clothing, but the older people were
still wearing traditional clothes produced from local alpaca wool and
other locally sourced materials. All dressed in vibrant colours – reds,
yellows, greens and blues. Wearing layer upon layer during the winter
months if they were living high up in the mountains. I wondered to
myself whether I was seeing the last generation wearing this traditional
dress or whether the young would also resort to the authentic clothes as
they grew older or would remain with their Western clothing. If so, it
would be another piece of original indigenous culture lost to mainstream
culture through globalisation.
La Salento Colombia
It was market day. I was sitting slightly to the side of the people,
sipping a freshly brewed cup of Colombian coffee. Watching the people
in their vibrant colours of traditional dress, seeing how happy they were.
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Chatting, laughing, smiles on their faces. I would say happier than a lot of
the faces I see back home. I found this rather curious and wondered why. I
pondered upon this thought for some time over the coming weeks. Why are
these supposedly poor people happy? Leading simple lives. Why are a lot of
us back in the West often unhappy? Sometimes even depressed, taking pills.
It struck me as a reasonable question to pose to myself and to my diary.
Here in Latin America I also observed a changing phenomenon
around me in the developing world, an ‘acquisition of stuff in the pursuit
of happiness’ path. I saw this all around me there. I thought it was only
in the West but it seems the disease of consumerism has spread to other
parts of the world. A desire, almost certainly manufactured, to have the
latest mobile phone, designer clothing or shoes. That somehow we are
meant to feel inadequate without these modern accessories. What I saw
there were some people dressed in local clothes but wearing a pair of
Western sports shoes. I can’t help but ask where this might lead to and
what impact it might have on the existing traditional culture over the
long term. I know, people call it progress. Globalisation. But different
thoughts and questions were coming to my mind.
I travelled further south on through Colombia high up into the
Andes, the mountain range that forms the spine along South America.
Five thousand metres high up into the mountains of Peru and Bolivia
along some very precarious roads. Most parts were only wide enough for
a single vehicle with an immediate drop of 500 metres down a cliff face.
Sometimes I would close my eyes and pray it would be OK, other times,
when it was safer terrain, I savoured the views. Big rugged mountainous
terrain with pointed tops. In Europe the landscape and scale are a lot smaller
when compared with here. The French alps are roughly 3500–4000 metres
high. The Andes are 5500–6000 metres high and you can really feel the
difference in altitude – dizziness, light headed, out of breath.
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The Andes Mountain Range
By now my Spanish was getting a little better and I certainly

could manage to ask for directions, accommodation and food. However,
sometimes I would get into conversations with locals that went beyond
the normal hello how are you and I would start to share with the locals
things about my culture back home. In return I would learn more about
their culture. Although these local people I met in Latin America seemed
happy I could not help noticing how poor they were. In fact I came across
a lot of happy but very poor people. Living on a couple of types of food
(e.g. rice and banana) a day and water. Is that acceptable in a supposedly
civilised world where we have such economic, human and natural wealth?
To be honest, I had not expected to see so much poverty. In a lot
of cases it was everywhere; whatever the country, the poverty looked the
same to me. A small house the size of my bedroom (15 m²) with a small fire
stove made of clay. Cattle dung was often used for fuel or local wood from
nearby forests. No connection to any electrical grid. If fortunate, the family
might have a small plot of grass to grow some vegetables or possibly have
a couple of goats or hens. I didn’t realise it at the time but one third of
the human race, 2.5 billion people, live on $1–2 a day, often income from
agricultural labour. With one in five children dying before their teens due
to disease and dirty water!
When you travel out of your comfortable town in the West and
you see and experience this poverty first hand you cannot help but be
affected by it. You will not be the same afterwards. It touches you inside.
I had seen this type of poverty on TV but this was the first time I was
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experiencing it in real life.

Sometimes I would sleep over at a home-stay. A home-stay is
where you sleep with a family in their house, eat their food, drink what
they drink and reside with the family. Of course, you pay some money for
the opportunity but it is cheap. A few dollars a day. I would do that when
I was travelling in very remote places, like the Andes or the Amazon
jungle, where there were no hostels, just local villages. Some of the
strongest impressions and imprints were made on me when I stayed with
these families in their homes. One example was a homestay that I did
on an island in Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. It was a very simple homestay.
I sat on a tiny stool in the kitchen by a small table. There was a fire
burning within a stove made of clay. I watched the mother and daughter
cook up some fried eggs or rice. The floor was made from a smooth clay
mud. The walls were made of the same material and had small windows.
I was getting out of my comfort zone. Merging myself more with the
local people and culture so I could better witness, if not understand, their
ways. I wanted to get off the well trodden tourist path and experience a
different, perhaps more authentic or raw, country.
Often these families in these villages spoke little Spanish, that
being their second language. They would speak their indigenous mother
tongue such as Quechan; however, occasionally a young daughter
may have learnt Spanish at school so then we could communicate. It
demonstrated to me how you really need basic Spanish if you want to
travel in Latin America. I met other travellers who spoke little or no
Spanish and their experience was totally different from mine in that they
did not get that connection with the local people. At least in some of Asia
and India the local people speak some English, but here in Latin America
they speak far less English.
I also noticed that a lot, if not the majority, of villages are not
connected to any electricity, so when it gets dark we often all turned into
bed, following the rhythm of sun. Early to bed and early to rise. I too fell
into this rhythm and liked it. Of course, I had my head lamp to read by
sometimes but often I too was asleep by 8pm and up at 6–7am. One has
more than enough sleep and so the rhythm began to feel quite natural.
I wondered whether the poverty in Asia or India would be any
different from here in Latin America. Sometimes I saw happy smiley faces
but other times I saw people desperate to get out of their predicament of
poverty. They were happy but struggling so hard to make ends meet.
Strange. A lot of these countries seemed to be rich in natural resources
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and self created resource such as banana plantations. But I wondered if

the money earned from these massive and fruitful plantations was flowing
down to the people or back to national government or, instead, to foreign
owned corporations.
The reason why I mention all this is because of what I started
to feel inside. The impact it had on me. If you travel the world and you
choose to really explore the world, you will also witness poverty up close
among many other, usually wonderful, sights. What these experiences
and sights began to make me realise, probably, for the very first time in
my life is how fortunate I am. What a precious human life I have.
An awareness consumed me that was more than a mere intellectual
understanding of a concept. It was more profound than that because I
had stayed with some of these people for periods of time. We talked. We
connected, we became friends. They were just like me. A human being. They
needed food, shelter, warmth, love, just like me. They too had aspirations of
doing something enjoyable and constructive with their lives and yet in my
limited perspective I could not immediately see opportunities for them to
change their way (if they wanted to), as if they were locked in time.
On the one hand I thought how exceedingly fortunate I was
when I saw these people. I felt really grateful for what I have. I have
exactly the opposite to a lot of these people around me. I see how
little they have. They are often in survival mode, whereas I, for some
reason, I have every opportunity to choose what I would like to do
with my life, as you might. Just because I was born where I was. I
have everything they want – health, food, money, good education, a
loving family, freedom to do anything I want with my life. It struck
me again how fortunate I am and how I shouldn’t waste it! That I have
the power, like you, to make choices and I should do just that. Make
some conscious choices for myself for my life.
I reflected upon the fact that this space, this time spent travelling,
is really amazing for me. Without the constant noise, the constant pressure
and stress I am able to take some time and consider my life and ask some
questions of myself that I have been putting off for many years. I had
a few key questions that wouldn’t go away, that felt so crucial to me in
respect to what I was witnessing. And I wanted to answer them. I would
reflect on this over the coming months, coming back to it now and again,
to see what comes up.
This is why I took time out of my career to reflect consciously
before it was too late, on my life, on the direction of my life, on what I
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am doing with my life and why. The direction my life is going and why.
I lay back on my hard moth eaten mattress, my mind running at
great speed, when I had this inspirational thought that just popped into
my head from out of nowhere. When I was in India I would go to an
ashram. Yes. A secluded place of tranquillity. A quiet location designed to
help a guest rest and perhaps reflect internally about their life and where
they are. I wanted to learn about meditation whilst creating some space to
reflect on the direction I wanted to take my life. I might even follow some
teachings. Perhaps gain some insight about life from the masters of the
East. I would take time out for me. For my internal growth. For change.
Yes, that felt right. That is what I shall do.
The beauty of travel. The beauty of choice.
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Chapter 8
The rainforests of Borneo.
‘All life has intrinsic value regardless of its value to humans.’

Arne Naess, Norwegian Philosopher, 1912–2009
My time in Latin America had flown by. I couldn’t believe six months had
already passed, and what an experience. The ancient ruins, the diverse
landscapes, the rich cultures and their people, clothing, music, food. I
would have been happy to stay longer. To head south towards Patagonia,
but that was for another trip. It’s good not to see everything now, then I
have some new places to visit for another time. However, I now felt quite
confident to continue my travels on into Southeast Asia.
I flew out of Latin America from Bolivia via Chile to Auckland,
New Zealand. I had a massive culture shock. Arriving from the poorest
country in Latin America, namely Bolivia, to New Zealand where
everything was clean, modern, functional and, quite frankly, a lovely
treat for me. As soon as I got off the plane I had to go to the toilet. It
was probably something I had eaten in Bolivia; either way my stomach
didn’t feel good. So my first experience in New Zealand was in a toilet.
A super clean modern toilet with shiny black tiled floors, modern lighting
and huge mirrors. I must say I actually quite appreciated this cleanliness
after the majority of very rustic places I had been staying in, where there
was often just a hole in the floor. Where you hoped you didn’t slip, fall or
have diarrhoea. I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. I was back
in world I knew. The Western world.
I only spent three weeks in New Zealand, over Christmas and
New Year, which is simply not enough time, I know. I spent a week on the
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8. The rainforests of Borneo.
north island with distant relatives. They were all so kind and welcoming.
I was so grateful to have another family to be with during this special
period, although I guess it was somewhat different putting on sun cream
and eating salad in the daylight heat compared with freezing your toes
off back at home in the UK. After a brief week in Auckland interspersed
with some awesome surf in Raglan I made it down to the south island,
the fjords, Franz Josef glazier and Queenstown. It’s amazing but I was
getting comfortably numb to this luxurious Western comfort. Things like
hot water, familiar food, everyone speaking and looking English. I quite
liked it and I realised I had to brace myself and get back into my raw
travels and onto the slightly less developed countries of Laos, Vietnam
and Indonesia. I flew on to Sydney and from there on to Bangkok, where
the fun and games began, again!
Oh, my God! Bangkok is absolute chaos. Even at the best of
times. People everywhere, tuk tuks screaming by belching out toxic
fumes. Trains running over main roads causing massive traffic jams.
And arriving at midnight does not make matters any better. I found some
really dodgy place to crash for the night in Kho San Road. I hate it when I
can hear the scurry of little creatures on the floor beneath me. Just makes
me cringe and want to get the hell out of there. Well, it was either that or
the street – I’d probably wake up in just my boxer shorts, and that was if
I was lucky. So I decided for the dirty room but thank goodness for those
thin silk sleeping bag liners. My Dad popped this liner into my bag and
the amount of times I have used it on dirty beds, I’ve lost count. But hey,
that’s what you get on a tight budget around the world. It’s all part of
the rich package! Ha-ha. And the best thing about a shoestring budget is
often you are closer to the action, literally, and closer to the culture and
people you are with. Not being locked away in a luxury hotel you really
get a feel for what’s going on and how people live.
I continued to travel for a further three months in Southeast Asia.
First visiting Thailand, Cambodia, then Laos, Vietnam and Thailand again
before going south to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Travelling by
bus, boat, bike and anything else that would take me along my way.
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Me in Luang Prabang Laos
River Journey Luang Prabang Laos
Thailand Beach
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Rice Padi Vietnam
Rice Padi Vietnam
While in Thailand, some nine months into my journey, my boss at BT

contacted with some ‘bad news’. My boss told me that due to the economical
crisis that had started as soon I left (great timing) they had to let me go. Due
to my being there over five years there were some laws that needed to be
adhered to that were rather favourable to me, financially. Basically it meant
I had no job to go back to but I did get a good redundancy package. I spoke
to my parents and I heard the two different perspectives. My Dad being
rather concerned about what I would do and offering his sympathy, asking
whether I would come back. What I should do next, knowing that we are
in a recession. To the contrast of my Mum, bless her. She said, and these
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are her words, “It looks like the chess pieces have been moved for you
from up above”. I reflected on her statement a while and later realised what
she meant and that she was right. This is meant to be. This is part of my
path and my journey. So right in fact, that I was now in a unique position.
My work relationship now being terminated, I now had both a little bit
of money and time to explore further and follow my heart. Amazing and
funny, I thought, how things turn out. Immediately at this point I decided to
extend my trip a further six months so I did not have to rush through Asia or
India. Of course, I didn’t tell my family that until later on but that was my
immediate thinking and plan after hearing this news. Excellent!
It’s a hard life, I thought, with a smile on my face, when you are
on your path! J
Surfing in Indonesia
I’d been travelling for four months in Southeast Asia and had
left Thailand. I was in Bali, Indonesia, surfing, when one morning I
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just woke up and realised ten months had passed. Wow, almost a year.
I had been constantly on the move. Every three to five days moving
from one place to another, from one amazing event or fun filled activity
to another. However, now, suddenly, the constant moving about was
losing its appeal and yet I was in no mood to go home. There was one
final something I wanted to experience before I headed for the ashrams
of India and Nepal and my internal work. That final something was
to experience the primary jungles of Sumatra or Borneo and possibly
even see a wild orang-utan. But it also meant travelling again, which in
Indonesia means hours and days of travel. I then realised Indonesia is
the same size as the rest of Southeast Asia combined, with a population
of 230 million people. Not a small country at all. These two islands,
Sumatra and Borneo, were hundreds of miles away from where I was.
Certainly an air flight or two.
The following morning I had what I call an inspirational idea
or thought. A brilliant idea that just pops into your head from nowhere.
Well, my idea was this. I could do voluntary work in one of these islands,
perhaps in one of the national parks or sanctuaries. That way I could
spend time in the forest where I love to be, just being with nature. I
could stop my travel and I could give something back, which I thought
could be a rewarding experience. How brilliant is that! I thought about
it over breakfast and it felt so right that I decided immediately to email
the national parks with my proposal. I could offer a lot. My time, my
energy and my passion for the environment, my knowledge and work
experience from the corporate sector. Why not? Having now travelled
through Latin America and Southeast Asia for almost a year I had seen
a lot of destruction of the planet caused by sometimes ignorant human
behaviour. I felt I wanted to learn more about the different causes of this
destruction while taking action and doing something constructive to help
save the environment.
As I was doing this I thought, as I often do, that if it’s meant
to be, it will be. With that in mind I sent out six emails that Saturday
morning offering my assistance to do anything required for a month or
so. I didn’t expect to hear much that weekend but by Monday I did get
one email back. It was from a man in Borneo. He was from Indonesia,
living and working in Ketapang. He told me that his team were working
on a couple of projects in Borneo and I was welcome to come over and
help out. We discussed in very broad terms what the projects were and
how I might help out.
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I agreed to pay for my travel and he agreed that I could sleep in

the office for free along with the other employees. I should chip in for
food, which is fair enough. It was settled. Literally within two days I
arranged my travel and was on my way to Borneo. Amazing.
Needless to say I was very excited. Not only excited about the
prospect of doing voluntary work but also excited to see the wheels
of the universe in motion. To see my intentional thoughts coming to
fruition and so quickly.
I must say that when you are on your path, you know it, you feel it
inside. How? It feels right. You get signs, situations, and events guiding you.
Things fall into place, somehow seamlessly. I had an inspirational thought
(volunteering in Borneo), I acted upon it with the right action (emailed the
parks) whilst keeping my eyes open for any further signs (the reply email) to
guide me along my way.
From day one of my travels I used both my intuition (gut feeling)
to keep me safe and out of trouble and also my intentional thought
(prayer, focused thoughts) to get things like hostels arranged. Even for
the smallest of things like when I arrive at night in a new town and I
am looking for a hostel or an honest taxi driver or a seat on a bus, I use
intentional thought and I am astonished at the rate of rapid and positive
response. Each time it works, each time I am helped. I will talk more in-
depth about this in Chapter 11.
It took me two days of solid travel to get from Bali to Borneo. I arrived
safely and filled with excitement and anticipation. My final destination was
a small town by the name of Ketapang in Kalimantan Province, Southwest
Borneo. Arriving off the boat, I waited a little while, got some weird looks
from the locals. They were thinking, what is this white man doing standing
out here in the middle of nowhere? But I did not feel threatened; I had got
used to people staring at me by now and shrugged it off. They are simply
curious. Finally a young guy came by and picked me up. It was a ten or
fifteen minute drive to the office. Once in the office I met the small but very
welcoming team. I felt some of them were also a little surprised to see a
Westerner turn up on their doorstep and offer to help out for free. A novel
concept for them. I soon found out where and how I was going to be helping
them. The team explained to me two key areas of activity that they worked
on, the first being bat research related to forest protection and orang-utan
conservation and the second, a socio-economic programme with the local
indigenous people. What a coincidence! I was getting used to these now and
paying more attention to the signs and the messages they held for me.
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The office was like a large house converted into an office with
a kitchen and kind of a bathroom. I slept there in a small room. Other
colleagues slept in the office too; we all had small side rooms. And when
in the field I ate what my local colleagues ate and slept where they slept.
All very basic.
I felt really excited inside about going into the jungle. This is
where I feel at home. When in nature. To actually be doing something
useful to help protect the environment. Probably the first time in my life
and it felt good, it felt right. I also thought this would not be the last
time, my working to help save the planet, it might even be the beginning!
When I am in the forest or jungle, I feel so alive. Literally I do. When
I am in nature my well being feels elevated, it feels higher than normal.
Higher than when I am in the town or city. I feel re-energised and
revitalised when I am with nature and there is a reason for this. Energy.
This experience and feeling not only happens with me but with all human
beings. It is completely natural and spontaneous to feel happy, at ease,
content in nature. It’s our home.
Please pause. When was the last time you were in nature for a
day or afternoon, either walking the dog or on you own or with a partner?
Do you remember how that felt, how that feels when you have been in
nature? How do you feel afterwards? Do you feel invigorated?
There is a reason for this. Nature is a source of energy, it is one of
the key ways human beings replenish themselves, along with nutritious
food, sleep, love, among other things. Nature takes its energy from the sun
and manifests this energy in all manner of shapes and forms, not least in
the form of food (starch) from photosynthesis. So when we are in nature,
even without realising it, our body, both our physical and metaphysical
bodies, soaks up this energy. That is why it’s very important to spend at
least one day a week if not more interacting with or surrounded by nature.
Ideally a little time each day would be best but I know it’s not always
possible. It is important to understand this fact because it is an important
ingredient for the spiritual person on their spiritual path. Whether your
passion is the environment and you wish to dedicate your working life to
this cause or whether you just consciously choose to be with nature and
appreciate it as it is. This awareness of nature, its beauty, its energy, is
important to our evolution and to our long term survival.
After a few days of getting used to my surroundings in the office
and Ketapang I left with a few other colleagues for our first field trip.
The local forest rangers were our guides. We loaded up the truck and our
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driver drove us as near as he could to the outskirts of the forest. From

where the road ended we were on foot. We walked for five hours into the
rainforest with our backpacks, crossing rivers and streams, climbing over
and under logs. Sometimes the logs would be 2–3 metres high above the
stream so I had to really get my balance right for fear of falling down
below. Quite nerve racking with a rucksack on your back. Needless to say
the heart was pounding.
Rainforest Trek Borneo
I had been walking for about three hours now deep into the jungle
and I could still hear this awful alien sound that made me feel quite sad and
angry. I wonder if you can guess what the sound might be? What sound
would make you sad and angry while walking in pristine rainforests?
It was the sound of chainsaws. Ferociously cutting down this old
forest. Can you imagine? My heart just sank. The often unknown, untold
reality of our world. I thought, how could this be? Men cutting down
these beautiful trees, destroying this precious diverse habitat. Why? I
had to stop walking to take this all in. I began thinking to myself, ‘Is
this done in the name of money and profit or survival?’ Either way there
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is a disconnection of the human being from nature, the rainforest and

our planet. I told myself there must be other ways to sustain ourselves
aside from cutting down the last remaining forests. ‘These destructive
dysfunctional actions,’ I thought ‘are a mirror of our own disease ridden
society.’ Why is it so vital that we cut down the last remaining natural
habitats of the world? Please tell me. I found this whole experience quite
traumatic, to be honest. It really became clear in my mind that we are
really losing our fragile Earth, and fast. Whether anyone in power knows
in Europe or America, or cares, I don’t know, but it is our all consuming
societies and economies that allow and fuel this destructive, dysfunctional
behaviour. There is little accountability or traceability of products to their
source. I was left feeling we must reconnect with nature and the Earth as
a species, if, as a people we are to save ourselves, because the planet will
still be here, but will we still be here? That reconnection will surely mean
we must re-prioritise what is valuable and what is sacred and so guide our
values, activities and actions accordingly. If we do not change our ways
soon, we will perish, because there will simply be no Earth to live upon.
Just as I caught back up with the group I saw a sight that made
this disconnect, this catastrophe even more real, as if that awful alien
engine sound wasn’t enough. There was a huge pile of freshly cut timber
just beside our path ready for transport out of the forest. I was told by
the team that this timber is been illegally extracted from the forest and
will be shipped to a factory for processing into furniture sold to the West
where no one will know the true source of this wood. The buyer totally
unaware of their purchase is unconsciously supporting the destruction of
our rainforests and the continued profits of these timber companies. This
sickened me and saddened me to my core. I felt the pain of the forest and all
those that live here. The pain derived from someone destroying its home.
Like it was being abused or raped. All these events in the rainforest had a
big impact on me and made me realise that I must listen to and follow my
heart. That could quite possibly mean changing sector and relate my work
more to education about and the protection of the environment.
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Illegal timber Borneo
Illegal logger Borneo
Finally we got to the forest ranger’s station, which was to be

my home for the next week and our base from where we would work.
I felt very fortunate, even privileged; no tourists are allowed here, only
conservationists and local park rangers. I shared a very basic wooden hut
with a fellow colleague just on the edge of a stream. Four walls, a roof
and a floor on stilts. I was astonished at how clean the stream was. So
clean that we used it to refill our drinking bottles each day with absolutely
no stomach upsets. Can you imagine how clean that water must have
been? Of course, we cooked with this water and we washed in it too.
It was very evident to me that without this clean pure stream water we
could not have survived out here.
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My hut in forest Borneo
There were families of monkeys living in the canopy above my

hut. I woke up to their calls in the morning along with the orchestra of
other sounds coming from this very alive forest. Frogs, birds, insects,
hundreds of creatures communicating, living and working together in
harmony. Coexisting in partnership. I was smack bang in the middle of it,
the jungle. Finally. I felt at home.
For breakfast, lunch and dinner I would eat rice with some
accompaniment. No knives and forks, just my hands. I’d sit on the floor
of the wooden cabin and tuck into my meal. Often we were tired after
trekking round the forest so the meal was most welcome. I’d go down to
the stream and fetch a glass of water. I will be honest with you, to have a
savoury rice dish for breakfast after a while was harder going than I had
imagined. I did have the odd craving for a piece of toast or bowl of cereal,
but hey, I was in the jungles of Borneo!
One reason why any conservation organisation might perform bat
research within a particular forest is that the presence of many bat species of
living in the forest is a very good sign of the biological diversity of fauna and
flora, or the richness, of the forest. Why? Because bats have a very varied
diet that includes insects, rodents, small birds, fruits and nuts, among other
foods. Many bats living in a particular habitat means there must be many
other animals there for them to feed upon – a healthy web of life.
In order to perform our research we walked around the immediate
forest within an hour’s radius of the base camp along tracks used by the
local indigenous forest people. The same tracks the bats use. We were
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looking for clear trails that had high foliage on either side to lay our large
bat nets. Bats fly out and look for food using their sonar to detect prey at
dawn and dusk only. We set up six or seven bat nets during the day, 50
metres apart along our chosen trail for that particular day. The nets are
basically a square metal frame, a metre by a metre with fishing wire tied
from top to bottom in many vertical lines with small gaps in between.
There is a pouch or bag at the bottom to collect the bats that have been
caught and fallen down into the bag.
Around seven in the morning and eight at night we would go to
the nets and collect any bats caught in the under pouch. Using a cotton
bag over my hand I carefully reached down into the pouch and collected
one bat at a time, placing it very carefully in the cotton bag. Each bat was
placed into an individual cotton bag and brought back to the station.
There, details such as the species, gender, vocal calls, size, weight
were all meticulously recorded. Thereafter, once the data were recorded,
we went back into the forest to the spot where the bat was collected
and we released it back into the forest. (We did not tag the bats.) The
information recorded was input into a database that would later be used to
help compile a document. This document in turn would be used to inform
the potential donor to further contribute funds to the work being done
and submitted to the government in Jakarta with a request to preserve and
save this particular area of rainforest due to its high biodiversity value.
This was the final objective of this phase in the conservation work.
I just want to share with you a short little story about releasing a
beautiful little bat. As I mentioned, just after dawn around 7am, we carefully
carried back the bats in cotton bags. We always walked to the exact location
from where we had captured them the night before. Well, upon arriving at the
bat net, I had perhaps five or six bags in my hand. Some bags were jumping
around so clearly the bats had woken up. I would carefully open the bag,
being sure not to damage the bas legs or wings or anything else and usually
the bat just flew away. Probably back to its home to rest.
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Bat Release Borneo
Well, in this last bag there was no movement at all. Just stillness.
An awful thought ran through my mind – surely not; surely this poor little
bat could not be dead. Perhaps dying during the night. What a tragedy,
I thought. I looked at it for a little while in the bag, but no movement
whatsoever. How awful. I decided to try to take him out of the bag anyway.
Very carefully I slowly opened up the bag, bringing him to the opening of
the bag. Still nothing. Oh no, come on, I thought. So then I decided to lift
him up out of the bag with my hand and find a branch that he could stay
on. I found a fallen tree trunk and carefully placed him on a flat part of it.
He didn’t move. Well, I spoke to my Indonesian friend and colleague. He
said we would have to leave him there. I felt awful. As we were talking, I
was looking at the bat and I thought I saw a movement of his right ear. I
couldn’t be sure so I called quietly to my colleague to come over and have
a look. We were both peering at the bat, the bat’s eyes still closed. Then I
saw another movement of the body. This time I was sure. My goodness, I
thought, he could be alive. Just a little time later his ears started moving
from left to right, scanning the sounds of the forest. Then he opened his
eyes. I looked at my colleague and we both gave out a sigh of relief. The bat
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then began to re-open his crumpled wings, stretching them, testing them, I
guess, making sure they still worked. Clearly he’d had a rough night. Then
in a moment, lift off. He flew up above us, up up and away. Back to his
home. Oh, I was so elated. To think we might have accidentally killed him
would have been dreadful. I smiled at my colleague with a feeling of relief
and we both walked back to base to tell the story to the rest of team having
breakfast. This was quite an emotional experience to see this bat alive again
and to think it is because of these bats (and our work) that the government
of Jakarta may choose to save this piece of rainforest.
To conclude the story of the bat research work, it is the first time
this work has been carried out in West Kalimantan and the initial research
results are very positive regards discovering the rich biodiversity of the
forest. We collected some ten species of bat and some hundred individual
bats during our time here. I didn’t get to see any orang-utangs but one of
my Indonesian colleagues did in the canopy above us.
Orang-utang Borneo
Later, back in the office, I read the ninety page report being
produced by the team and discussed the use of a Management Summary.
I explained the concept and having read the full report they agreed to my
going ahead and compiling a Management Summary, which I did. Both
documents are now being used to inform the government of Indonesia and
donors of the work with the hope of securing what is left of this area of
forest from loggers. It just goes to show we all have many skills to offer.
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The Web of Life

While I worked, and certainly when I was not working, I observed
the forest closely. Simply exquisite. The colours, shapes and sounds. I
hear all sorts of birds and frogs, see small families of monkeys in the tree
tops above me. Long lines of marching ants devouring all that come in
their way along the forest floor. I see more clearly the intricacy of how
everything is interlinked, interconnected and dependent upon each other.
This collaboration astounds me. The animals on the forest floor eating
what falls or is discarded from above. And if not eaten by animals below
then digested by fungi and bacteria into soil nutrients for the trees to then
use as source minerals, along with the rays of the sun to produce starch
(food/energy) in leaves, branches, fruits and nuts. All interconnected. All
interdependent upon each other for their existence.
I have come to understand that the soil in tropical rainforest
regions, like here in Borneo, but also in the Amazon basin and the African
Congo basin, are quite shallow. The soil lacks any real depth, perhaps
being only a metre or so deep. All the tree roots in the rainforest grow out
horizontally as opposed to vertically. The nutrients within the soil come
mainly from the continual falling of leaves and other vegetation and
animal matter that in turn decomposes naturally to provide the needed
nutrients in the soil for the trees. Hence the interdependency. Without
this self sustaining natural process the forest floor would not replenish
itself and so would become weak in nutrients and so unable to sustain the
forest and all its inhabitants above…and so no life. This cyclical process
of events is key to life’s evolution. It is quite amazing when you look at
it and reflect on it in more detail.
The rainforests here are, or were, one of the purest and oldest
untouched forests in the world. Home to some of the oldest (400 years
old) and most valuable (both in commercial and conservation terms) trees
in the world such as the Dipterocarpaceae tree reaching some sixty-five
metres high into the canopy. This is why the illegal logging pirates are
here, to take the trees from the land for short term financial gain.
Both progress and success of conservation and rejuvenation of
the forests is slow but this work must be done. Otherwise this forest will
literally be gone in our generation and it will be many decades or even
centuries before this primary forest would ever be the same again. If
ever! I have learnt that some forests don’t actually grow back but turn to
desert due to the bare top soil oxidising and then being blown away. This
is known as desertification.
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Often, wherever I looked in Latin America and Asia, I saw very

serious environmental degradation and pollution of one sort or another. I
understand over 30% of the Brazilian rainforest has already been deforested.
This rainforest provides fresh air, fresh water, along with medicinal plants,
food and oxygen, all for free. I argue that it’s better to leave it standing.
I wonder, as I write to you, do you feel you are beginning to
understand the seriousness of what is at stake today? Do you sense that we
are taking far more than our fair share from other animals and habitats to
maintain our frivolous lifestyles? The fate of the forests, of the habitats, of
all the animals that have been evolving for millions of years is in jeopardy
today, and I am not exaggerating. We are a part of this habitat but it may
be that living in busy cities creates the illusion that we are not. That we are
separate. That we are somehow different and do not need these habitats
any more, because we have offices and skyscrapers. Let me assure you, the
opposite is true. We completely and utterly rely on nature’s rich ecosystems
for our very existence on this planet. We are part of life’s rich tapestry and
when we destroy these habitats and food chains, we are destroying our own
existence and ability to survive. Why? Our existence is dependent upon
Earth’s ecosystems for clean food, water, air, climate regulation, insect
pollination, rainfall, and many other things we take for granted. We cannot
live or survive without the natural world. It is really important. However,
our current way of producing and consuming is completely unsustainable.
It is our ‘consumer society’ thinking and behaviour that is destroying the
last remaining bits of nature in the name of limitless economic growth
and consumption, whilst we live on a planet with finite resources. Simple
intelligence alone tells you this is unsustainable.
Palm Oil and the Destruction it Causes

I would like to share something very important with you, which
most of us are kept completely unaware of as citizens and customers. I
stayed for about a week working in the rainforest before heading back to
Ketapang and then on to India. During my time here in Borneo I learnt
a lot about another issue, the cultivation of palm oil, that is completely
connected with the deforestation, illegal logging, the timber trade and the
conservation work we were doing. Roads are forcefully made into the forest
with heavy industrial machinery, usually illegally, to extract the valuable
old trees. Once these roads exist, initially the timber that is most valuable,
both economically and ecologically, is extracted illegally along with any
valuable wildlife for onwards sale. After this phase of destruction the forest
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is totally degraded. Thereafter, an oil palm company will submit a request to

use the now considerably less valuable forest with the objective of making
a palm oil plantation. Permission granted, and sometimes even when not,
a slash and burn process takes place to clear the ground for planting. This
burning process releases millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide, previously
stored in the wood, into the atmosphere. Sometimes animals are burned
and killed in the process too. This is just to prepare a deforested land ready
for farming from what was a pristine rainforest.
Palm oil takes five years to produce its first harvest, however;
the rainforest soil is actually poor in nutrients due to its shallow ground.
The soil is only nutrient rich for two years. And so toxic oil derived
chemicals (fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides) are used to aid the harvest.
The overflow of these toxic chemicals in turn flows into the rivers and
streams, contaminating the water tables, local drinking water and the
food chain (fish).
So, unknown to a lot of you and to me (the end customer), palm oil
is used in hundreds, possibly thousands, of consumer products throughout
the industrialised world today. The cosmetics, food and energy industries use
palm oil for products such as soap, shampoo, food, cakes, biscuits because it
is very versatile, nutrient rich and cheap. Often labelled as vegetable oil, not
palm oil, it comes without any proof of sustainable sourcing.
Now you may be asking, ‘Luke, why are you telling me about
palm oil? Why should I care?’ I am sharing this fact of business life
with you because one key way to get things changed in this world is
through the education of and increasing awareness in the citizen, the end
customer, us. I am writing about my experience in Borneo, the illegal
loggers, the palm oil industry and the destruction of rainforest to create
farm land in order to raise the awareness of these issues in the public
domain. To expose how some products are manufactured and to learn
more specifically how the ingredients in these products are directly
harming the environment and the rainforests of Southeast Asia and Latin
America. Citizens (us) speaking up and demanding action and change
from supermarkets and brands is one way we can effect change and
transform the existing destructive business model. Awareness not only
empowers us to ask questions about the origins of products’ ingredients,
but it also enables us to change our purchase decisions by being more
informed in what we choose to buy. Us, the people, acting and voting
with our dollar to influence change. Awareness dispels ignorance. With
awareness comes empowerment and the possibility for new action.
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So what can you do? Of course, firstly, become educated and

aware. Watch the ten minute documentary listed here http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=M4gPGX58CQI&feature=related. But secondly,
you can ask when buying a product from a shop or supermarket whether
it has palm oil in it. And if the label says vegetable oil, if there is any palm
oil in that. Of course, increased pressure from civil society upon large
food companies also helps them to buy sustainable sourced raw materials
and supplies. Ultimately, I do believe unsustainable products should not
be allowed to be sold in our supermarkets at all. Furthermore, I hope
and believe we are coming to a point where this disregard for planet
and people should not be allowed to continue any more. The ‘Triple P’
bottom line (people, planet, profit) must all be taken into account when
pricing products and be included in the price, not excluded.
When you travel, it makes you more aware of global issues, it opens
your eyes and mind to matters beyond our own local town and to other topics
that need to be understood and discussed if we are to live in a more sustainable
manner. Even more than ever we are living in a globalised economy and
system whereby decisions we make impact the lives of people on the other
side of the planet. When we buy fairtrade products (coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate
etc), we can help the lives of millions of less fortunate families. Travel provides
perspective, whilst making you very grateful for what you have, and, if you
are open, it can offer opportunities for you to grow, change and to give back in
some way, which is a really rewarding experience.
It was not so much that the bat research in itself was my inspiration
to be there in Borneo. It was more about just being there in the jungle,
appreciating its beauty whilst working to protect it. Doing something
that I loved but at the same having the chance to give back in the form of
voluntary service. That is why I was there and why I share this with you.
My love for nature is part of me and so naturally nature is part of my story.
My time and work in Borneo have felt so right. I stopped
travelling, stayed in one place, and began to get a better understanding
of the local culture and the local and global issues these people face. I
learnt so many new things and, hopefully, I was also able to give back
what I could with my hard work and good soul. Furthermore I found
the experience of giving very rewarding, it made me happy inside.
Interesting…giving makes you really genuinely happy inside.
Well, I was off to India. Honestly, I was a little anxious. I had
heard India is extremely full on! Sensory overload. I try not to have any
expectations whenever I go somewhere new but I can’t help it. I felt a
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little intimidated by India before I’d even arrived. I think it is because

the country is so rich and powerful in history, knowledge, wisdom.
Overwhelming, I imagined, in sheer size and volume. Not that Indonesia
is small with 230 million people, but one billion people plus. That’s a lot!
It felt totally right now travelling to India. To spend some quality
time on nurturing myself whilst learning from ancient masters and
focusing on my spiritual evolution. I knew this chapter of my travels
would be quite different from the last year. For one I would not be
travelling so much and would not be busy with external things but simply
focusing on my internal healing and growth. I was very excited about this
and felt really blessed and grateful.
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Part 3:
Transformation
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Chapter 9
India…Vipassana meditation.
‘Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate
the mind on the present moment.’
Buddha, Founder of Buddhism, 563–483bc
Wooooh! India is full on! Getting off the plane, no lie, I swear, I felt this
strong powerful hot air spewing onto my back. I thought it was coming
from the jet engine of the plane like some industrial hairdryer, but no,
it was the wind in Delhi. Wow – 45 Celsius. Can you imagine? I know
it was July but, come on, this was just ridiculous. I then managed to
get a totally demoniacally possessed psychotic taxi driver who spoke no
English and could not read my Lonely Planet map. He had a total disdain
and disregard for all other traffic. Each time we came up to a red traffic
light he just ignored it and went on through. I was like, what, I am not in
a rush. Calm down. Jeeze. I looked outside to see if anyone could see me,
or us, and even the local Indians had looks on their faces watching this
maniac. I also called back to the driver in agreement with the shocked
on-lookers, trying to tell the guy to slow down. He looked round at me
once or twice; his eyes were distinctly red and bloodshot. I thought, ‘He’s
on drugs. I swear, ketamine or something hardcore that makes you look
vacant and possessed. If that’s at all possible. Now I know why he was so
nervous, acting all possessed, he’s on some bad drugs.’ I started praying
that this would all be over soon, he would stop the car somewhere,
anywhere, and I would get out. Please.
I mean I am not a nervous passenger and some might say I drive
a little too fast myself sometimes but this was just downright dangerous. I
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mean, I really felt my life was in danger and any minute now we could have
a full on collision. Mirrors almost touching as we skimmed past other cars.
Well, he brought me to this disgusting hostel in a very dirty fly
ridden neighbourhood, and this was a tip from another traveller. I didn’t
even want to think what bad hygiene looks like here. Well, I knew exactly
what I had to do. Get the hell out of here and pronto! I found a local travel
agent on the corner that sent me to the New Delhi train station, which
is basically a huge squatters’ den for the poor. But I was on a mission,
and for those of you who know me (not many, I know), well, you knew
I wasn’t going to be stopped. Walking through the masses of bodies on
the floor, some of them having full-on picnics on the train station floor,
I made my way up to the first floor ticket office for foreigners. Luckily I
managed to buy one of the last seats on the train leaving for Rishikesh the
next day. Thank goodness.
Job done, I headed back to the grim reaper’s hotel for what
was sure to be a fitful sleepless night. The heat was just unbearable
and I was constantly sweating like a pig. I got some food then went
up to my room on the third floor. Wow, it was so hot. I had a small
pathetic noisy little fan that did bugger all to help. I ended up having
to take a valium just to sleep. Usually I keep my precious valium for
monster long bus journeys but that night the heat was so bad, I lay
there sweating until I fell asleep.
The next morning I had some pretty awful breakfast at this grim
reaper hotel so I decided to go for a walk and find some food before
getting my train later in the afternoon. Walking around I stumbled across
this small Indian restaurant with a friendly man at the door welcoming
me in. I had a quick look at the menu and decided to go in. ‘Ah, Chicken
Tikka Masala’, I thought, that is what me and the boys often ordered
back home after a heavy night out on the town, so why not. So the man
scuttled off with my order behind a curtain and into a dimly lit dirty
looking kitchen. There’s no health and safety here, I thought. On that
note I thought to myself maybe I should have ordered vegetables, at least
then it’s only the water that can contaminate your system. Too late, he
was already on his way back bringing me a small starter. Oh well. Shortly
after, he brought the main course. It smelt and looked good so I began
immediately. It tasted good, the chicken I mean, so did the sauce. After
enjoying my meal I finished up with a cup of traditional Indian Chai (tea).
I then walked back slowly to my hostel to pick up my bags but I wasn’t
sure if I was feeling too good.
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9. India…Vipassana meditation.
When I got to the hostel I asked the lady if there was anywhere I
could lie down until I had to get a taxi to the train station (I had checked
out already). She kindly led me to a room where I rested my stomach for
a little while before leaving. All of a sudden I felt bowel movements. Oh
no! I ran to the toilet in the room and released what seemed like a dead
animal. What was in that meal? Chicken. Perhaps I shouldn’t have eaten
meat. The locals were eating it, why not? Well, thank goodness there was
a toilet in the room or I may not have made it.
Once finished, I splashed my face with water and ordered a taxi.
My stomach was still feeling strange. I had an awful thought this might
not be the last of my irritable bowl syndrome. Luckily I had managed to
buy a sleeper bed in an air-conditioned carriage in the train. I didn’t want
a repeat of last night’s catastrophe, sleeping in a sauna. I managed to
catch the sunset from my window, as the train made its way up the north
of India, looking out over the plains. I was tired and didn’t feel great and
so decided to try to go to bed early, if that’s at all possible when sharing
a cabin with five other noisy people, but, hey, I tried. Ear plugs in, eye
mask on, valium and sleep.
Having not been in bed for more than five minutes, my stomach
starts hurting again and my arse feels like it’s about to explode. Oh my god,
I thought, grabbed toilet paper and ran out of bed to the toilet, a dirty toilet
with a hole in the ground, and held onto the side bar for dear life. The train
raced along the train tracks while I squatted there in my flip flops. What a
disaster. Afterwards, I made it back to my bed and tried again to rest. I slept
for about an hour max, before my stomach started hurting again. Come on,
I thought, twice is enough, but three times. I ran again to the toilet, but this
time it was dark. The cabin and walk way lights were off. I didn’t make it
on time. Shit! I had an accident in my pants on the way to the toilet. How
awful. That’s terrible. I got to the toilet, squatted and held onto the bar for
dear life again. Whilst squatting I thought to myself I will never eat meat
again in this country. I did my business and came back. This time I took a
pill to settle my stomach and finally fell asleep again. What a journey, what
a nightmare. The joys of travel.
It was late by the time I got into Rishikesh. I was having a bit
of a nightmare to be honest. I was tired, it was dark, I needed a shower
and this was India. My first time here and the place is just full on. I was
trying to find this ashram that I had spotted in the Lonely Planet. It read
like it had a good mix of yoga and meditation classes, it was cheap and
pretty central. However, when I finally found it and managed to speak to
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someone on the door they told me the ashram was closed to foreigners
this month due to the Shiva month. This month of July the Shiva festival
was taking over the place. What can I say, the religious tourists have
taken over the ashram.
I came out of there a bit annoyed, stood there by the front gate
thinking what to do next when this little Indian boy was watching me. He
came up to me and asked if I was looking for a place to stay. My intuition
kicked in, I listened and watched him, his body language, mannerisms. He
seemed trustworthy so I decided to follow him. To be honest I was beginning
to get tired and I hadn’t worked out a plan B. I followed him for about ten
minutes to the back of the town to this hostel that was also mobbed by Shiva
lovers. I checked out the room; it was pretty basic, a mattress on a bed frame,
so I said yes and took the room for the night. I brought out my life saving
satin bed liner and crashed. The temperature was warm, hey it’s July, but
nothing like Delhi. Thank goodness I arrived safely. I fell asleep.
I had only been in India a couple of days but I felt it. A shock
to the system. I had been travelling for a year and so was quite used to
it but, honestly, India is Full On! I took a walk down the local street and
this is what I saw. Cows everywhere. Why aren’t they in fields?! I see
random cows in the street, sitting or standing right in the middle of the
street where everyone is walking. I have never seen anything quite like it
and everyone just walks by and leaves them there. People don’t even try
to move them, they just drive round them. It seems cows are holy. Right,
OK, so we just leave them? I watched this cow eat a plastic bag today!
I know, terrible. Can’t be good for its indigestion. The smell, oh shit,
sometimes you just have to close your nose, walk past and breath with
your mouth open. But be careful, there are millions of flies everywhere. I
saw butchers tending to meat out in the sun with swarms of flies buzzing
all around. Oh my god, I must turn vegetarian or I’ll die. Of course, I
made the mistake of leaving the guest house wearing flip flops. Well, I
was dodging the cow shit which was everywhere. It’s a health hazard.
The cow shit splashed up all on my legs as tuk tuks drove past and now I
had cow shit under all my toe nails. Lovely.

Shiva Month
Shiva, the name meaning ‘Auspicious One’, is one of the main
gods in Hinduism, along with some other gods I know, such as Vishnu
(Supreme God), Devi (Supreme Goddess), Surya (Supreme Light) and
Ganesha (Remover of Obstacles). Apparently July is the month of the
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Shiva festival and Rishikesh is the holy location of this hugely important
festival in the Hindu calendar. I found out that India has at least one festival
every two weeks that attract the hoarding Hindu masses. Apparently this
is what religious tourism is and it’s very big business in India. Well, there
were about one hundred thousand men and woman dressed in orange
there with me in Rishikesh. To be honest, this was all a bit too much and
I knew I should try to find somewhere more chilled out. The search was
on. To look for some peace and quiet. I had to get away from this absolute
mayhem that is the Shiva festival.
Shiva Festival Rishikesk India
Shiva festival Rishikesk India
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Shiva Festival Rishikesk India
Having had a good look round Rishikesh I quickly realised I needed to

find somewhere outside of the town to stay in. It was so busy and noisy, I
couldn’t stay there. Speaking to a few travellers I heard about some guest
houses located five minutes outside town on a slight hill. I headed straight
there in a tuk-tuk to see if I could find a quiet place. I managed to finally
find somewhere quiet just outside the main town. I returned, picked up all
my stuff and went back to settle into my new quiet home.
I should like to add again at this point that my time in India
and Nepal was about me and my spiritual growth. Finding myself. At
this beginner’s stage I found it hard to centre and be still when I had
traffic, people and cows running all around me. Shit on my feet, severe
diarrhoea, coupled with sleepless fitful nights. I know, you’re probably
thinking, well, that is a perfect test, but I am just a beginner. I needed
a quiet place to help me settle my mind. I couldn’t do it with all this
mayhem around me, trust me, I just couldn’t.
Unlike the majority of the past 12 months in Latin America and
Southeast Asia, which was filled with several wonderful experiences
and adventures, I now felt I wanted to turn my journey inwards. India
and Nepal were all about exploring internally. I planned to take a
break from sight seeing and focus on me. As you know, I am just
a normal person, like you. However, I was taking some time out of
the rat race to dig a little deeper into what I was doing with my life.
The direction it was going in and why. And more importantly, what
did I want to do with my life, moving forward, and why. I wanted to
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spend some time in ashrams and retreats, to be still and learn about
meditation and the wisdoms of the East.
White Statue of Indian God Rishikesk India
So, while in Rishikesh I spoke to various travellers and learnt

about the different courses they were doing. Rishikesh is the yoga capital
of the world and along with yoga there are many other spiritual centres
for meditation, Ayurvedic medicine, reiki and other forms and centres
for healing and growth. I was open to learning more about these age old
medicines and so began exploring.
Ayurvedic
Ayurvedic medicine, also known as Ayurveda medicine (in Sanskrit
it means the Science of Life), is one of the oldest holistic medicines in the
world, dating back to 5000bc, along with Chinese (4000 bc) and Tibetan
medicine. The West, with its different world view, often sees Ayurvedic
medicine merely as an alternative medicine complementary to its work.
The problem with that is the West actually often only treats the symptoms
and does not often see the whole picture or the ‘true’ cause of the physical
manifestation or problem. Mainstream Western medicine is still unaware
of an ‘energetic’ layer to the body, of which the East has been convinced
for thousands of years.
The aim of Ayurvedic Indian medicine is to look at a patient
from a holistic perspective, that means taking into account the body,
mind, and soul. It looks at integrating and balancing these parts of
us to help prevent illness and promote wellness. As opposed to the
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Western way. Western medicine often looks at a problem or symptom

and prescribes a synthetic man-made pill to address the symptom but
sometimes fails to look at the cause. Western medicine is only just
beginning to acknowledge the mind–body connection. An example
could be stress within the mind leading to physical pain in the shoulder
or back. For me, when I have stress, for example at work, it manifests
in the area of my shoulder blades. Like a knife going into my muscles.
I had both stress and pain in my shoulders a lot of the time when I
was working in my corporate sales job. You might recognise stress
manifesting physically as back or chest pain, ulcer, heart problem or
headache. Stress is a killer. This is simply the brain channelling this
nervous energy, stress away from the brain so as to protect itself.
I was talking with this Swedish girl one day and she shared with
me what I thought to be a very interesting personal account of something
she had recently experienced herself, which I believe relates to this
holistic versus symptom view of healing. Her story demonstrated to me
what the local doctors were trying to explain. The connection between the
physical and emotional parts of her. She had been to see several Swedish
doctors because she was having aches and pains in the joints of her wrists,
knees and hips. They performed X-rays along with other tests but could
find nothing physically wrong with her and so they were baffled. Whilst
travelling, and still feeling the uncomfortable pain, she decided to consult
an Ayurvedic doctor and get another opinion. The doctor took her pulse
reading, asked her several questions and performed some other analysis.
After talking for a while they came onto the subject of her family and the
doctor asked how the relationship was with her and her father. The girl
was taken aback with a little shock and sadness too. The doctor continued
to ask the girl the same question. She then shared that indeed there was
a lot of unease, emotional turmoil and unrest in her relationship with her
father. After further discussion and analysis the doctor began to explain
the connection between the emotional unrest of the mind and the body.
The unrest itself was manifesting in the body in the form of pain in her
joints. To reduce the pain in her joints she needed to address the cause,
the emotional unrest in her mind caused by her turbulent relationship
with her father.
With this story I am simply trying to say there is more to us than
we see and we should not be in a position of thinking we know it all. This
story demonstrates to me that the mind, body and soul are interconnected.
That they all have an impact upon each other. Healthy mind equals a
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healthy body, the opposite being true. An unhealthy body often equals
an unhealthy mind, which brought me to learn a little about the Indian
medicine in the first place. Western Medicine is only slowly beginning to
recognise and accept the mind–body connection.
For example, I learnt that information is passed through nerve
cells (neurons) around the entire body all the time in the form of
electrical impulses. But between these nerve cells there is a gap called
a synapse. Something has to carry the electrical pulse across this gap.
Neurotransmitters perform this task. Chemicals that conduct electrical
impulses between the gaps of the nerve cells. In fact these neurotransmitters
form vast networks of ‘electrical circuits’ in our body. This contributes to
the existence of an invisible (to the human) field around our bodies called
the electromagnetic field. I explain this to you to give some context as to
why I am now beginning to believe that there is more to us than just our
physical body. We have an electromagnetic field that surrounds us.
This concept of our being more than just our physical bodies
was further strengthened by a course I took on chakras while I was in
Rishikesh. I had heard of these things before but did not know what they
were and wanted to learn more.
Chakras
Although I myself had no great experience of them, I kept hearing
about these chakras on my journey and I wanted to know more about what
they were. I will explain as best I can what I took from the teachings.
According to eastern beliefs we all have an energetic layer within
us and around us that in turn is connected to universal intelligence and the
universe’s energetic field. This connection is through the top of our heads.
There are two basic currents of energy, a male and a female, intertwined,
running up and down the central spinal column of the body. These two
columns of energy run in a curved path, intersecting each other at several
points along the central spine like two snakes. At these intersections they
form strong energy centres, known as chakras.
There are seven chakras or energy centres that you can visualise
as little vortexes of energy the size of a tennis ball that run from the
base of our spine to the crown of our heads along a central line. They
are data centres that carry information or footprints on all the past and
present events that have happened, or are happening, to you in your
life. Indeed they are connected to the main glands in the physical body
through their interaction with the endocrine and nervous system. The
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positions of the Chakra’s, correspond to the positions of the glands in

the endocrine system and have an effect on their functioning. When there
is a blockage in the flow of energy within a body, sickness and disease
manifest. Likewise when unhealthy food or drink is consumed, it blocks
the flow of energy and causes disease.
The diagram, on the next page, depicts the location and meaning
or function of the seven chakras in the body and the energetic channels
running up and down the spine. The lower three chakras are concerned
with more earthly functions whilst the upper three are related to more
elevated, higher, concerns. The middle, heart, chakra is the dividing point.
The lower three chakras are more related to and connected to
life on Earth and the physical world around us. They are slightly more
connected to ego and fear, being guided from outside, concerned by what
others think and say. The upper four chakras are more concerned with
connection to our higher self and the universe. Concerned with why we
are here. What we have come to do. Our role in this life.
I understand it is through our energetic body, and in particular our
sixth and seventh chakras, that we connect to our soul and to universal
intelligence. We connect through meditation (listening) and prayer
(intention) by listening to our intuition. Our intuition is our connection
with the greater energetic field or universal intelligence.
Holistic medicine, based on thousands of years of knowledge and
experience, should not be dismissed just like that. I believe we are more
than what we can see with only our eyes. We are more than our physical
bodies. Much more. If you would like to learn more about the chakra
system within us, what they mean and how they function, Caroline Myss
has written some excellent detailed explanations in books and audio
CDs on the subject such as Anatomy of the Spirit, Energy Anatomy and
Advanced Energy Anatomy. (Advanced Energy Anatomy is my favourite.)
www.myss.com
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Chakra Diagram
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Reiki
Whilst in Rishikesh, I continued listening and talking with other
travellers and came across a group that were learning about Reiki. I had
occasionally come across Reiki in the past year but was intrigued to learn
more about this form of healing and so decided to take part in a level
one (of three) course in Reiki. For those that aren’t familiar with Reiki,
as I wasn’t until recently, I understand it is a form of healing developed
or discovered in 1922 by a Japanese Buddhist, Mikao Usui. It uses a
technique commonly called palm healing. I joined seven other students
for the weekend’s teaching where I was taught the technique of Reiki. To
be honest I was a little apprehensive but I insisted on keeping an open
mind. I was in India to learn from their thousands of years of experience
in spirituality and ancient wisdom and so I wanted to give it a try.
Shanti (means Peace in Hindu), our teacher, was a calm
gentle lady of about 65 years old. We sat in a circle and listened to her
introduction and explanation of what Reiki was in preparation for our
level one attunement. We then paired up into twos, one of us lying down
on the floor, the other sitting alongside. Following the instruction, I placed
my hands a centimetre above my partner and began moving slowly down
her body. With my hands slightly raised I then had to focus my mind’s
attention and my intention on my hands, nothing else. Quite simply I was
to act like a conduit to transfer ‘healing energy’ from the universe to my
partner. Eyes closed, my mind was surprisingly silent, I think due to the
attention and concentration I was engaged in. I just focused my attention
on my hands and held the intention that my hands were giving healing.
After about ten minutes or so, my hands began to warm up. It
felt as if there was a force coming from out of the middle of my palms
into the person. I moved my hands as directed every five minutes or so,
following the chakras down the body. Sometimes I was on an area of her
body and my hands would tingle so intuitively I would leave them there
a little longer. Other times there was little or no tingle so I moved them
on to the next spot. We moved from head to toe, replenishing the person’s
energy with that of the universe, using ourselves as a conduit.
Well, from the perspective of the giver it was a little tiring having
to stay focused for so long. I felt my hands warm up a lot in certain areas
and they sometimes tingled. My partner said she felt the warmth of my
hands upon here even though I was not touching her. She felt a tingling,
a subtle movement in her body, like a kind of life force or energy coming
into her. After our brief exchange of words I was even more curious now
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to see what it would feel like. If I had any doubts or cynicism I was trying
to put them aside and just keep an open mind to see what might be.
I lay on the floor with my eyes closed. Sometimes my mind
drifted off into day dreams, sometimes it was present. As she went further
down my body she stopped on an area near my stomach (second or third
chakra). I could feel a lot of warmth coming from her hands and yet she
wasn’t touching me. Strange. So warm in fact that it was unmistakable
that something was going on even if I wasn’t sure what it was. I think I
felt there was something happening, like I was receiving energy, life force
through that other person. This was a new experience for me. Finishing
our weekend, I successfully completed my level 1 Reiki attunement,
which meant I could now give Reiki healing to myself and others.
After this Reiki weekend I left feeling quite invigorated,
revitalised. I can imagine the more sceptical readers among you are
thinking it’s like the placebo effect: when you think it will happen, it
does and when you don’t it won’t. I am not so sure. All I can suggest is
try this exercise for yourself.
Exercise # 1 – Feel your energy

Rub your hands together very fast for 5–10 seconds then place the
palm of your hands ten centimetres apart from each other. Now
focus your attention on your palms and the space between them
for about thirty seconds to a minute. What do you feel in the palm
of your hands? Anything like warmth or sensations? Perhaps a
connection between your palms. That is energy!

After this course I felt I was still looking for a way to connect or
just be with myself. Perhaps connect with myself for a period of time in a
quiet environment. I was in no rush and while having conversations with
other travellers I kept my eyes open for signs. However, in total honesty, I
knew what I was looking for because I felt it intuitively. I wanted a course
in meditation. The practice of the masters to quieten the mind and become
more aware of oneself and one’s thoughts. I had never meditated before
but from what little reading and research I had done in India it seemed
to be calling me, so, of course, I had to follow. That’s what you do when
you listen to your intuition, your heart. Once you have the feeling of what
you are being called to, you use your mind to figure out the logical and
rational steps to solve the problems to follow your heart and meet those
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objectives. I did some specific research on meditation in India and kept

getting the same website: www.dhamma.org. It became evident that this
Dhamma Vipassana meditation technique had centres not only throughout
all of India but all over the world, hundreds of them. On closer inspection
it seemed like quite a serious organisation. I mean I have never meditated
before and they were talking about ten hours a day for ten consecutive days
all in absolute silence. My goodness. Aside from no talking there is no
sex, no drugs, no music, no alcohol, no smoking, no meat, no reading, no
writing, no music, no nothing. Oh my God. Just meditating. Meditate, eat
and sleep. Wow, pretty hardcore I thought, but at the time the penny didn’t
really drop in my head how hardcore. Then I met what I thought to be a
very spiritual man from Australia. He said to me in a very straightforward
kind of manner, ‘Look, Luke, you want to learn about meditation, you want
some serious quiet time for yourself, to learn about and reflect upon you.
Stop messing about, man up, jump in and do this ten day course.” And guess
what, that was my big sign in bright neon lights that I needed. I trusted him
and so decided to go for it. Well, I emailed the nearest Vipassana centre,
which was in Dehra Dun only about an hour away from Rishikesh on the
local bus. The next course started in a week’s time and they still had space
left, so, of course, I signed up! It was meant to be. What a coincidence!
Now I actually felt a little anxious. I know it was just nerves, fear of the
unknown but, well, I thought, I had come this far I wasn’t going to give up
now. Ah, the beauty of travel. Not knowing what’s round the next corner.
Incidentally, the above scenario is an example of the spiritual
process at work. Of course I had to listen to and follow my intuition
and the signs for it to help me on my path. I believe it is by this inner
guidance we must be guided and not the outside world. Inspirational
thoughts coming like bolts of lightning from the universe. I have learnt
with experience and by listening to my intuition how to see and interpret
signs, such as coincidently meeting someone or a conversation or phone
call that is very helpful. When I follow my intuition things flow and I
know I am on my path, as opposed to when I am not on my path and I
come across blockages all the time.
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The Spiritual Process

1. You have your intuition, your inner guidance, your feeling, your
inspirational thought, in this case my strong urge or feeling to do
a course in meditation. I just knew this is what I wanted to do
because it felt right. I reflected on it, it still felt right, so I followed
the feeling.
2. I began to create thoughts of intention (or visualisations),
‘focusing’ on what I wanted to do. Already thinking and feeling
what the experience would feel like.
3. I then followed the signs, took the actions required to help the
process along its way, having conversations, doing some research,
whilst keeping my eyes open for any signs towards the next steps.
Vipassana Meditation
I arrived at this Vipassana centre quite nervous. I didn’t know
what to expect, perhaps a world of pain. Ten hours a day, intense! In
contrast to my frantic mind, it was a peaceful green leafy location far from
the busy noisy town of Dehra Dun. There was no distraction from the
outside world, because there was no outside world, just a river, forest and
a dirt track. It was very remote, which I liked. We wouldn’t be disturbed
here. It didn’t seem that big either, by looking around me I would guess
we were about forty students.
On arrival I spoke with the woman in charge and it seemed there
weren’t any rooms left and that I might have to share with someone. Well,
I didn’t like the idea of that much. Imagine if I got a big snorer, I would
never get any sleep. How could I meditate then? It would ruin my retreat,
Oh no. An Indian man walked off and did some double checking. He came
back a few minutes later, spoke with the woman, who in turn told they had
one room left for me. Phew. Thank you, universe. I followed the man to the
room. It was very simple and basic. There was a basin, toilet and cold water
shower in the back. There was a thin mattress on a bed frame standing on a
dark stone floor with cream beige painted brick walls. Hmmm. I settled in
for a moment before going back to the others. I tried to collect my thoughts.
I thought, sometimes when I follow my heart things go very fast without
my even noticing. Here I was already in a meditation centre about to begin
a ten day course having never meditated in my life before. I was only
talking or thinking about doing this just over a week ago. That is how fast
things can go when you are on your path. I looked around me there were
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two small windows that let in some natural daylight and a transparent light
bulb in the ceiling. This was my new home for the next ten days – not that
I would be seeing much of it, I imagined. But that was perhaps not a bad
thing; it looked like a prison cell.
The food being served was vegetarian. I took this as a good safe sign,
I mean, having seen these butchers in Rishikesh, the sun, the flies all over the
meat, I don’t want to think about eating any more meat here, especially after
the terrible incident in the train that night. I wished I had seen those butchers
before I chose to eat meat in India. Oh well, I know now.
We were only allowed two meals a day, which I felt was a bit
tough. Breakfast and lunch. No dinner, just chai (tea) and biscuits. I can’t
remember the reason they gave, but the food was actually quite tasty so
I would often pig out and have two servings at breakfast and lunch just
because there was no dinner.
Vipassana notice board India
I had an introduction talk shortly after my arrival and was able to

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view the programme. It was indeed ten hours of meditation a day for ten
days, in noble silence. Noble silence, I read, meant no eye contact or non-
verbal communication. Oh, and I am not allowed to leave the retreat during
the ten days. God, am I really doing this? I thought to myself. I was then
told that towards the end of each day a one hour teaching video explaining
the dharma would be played. Dharma being the teachings of Buddha.
This meditation technique, its words and methodology, come
directly from Siddhartha Gautama, also known as Buddha, which means
‘the enlightened one’. Buddha discovered this technique in his late thirties
(approximately 500bc) and then later taught (for forty-five years, until his
death) that the cause of all human misery and suffering is created by our
own cravings and aversions, (our own likes and dislikes) and that these
stem from our ignorance. We become unhappy when we find someone
behaving in a way that we don’t like, or when we find something happening
which we don’t like. Or we may have cravings for things we desire, want,
feel attached to. The unhappiness in turn creates tension within ourselves.
Things we want do not happen; some obstacle comes in the way and again
we create tension within.
When anger, greed, hatred, delusion, fear, passion, jealousy arise,
often with regard to an external event or person, again we create tension
within and we start tying knots (blockages) inside. This process is continually
repeated throughout our lives. Thereafter we start distributing this negativity
to all we come in contact with through our words and deeds. And so misery
is created from within and is spread. By choosing your mental state of mind,
positive, negative, by choosing whether you respond and not react to a
situation or event is how you begin to alleviate the disharmony in your life.
Responding from a calm centred place and not overreacting in an emotional
manner. This is what I was taught. Does it resonate with you?
There are three steps to the training given in this meditation course.
Morality: You must abstain from any action, physical or vocal,
that disturbs the peace and harmony of others and oneself.
Samadhi: Developing some mastery over this wild mind by training
it to remain fixed on a single object, for example the breath. You try
to keep your attention on the breath for as long as possible. This is
not a breathing exercise; you do not regulate the breath. The mind
rides the breath. The breath is the bridge between the mind and the
body. You observe natural respiration as it is, as it comes in, as it
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goes out. In this way you further calm the mind. At the same time,
you concentrate the mind, making it sharp and penetrating, capable
of the work of insight. These first two steps, living a moral life, and
controlling the mind, are very necessary and beneficial in themselves,
but they will only lead to the removal of gross negativities. The roots
are not removed unless you take the third step.
Insight: Purifying the mind of defilements by developing insight
into your own nature. This is Vipassana (insight): experiencing
your own reality by the systematic and dispassionate observation
within oneself of the ever-changing mind-matter phenomenon
manifesting itself as sensations. This is the culmination of the
teaching of the Buddha: self-purification by self-observation.
For me this was a deeper progression of my inner revolution and
personal change.

Going back to my room after the initiation talk and pre our first
meditation that same evening, I still felt very nervous. I could breathe
OK but my mind still kept wondering what I had got myself into. We had
all signed a paper saying we would not leave during the course. Breath, I
thought. Right I must snap out of this fearful anxious attitude, I thought. I
said to myself, ‘take small baby steps. Just try to handle each moment of
the day as it comes, don’t think too far ahead. One meditation session at a
time, one day at a time. Try not to freak out, be calm and try.’ I calmed a
little, enough to stop the onset of hyperventilation and panic, which was
not far away!
That evening we started our hundred hour meditation. I
looked around the room and counted about thirty guys on the left and
fifteen women on the right. It was mainly Indian guys and Western
women. I think I was one of four Western guys. The room itself was
quite bare, walls painted white. We all had meditation cushions so
we could assume the correct position. One large lady had a chair.
The room was nothing special in terms of a meditation hall. Pretty
simple and basic with an old man with white hair and a long white
beard leading the meditation.
We sat in rows of five, crossed legged. The first thing I was told
I had to do was to get my posture right – that meant Lotus position.
Lotus position, I learnt, is sitting cross legged on the floor, back straight,
shoulders down, chin tilted down, eyes closed, and tongue resting on
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the pallet or roof of the mouth. I was also informed that this is the ideal
position to meditate; however, if you were extremely uncomfortable you
could use a chair, as some later did, so long as your back is straight. I got
some cushions to sit on whilst in this lotus position. Once comfortable,
ha, well, as comfortable as you could be in this posture, I was then told
to simply focus my awareness upon my breath. Upon the area around the
nostrils, just observing my breath going in and going out. Each time my
mind would wander off on a tangent, as it often did, from one thought
to another, I should bring it back to my breath. This, I must add, is a lot
harder than it sounds. Try it for five minutes.
Well, I moved about a bit every fifteen minutes or so even
though I had understood the instructions to keep still. I knew I just had
to follow them but it was not easy. I looked around the room a bit at
the others. Some were like stone statues; one girl, she was amazing.
She didn’t move throughout any of the sessions. Unbelievable. Some
meditation goddess. Others were clearly struggling like me, which
I appreciated. My mind and ego weren’t in the mood to be quiet.
Why should it? It had never really had to be quiet before. Why stop?
Why change? Why start now? All these thoughts running through
my mind in a circle.
After that first two hour session I was done. I was ready for
food and bed, even in silence, I didn’t care. I was done for the night.
Except there was no food to be had. I walked back to my room in silence
whilst looking at no one. The whole experience felt surreal. Sitting
with a bunch of strangers for two hours in silence. Then walking back
to my room in silence, not looking at anyone, not talking to anyone.
I just tried to let the thoughts pass. Not hold on to them. Back in my
room I just curled up and went to sleep, dreading tomorrow.
The next morning and every morning thereafter I had to get up at
4am for my first two hour session before breakfast. The programme was
as follows.
Wake up at 04:00 hours (Holy Cr*p)

Meditate 04:30–06:30
Breakfast (& snooze) 06:30–08:00
Meditate 08:00–11:00 with ten min break
Break 30 min
Lunch (& snooze) 11:30–14:00.
Meditate 14:00–16:00 with five min break (How long?)
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Break 30 min
Meditate 16:30–18:30 with five min break
Tea break 30 min. No dinner!
Video teaching 19:00–20:00
Meditate 20:00–21:00.
Bed 21:00 hours. (Thank G*d)
Full On or what!
So I got up on my first morning at 4am and started. Half

asleep and freezing cold, I tried to meditate, unsuccessfully. Part
of me thinking, ‘what have I got myself into this time? What am I
doing? Why?’ In the beginning the very early first morning sessions
were quite difficult, sometimes because I was half asleep, in a bad
mood, my body was stiff and I had to move my leg positions every
10–15 minutes. The meditation practice got a little better after some
breakfast and a snooze. Then I was feeling somewhat refreshed so I
could steer my mind, focus my mind slightly more on to my breath.
However, sometimes it did depend on how I felt. If I slept well, and
I was in the right mood, then good, but sometimes my mind was in
a nagging or negative state. This, according to Vipassana, shouldn’t
make a damn bit of difference. They would say I am identifying too
much with my emotions. Hah! Thanks for the help. But it did make
a difference and if I did have a bad attitude for a particular session
then it was very difficult, if not almost impossible, to get my mind to
focus on my breath. What I tried to do was limit any negative attitude
to that particular session and not let it ruin the whole day. That partly
worked and I would say I was able to keep a reasonable attitude for a
reasonable part of the ten days, reminding myself it was only ten days
and that I was here to learn about meditation. It was my choice. No
one was forcing me.
I wasn’t allowed to point my feet forward towards the teacher so
I had to always move to the side. The agony was so much sometimes I
just had to move around. My mind, my ego didn’t want to play ball and
do what I wanted it to do, which was just to shut up and focus on my
breath. It got angry, many critical judgements were coming up, like why
the hell am I doing this? This is stupid. A constant barrage of negative
critical thoughts challenging what I was doing, trying to be silent. In the
beginning I would sit there, thinking, ‘how can I handle nine more hours
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of this. It’s impossible. What shall I do? I know, maybe I will just ask for
my bag and get the hell out of here.’ But I didn’t. I persisted.
However, on some of those early mornings towards the later part
of the ten days I did manage to focus my mind on my breath quite well
and my mind was still. I found that there is something about this time
of day, dawn, between darkness and light that felt quite special. It was a
strange precious experience to just have silence in the mind. No thought,
just some awareness. I liked it a lot. I know you’re thinking, ‘well, it’s
pitch black outside, what do you expect, all is asleep at this hour of course
it’s quiet. Any sane person is asleep right now.’ I acknowledge that might
well be the case; however, it was beautiful to experience dawn as a time
of day, a very peaceful and serene time of the day.
So for the first three days, thirty hours, all I did was focus on
my breath. Twenty-five per cent of my mind was to focus on my actual
breath, 25% of my mind was there to be mindful and notice when my
mind was wandering off, that I was to bring it back to focus on my
breath. The remaining 50% of my mind was to just be there, grounded
in the present moment. The witness, the observer. The key point is to
extend the time you focus on your breath while reducing the time it
takes for you to become aware that your mind has wandered off again
onto another random thought. Incidentally I found out later you can
also focus on the rise and fall on your stomach/diaphragm (in–out) if
you feel agitated and you can’t focus on the area of the nose.
During some of the sessions we would be allowed to sit up front
for a few minutes and ask the teacher some questions. He was an old
man. He would ask us how we felt. Did we have any questions? I told him
I found the pain in my legs intolerable and my back was killing me. He
simply told me to observe the pain and let go of it. What? Easy for you to
say. Hearing this just made my mind more agitated.
Well, back to the practice I began to notice something I found
quite interesting. I noticed that my mind didn’t like to stay focused on
my breath for long. It usually thought of things that had happened in the
past, either pleasant or unpleasant things, or my mind would wander to
the future, to my plans, for example. I soon realised I was rarely in the
present moment. In the NOW. In fact, my mind was hardly ever present
but was often somewhere else. This gradual realisation was quite a
shock to me. I believe I was aware of this state of mind before but I
guess I just took it for granted. That is how the mind works. Always
off thinking of something or other, rarely present. Now, however, I was
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acutely aware of it. Suddenly like a mirror in my face. There was no

escaping the fact that I was hardly ever present and to make things
worse that I had never really noticed this fact before. Now I was no
longer able to remain blissfully ignorant.
Thereafter, as of day four I was instructed to observe any
sensations around the area of the nose and then on day five only to focus
on the area between the bottom of the nostrils and the top part of the
upper lip. The reason why we are instructed to do this as I understand it
is because once we have the control of our mind – meaning no more, or
at least dramatically fewer, random wanderings – we can then focus the
mind totally and completely upon the body and its sensations. I am to
have such a strong concentration of the mind, so much so that I can feel
any sensations that rise and pass away in my body. To feel the aliveness,
tingling, energy of my inner body. My life force.
For the last few days of the course we were sweeping up and down
the body from head to toe, observing without any judgement or thought,
what sensations were arising. It took me about half an hour to go from top
to bottom and then after about thirty minutes I had to move my legs. That
was my maximum time sitting still. I thought that quite impressive anyway.
So I was trying to observe sensations throughout my body.
There were also times towards the end when my mind or my
ego did fall silent. I think my mind was tired of trying to disturb me.
These were very special moments when I would sit and rest in a place of
silence. A place of no thought. Just being present. Observing sensations
in my body, sounds around me, thoughts passing through me while I had
become the observer. A silent witness to all that was going on in and
around me. This was a new experience for me. Peace. Inner peace.
It was during these times of silence towards the end that a
reflection began to form in me about my life. I began to have a realisation.
A deep realisation that I couldn’t go on with my life the way I had been.
Corporate sales. Selling stuff that meant little to me. Office politics and
mind games. Long hours with little satisfaction. I no longer wanted this
for my life. It did not satisfy me any more. I came to realise, my work no
longer fulfilled me.
Although I might have been aware of this before, it was here
in this meditation hall that it struck me deeply. I felt something inside
me had changed. As if a deep recognition had been made that I really
wanted change. This realisation was more than a mental understanding,
it was deeper than this. It had moved to my heart. My gut. I felt I wanted
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to do something else with my life. Something that I loved. I didn’t want

to waste my time doing something I didn’t love. Right then, I didn’t
know what it was I wanted to do, but I knew what I didn’t want and
right at that point I felt I had the power to change my life through the
different choices I intended to make. I actually felt excited to embrace
change and wanted it. Change and the future no longer represented
something to be feared but something to be excited about.
Realising this was a first big step of personal change for me. I felt
there was going to be no turning back after this point. Simultaneously,
I think my personal values were changing. I couldn’t say exactly what
was going on inside me right now except that something deep was
changing. Perhaps it was my perspective of the world, on life, on my
life. Either way, I wasn’t scared. I had no fear. I felt excited. Grateful for
these changes that had started to happen inside me. They felt right, like
a natural progression on towards something else. Wherever they might
lead me, these changes felt right.
A smile of serenity came across my face. A smile of acceptance
and of excitement. I was now acknowledging to myself that I would cut
the cords of the past. Leave the past behind.
This experience felt like a weight had been lifted off my
shoulders. A pressure removed, so now I could move forward with my
life with renewed confidence. I would be open to new opportunities and
experiences as they arrived. Live in the here and now, in the present
moment. I was going to say YES to all that felt right and see where it
led me. I felt happy, I felt alive!
(To learn more about Vipassana read The Art of Living by William Hart
and visit https://www.dhamma.org/ to find a free center in your country)
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Chapter 10
The Turning Point.
‘We are visitors on this planet. We are here for ninety or one hundred
years at the very most. During that period we must try to do
something good, something useful, with our lives. If you
contribute to other people’s happiness you will find
the true goal, the true meaning of life.’
His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama, 1935 – To Date
I certainly needed a break after the previous ten days. Space to chill out,
relax, take time to reflect upon this experience and see what feelings,
thoughts, emotions had come to the surface within me. I felt right now
all I wanted to do was head for somewhere cooler and digest. Rishikesh
and Dehra Dun in the summer are just a little too hot and sticky for my
liking. I decided to head north. Thinking about what a guy had said to
me at the end of the Vipassana retreat in response to my wanting to
learn more about Buddhism. He told me about a special little Buddhist
retreat up in the foothills of the Himalayas near a place called McLoed
Ganj. Well there was no doubt he had planted a seed of curiosity in my
mind. I looked on a map of where I was and roughly where the retreat
was and decided to head in that general direction. North to the foothills
of the Himalayas.
I headed towards Dharamsala where the Dalai Lama lives, in
Himachal Pradesh province. Not knowing where I would sleep that night, for
now I was going to enjoy the journey, gaze out the window and chill the hell
out. That is the beauty of freedom and choice we so often take for granted,
spontaneity has a chance to blossom! The universe has a chance to intervene.
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10. The Turning Point.
Two rock slides later, following what was a monstrously long

bone rattling twelve hour bus ride, I finally arrived totally exhausted at my
new destination. A small town a few kilometres from Dharamsala called
McLoed Ganj. After a lengthy but worthwhile search I finally found my
place. A nice simple guest house set slightly back from the mad crowds with
a room that had a balcony and the most spectacular view overlooking the
valley below. I knew I could be staying a little while because I immediately
liked the vibe of the area and so I wanted a decent guest house location.
Well, the view and the peaceful location were just perfect for me right then.
I was at the foothills of the Himalayas. I saw a totally different landscape.
Large green fern trees strung with Buddhist prayer flags between them. A
very typical sight in this part of the world. Green lush valley floors with
hills and mountains soaring skywards in the backdrop.
My balcony Mc Loed Ganj India
I was sitting there at 2000 metres so I’d guess those mountains

were at least four thousand metres high and I’m sure they received snow in
the winter months. These mountains being half the size of the peaks of the
Himalayas at 8000 metres. I was nestled within the highest mountain range
in the world! It was a more temperate climate here, even getting slightly
chilly during the night, which I quite liked after having been on the equator
for over a year. The weather felt like home. There was a crisp freshness in
the air and a blue sky. I slept well each night and appreciated the coolness.
I felt good. I was now in a good space to reflect on the previous one and a
half weeks’ meditation.
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Vipassana Reflections
Sitting out on my balcony I began to write in my journal. I was so
proud of myself for not quitting half way through the meditation course,
which indeed was very tempting and would have been very easy to do.
But instead, I stayed and completed the course. I had done well, really
well. I felt this was quite an achievement. A test of character. I mean, I
had never meditated before and then I sign myself up for a hundred hours
non-stop marathon meditation!
But I discovered this all meant more to me than just completing this
course. OK, yes, I found it difficult to focus for such long periods of time and
I didn’t feel that connected to my body either. I did feel some gross sensations
randomly around my body but I would say nothing out of the ordinary and
certainly no subtle sensations except in my hands and the crown of my head,
but my hands always tingle. Forget about sweeping through the body (phase
3 of the meditation) with the mind, where you are supposed to feel all the
sensations of the body. That certainly didn’t happen. But that relates to me
and only me. I did meet and speak with other students on the course that had
done it before and that have reached this phase of a total connection with
their bodily sensations. Their mind completely and utterly connected with
their physical body and in how the body feels.
At the end of the course I spoke with other attendees who
appeared to have made some real progress. However, I do appreciate we
are all unique individuals progressing on our own paths towards a higher
state of awareness and consciousness at our own pace. I was happy to
hear of others making tangible progress. I also now had a good basic
understanding of how to meditate.
I found the meditation practice itself not to be complex. To
master it just takes discipline and focus. The theory is that by practising
mediation daily, by being mindful and present and living in the Now, by
accepting the flow of things (events, situations) we begin to live a more
peaceful harmonious life. By not trying to control everything. By not
reacting to or judging each moment, or others or ourselves too harshly,
we start to live a more happy and harmonious life. In turn, of course, this
has a positive healthy effect on the mind, body and soul. We are calmer
and less anxious or stressed out with life, situations and people. Does
that make sense to you? Because we are calmer and more accepting of
the changes life sends us, we are in turn less harsh or aggressive in our
response to them and so to ourselves. In the process we may perhaps even
become a little more reflective, flexible and wiser in our ways.
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The state or attitude of calm, of being more grounded, accepting

what is or will be, actually has a positive impact on our overall well being
and can actually be an easier way to approach and handle life.
Another practical benefit that I personally took from the
experience is that I am far more concentrated and focused upon a task
or action when I am doing it. I have less mind chatter and so get far less
distracted by random thoughts and so I end up completing the task in less
time. I noticed this when I was driving a car from Delhi to Agra. Aside
from its being a suicidal, mission-impossible situation with everyone
using any part of the road they wished, whenever, without indicating, my
concentration was razor sharp. Well, it had to be or I’d have an accident.
Of course, I was dead knackered at the end of the day but I got there in
one piece and no one was hurt and my concentration was the strongest I
have known it ever to be!
I also noticed that my mind is often, if not always, busy with
something else. Thinking about something in the past or future or what
someone said or did. I noticed my mind could be critical of something or
someone, often judging them, which in turn could negatively affect my
speech and actions. This meditation has now made me become more aware
of these random thoughts, what I would call an unhealthy state of mind.
I have become more aware of when my thoughts, the endless chatter of
the mind, start going off on a tangent about something or someone, often
judgemental, critical or futile and I have to rein them in. I am not talking
about when I am being reflective, contemplating life or solving a problem, I
am talking about when my mind just goes off on its own and starts thinking
about random useless stuff often in the past or the future. Rarely simply
present in the Now. This greater level of awareness enables me to bring
my mind back to what I am doing at the time, the task at hand, driving,
conversation, eating and helps me become more present and grounded in
the Now. The only moment there ever is.
From a practical perspective I have found through and since the
meditation that I am able to remain more objective or grounded and less
emotionally reactive when situations arise. For example, if someone or
something is supposedly ‘annoying’ me, like a comment someone might
say, instead of reacting and flying off the handle, as I have been known
to do, I now try to centre, breathe, and then with a more balanced state
of mind (a little less emotional), respond. My family have said that they
have noticed that I am calmer, slightly more patient and flexible, whereas
before I was overly stubborn, impatient and sometimes plain rude.
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I would like to share something else with you. Something very

strong inside me, a feeling, from the beginning of the course, just told
me this felt very right – meditation, I mean. I felt this was a natural
thing to do in my progression and growth in consciousness as a human
being to becoming a more aware spiritual human being. I know that my
mind is very powerful but it acts like a misguided missile sometimes.
The Buddhists call it the Crazy Monkey Mind. Always hopping from
one thought to another. Never settled. I also know that if my mind and
ego are directed by me, the spiritual intuitive self, it serves me better.
As opposed to my mind being the master and it leading me, which can
be disastrous. When I have quiet moments and listen to my heart, my
intuition, ponder, reflect quietly and I make my decisions, I feel very
strong in my shoes. Why? Because listening and following my intuition
means I am on my right path. I then use my mind as a servant to solve,
work out, and complete the rational tasks that need to de done for me to
journey from A to B. Our intuition and inner guidance being the lead, the
mind being the servant. Not the other way round.
Meditation is now a part of my life. I find it gives me a peace of
mind to begin the day with, but more than that, it helps me connect with
my soul. My inner guidance. It helps reinforce my intentions. Sometimes
I use the end of the meditation to reflect on what I have and how grateful
I feel for what I have. This ‘gratitude’ meditation puts me in a good mood
and helps me realise how much I already have – love, health, creativity,
awareness, well being.
A Realisation
I stopped writing and looked out at the view of the green covered
slopes and mountains in front of me. I could not help reflecting more
deeply on what came up at the end of the course. About the direction of
my life. It meant to me that the direction of my life was not going to be
the same as before my travels. This did make me feel a little nervous,
perhaps scared, but I knew that was just fear raising its head again. By
choosing to look at this realisation from another perspective, from a more
positive perspective I became quite excited inside at all the possibilities
this new realisation triggered. That I have this precious human life, that
I have the power of choice and I can choose to do anything with my life.
But what? What will I do with my life if it’s not corporate? Thoughts
began racing around in my mind.
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I took a break from writing in my journal and went for a walk

about. I wanted to experience some of India. It is true what I have read
about India in the guide books. This country is ‘Full On’ In Your Face.
No doubt. A complete sensory overload, almost an assault on the eyes,
ears, nose and tongue. Sometimes I feel there’s no room to breathe in
India’s bustling streets and cities. However, paradoxically, although
there are many people here running around like headless chickens I
feel there is a kind, calm gentleness about the people themselves. In
the West I feel we are slightly colder and perhaps a little more hostile
towards each other. The Indians may be a bit noisy, shouting a lot, but
there is little actual threatening aggression from what I have seen and
experienced. It is all noise but no physical rage, unlike back home. It
seems there is an underlying element of mutual respect for one another
here. I feel it when I am in conversations with these people. An all
pervasive passiveness. I really like and appreciate it. I sense the Hindu
and Buddhist have an element of calmness within them that we in the
West lack or have lost or never had.
I walked and walked, as you do when you are discovering a new
place for the first time. India now the most populous country in the world,
I discovered, had many poor people. I mean a lot of very poor people
everywhere. I saw poor people all around me, many with no home, no
food and even sometimes missing limbs. Poverty was everywhere. So
much so, you become used to the sight of it. I feel appalled to say that.
The main focus for these people is upon survival and in this day and age
I find that quite frankly shocking and disgusting. The contrast for me is
enormous coming from the West with so many material possessions. I
can see now, I have clearly taken for granted my home, loving parents,
healthcare, education and nutritious food.
I thought about this for a while as I walked through this country.
Just with the roll of the dice I have all that I have and you have what you
have. I know some of you may think I shouldn’t but I often find myself
giving to the beggar. I could have been and still could be that beggar, that
poor person, that sick person. What makes me so special to have all that
I have? Who or what decides? Circumstances change and I still could be
placed in a destitute position. That is when it hit me. It suddenly dawned
on me. I finally got it. I have this precious human life and I have to do
something useful with it.
You cannot help but feel touched by these sights, by these
experiences. And this is not a new sight. I saw a lot of poverty in Nicaragua,
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Bolivia, Peru and Cambodia; in almost every single country I have been
to except perhaps New Zealand. I sat down to take in these feelings, to
dwell on this sudden realisation of my having this precious human life. I
began to feel grateful, really grateful for what I had. My health, education,
love, money. This precious human life I have been given. It’s a feeling
that is coming from deep inside me. An awareness is consuming me that
is more than a mere intellectual understanding of the concept of poverty
and wealth. It is more profound than that. How exceedingly fortunate I am.
I have so much and I now have some real perspective, having travelled. I
have free choice to engage in any kind of practice or activity that I choose
in order to develop my potential further and put it to good use. That is a
luxurious position. The position I am viewing all this poverty from. I am
free. I am free to choose what I would like to do with my life.
Life’s Key Questions

I found some steps set back just off the main road that led up
to a large old building. I sat down. Watching the Tibetan monks in their
mauve robes mingle with the other local Buddhist and Indian town folk.
I couldn’t stop thinking about what came up for me at the end of the
meditation. The meditation retreat helped me re-connect with myself.
Helped me understand what I feel about certain things in my life and
the direction it is going. The lack of noise and interruption has given me
more clarity of mind, of how I feel about things, about who I am and
what I might want from my future. At least that is what I was feeling right
then. I also now started having other strong thoughts in my head, strong
thoughts about my life, its direction. Wondering where I am right now
with my life and where I wanted to go.
I began to write in my journal again about how I was currently
feeling, about how the past year had changed some of my perspective on
life without my immediately realising it. I began to reflect on the bigger
picture in my life. These big thoughts seemed very pressing right now.
Like I hadn’t really thought properly about them previously. My head
might have been buried in the sand. Or I might have been to busy chasing
my tail, paying bills, keeping up with the constant pace of the rat race. Or
I could have been in denial, not choosing to listen to my heart. Either way,
writing in my journal helped me to understand what I felt. By writing my
thoughts and feelings somehow they became a little more clear because I
had to reflect first before I wrote anything. The time had come for me to
think about my life. The time was now.
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I began reflecting on the past year. Here I was, having experienced

so much over the past twelve months. I had seen so many new sites,
met so many loving and interesting people. Experienced difficult and
wonderful situations and learnt about many cultures.
Only a year ago I was in the rat race. I remembered I was not
happy. I felt lost. Wondering whether I was wasting my time. Why was
I not happy back then? What was, or still is, missing from my life? I
realised I was not happy on a certain level, a deeper level, on the level
of my soul, my core being. But why? Am I just supposed to get a job
to earn money to desire and so buy stuff to make me happy? Is this the
reason for my existence?
I think about this a lot while sitting on those steps looking at
all the many poor around me. Poor but happy people. I have come to
a conclusion. That acquiring stuff does not bring me on to a path of
happiness. Whether I earn a little bit more money or not, it will not make
me any happier (scientific research has now proven this). Although this is
what the business and advertising sector have been pushing since the 1920s
in the US and slightly later in Europe. Creating this ‘false manufactured
desire’ for a docile consumer culture with three tools. Manufacturing,
advertising and credit. Buy this and you will be a happier person. I ask,
on what level will I be happier? I have come to the conclusion now that
this entire philosophy, this belief of consume and you will be happy, is
flawed. It is a lie. A big lie.
Now as I looked around me, not only in McLoed Ganj but also in
many other towns and cities I have visited along my journey, the young
people, the aspiring working and middle class here in the developing
world were all aiming to go down the same path of consumption in the
pursuit of happiness. To have the latest mobile phone, designer clothing
or shoes in order to feel happy. Planned obsolescence, designing
products to last only a short time, only further supports this society of
fashion and consumerism. All supported by manufacturing, advertising
and credit. This is the contrived ‘consumer society’ designed in the name
of profit. This consumer society, run by big business, is now spreading
like a disease across the planet at a cost to people, communities and the
environment. The consumer society is like a trap. Trapping you into their
temporary false delights and away from your heart and path.
I stopped writing, got up and began to walk. I walked and walked
until I left the town and entered the quiet of the countryside. I found a
little green wooded area with an opening overlooking a mountain valley
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below. It was a quiet spot. I knew I could rest and collect my thoughts. I
could hear the birds in the tree tops above me. I felt the warmth of the sun
on my face and body. There was a slight breeze in the air. I lay back on
the floor and closed my eyes. Silence.
View of Mc Loed Ganj India
A thought came into my mind again that had come up at the end
of the Vipassana meditation. Although my ‘biological’ needs (food, water,
warmth, shelter, work, money) had been met by my Western lifestyle, had
my needs of self-actualisation been fulfilled? Self-actualisation being a
‘state’ of mind or a place in life where you have decided what excites you
about life and taken the necessary steps to make it happen. My needs such
as autonomy, independence, spontaneity, creativity and fulfilment had not
been met. I felt now more than ever that the path to my fulfilment had to
include more meaning and purpose in my life. For some reason I have
been given so much and now I felt it was my turn to give back. I felt I was
on a journey of personal transformation and that meant discovering what I
wanted to do with my life. However, that also related to my personal values
and what I believed was important in life to me. I realised this was perhaps
just the beginning and it might require some life changing decisions, but is
that not why I left the rat race in the first place? To create space and time
to reflect upon and then change the course of my life? Yes, it is. I shouldn’t
feel scared of these feelings and changes that will happen in my life. I
expect they are completely natural when you decide to question the current
set up. I realise I must embrace the feelings and thoughts for they will lead
me onto my true path. Not a path contrived by others and society but which
comes from myself, my heart, my inner guidance.
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What is my Purpose?
As I lay there on the forest floor I started to ponder some of
life’s key questions. Having come to realise that ‘stuff’ alone will not
make me happy and that evolution, personal growth, is an inevitable
part of life’s rich mystery I had reached a point of no return in my
life. I wanted to move forward. I wanted answers. I had to ask some
questions. Ironically, very simple, basic but powerful questions.
What is my passion? What excites me? What do I love?
What am I good at? What gifts do I have? What skills do I have?
How can I lead a creative life? How can I lead a fulfilling life? How
might I serve others? and or the environment/planet?
I took my journal and started brainstorming. I wanted to be sure

I was being spontaneous and speaking from the heart. It was clear to
me that to understand one’s purpose, one’s path, one must look inwards.
Inwards by listening to your heart, your intuition. This is not a problem
to be solved by the mind but an exercise to be done by listening to the
heart. So I wrote what I loved, I wrote many activities down like surfing,
being in nature, skiing, but these were things I enjoyed to do but might
not perhaps be part of my life vocation. These were activities that my soul
loved to do but were not necessarily my calling. But I did know what I
loved and have loved since I was a child, I just hadn’t had the courage to
follow through and change my life previously.
What I love and what I care about and have done since a small
boy is the environment. Nature in all her wisdom and glory. I love and
appreciate nature and today I feel my life, my true calling is to work in
service of her. As a healer of her, as a teacher about her, as an advocate
for her and as a guide to others to enjoy and respect her and a guide to
others to bring about greater awareness of her sacredness. This is what I
love. This is my passion.
What am I good at? I am good with people, listening to people,
talking with people, coaching people, speaking publicly, writing, teaching,
discussing, negotiating, and leading, among other things. With that in
mind I felt I was going to work not only as an advocate on behalf of the
Earth to the world in many different ways and capacities but also as a
coach to help other people along their journey. I will be honest with you.
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Right then, I didn’t know the details of the ‘how’. How I would do this.
How I would serve the Earth and people. I didn’t need to know right then.
One step at a time. I just needed to understand truthfully and honestly the
‘why’. Why am I changing my life? Why am I changing careers? What
are my reasons for doing this? Are my reasons sincere? Do I have good
intentions? Are my intentions meaningful or are my reasons for change
selfish, driven by greed, power and control? Are they coming from my
ego or my heart? I believe it’s very important to make this distinction.
Ego led or heart led intentions.
By asking and answering these questions I have now come to
better understand my life’s purpose. Often a vocation or calling relates to
teaching, healing or creativity, but it can be anything so long as it serves
and adds value to people and the planet. Our rational mind may not always
understand or agree why we feel we want to work in a certain area.
Now, it could also be that your reason for being here is to be a
fantastic parent. An unwavering source of love, guidance and support
to your children or someone else. It may not be working to help save
the environment like me. What matters is your internal happiness and
connecting or combining that happiness with helping another or others.
Only you know your calling, what you are here to do. Whether you
acknowledge that to yourself is something else. I didn’t for some time. I
kept it hidden and carried on with my corporate charade until I couldn’t
take it any more and broke down. At first, I didn’t admit it because I
was scared of leaving my comfort zone, scared of the unknown and
how difficult life might become. Fearful of how big a change I would
be instigating. There was also an element of peer pressure that I took on
board which I should not have. Regardless, this is all about asking how
I can live a more meaningful and fulfilling life. How can I live my life
so that when I die I have no regret? Try not to think of the answer but to
feel the answer coming from within.
Ultimately, our intuition leads us to working in areas that
usually involves serving or helping others or the planet. It could be
working with people as a teacher or a healer. That teacher role may not
be your traditional school room scenario, it could also be a role model
in the community to younger people or a mentor guide to other people
in need of your knowledge, experience and wisdom at the office. Your
intuition does not say ‘I must make lots of money or work in marketing
or PR for an organisation that is exploiting the Earth of its natural
resources for profit or creating products that are harmful to people or
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the planet’. That would be counter intuitive. Nor does it say ‘I should
be a monk, live off a bread roll everyday and meditate all the time’. (Of
course, intuition might say that for some.) It could be that you connect
your attitude of serving and benefiting others through your trade such as
an electrician, bank manager, architect, real estate agent or journalist.
Our intuition leads us to a harmonious cause, combining what we love
with serving ourselves, others and the planet. Without this element
of service, purpose and meaning, the void of emptiness remains and
buying stuff will not fill this void. I realise we have to have to pay bills,
buy clothes, food, etc., but as we discussed earlier, stuff, things, won’t
bring you long lasting happiness on their own and, more importantly,
we actually have a choice in how we are going to earn money. We are
more complex beings than that; we have more depth to us than mere
superficial satisfaction.
I concluded my internal reflection with a much clearer, succinct
feeling and understanding of ‘what I would love to do and what I am good
at’. I felt great. A sense of peace, harmony and achievement. That’s all I
needed to know right then. That for me, was a big important step forward.
I would work out the ‘how’, together with the universe, in due course. That
is part of the richness of life, with its signs and coincidences guiding us.
Exercise # 2 – Life purpose

I have an exercise I would like you to do in your journal. I
completed this exercise shortly after having asked myself ‘life’s
key questions’. I found it very useful to understand more clearly
where I was spending my time and energy and where I was wasting
my time. This helped me better understand what I wanted to change
in my life, make better decisions and take action. Find a quiet spot.
Be still. Listen to your breath. Completely relax. Now make four
lists and allow yourself no more than five minutes to write each list.
The first list is a list of things you would like to do in your life, but
are not doing. For example, learn a language, climb a mountain,
stop smoking, learn to scuba dive, visit a specific country, do more
exercise, lose weight or eat more healthily.
The second list should be a list of things that you like to do in
your life and are doing. For example, things that make you happy
and feel good, that nurture your soul or that help others. Whatever
they are, write them down. Surfing, horse riding, walking in nature,
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seeing your friends, eating ice cream etc.

Make a third list, of things that you do not want to do but are
still doing. For example, drinking too much, not listening
properly, biting your nails, always rushing, interrupting people
in conversations, being critical, being judgemental, smoking, not
creating quiet time for yourself.
Finally, make a fourth list of things that you do not want to do and
have stopped doing such as eating junk food or people pleasing.
You should be proud of yourself and congratulate yourself by
being aware of your achievements.
Be honest with yourself when you do this exercise. No one
is judging you, not even you. This exercise is to assist you in
understanding what you want from your life.
Please realise that the point of this exercise is not to beat yourself
up; it is to help you learn more about yourself. Learn more about what
you love in life, then to think about why you are not doing what you like
to do. Asking yourself what is the ‘pay off’ for not doing so. You may
write the reason down alongside each item. Being clear and honest with
yourself about things that you don’t like but continue to do and asking
‘why?’ You could try to stop doing these things. That will really benefit
you. Finally, be proud of yourself for doing some things in your life that
you really love and try to grow that list. Remember, this is about you,
your true self and what your soul loves, so focus on what you love and
want, not on what you don’t want. Ultimately it’s about getting into the
mindset and habit of doing things you love to do and not what other
people or society expect you to do. You could also draw what comes
up regarding what you love if you feel more inclined. Draw what you
are visualising, for example a business, a location, a scene or setting.
Whatever your heart says. Just draw.
Over the coming days and weeks reflect on your list of what you
love in life; surfing, horses, writing, working with children or drawing.
Reflect on what you are good at, your skills/gifts, e.g. communicating
or teaching, numbers, writing. The key is to start asking these crucial
questions. Then allow thoughts and, more importantly, feelings to rise to
the surface. Ask yourself these questions when you least expect it. What
do I love? What am I good at? Am I doing the right thing for me in my
life right now regards my job, my relationship, the location where I live?
Being in nature would be a great place to ask these questions of yourself
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because nature has a very calming soothing influence on our mind and
general well being. When we are in nature we are able to connect more
easily with how we feel because of this calming effect it has upon us.
What I feel is important here is to combine an activity that you
love and are perhaps good at with serving/ helping others. This could be
as a journalist, painter, accountant, estate agent, electrician. It could be
working with plants and/or animals (the environment) in a supporting,
healing or teaching, leading role. You may not be farming or harvesting
trees but working for a cause that is very close to your heart such as
conserving rare species or designing more sustainable products and
processes through copying nature. Or devising more sustainable supply
chains, choosing to work more in harmony with people and planet. Any
profession that you love and that helps others. It could even be voluntary
work or being the best parent you can be to your kids. This could also be
a creative role, perhaps working with holistic product design, art, music,
architecture, writing or anything creative. (I would place computer
programmers under the creative role.) The point is, you give your time
and energy, the most precious resources you have to offer, to the area of
work, life that you love, whilst helping others.
I have written the above suggestions to help see whether these
roles and areas of work resonate with you as they have done for me. It
could be you have a talent for working with numbers, accounting for
example, and yet you love birds. So you might work for an organisation
whose objective is to protect birds and you help with the accounting
and finance side of the business whilst giving ideas of how to further
strengthen the work of the organisation in your capacity as finance
specialist. Or your main job may be accountancy in an unrelated sector
and you choose to do some voluntary work in your free time within the
bird sector. What I believe is important is your intention and motivation
and where you are spending your time. Not the title or status. But that you
do something you love and enjoy. I will expand on this concept in the last
chapter.
I realise this concept of service might be a little heavy but we,
humanity, are growing in awareness right now of all that is around us. The
internet, global telecommunications and documentaries are supporting
this growth. We are living in very interesting but also critical times with
regards to our species and this finite planet we live on. This shift in
mindset, in consciousness, is happening, certainly throughout the world
including the West. Many peers have become totally disillusioned and
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dissatisfied with the corporate model of maximising wealth and acquiring

profit through the exploitation of people and natural resources as the path
to happiness. The mantra and illusion of consume and you will be happy
has been shattered. We now know there has to be and there is more to
life than just making money. In this book I simply wish to share a few
key messages. This message on intuition, asking the right questions,
following your heart and not people pleasing, is the first message and
step. It is fundamental to your personal growth, well being, sanity, health
and happiness as a human being and for the well being of us all. We have
the power of choice in all we do. The second message is about the state
of the planet and the existing systems in place and their impact on our
planet. I shall touch upon this at the end of this book as a precursor to the
second book – The Outer Revolution.
If you feel numbness, a void or emptiness regards these questions
and exercises, don’t worry, I did too initially. You are not alone. Take
a break. Put the book down, get some fresh air. Find some nature and
stop thinking. Take some time and space out of the wheel, away from
the noise. Go for regular walks in fresh air, nature, in the countryside.
Anywhere outside the city with greenery and nature so you can soak up
some of nature’s energy and have a calm space to be present. To reflect.
Often being with nature, in a park, wood, wherever green, is a great place
to be for the mind to settle, to be present and listen to your heart. Asking
these simple but powerful questions and then being silent. Seeing what
comes up. Suffice to say, we must also listen to our intuition, our heart, to
be guided from inside to our paths. This is what personal empowerment
is about. Being guided from within, and not from others and the outside
world.
Look back at your list of what you love doing and are doing
and also what you love but are not doing. Reflect on this deeply while in
nature or anywhere in silence (e.g. driving the car on your own). This is
your life and you deserve to live a happy and fulfilling life of your choice
and making. It is by asking these questions that you will find and begin
your life’s purpose. The reason why you are here. Once you understand
this, your life will take on a new meaning but also a new level of potential,
creation and self contentment.
If you don’t feel you are making progress with these open ended
questions then ask yourself honestly whether you feel you are in the right
area of work right now. Are you in the right relationship for you? With the
right partner? In the right country? If you have any feelings of doubt or
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unease then you must be honest with yourself and acknowledge them. At
least then you will know what you are doing is perhaps not right for you.
Ask for guidance if you don’t feel you are making progress. However, it
could be that you know and feel you are in the right space for you right
now, the right sector, right partner, right work; then acknowledge that and
be happy and grateful.
The Power of Silence

Silence has become a crucial part of my personal journey of
reflection and transformation. Without silence, all these realisations
might not have happened or might have taken far longer. I have noticed
that I have regularly sought times of silence throughout my travels since
I left my city life routine. I have found that being silent, dwelling in
silence, has been fundamental to my personal and spiritual growth. It has
been through the silence that I have been able to connect with my heart,
my true self and not the ego mind chatter. Through being silent I have
managed to find out more about who I am and what I love. Partly through
observing my thoughts and actions but also through posing questions and
then remaining silent and seeing what feelings come up.
When I am silent I feel calm, grounded and connected with
my self and my environment. I do believe that after being silent I feel a
little more open, loving and compassionate to people around me and my
surroundings. I did not realise until now how important silence was to me
and perhaps to all human beings. My life in the fast paced corporate rat
race gave little time for silence. I think I might have even been fearful of
it, not wanting to be with my thoughts for fear of what might come up.
Things have changed now. I have changed.
I have started to use silence to observe my potentially negative
thoughts and grieve (self heal), let go, whilst just being silent. I have
dwelled in this space, acknowledging how I felt about certain things.
Sometimes whilst being in silence I have created positive intentions.
Some may call it prayer or giving thanks. Positive intentions regards what
I would like to do with my life. My life goals. Visualising and feeling the
intentions and goals as if they had already happened and then going back
to the silence of simply just being. I now realise times of silence are
crucial to my personal and spiritual growth, to connect with myself.
After all these reflections I felt happier inside. Grounded, having
been in silence and asked these questions. I felt lighter and clearer too,
now having a sense of the answers and for the first time purpose. Some
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sense of the direction I consciously wanted to move my life in. It felt like
a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I smiled.
It had been a long and somewhat exhausting day, but also a very
important day in my life. I now realised something crucial, and perhaps
vital to gaining deep happiness in all our lives. That I needed to have
more meaning in my life. I need to do something more meaningful with
my life. I need to give my life, my work some purpose. Purpose beyond
being a docile consumer. Beyond just acquiring money to buy more stuff
in the endeavour of attaining false superficial happiness. Beyond meeting
only my basic biological needs and not my higher needs. Beyond having
a career for prestige and status. Beyond just surviving, waking up, going
to work, paying bills, coming home, eating and sleeping.
I now realised I was looking for my calling, my vocation. It was
now time for me to step up and play my role as a global citizen here on
Earth and I felt invigorated and excited to play my part. I was moving
into the ‘meaning’ phase of my life. The phase of wanting to give back.
I now believe I understand what is meant by the statement
‘happiness comes from within’. No matter how much stuff or things we
buy, it will never ever make us truly happy. Buy your luxury car but don’t
rely on it to make you happy because it can’t, it’s an external object. It is
a complete illusion. It is part of a bigger game to keep us busy working
and consuming. That’s why it is called the consumer society and we are
meant to be the little obedient worker ants. Working, eating, buying and
sleeping. I now know for the first time in my life that true happiness
comes from within by combining what you love with helping others. By
listening to and following your heart and combining your passion with
service. This is where long lasting happiness comes from.
Admittedly, we don’t always know the ‘how’ or where our
journey will lead to. But that is the magic of life. I do feel strongly
though that having listened and followed my heart, I am heading in the
right direction for me towards leading a happier, more fulfilling and
rewarding life.
Download the Free ‘Life Purpose Guided Meditation’

I created a guided meditation to help you understand what your life purpose
is. It is ten minutes. I believe it is a powerful and effective way to help you
move forward. Listen to it as often as you like throughout your journey to
help you on your way. Click the link and add your name and email address
to download. http://sacred-place.com/guided-meditation
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Chapter 11
What is spirituality?
‘We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but

spiritual beings having a human experience.’
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French Philosopher,
Palaeontologist, Biologist and Jesuit Priest, 1881–1955
Before I continue with my travels, my experiences and reflections I

would like to pause for a moment. During the last six or seven years,
since my spiritual journey began (in 2005/6), I have read many books
from different spiritual teachers. Spoken with lots of people on the
subject of spirituality and participated in several retreats and workshops.
I was hungry to understand this new perspective of the world better. I
then began to try to piece together all the elements of the spiritual map,
to try to make sense of it all. To see and understand all the (hidden)
connections. My rational logical mind, I expect, wanted to create or have
a clearer view of the entire map. What I began to notice was that each
book I read focused or spoke about a specific element or a part of the
entire spiritual map. For example intuition, or synchronicity or the Law
of Attraction. What I wanted was an overview of the whole picture. To
understand how all the different elements were connected, in what order,
if there was an order, and the impact they had on each other. Through my
discussions with others, questions to teachings and my travels around the
world I attempted to piece it all together, like pieces of a puzzle, to gain
a clearer, more holistic view. What I found during my research is that I
was not alone in wanting to understand the different elements and the big
picture. Others were interested too.
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Well, in this chapter I will try to explain the key elements of

spirituality and how I have experienced them either on or before my
travels. By using examples from my life and my travels I hope to help
explain the different elements, their power and application in your
life. I have written this chapter so you can see how being spiritual and
spirituality all works together and so you can see the bigger picture.
I believe this understanding is crucial to actually harnessing your
own personal power and breaking the chains of fear. Fear that comes
both from ignorance and from being too dependent upon others, their
opinions and approvals. Ultimately so you can see how spirituality can
add real value, meaning, personal power and happiness to your life.
My intention is that by sharing this knowledge and my experience it
might help to further develop your level of personal awareness, which in turn
will help you become more self empowered within your own life. Taking
conscious decisions about your life and its direction. Decisions based on your
inner guidance and your connection with the universe or higher power. This
has nothing to do with religion, it is about awareness. Awareness of the self
and of the universe and how the laws of the universe operate and how they
impact on your life. In turn this new heightened level of awareness should
support your growth, personal transformation and self empowerment to
enable you to lead a more purposeful, fulfilling and happy life.
What I am going to share with you may come as a surprise to
some of you; it certainly was a surprise to me. As you know, the first
time I heard about this way of looking at the world, this new perspective,
was when I was reading The Celestine Prophecy a few years ago. These
ideas, concepts, beliefs resonated so strongly with me that I had to find
out for myself if this all really worked. But only when I understood how
it all worked together in its entirety and put it all into practice did I realise
the true personal power, wisdom and magic of it all. Personal power,
wisdom and magic that hundreds of generations of indigenous people all
around the world have known for thousands of years and that we have
almost forgotten today. Spirituality. Not a religion but a heightened level
of awareness and consciousness about ourselves and the world around us.
I am going to attempt to explain and describe some of the key
elements of what spirituality is, some of the parts and processes of
spirituality, how they are interconnected, and, more importantly, how they
can be used by you to co-create your life. I admit there will be a lot of
information presented here, so take from it what resonates with you. It is
up to you to then go away and research further some or all of the parts that
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11. What is spirituality?
I describe and that resonate with you, thereby beginning your own journey
of self discovery, education and awareness. All I ask of you right now is
that you keep an open mind while reading this. Be open to the ideas and
thoughts I am sharing with you. You can always go back to your old ways
of thinking afterwards if these new ideas don’t resonate with you. But just
for now, for yourself and for your future, please keep an open mind.
Furthermore, you may want to re-read this chapter again
afterwards or at a later date; if so, go for it. Parts of my book, such as
the previous chapter, this chapter and the next two chapters are a little
bit like a study book. So feel free to make notes in your journal so you
can reflect further upon what has resonated for you at a later time. As
you develop and grow and look back over your notes, some things will
stand out for you or make sense perhaps based on recent experiences
in your life. As you evolve you may begin to see and experience the
world and yourself from a different perspective. With that in mind, please
write down in your journal any and all ideas and feelings that rise to the
surface. You will probably come back to them, or even rely on them,
later in life. Remember, awareness, knowledge and wisdom are to be
treasured, shared and enjoyed for the benefit of all life on Earth.
Energy
The first fundamental I learnt was that everything in the universe
is made up of energy. Everything at its core is energy. Energy vibrating
at different frequencies, the speed and frequency of the vibration
determining whether the energy manifests into solid, liquid, gas or
any other form you can or can’t see, hear or touch (such as ultra violet
rays, X-rays or sonar). Everything is vibrational waveform information,
vibrating at different frequencies and so manifesting in different forms
(solid, liquid, gas, sound, light etc).
Furthermore, the universe and everything in it exists as a set
of relationships or exchanges, communicating and/or interacting all the
time. Things affecting other things all the time. Not as a collection of
separate objects but a dynamic cobweb of exchanges. For example the
moon’s gravitational pull on the Earth and the effect this has on the daily
tide of our seas. Or plants taking in carbon dioxide, releasing oxygen
while we humans breathe in oxygen and release carbon dioxide.
At our cellular core, we too are beings made up of energy
vibrating at a certain frequency. Our heart, when it beats, generates a
large electromagnetic field. The field generated by the heart radiates
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externally from the body. Our cells are continuously communicating

with one another throughout our entire body all the time both at the
quantum layer, the layer of energy, and at the physical cellular layer. As
I mentioned, information is passed through nerve cells (neurons) in the
form of electrical impulses. Between these nerve cells there are gaps
known as synapses. Neurotransmitters perform the task of communicating
information between these gaps in the form of chemicals that conduct
electrical impulses between the gaps of the nerve cells. Neurotransmitters
form vast networks of ‘electrical circuits’ throughout our entire bodies.
I am sharing nothing new here. This viewpoint is acknowledged as
fact by the scientific community. As the famous mechanical and electrical
engineer and inventor of commercial electricity Nikola Tesla once said,
‘If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy,
frequency and vibration’. So, all matter in the universe, including plants,
animals, people and all other life on Earth, is made up of energy at its core.
Energy vibrating at different frequencies and so manifesting in different
forms (solid, light, water, sound etc). However, all importantly, all matter or
energy is interconnected with one another, communicating and interacting
with one another all the time. We are all built from the same building blocks
of energy. You, me, animals, trees, oceans, mountains, galaxies all come
from the same building blocks or materials which at their core are energy.
You may ask, so what? Why should I care? It’s a fair question.
I did. The reason why it is so important to understand this energetic
interconnected context before I go on is because everything is
communicating with everything, all the time. 24/7. How? you may ask.
Everything is interconnected with everything else through an invisible
(at least to the human eye) web or field of energy. All interconnected.
Everything, interacting with everything else, either consciously or
unconsciously, on the energetic quantum layer, all the time. We are all
part of an energetic field that we too have within us all. We are more
than simply our physical bodies, there is an energetic body. Our rational
mind being non-physical in nature is intrinsically connected to the body
by subtle physical energies which also help control our movement and
vital functions. This energy is often referred to as life force, prana or chi,
which runs throughout our body, the part known as the energetic body.
We feel it in the form of vitality within ourselves. In the form of tingling
sensations between our hands when we place them ten centimetres apart.
Or tingling on the top of your head when you meditate. You are then
connecting with source energy.
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We connect through this energetic field with our life force, to

others and to universal intelligence with our thoughts, intentions, feelings
and intuition. We are constantly sending and receiving information all the
time. Nothing is separate, but connected. We only have the appearance of
separation when we look with our eyes. Everything is alive, everything is
connected and everything is communicating all the time.
Intuition
I remember from my own personal experience that for most of
my life, up until my early thirties at least, I use to consciously ignore my
intuition. I would do things against my will to either please other people
or avoid trouble, pain or fear. Most, if not all, of the time I would see
with the help of hindsight that I had made the wrong decision again. I
had never been taught about intuition at school. I didn’t know what it
was and the power it offered me. Then one day I made a decision, in fact
two decisions. The first decision was that I would no longer ignore or
sabotage what my gut feel was about something, however big or small.
I began this new way of living with very small things in my life like
choosing from a restaurant menu or fruit and vegetables in a supermarket.
I would listen inside and see what felt right. I then listened to that choice
and made my decision according to that gut feeling. After several months
of doing this, I began to see I was glad of my choice in most if not all
cases and had few regrets. This for me was quite a realisation. That if I
listened to my gut feeling, my intuition and followed it, I would have
fewer regrets. I now always follow my gut feeling.
The second decision I made at roughly the same point in my life
was to always say YES to any and all new things that came into my life
unless they felt wrong. I let go of the fear of the unknown, fear of what
people thought and decided to embrace change and the unknown and see
where it took me. This was a very exciting and liberating choice to make. I
have found that by listening to my heart and saying yes to life, I now have
far greater confidence and trust in myself. In my inner guidance. In turn,
my self esteem and self confidence has grown greatly precisely because
I am more trusting of myself, my judgements, my feelings. Due to my
nurturing my inner guidance, I now have complete faith in my intuition and
base all my decisions on my intuition. My self esteem and self confidence
have grown enormously. To the point where I have little fear of anything
or anyone. The effect of this has been that my inner power, my personal
power, has grown enormously too. You can experience and live this too!
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This was all new for me, but it was the beginning of my
reclaiming my personal power. Simply because I made a choice to have
the faith and courage to listen to my intuition and follow through with
that choice regardless of what my fear driven ego mind thought. I took
the risk and listened to my heart. Furthermore, unless it felt very wrong,
I said yes to life because I wanted to see where it would lead me. These
two actions or life philosophies have been two of the most beneficial to
me so far in my life.
I do believe we are connected through our intuition to our soul,
our true authentic self. Through our intuition and our soul we connect
to the universe or universal intelligence via an energetic field all around
us and within us. Higher self, authentic self, or soul, are all words
describing the same thing, our innermost being, our true self. Not our
ego or personality but our soul. Intuition is your connection with your
true authentic self. An example of your intuition guiding you is when
you just know something feels just right in your core and you have to
do it; that is your intuition, your inner guidance guiding you. Ideally you
should follow your inner guidance all the time. You may not be able to
explain where that feeling came from, and you don’t have to, but that is
your intuition. We all have it. Some call it our sixth sense. It is the inner
voice of our most authentic true self, speaking from our heart, our soul,
guiding us onto our paths.
You may ask, how do I know if I am making the right choice
when I receive what I think is guidance? Go on how you feel at that
instant. Are you anxious, fearful, stressed or angry? If so, then perhaps
this is not the right choice or path for you. Do you feel good, relaxed,
happy, comfortable with that decision? Does the decision feel right for
your inside? If yes, then it’s the right choice for you.
Intuition for me is not relying on external beings or angels
for guidance. I choose to rely on my soul, my intuition for guidance.
My soul, my intuition, which is part of me, which is connected to the
universe, to universal intelligence through the energetic field, is my
guidance. That’s the only connection I feel I need. I choose not to rely
on angels or other external beings for guidance or personal power.
That power and guidance comes from me and my connection with my
intuition, my soul and the universe.
One example in my life when I didn’t follow my intuition was when
I had the opportunity to go to a lecture some years ago on the environment
and the negative impact business was having on the environment. At the
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time, when I first came across the advert, I thought, ‘Wow, that sounds
really interesting. That sounds like something I’d really like to go to. To
learn about’. Then sabotaging inner dialogue, fear based thought, came
into my mind saying, ‘Why bother with that? You work in IT. That is
where you career is. You’re never going to work with the environment’.
I decided not to go. Days later, I did have feelings coming up inside me,
feelings of regret. I wish I had gone. I knew it felt right at the time, like
a sign, but I ignored it. A week later I bumped into a woman in a social
setting who worked for a government department of the environment.
They had attended the event and she told how interesting and useful they
found it. To understand the current position of the business agenda with
regards the environment. The impacts of ‘externalities’ on nature. Costs
not taken into account by business in their sales price. ‘Wow,’ I thought,
‘how interesting. Current up to date discussions of the business agenda
and the environment.’ Right then, speaking to that woman, I had the
feeling I should have gone. I was a little annoyed with myself for not
going. Can you relate to this experience?
Our intuition is with us all the time, it’s like an inner voice saying
to you, for example, go right, go left, walk away, shut up, stay, leave
now. It’s when your body wants to move in a direction without your
head understanding perhaps the rationale behind why. For me it becomes
clearer and clearer when I listen to it and act on it more and more. It is
a way of telling yourself that you trust yourself and the larger source of
intelligence from where it comes. You don’t have to be quiet or meditate
to listen to your intuition, but that helps.
Your intuition is speaking to you all the time. You will know
when you have dismissed your intuition and instead listened to your ego
once the event has passed. How? You will have a feeling of regret like I
did after the corporate environmental event that I wish I had gone to. The
regret will come in hindsight, when you wished you had listened to your
heart, as it did with me. Or conversely, in hindsight you will have a sense
and feeling that you made the right decision and feel good inside and
happy with yourself that you had the courage and confidence to listen to
your intuition and say no. Happy with yourself for having the courage to
listen to your heart and not your fear based ego. This is how we learn to
distinguish between the two. The more I listen to my inner guidance the
less I care whether someone approves of me and my decision. Try it out,
it will bring you to places and situations in your life you may have not yet
imagined and it is just the beginning to developing your personal power.
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The Power of Feelings

Our intuition is very much based on feelings. What we feel
inside. It is through our feelings that our intuition guides us, but it is
also through our feelings and thoughts we hold, that we communicate,
on the energetic level. We are constantly communicating all the time
through our thoughts and feelings 24/7. We all are, all the time. Our
thoughts are vibrations emitting certain frequencies. Our heart and
brain emits a frequency or resonance into the outside world with each
thought and feeling we hold. We are like energetic beacons or antennas
communicating all the time consciously or unconsciously. All the
thoughts we have in our head, whether positive or negative, carry a
certain charge or frequency.
I have felt this myself, for example, when I have walked into
a room full of people and being able to sense the mood of the room
or the people in the room without even talking to them. They are
all emitting vibrations, either positive or negative, from their mind
because of the thoughts and feelings they carry. We are constantly
receiving waves of information of different frequencies that manifest
in light, sound, solids, liquids, etc. All the time. That is how the
brain perceives the world. Through frequencies, energy, quantum
frequencies. We ourselves are constantly emitting and receiving
communications all the time. All the thoughts and beliefs we carry
emit an energetic frequency or charge, either positive or negative. All
thoughts are energy waves vibrating at different frequencies. There is
nothing in between, it’s either positive or negative.
Importantly, these feelings and thoughts that we carry around
with us affect our lives and the lives of others either positively or
negatively whether we like it or not. How? Through our thoughts, beliefs
and, more importantly, through our feelings…both positive and negative!
The real power behind the thoughts we carry is what we feel emotionally.
Emotions and feelings are the power engine behind our thoughts.
Feelings give thoughts energy and so power and that is precisely why
people meditate on intentions or visualise a desired outcome. To help it
manifest before it has.
Buddha said, we become our thoughts. What I believe he meant
is, be careful what you think, because your thoughts and your words
become your reality.
I appreciate this may sound abstract, but the way I understand
the universe to operate is that we are all interconnected through an
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energetic field. A quantum layer through which thoughts, feelings,

emotions and intentions manifest. It is through this quantum layer or field
that the journalist Lynne McTaggart so eloquently describes in her book
The Field ‘that we can become influenced by others’ thoughts and can
ourselves influence people, future situations and scenarios by the power
of our own thoughts, feelings and intentions’.
Think about this for a second. Where thought goes, power, namely
energy, follows. So what you focus on in your life you then attract into
your life. So it is through our thoughts and, more importantly, through our
feelings that we can co-create positive situations, events and happenings
in our life. Through our mind and how we choose to think and feel about
our life now and in the future we can affect and change current and future
situations, events and opportunities either positively or negatively.
World leaders, athletes and business people, amongst others,
visualise or meditate upon positive outcomes, positive final scenarios
and goals before even commencing the project. They continue to do this
practice even during the project to influence the outcome in a positive
way. Visualising and feeling the emotions as if the result had already
happened. Feeling what it would feel like to have already attained their
goal. Feeling really grateful that their intention has already manifested.
Meditating on that feeling of gratefulness. (I have done this with this
book, meditating on how it feels to help others on their journey.)
That is precisely why people meditate, to become mindfully
aware of the types of thoughts they carry, either consciously or
unconsciously. Being able to manage or choose what thoughts they wish
to carry and focus their attention on. Consciously choosing to drop the
negative thoughts. Managing our thoughts as opposed to our thoughts
managing us. This is empowering!
I have become more aware of my thoughts through practising
meditation and from being more mindful of what thoughts I focus on
each day. I now consciously drop sabotaging thoughts by focusing on
my breath or being mindful of my surroundings. Focusing my thoughts
and feelings more upon positive aspects or intentions of my life,
including life goals, short and long term. Based on my experience, I do
believe we all have the power to choose our thoughts if we are aware of
them. To understand where they come from. Some may not even be our
own, but engrained learnt beliefs or social conditioning. The first step
is to become conciously aware of the thoughts and beliefs you carry in
your head, both positive and negative.
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Faith
I have found faith to be one of the most challenging aspects of
spirituality. For years I ignored my intuition, my inner voice, and got
caught up with the mindless chatter of my mind. Whenever I chose to
ignore my intuition, however large or small the decision might have been,
I regretted it each time without fail. Each time I just knew in hindsight that
I had made the wrong decision. Have you experienced that before? That
in hindsight you wish you had done it another way? That you wish you
had listened to your heart? Well, having thought about this and reflected
on the outcomes of not having listened to my heart, in 2006 I decided to
do the opposite. Only make decisions based on what felt intuitively right
for me in that moment. It’s funny how a crisis in a persons life can be the
beginning or the kick start needed for faith to develop and grow in that
person as it did in my life.
What I did in my life to nurture my faith was to begin to listen to
my intuition on smaller or less important decisions. Decisions like which
route to drive to a destination or which train to take or which restaurant to
eat at or what food to buy at the supermarket. Unimportant decisions but
never the less making these decisions based on my gut feeling, on what
felt right to me in that moment. Later this led to my big decision in Brazil
to leave everything behind, but I would not have done this if I had not had
faith and trust in my feelings and my intuition.
Before this change I made many mistakes by not listening to my
intuition. But one day I got the inspirational idea to see these mistakes
as signs. I let go of my fear to change and very slowly began to see these
errors in my judgement as signs, messages and lessons in how I could
have done something. I slowly began to see these errors in hindsight as
useful pieces of feedback and not as mistakes. I began to see them as
feedback to get me onto my right path. This way I slowly began to gain
confidence in my intuition. Once I could see differently, more positive
outcomes from my decisions based on my intuition, my faith and trust
began to grow in myself and the universe. So did my confidence. It felt
good to make decisions based on what felt right and so I continued to
do this and have done so to this day. Of course, at the office, you use
your rational (left) brain and skills, knowledge and experience to make
decisions; but allow your intuition (right brain) to take over sometimes...
you’ll be amazed.
I have written a couple of intuition exercises for you at the end
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of the chapter based on my experience. Please try them again and again
until you begin to feel more confident with your intuition. That is the
beginning of a strong healthy foundation with your soul – your soul and
the universe. Vital for becoming a self empowered human being.
Surrender
Now I realise you may be thinking that I am going too fast and
it has taken me a couple of years to have faith, to surrender and ask
for guidance. To stop always wanting to control situations, people and
events. To stop always wanting to control how things turn out. It is a
balancing act. On the one hand, having clear intentions coming from your
soul, your heart, your intuition. Focusing on these intentions, looking for
signs, taking appropriate action but being detached from the detail of
the how. Accepting this honestly, most things are out of my hands, just
focusing on what I am doing and why I am doing it.
I know this is not easy but I must say this experience of travel
has been a fantastic way for me to practise surrendering and detachment.
I have no control over transport, food, accommodation, what I will see,
who I will meet and when. Take, for example, the taxi driver in Delhi,
the possessed taxi driver from hell. I was in the backseat of his car. There
was little I could do to change his mad totally out of control driving. Of
course, I could have got out of the car at traffic lights, grabbed my bags
and attempted to find another taxi in the searing heat, but what a hassle.
Far easier, and I think better, to just go with the flow. If we have a crash,
we have a crash, if not then we don’t. It’s out of my control.
I didn’t actually feel my life was in any real danger, I felt safe;
otherwise, I would have taken action. I didn’t feel that uncomfortable,
my intuition was telling me ‘it’s OK’. I just had a madman at the wheel.
I held on tight and went with it. By surrendering to what is, the present
moment, the only moment, you don’t lose energy. Of course, if I deemed
the situation to be life threatening that would have been something else
and I would have acted differently, but it wasn’t.
Other times when you are in a situation that you haven’t been in
before and have no control over, somehow making it through the situation
and learning, gaining experience from it can be really empowering. Even
surprising yourself that you made it through it. Look at the hundred hour
marathon meditation I did. Wow. I could have quit, I wanted to daily, but I
didn’t. Then afterwards I had all these life questions coming to the surface,
which was a little unnerving to begin with but now I am looking at my life in
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a completely different way. All because I remained with my good feeling to

go to the meditation, didn’t give up even though my ego wanted me to stop.
Now let’s see what massive positive changes are going to happen because I
surrendered and followed my gut feeling. Not trying to control everything,
because that way you will lose your mind. So pray for guidance, have faith
when you get the answer and surrender to what unfolds.
Situations that we have little control over can help us grow.
Each day life throws new things on your path and you grow, becoming
stronger, more centred, more grounded in yourself and so more confident.
More on your path. To the point where very little scares you in life and
you feel you can accomplish anything once you apply yourself to it. This
is personal empowerment. This is really important.
Guidance
There have been many times throughout my travel when I have
lost contact with my intuition, my feelings. When I have had trouble
listening to it. Often I would be on a bus arriving after dark at a new
destination, which is not a good thing to do. While on the bus, before
arriving I would ask for help and guidance. I would ask for a sign that
someone trustworthy would help me find a safe room. Remember I am
on my own, in the middle of nowhere, with dollar signs and ‘please rob
me’ signs written all over my forehead. On one such occasion I got off
the bus in the middle of nowhere with at least thirty El Salvadorian taxi
drivers waiting to take me. After a lot of hassle in Spanish, one guy called
out in English to me. I spoke with him for a moment, (discussing what
I was looking for, where I wanted to go) and felt at that moment that he
was trustworthy. So I went with him and found a hostel. That man was
my sign. That was guidance and support.
So you must ask for help and support, wherever you are and
whenever you like. Asking can be in the form of a prayer or during a
meditation or whilst walking the dog in the park saying it in your mind
or whilst driving your car saying it out loud or by writing in your journal.
Anyway you like, but ask. You can write down the question in your journal
if you like and then be open to messages in all types of forms. I suggest you
go ahead, try it. Ask for help and wait and watch for the answers to come
in the form of feelings and signs. I now realise that every feeling I have is a
level of guidance. It’s not necessarily a big vision but a feeling inside. That
is why we humans have emotions, they are there to guide us in our lives.
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Signs
An example might be requesting that your soul, the universe
confirm whether a particular decision or choice that you are about to make
is the right one. This confirmation will come in the form of signs. Signs
that will either confirm or dissuade you from your decision. I use this
and it works well and often very fast, within hours or days. Focus your
intention on receiving guidance, then let go, and see what comes across
your path over the coming hours and days. Believe me, signs can and do
come from absolutely anywhere, anyone, all the time, in the smallest and
largest ways. It’s almost laughable sometimes when you spot them and
they just confirm your gut feeling. Then you go for it even further and it
turns out right. I have found the more I listen to my guidance from within
the less I care whether someone approves of my decision or what they
think. I love it. This is personal power.
Help might come in the form of a conversation, a dream, a
coincidence, an advert, a book, an event or something else. There is
meaning in even the smallest of events, you just need to interpret the
meaning. But remember, you must meet the universe half way and that
means by having clear intentions around your area of question and focus.
Be specific. Then taking focused action to get things moving from your
side, so don’t hesitate if a sign comes and requires action. Act upon it.
You can’t just ask a question and sit back, eat crisps and watch TV hoping
things will happen. You must do some mental and physical work around
your area of focus to bring about an answer or solution. Mental work could
be feeling what it would be like for your intention, your goal, to already
be manifested and, more importantly, feeling grateful that it has already
happened. Physical action is self explanatory, it means taking the right
action to help the universe bring your intention into manifestation. When
the sign comes, you must act upon it, don’t lose the opportunity. Have
trust and show trust in acting upon the sign. This trust will strengthen
over time and only serve you more and more in future.
Remember Brazil. I had the inspirational idea and strong feeling.
I then asked for signs. I met the BT colleague at the drinks event who
told me about the government programme. I then got the information and
called them. I asked for guidance, interpreted the signs and took action.
Before I knew it, I was off on my travels.
I ask for guidance all the time. There is no shame in that. It is
very important to ask for help and guidance whenever you feel you need
it. The universe needs communication from you. Asking for help and
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guidance is crucial, to help you, to guide you along your path. This can be
done on a daily basis if needed. Guidance is always there 24/7.
So as I have tried to demonstrate through my own experiences
we are not alone in this world and we are not alone in this process of
creation, awakening and evolution. We are all operating in a completely
interconnected world, connected via energy through our thoughts and
feelings. When we are open to being guided both from within, from our
intuition, guidance will come in the form of feelings and inspirational
thoughts and strong gut feelings. They are known as inspirational
thoughts or ideas because they come out of nowhere, feel really right and
often feel like a mini or large Eureka moment. Not premeditated.
Strong gut feelings are guidance coming in the form of feelings
from deep within your heart. This is our intuition guiding us. With both
inspirational thoughts and strong gut feelings you just know this is the
right decision, the right thing to do. It feels right. When you know this,
you should follow up and take action if needed, however little or large
because it’s the right thing for you to do right now in this moment. In the
beginning the ‘inner voice’ might be very vague because you might not
have listened to it much before. So maybe begin with small decisions to
train yourself in listening to your inner voice. At the end of this chapter
I have given you some exercises to help you develop your intuition and
your ability to listen to your inner voice further.
When you are not sure, then ask for guidance and look out for the
signs, interpret them and take the appropriate action based again on what
feels right. Signs come in many forms and happen all the time in our daily
lives. Signs could be conversations, coincidences, adverts, a chance meeting
or what someone said. Anything. The key is the correct interpretation of the
sign in regards to your life and your requests for guidance.
When you are persuaded by other people to do otherwise, to not
listen to your intuition but follow their advice, I ask you to take note
after the event and check up. In hindsight was this the right thing for you
to do? What is right for someone else might not be right for you. Note
whether you had any regret by listening to the others’ opinion and by not
following your inner guidance. Check up regularly; you may surprise
yourself regarding how your intuition is always right for you.
Synchronicity
When you have focus on your inspired goal, are diligently taking
the right action as best you can to achieve your goal, the universe steps in
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to help you along the way with what I call little miracles. This is the magic
of the universe. This help comes in the form of signs and coincidences
or synchronistic events. Coincidences such as conversations, signs,
chance encounters. The key is being able to interpret the sign at the time
it happens, so you can respond accordingly and adjust your course of
action accordingly. See the window of opportunity for what it is, just a
short time, and take advantage of that opportunity being offered to you.
Sometimes it could only be for a second, like fortuitously seeing just the
right person at just the right time and yet completely unexpectedly. Seize
the moment. You needed to meet that person that morning, so now hear
what they have to say. The opportunity is yours. Grasp it! For it will
lead you further on your path. And often we have many coincidences
happening during the same time, to help us along our way, but we are
just not aware of them or feel too scared of the unknown to follow our
intuition. This is known as synchronicity, a meaningful coincidence.
Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that may
appear unrelated but are in fact related and do have meaning. Carl
Jung, the great Swiss psychologist of the 1920s, was the first to properly
recognise and document this phenomenon. (From a religious perspective
this could be known as an ‘intervention of grace’.) When we have the
right intention or inspirational idea, the universe conspires to help us
on our way. Coincidences, or synchronistic events, happen to support
us and guide us on our path. For example, remember how I was getting
a little tired of always moving around and then one morning I got the
inspirational idea to do voluntary work. I then emailed six parks in Borneo
that Saturday and one came back to me on the Monday saying yes. That
was the universe giving me a sign. Confirming to me that I should indeed
go there. Helping me along my path, reacting to my positive thoughts.
And as you have read, Borneo has been a very important experience for
me along this journey. Helping me confirm where my heart lies, what I
care about and what my passion is (the environment).
The more attention I pay to signs, coincidences and synchronistic
events, the more frequently they happen. Of course, I had to learn how
to interpret the sign within the greater context of my life, as will you.
But the more frequently signs appear the more clarity I gain regards the
true direction of my path and my life. And when you are on your path
even more synchronistic events happen to guide you further. It is as if by
magic you get helped along the way and if it’s the wrong way you get
told that too. You come across barriers, blockages, things don’t run so
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smoothly. But do not become confused here. Perseverance can and is a

test from the universe. A barrier is something else. See a barrier for what
it is and ask for guidance or confirmation as to the right direction. For
example, does X mean I shouldn’t pursue this project any further? Find a
quiet spot or moment in your day and ask for guidance.
You will know when the sign comes; you will think ‘Huh, oh
my goodness, what a coincidence, that’s funny’. You will either get a
‘hunch’ or a feeling that you should explore further. Or indeed the sign
will resonate so strongly with you that you just know you must follow
your heart and take action. The key point is to remain open. Open mind
and open heart. And how does one stay open? By giving up the need to
control, by being present and living in the now, by being non-judgemental
and not too critical, by keeping a positive mental attitude and saying YES
to all that comes on your way unless it feels wrong. We don’t know it all,
and like Forrest Gump said, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates, you never
know what you’re going to get next’. Which is part of the beauty of life,
not mundane repetition but the unknown and surprises. Just remain open
and present, having clear intentions, asking for guidance, whilst doing
your best to correctly interpret the signs as and when they appear.
This is the power of spirituality, this is the power of being
guided from within and this is the power of being on your path. You get
helped along the way, obstacles are minor and few. Once you listen to
your heart and take proper action and remain open to all opportunities
that come along your path, saying yes to all those that feel right, you
will get onto your path, especially if you have asked those key life
questions in the previous chapter and your attention is focused upon the
area of interest to you. Your passion.
The Law of Attraction

I have found the Law of Attraction to be one of the most powerful
laws of the universe. The Law of Attraction basically states, ‘like attracts
like’. How we think and feel each day is key to what we attract into
our lives. Victim attracts victim, victor attracts victor. By mastering our
thoughts and feelings, we can effect change in our outside world. By
focusing our energy on things that give positive returns this will affect
our present and future days in positive ways.
The Law of Attraction has three parts. Step one is to be specific
with your intentions and goals. This can be done by visualisation,
affirmations, writing down goals and repeating them. You have to be
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very specific (later in the last chapter I explain how to write very specific
goals). Step two is to act as if what you want has already happened and is
on its way. Feeling grateful for having received what you have intended.
In addition to this you must meet the universe half way and take any
necessary and right action to help the process along. You can’t just sit on
your sofa and pray. You have to put energy and focus into your intention
and take action. Step three. You have to be open to receiving it and that
can mean changing what you are doing in response to specific signs from
the universe. Notice and interpret the signs and take any necessary action
in order to manifest your intention.
This implies to me that when you carry a dominant thought, belief,
feeling, or intention in your mind it becomes a big part of the vibrational
energy you radiate. That dominant belief or intention can also be translated
into habits and actions that you may or may not be conscious of. As buddha
says, ‘you become your thoughts’. As each thought emits a vibration, a
resonance, it communicates either a positive or negative frequency. Because
like attracts like, you will attract what you are feeling and thinking into your
life whether you like it or not. So if you carry a lot of negative thoughts
in your mind, negative beliefs about life, you will continue to attract more
negativity into your life. A negative mind and perspective or view of life will
attract negativity and negative people into your life. Conversely, the opposite
is true. Positive thoughts, words and actions attract positive things into your
life. It is nothing personal. That is why more and more people are thinking
about what they would consciously like to do with their lives and their life
goals and not just ‘doing a job’. This is how I understand the universe works.
Like attracts like.
A very personal example in my life was how I found my partner.
I meditated on what I was attracted to and what I wanted in a partner for
over a year. The type of character, beliefs, looks, life goals. I visualised
her. I meditated on how it would feel to be with her. I meditated on
meeting someone who had a project that we could work on together. A
project that could take us away from the rat race and city life and into
a more natural, healthy harmonious setting, doing something we both
loved. Just over a year later I met her. As you will read, we are now busy
planning that project, Sacred Place.
The reverse is also true, remembering where attention goes, energy
flows, by thinking negative thoughts we will attract unwanted negativity
into our lives. If you are often depressed, thinking ‘poor me’, having a lot of
self pity for being hard done by, you will attract more misery into your life.
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For example, dwelling on the past, carrying and holding onto memories of
what that person did to you ten years ago. This can all be extremely toxic
and negative because you are not only unconsciously communicating, you
are giving away, haemorrhaging, your energy on something that may serve
you no purpose today.
Any situation can be viewed from different angles or perspectives
and you can adjust and change the thoughts and beliefs you choose to carry,
hold and believe. You can also choose to see the situation from a different,
more positive perspective, spotting the lessons to be taken. Perhaps a precious
lesson in forgiveness, compassion or acceptance. Continued negative
thinking is toxic for your body and your mental well being. You will leak
energy from yourself onto those thoughts and onto the past, which you have
no power over. Worse still, negative thinking, much like unresolved emotion,
has a direct harmful impact on the physiology and well being of the body
on the molecular level, leading to disease if not changed. It’s OK to feel
depressed, but then feel it, grieve, express it to another person and let go and
move on. Don’t dwell in it. You will become sick.
The Law of Attraction works in conjunction with other laws of the
universe such as the Law of Pure Potential (anything is possible, anything
can be created), the Law of Allowing (not resisting but accepting, saying
yes), the Law of Detachment (holding the vision or intention; stepping into
the unknown of limitless possibilities and being detached from the how,
when, where, what , why, the outcome), the Law of Abundance (give and
you shall receive), the Law of Dharma (your Life’s Purpose, how can I
serve?), the Law of Cause and Effect (Karma, what you give out you shall
receive back) and the Law of Deliberate Creation (don’t react to life and
events but focus deliberately on what you want). There are others I have
not mentioned. The point is don’t try to control everything but be open,
surrender, ask for guidance and follow the signs. (To learn more about
these and other important universal laws, read Deepak Chopra’s book The
Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. An excellent and powerful short read.)
Higher Purpose
Personally, I believe that an intention will only come to fruition
if it serves a higher purpose. In my mind that means the intention must
serve the needs of the people and the planet. For example, if you would
like to work in plumbing, helping people with their project, that is great.
You are serving others while doing what you love to do: plumbing; so
serving yourself, whilst also serving others. However, the intention must
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be honourable and you must act with honour and integrity by following
your intuition, your true self and not your ego, your personality.
My intention behind writing this book is to try to help raise the
level of global awareness and so the consciousness on this planet through
sharing my personal experiences and insights. The positive outcome of
that being a more harmonious society with people living more fulfilling,
meaningful and happy lives. This in turn will have a positive knock-on
effect onto the environment and the outside world because we would do
things differently, now having a different mindset. Doing something just
for greed, power or control is an example of a dishonourable intention and
has nothing to do with being a spiritual person. This type of intention is
coming from the ego, a lower level of consciousness, and from a position
of fear, not love.
Soul Master, Mind Servant

It is from listening to our intuition, our heart, that we gain our
inner guidance in the form of a little inner voice, a gut feeling, a knowing
or an inspirational thought. Not from the mind. The mind is our servant,
not our master. We take guidance from within, from our intuition, from our
higher self, from our true authentic self. We engage our will power to take
action and we employ our mind to solve the problems, create solutions and
serve us along our way to get us to where we want to go. Our mind is not
the leader, our soul is. That is your true authentic self.
For me, I have it found to be an extremely important point and
life lesson because when we don’t listen to our heart we are not congruent
and authentic. Congruent meaning we are 100% aligned with our heart
and our path, authentic meaning we actually do what we feel and say.
When we instead choose to follow our mind, perhaps because of fear of
the unknown, or to remain in our comfort zone or through plain laziness,
we will disharmonise within ourselves. The heart wanting to do one thing,
the person then choosing to ignore the heart and following the internal
dialogue of the mind. Beware, over time, this inner disharmony, this dis-
ease, will indeed create disease and finally an early death. The pains in my
chest, my insomnia, my stress were all signs of disharmony within me.
Finally I had the courage to listen to my heart and change the direction of
my life. If I had not, I don’t like to think what would have happened to me.
For example, once I knew it was the right decision for me to
leave at that moment and had faith the universe would take care of
me, that I wouldn’t have to worry about finances, I simply trusted my
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inner feeling. I had faith and took action. I engaged my will power
and my mind to make the necessary plans to make it happen. I resided
with that inner gut feeling whilst simultaneously engaging my brain
to figure out the how and not the why. The why I knew already, based
on my intuition, my soul that is in turn connected to the universe. The
main thing that blocks this entire process that I have described so far in
this chapter is fear and the mind sabotaging based on fear. A powerful
affliction that far too many people are possessed of. An affliction, I
know from my experience, can be dismantled and removed, and once
done, transformation and self empowerment can begin.
Fear
I have come to understand and believe that fear is the main
mental affliction that stops people from following their heart. Fear is the
main reason why people don’t follow through with action, although they
instinctively know it’s the right thing to do. Fear of failure, fear of what
people might think, fear of what people might say. The list is endless.
That is where faith and trust comes in and the power of ‘so what?’. So
what if I fail, fall over, am late, miss the bus, or buy the wrong item?
So what? This is how we learn, by falling down and getting up again. It
makes us even stronger and wiser than before. Start with small things first
so it doesn’t matter if you make a mistake.
I do believe fear can be negative and hold us back by engendering
false limitations. Limitations often influenced or set by other people’s
opinions of us or by society as a whole. Saying ‘you can’t do that’ or
‘that’s not possible’. Inventing barriers to justify or deny that they are
simply afraid of the unknown. Sure it might feel scary sometimes, I
agree, I felt it arriving in Guatemala, but imagine the fear of being
’stuck’, ’trapped’. Of not living the life you could have. Giving away
your personal power by letting the emotion called fear stop you making
choices and decisions that deep inside you know you want to make. All
because the mind decides to accept other people’s fear as real! This is
wrong and negative for our mental and physical well being.
Holding feelings of fear will only attract more negativity into our
lives. It is crucial to really pinpoint what you are fearful of. Face it and
pierce that fear. Possibly not easy but certainly necessary if we are to live
fulfilling happy lives. You can practise overcoming fear. Like with other
things you might practise, remember to be patient with yourself and to
begin with small steps first; that helps to ensure success.
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Fear literally consumes our precious life force and our ability and
potential to be creative. Visualise this. Each day we wake up with 100%
of our life force in place. But immediately we wake up we start thinking
of past events, what they said about me, resentments and grievances and
so we lose our energy. By dwelling on the past we lose our energy. We
unconsciously give away large amounts of our present day energy leaving
us with very little to operate with in that day. This is partly why we feel
tired, inert, lazy. That is deadly. Once that life force energy is depleted
and we have little to no vitality left, we begin eating into our physical
layer as a source of energy. That in turn leads to disease, literally.
Indeed, fear begins in the mind through anxiety, depression,
paranoia and doing harmful behaviours to ourselves. But finally, like all
diseases, it reaches the physical layer, where the fear and anxieties will
manifest as diseases such as obesity, cancer, heart disease, diabetes etc.
In fact I believe all unresolved emotional issues, pain, trauma have a
direct correlation and negative impact upon the physical body, health and
well being. I feel fear serves little constructive purpose except perhaps in
‘fight or flight’ mode, whereby it can get the adrenaline pumping to get
us into action. Otherwise it’s a toxic emotion polluting the mind and body
with toxicity. Negatively affecting all organs in the body.
Fear is not who you are. It is only a ‘state’ of mind. It can only
control you and block your creativity if you choose to let it. A state of mind
that stops you enjoying life, living life to the full and getting the most out of
life. It stops and controls us through our fear of failure, fear of judgement,
fear of criticism, fear of being alone, fear of being abandoned, fear of what
people might think, and fear of what people say. But it’s all rubbish. If I
cared what people thought, I would never have left my comfort zone and
explored the world. I would never have changed sectors. Indeed, I would
never have left the UK and I would never have written this book. I truly
believe fear only has power over us if we give it power or let it have our
power. Otherwise fear actually has no power.
I have found that when you are living from being guided from
within, meaning by your soul, then fear, the ego, the outside world have
no more power or very little control over you. This is an example of
personal power, self empowerment. Of course, we all have to pay bills but
that doesn’t stop you studying a new subject, doing voluntary work in a
new sector that interests you, going for interviews with the competition or
quitting your job to do something you actually love doing. Only fear will
stop you doing that, if you let it. That is your choice. Your power. Your life.
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On a more positive note, I do believe fear can help us to grow

and become stronger as a person through facing it, by becoming more
aware of the fearful thoughts and beliefs we hold and by overcoming
them through having courage. When we chose to face the fear head on
and go for it. That is empowering and builds courage, confidence and
self esteem. Being aware of fear really helps to conquer fear. Otherwise
I believe fear serves no other constructive purpose unless (your Big
Brother) you want to control and manipulate people.
If you choose to listen to your ego, your fear, this will actually
cause more harm and bring you further away from your path. Misalignment
between your heart/soul, your will power and your rational mind will
create mental stress. Anxiety and tensions from this stress can in time
manifest in the form of disease on the physical and/or mental body. This
inter-connected relationship helps explain why physical sickness and
discomfort can affect our state of mind. Conversely, negative mental
attitudes, thoughts, beliefs and states of mind such as depression can give
rise to physical health problems. A positive mental attitude gives rise to
and supports a healthy body.
Please realise, at the end of the day, ultimately you must take
charge of your emotions and your life. By letting go of those negative
thought patterns and behaviours that are not you and that add no value
to your life right now. No one else can do this for you but you. Others
can support you in this process but ultimately you must stop holding
judgemental thoughts, trying to control others or any other behaviour.
This is done partly by becoming more aware of your thoughts, words and
actions and by choosing to focus on more positive goals and intentions
in your life right now and letting go of the past. So be honest and ask
yourself, are you making choices for yourself motivated by fear or life?
Blockages and Pain

Pain comes in many forms. Being ignored, teased, disrespected,
abused, exploited. Pain could be partly due to our soul (inner child)
in childhood not being nurtured or by living in a destructive negative
relationship at home or at work. Or an experience or situation that has
not been properly healed. Pain received as a child or adult pollutes and
poisons our well being, both mentally and physically. Traumatic events
in the past or ongoing situations that have not been healed will continue
to cause harm emotionally and so physically if not faced and resolved.
Unhappy, unhealthy experiences in life can negatively impact on our
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choices in life unless we face them and resolve them.

Dysfunctional and addictive behaviours are the outlet for
repressed pain and unresolved hurt. To avoid being with ourselves, to
avoid this suffering, we develop harmful addictive behaviours such as
smoking, drinking, drugs, gambling and sex addiction to numb out and
block the pain. To numb down the pain and our connection with our
self. These self harming activities act as a distraction for us to stop
us admitting to and so facing our fears and pain. All superficially and
temporarily aiding us to escape and hide from the pain we carry from
the past and on into the present day. We temporarily escape being with
our true self whilst giving away our personal power. This is a form
of self abuse and, if untreated, these addictions can lead to physical
diseases. Living in this competitive, materialistic society does not help,
so all the more reason to think about what you do with your time, with
whom and why you are doing it.
In addition, whilst growing up, our cultural and societal beliefs
teach us to value things such as education, certain careers, superstitions,
false desires, religious beliefs, certain lifestyles and rituals. These
traditions and beliefs could be limiting and counter intuitive for some
people. Not actually supporting growth onto our path. Over time, as I
grow up from childhood into adulthood, my soul, my inner child and
my intuition started to get numbed down by my not addressing certain
wounds and by listening too much to what others said I could and could
not do. I realised a lot later on that I had to address these issues if I were
to harness my personal power, access and fulfil my full potential and
live a happy and meaningful life.
When we are energetically blocked or carry a lot of pain this can
hinder and muffle our inner voice, our intuition. A weaker connection
with our intuition can hinder our growth and evolution as a person and
spiritual being because we have a break in the connection with our inner
guidance. If this is the case, it is very important that you take the time
to become aware, seek help, advice and support and heal yourself. It
is crucial to recognise and express pain, address unresolved emotional
issues and hurt because if we do not it gets lodged in the body and will
manifest in disease. Grief is not only related to a death in the family/
friends, we actually also suffer grief from abusive relationships, stressful
jobs and many other areas. This lack of awareness encourages people not
to speak out about bullying, domestic violence or abuse but to bottle it up
and suffer in silence. The person escaping from the pain often deals with
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these harmful situations by developing addictive behaviours.

Science acknowledges a direct correlation between our physical
health and our emotional well being. Cancer, heart disease, diabetes
and obesity are all the result of chronic unprocessed emotions and
experiences. These unprocessed emotions are even more toxic than
eating bad food. This is hard science, not new age thinking. Our thoughts
and emotions affect our body, for better or worse. Do use the support of a
healer, sponsor, therapist or life coach, but remember, ultimately it comes
down to you. Speaking with someone, being witnessed, having your pain
validated by another person will help you forgive, heal and move on.
Grieving, discharging and letting go of the past. Take the time you need
to heal but make that self empowering choice to heal. It will be one of the
most important steps you will take in your life. It will contribute vastly to
creating a healthy platform from where you can create your life further. If
you have not taken the time to heal, you will not reach your full potential.
Later in life, when we become more mature and aware, we may
realise that we actually have a choice. A choice to either continue to
remain wounded and act dysfunctionally or to take action to heal. You can
also choose to take responsibility for your life by taking steps to educate
yourself about different issues and healing therapies. This is the power
of choice. Nurturing yourself, healing yourself, and regaining control of
your life. If you choose to cut the cords of the past, to let go of potentially
limiting convictions and start life with a new canvas. Then you can make
that choice right now and in any instance of any day in your life.
Healing
I have learnt about and experienced different ways to heal pain.
One way is to accept any pain and hurt that has happened to you. Then
begin the healing process by taking corrective proactive action in the
form of seeking help whilst beginning self healing. Do some research
yourself. Look up the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining,
depression, and acceptance. Understand more about what you are dealing
with, perhaps by asking professional help and support from others. Or
join a powerful and yet free twelve step fellowship programme. There are
many such programmes for all manner of addictions such as sex, drugs,
alcohol. There are programmes for partners and children of addicts.
I feel John Bradshaw explained the process or journey to wholeness
best in his book and TV series about the inner child called Homecoming.
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Stage 1 - Action: Seeking help/support. Breaking delusion and

denial. Changing behaviour.
Stage 2 - Feeling work: Expressing your Original Pain. (anger,
hurt, grief, sadness). Doing inner child work.
Stage 3 - Cognitive work: Challenging beliefs. Learning new
values, communication skills and behaviours.
Stage 4 - Spiritual: Expanded lifestyle. Meaning. Purpose.
Fulfilment. Higher power. Higher Cause. Service.
Denial, conscious or unconscious, will cause energetic blockages

which in turn lead to disease, so take action. Ask for guidance from the
universe to help you heal. No matter how small and insignificant you
might think your pain is. The worst that can happen is you avoid having it
grow. The earlier the better. You might be surprised by how some help and
perspective can prevent all kinds of illnesses from developing in the future.
Another approach is to sit with those feelings. Feel them. Accept
them. Realise they might have something to tell you about yourself. When
you go beyond the feeling you might find out new things about yourself
such as the source of the pain. Sob, grieve, release, forgive and let go.
Cut the emotional and energetic cords to the past. I accept we are crying
because we are hurting, but we can’t run away from this pain all our lives.
We have to turn around and face the monsters and demons. The monsters
will either run away and come back bigger and stronger or become friendly
when you face them. Try it out next time something hurts.
There is little you can do to change the past. But here now in
present time you have the power to try to accept the past as it was. Now
you can take constructive proactive action and begin the healing process
yourself, possibly through seeking the professional support of others. But
you must be willing to heal. There is no magic pill. People who have
experienced pain and shame in their life, perhaps in their earlier years,
can choose either to grow from these experiences and expand into their
full potential and their life purpose, or contract. Live in denial, rely on
substance abuse and be half the person they could be. What doesn’t kill
us makes us stronger.
Pain can also be seen as nature’s way of helping us. For example,
when we ignore our intuition and follow our ego, the pain will increase,
like banging our head against a brick wall. Pain in all its forms actually
guides us back on to our path. Too much of anything is not good for us and
so the pain eventually guides us back to centre when we take notice of it.
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If we ignore pain, it just gets bigger and bigger until we listen. Sometimes
people put off decisions, perhaps because of fear of failure or the unknown,
until the pain of not making a decision becomes too much. Until it becomes
more painful to not act. So I believe pain can be seen as an aid to not only
help us grow and learn but as a guide away from what might not be right
for us. Without it we might continue living but not evolving. It is actually
a gift somehow to help us move forward, so make friends with it and when
it pops up acknowledge it. Question its source. Try to understand why it is
here. Feel it, meditate on it and try to get a sense of where it has come from
and why it is still there. This can lead to some powerful personal insights
as to why we think and behave the way we do.
With all this being said, I cannot overestimate how powerful
we are as human beings. I mean this sincerely, each one of us. It takes
a second split decision to let go of fear and choose what feels right.
Listening to your intuition. Maintain a positive mental attitude. Do what
you love. Keep an open mind and open heart. Ask for help and guidance.
Look for the signs along the way. If I would have let it, fear would have
stopped me travelling, But no. I said to myself ‘this feels right, I must do
it’. So I asked for help and guidance and the signs and support followed
because it was the right thing for me to do at the moment in time. Right
because I listened to my heart and not my head.
Trust and your needs will be met. Trust that you will get guidance
just at the right time, when you need it, but also do ask for guidance
when you feel you need it. Trust all is how it should be even if you don’t
understand right now why it is the way it is. Have a little faith things will
come right by following your heart.
Nature
I feel nature helps us recharge our batteries and connect with our
soul, helping us to feel open and connect with others. Concrete buildings,
cities with no greenery, parks or nature do the opposite. Draining us
of our energy, making us feel disconnected, cold and closed. Nature
quietens the mind. If you have a garden or local park, that’s perfect.
A forest, mountain or beach is even better to give you that feeling of
space and peace to contemplate. Communing with nature will help you
connect with your intuition, and so to your true self. Often people go
running, do yoga, tai chi and chi gung in the city (and the countryside)
to help stimulate the body, mind and spirit both physically, mentally and
energetically. Through these activities we recharge the levels of energy
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within us. Breathing in fresh air and oxygen replenishes our system and
reinvigorates our vital organs.
I have found that another way to help release blockages, heal and
get closer to your core being, your true authentic self, is to be in nature.
Along with food and sleep, nature is our other biggest source of energy
replenishment to recharge our batteries. It is through nature that we find
it easier to reconnect with our soul, our true self and not the ego. Here
we get closer to how we deeply feel about things in our life. It is through
nature that we not only heal and replenish our energies, feeling centred
and grounded, crucially it is often through spending time in nature that
we have inspirational thoughts and ideas. Inspirational thoughts coming
into our heads from being peaceful and at one with nature. Commune
with, sit in, play in, or meditate in nature. Walk in the forest, looking up
to the sky, run or roller skate in the park, surf in the ocean or horse back
ride or bicycle in the great outdoors. Just being and doing what you love
in nature is a very healing and positive activity.
I would like to make an important point here. I believe a person
is not a well functioning human being unless they have respect for nature,
animals and the environment. Our very existence is dependent on Earth’s
ecological systems and cycles. Without them we would perish along with
all other species living on Earth. It is partly due to our disconnection from
nature, our deluded belief that we are somehow separate from nature and
can somehow control nature, that we are causing many problems on our
planet today. Treating nature as a resource to be used and exploited for
our selfish means instead of relating to nature and all other beings as
valuable and sacred. It is this type of egotistical, ignorant thinking that is
getting us into all sorts of big trouble today.
So indeed it is important first to make a point of remembering to
connect with nature where possible and have respect for nature. Admire and
be in awe of the beauty of nature. (That is why this book is a two part series,
the first being about our own inner personal transformation, the second being
about how we think and operate (produce/consume) in the outside world.)
Exercise # 3 – Nature Exercise

Here is something you can do that I have found really works for me.
I know it may sound weird but give it a go. Find a big tree with flat
ground around its base. Sit down on the ground with your back to
the tree and your hands firmly on the ground. Feel the sadness and
any other negative emotions within you going from the palms of
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your hands into the earth. Feel the energy in your hands connected
with the ground flowing, tingling. The body is getting rid of old
toxic energy and replenishing with new clean energy from source,
the tree and the ground. If you can quieten your mind, listen to the
birds, wind, or just simply focus on your hands or your breath. Sit
and feel what is going on. The toxic energy leaving your body and
going into the earth. Do this for twenty minutes or half an hour.
I have found that connecting with nature regularly is very

beneficial for me. It helps me reenergise my energy levels and my vitality.
However you choose to connect with nature (walking, gardening, horse
riding), make sure you connect regularly by doing something you love and
by doing it in nature. By being utterly present and appreciating the beauty
of your natural surroundings. This exercise along with other activities you
enjoy in nature will help you connect with your true self, your intuition,
and help you learn more about the things you really love in life.
In this state of silence, do remember to ask those key life
questions, what is my passion? what do I love? Then remain quiet and
see what comes up. See what you feel. If nothing comes up in those
moments, it will at another point in time, so ask again later and remain
mindful of what feelings come up.

Meditation
Another way people recharge their batteries and reconnect
with themselves and heal is through meditation. I still my mind through
focusing on the breath. If we have thoughts and internal dialogue going
on, this obstructs the flow of energy into the body from the universe, so
best to just keep focused on the breath. However, once the mind is quiet,
universal energy can flow in through the top of the head. In this state
of no mind, no thought, you might begin to feel tinglings at the top of
the head as I do. Energy entering and leaving my body. I have this most
times when I meditate. A tingling in the top of my head and through my
hands. You might experience a connection in another way. I understand
this tingling is universal energy coming into my body through the top of
my head replenishing my vital life force.
Another main reason why people meditate, as I mentioned in
a previous chapter, is to keep some control of the mind. Your mind is a
wonderfully powerful tool but you must be in control of it. Instead of letting
your mind distract you with abstract useless thoughts, constant internal
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dialogue, judgements, criticism etc. I believe the mind should serve you, not
the other way round. You meditate, to quieten the mind by focusing on the
breath and just being present. Being the ‘observer’ of your thoughts. Then
when you have a clear intention coming from your heart, your true self, you
unleash the power of your mind and focus on the task at hand. The mind must
serve you, not the other way round.
Exercise # 4 – Intuition Exercise

These are some exercises that I began with myself and have found
helped me strengthen my intuition. Both of these exercises are
about listening to and going with your gut feeling first and not
sabotaging that feeling by letting the mind second guess. Give it a
try. It works.
1. The Supermarket: The next time you go to the supermarket,

or better still, a food market with fresh fruit and vegetables, I
would like to ask you to only buy what feels right for you and your
body. I don’t mean buy lots of crisps and chocolates, you can buy
the odd one, but what I mean is buy what you feel is good, healthy
and tasty for you. If you love pineapples, strawberries, carrots,
courgettes or whatever, buy that for yourself. Go based on your
gut feeling and when you are unsure, be still for a second and see
what feels right, or come back to it later and make a spontaneous
decision. See what jumps out at you. What your attention is drawn
to. It’s a simple safe exercise to begin to practise listening to your
intuition whilst simultaneously being kind to yourself.
2. The Walk: A second exercise is simply to go to either a part
of your city or another city altogether or a park that you don’t
know and begin to walk. Begin walking and when you get to a
corner or crossroads ask the question, ‘which way should I go?’
See what feeling comes up. Better still, if you get to the turning
point and you just feel to go one way and your body takes you
that way, go with it. Don’t hold back. But always listen to your
intuition to guide you. You can practise this exercise even better
when on holiday, keeping an open mind and an open heart and
letting your guide you down the cobbled streets. Just pick a town/
park randomly or one from a guide book that reads well and do
the same exercise. Through practice your intuition will become
stronger. Through experience you will become more and more
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confident that your intuition is always right. This confidence inside

you will in time grow into courage whilst removing fear. Then
you can go onto bigger decisions and choices in your life with the
confidence of knowing that being guided from within is the right
way and the only way. This confidence will grow stronger still up
to the point where you can start to make life decisions based on
what feels right to you as opposed to listening to what others say
you should do. How liberating and self empowering that feels.

Through doing these exercise I have felt more connected with
my body and intuition. Don’t worry if you think you are more or less
connected right now. Practice builds both confidence and courage.
If you choose to listen to your intuition, follow your heart and
have the courage to take the necessary steps and action in your life based
on your gut feelings and the signs, then you will be more aligned with
your calling and the reasons why you are here. When your mind and
heart are aligned, operating as a team, you will hear the guidance more
clearly. You are less afraid of having faith in the universe and yourself,
you gain more trust in yourself and are able to accept not knowing or
understanding the how. This can be a challenge, but try it out. After a
while, look back at the situation and see if it makes sense from the point
you are at in your life now. If it doesn’t work, do it again in a while and at
some point, in my experience, it will fall into place and make sense. You
know why you are taking action; it’s your path, your calling and you feel
you should follow your inner guidance. Not having fear of the unknown
but surrendering and going with the flow.
To conclude this important chapter on ‘what is spirituality?’ –
In my mind spirituality is about acknowledging, accepting and being
connected with your true authentic self, your soul, not your ego. It is
about being guided from within by your intuition and your higher self
and not from the outside or by the opinion of others. Having faith to trust
who you are and what you feel. It’s about personal power and the power
of choice. Your choice!
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Chapter 12
Tushita Buddhist Retreat.
‘You are what you think. You become your thoughts.’

Buddha, Founder of Buddhism, 563–483bc
Tibet in India
Coming back to my travels, the last few weeks since the Vipassana
retreat had been full of introspection, thoughts, feelings and realisations
that came from the meditation and silence. I now felt more comfortable to
properly explore and interact with my surroundings and wanted to spend
a little time actually getting to know McLoed Ganj and its people. That’s
the beauty of spending a month or more in one place, you can take your
time to get to know the people and the place a little better.
At first in McLoed Ganj I was not aware that I had arrived
in one of the main settlements of Tibetan Buddhism outside of Tibet.
Immediately I could see many differences from the Hindu culture in
Rishikesh. Instead of seeing very old holy men dressed in orange loin
clothes and pictures of extravagant looking gods such as Ganesh (remover
of obstacles), the elephant-looking God, now I saw pictures and statues of
Buddha. I saw prayer flags and prayer wheels. Monks dressed in maroon.
I discovered McLoed Ganj to be quite an interesting place because there
is a healthy mix of Hindu and Buddhist living harmoniously together,
although Buddhism seems to be the dominant culture. Buddhism had
always fascinated me earlier in my life but I had never made the effort to
really learn about it or to study it. Perhaps now was my time. That excited
me because I believe Buddhism holds a lot of wisdom that we could all
benefit from today and I was keen to learn more.
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Monks in Mc Loed Ganj India
I recently learnt that Tibet, known as ‘The Roof of the World’,

was an ancient peaceful land until recently. I was thinking of heading
further north, into Tibet, when I discovered that it was no longer allowed.
I couldn’t think why and then I found out. I want to share this story with
you because I feel its important. How we as a civilisation still currently
choose money as a higher value over the well being of people and planet.
After a little enquiry I found that it was illegal for travellers
to enter Tibet on their own. ‘What?’ I thought. It seems you now need
permission from the Chinese government not the Tibetan Government
to enter Tibet. ‘Why the Chinese government?’ I thought. Further
digging revealed that if permission is granted for you to enter Tibet
then you have to join a large group. You can’t just go on your own and
begin to travel and visit what you like, where you like as in most other
countries of the world. Tourists must be led by an official Chinese tour
guide and only visit certain places and things that you are allowed to
see. ‘What is all this crap?’ I thought. Well, no thanks. I am a free soul,
thank you very much! I want to make my own choices of where I go
and what I want to do. So I didn’t visit Tibet, but I did visit the next best
thing, culturally at least, McLoed Ganj.
I researched further and learnt that Tibet was invaded by the Chinese
only 60 years ago, in 1950, under the banner ‘economic liberalisation’. A
front used to plunder and exploit the peaceful nation of its natural resources,
its people and its culture. Can you believe this today? In our so called modern
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12. Tushita Buddhist Retreat.
times. I read that the Tibetan government were very aware of the imminent
invasion by the Chinese and so asked the UN, UK, USA and Indian
governments for help. All of them ignored the cries for help. All afraid of
the Chinese I expect. What do you think about that? I learnt that now there
are even more Chinese in Tibet than Tibetans, so purposefully diluting the
original culture. And all the while America offers China ‘Most Favoured
Trading Status’ meaning far lower import tariffs compared with all other
countries. Where is the responsibility or accountability for this action?
Well, a Tibetan settlement town, I thought, could be the next best
thing to get to know and learn more about what was and what remains
of the culture of Tibet and so I decided to stay. I was located only a few
kilometres from Dharamsala, where the spiritual and political leader of
Tibet lives, the 14th Dalai Lama. He escaped along with other cabinet
ministers out of Tibet back in 1959 and now lives with his exiled team
working tirelessly to free Tibet from Chinese oppression and rule. (If you
would like to learn more about the Tibetan story, watch the movie or read
the book Seven Years in Tibet and Kundun documentary and visit
http://www.savetibet.org/)
Free Tibet India

Being here gave me a chance to talk with local shop keepers
about their experiences in Tibet, both before, during and after the
invasion. I discovered that some shop keepers were quite open to the
chance of talking to foreigners about their ordeals. There was one bald
headed round short man in his late sixties who ran a T-shirt shop that I
frequented on a few occasions to buy gifts for friends back home. We
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clicked up a rapport and so I offered him a cup of chai (tea) so he could

chat to me quite openly about his escape from Tibet.
He began to tell me about his journey on foot, how extremely
harsh and hazardous the conditions were. Great distances were covered
on foot, braving the elements of the highest mountain range in the
world, the Himalayas. He told me that if caught trying to escape Tibet,
the penalty would be severe, if not death. This man had travelled with a
group of other men for over a month to get here. He said he was young
and strong back then, full of determination. He couldn’t make that same
journey now, he was too old. Some Tibetans settled in Nepal and some in
northern India, as did this man.
Since arriving in northern India some 30 years ago, he had learnt
Hindu and English. He had worked in different places and shops. He was
now married with five healthy children all living and studying in McLeod
Ganj. The old man told me that on the one hand they were happy and
grateful to be here safe in McLeod Ganj but on the other hand they would
of course have preferred to live in their own country under self rule. This is
what the Dalai Lama and his team are tirelessly pursuing. Autonomous rule
of Tibet by Tibetans.
I was actually quite shocked after hearing this kind man’s story.
The hardship and oppression he went through to be alive there in India.
Upon first listening to this man’s personal story I decided to explore a
little more of the town and came across a sign looking for volunteers
to teach English to Tibetan nuns. I found out that a non-profit group
organised English speaking foreigners to teach Tibetan nuns English. I
had a good feeling about this and so during my stay I began to teach
English to these nuns. My goodness, was I in for a shock!
I taught the nuns individually and they would tell me in their limited
English about some of their personal stories. I would try to correct their
English both verbally and with pen and paper but sometimes I simply got
carried away listening to their stories. They explained to me where they had
come from, how they got here, why they left, what they left behind and what
was next for them in their lives. One young nun told me how she was a
student in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. She was taking part in a public protest
against the Chinese authority regarding the invasion of their country. The
poor girl, only a young student of seventeen at the time, was arrested for
protesting against the Chinese regime and placed in prison for three years.
While she was in prison she told me of how they tortured her. Her face told
me a thousand words. Timid, gaunt looking, deeply sad. Her soul completely
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broken. I could not even begin to imagine the pain this poor young woman
had been through. It made me cry inside, it really did and although I tried not
to break down in front of her I felt in shock after that afternoon’s talk.
After three years in prison she was released and she went back to her
family on their small farm in the countryside of Tibet. But she only stayed a
short while with her parents. She had already decided to leave Tibet and begin
a new life somewhere else. How sad she must have felt, not feeling secure
enough to live in her own country with her family. She told me she felt she
couldn’t stay any longer in her own country because she didn’t feel safe any
more. She prepared for the long journey abroad. The journey was treacherous,
travelling across the mountains of the Himalayas and through Nepal and on into
India. During her journey she faced near death from starvation, often sleeping
in barns or sheds to keep out of the bitterly cold Himalayan winds at night.
But if that wasn’t enough she then went on to tell me how she was robbed one
night of all her possessions by bandits. She finally made it to India after a very
painful and arduous journey and that is where she is now. She said how grateful
she was to be there in India but it was still a very slow process of assembling
her fragile life back together. She does have support of the community. She
is also receiving an education and is working and serving in the local temple.
However, I do not know what she has in the form of counselling or healing,
perhaps the local community plays a role.
This story and others like it totally shocked me to my core. These
meetings made me feel deeply sad inside that humanity could be so cruel
to each other in the name of money and greed. All happening today, in
‘modern times’. I felt her pain and yet I could hardly imagine the actual
pain this girl in front of me received during her three years in prison.
I knew nothing of their world until now. This was a heavy emotional
experience that touched me deeply and was part of the planting of seeds of
change within me. I began to realise more and more that I do have a truly
precious human life and that I must do something more meaningful and
constructive with it, while not taking it for granted. This new perspective
that was growing in me helped me to open my heart and mind and move
away from living the docile consumer driven lifestyle.
As I spent time in and around the Tibetan Buddhist settlement, I
noticed very clearly the warmth and calmness of the local people. Love
was in their smile and on their faces. It made me curious to understand
why and how they could be so calm and loving after all this oppression.
Shouldn’t they be angry and mad? Surely that is how a lot of other people
would feel after all this oppression and exploitation.
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Prayer Flags Mc Loed Ganj India
Prayer Wheels Mc Loed Ganj India
Tibetan Inscriptions Mc Loed Ganj India
172
I was keen to learn more about these people, their beliefs and
in particular Buddhism. I had only come across small random crumbs of
knowledge during my life about the subject up until now. From what little I
had heard about Buddhism, it had some very interesting philosophical views
of life and on how to live one’s life, coupled with an expertise in meditation.
It was something illusive to me but I wanted to change that and learn more
about it. Simultaneously during my time here I began to have stronger feelings
about wanting to go to this retreat I had previously learnt about. While I was
doing my voluntary work I enquired about the ten day introductory course
to Buddhism at Tushita. The lady on the other end of the phone said they
still had a few places left for the next teaching and I was welcome to join.
It would start in two weeks. It felt right. It was something I really wanted to
do, so I signed up with a smile of gratitude. Wow. I was finally going to learn
about Buddhism. How amazing!

Note: There are different schools of Buddhism based on the same
teachings of Buddha. I was taught from the Mahayana Gelugpa tradition.
http://www.tushita.info/
Tushita
Tushita, meaning Place of Joy, is the name of what I later
found to be quite a famous Buddhist retreat. The retreat was set up by
the Dalai Lama and his colleagues and in particular by Lama Thubten
Yeshe. There was a demand from both Eastern and Western students
to have a special place to learn about Buddhism, now that it was no
longer possible to study in Tibet. Northern India was the next best
place and so in 1972 Tushita was built for this purpose. To convey the
teachings of the Buddha.
After a fifteen minute drive from McLeod Ganj in a taxi I arrived
at this very quiet serene place located some 2100 metres high up in the
foothills of the Himalayas. Set amongst green pine trees, with monkeys
in the trees and the sound of birds, it was a beautifully secluded retreat.
There were some forty other Western students in total, the majority Israelis
with a couple of Americans and Europeans mixed in for good measure.
We were provided with meals and accommodation on site. We slept in
simple, adequate, shared accommodation, often with three or four people
in a room. This was different from the Vipassana, but I didn’t mind. The
course itself was split evenly between the main teachings of Buddhism and
the practice of guided meditations upon the very same subjects that were
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taught. This programme seemed at a glance a lot more reasonable to handle

than the Vipassana programme.
Tushita India
Daily Programme
06:00 hours Wake up
06:45–7:30 Mindfulness meditation
07:30–8:30 Breakfast
09:00–11:00 Teaching
11:15–12:00 Stretching
12:00–14:00 Lunch & Karma Yoga jobs
14:00–15:00 Discussion groups
15:30–16:00 Teaching
17:30–18:15 Guided meditation
18:15–19:15 Dinner
19:30–20:15 Guided meditation
After settling into my room, which I was sharing with two

Israeli guys, I went to the main meditation hall, called a gompa, and we
had our introductory talk. We had two teachers, an Australian Buddhist
nun for the actual teachings and a Dutch Buddhist lady for the guided
meditations. I was destined for another ten days of silence. However,
this time, once a day we would have a group discussion for one hour on
that day’s particular topic. But of course, no sex, drugs, music or alcohol.
Furthermore we helped with Karma Yoga jobs, helping washing and
tiding up around the retreat at meal times. It is part of the giving culture.
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There was also an extensive library available to students to borrow or buy

books and other Buddhist material.
In this chapter I will focus more on what I learnt from the
teachings and less on my experience. These were some of the most
insightful and empowering truths I have ever learned. I wonder if you
will also see how relevant and useful they are to our lives today. Even
more so now in what I feel is a spiritually poor and impoverished world
where we are losing our values, morals and wisdom in exchange for a
manufactured desire-driven consumer culture. My hope is that some of
this ancient wisdom that I was taught will resonate with you, perhaps
even invite you to visit such a retreat. But also possibly re-think aspects
of your life or how you are as a person in our world. Knowing that our
beliefs, attitudes and values influence who we are and how we think and
behave. I do believe that these principles and truths can indeed help serve
and guide us to lead more harmonious, prosperous and fulfilling lives.
I can see now how Buddhism along with Hinduism among other
religions are major influences on all the new age spirituality we have
in the world today. Today’s spirituality has not invented or discovered
anything new as far as I can see. It has simply re-found lost wisdom and re-
communicated what wise people from the past have known for millennia.
These same teachings and universal truths are simply re-packaged by our
current spiritual leaders. What I find interesting is that there is a growing
hunger for these (spiritual) universal truths among the young and old
today. I think this hunger for knowledge and understanding is partly to
do with the fact that we as a society have become spiritually and morally
impoverished. Our docile consumer culture has numbed down our innate
goodness, intuitive senses, our soul. This outdated consumer driven culture
thrives upon and stimulates the status-driven ego for self appreciation and
self worth. It does not cater to or nurture the soul or our true authentic
self and so now we have a poverty of soul. This is what l felt, before I
discovered all that I am sharing with you in this book.
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, later known as Buddha, meaning
Enlightened One, was born into royalty as a prince in a place
called Lumbini, Nepal in 563bc (Lumbini is in present day India).
He became disillusioned with the trappings of royalty in his late
twenties, having left the palace four times before. During these
travels Buddha witnessed four things: disease, old age, death and
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one monk walking serenely through this suffering. These four

events caused Buddha to see suffering but also that there was a
way out of suffering.
Plentiful women, fine wine, clothes and delicious food could
not keep him from wanting to discover this way out of suffering and
so one day, at the age of thirty, Buddha left to explore the outside
world further. In search of the true nature of existence, the mind and
the world around him. To better understand why suffering existed,
what were the causes and how they could be removed to avoid further
human suffering. On his travels Buddha met with many religious,
wise teachers along his way. He listened, practised and realised
their teachings but remained unsatisfied as to their effectiveness in
getting rid of the roots of suffering. However, no one could explain
to Buddha how to end the suffering he had seen.
Not satisfied with his findings, Buddha continued on his
travels, practising meditation and self denial of food, thinking that
this would lead him to enlightenment. The refraining from sensual
pleasures such as enjoying food or accumulating wealth is called
asceticism and was often practised back then by holy men and the
monastic community as a way to calm the mind and relieve oneself of
compulsions and cravings. Asceticism is also known as self torture.
Buddha found that asceticism was not the path to enlightenment so
he stopped eating roots and seeds and began to eat nourishing food
again to regain his health. He also realised that the prince’s world of
luxuries and greed was also not the path to enlightenment.
After wandering for some days further he then sat under a
Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, India, vowing never to leave this tree until
he had gained enlightenment. He meditated there studying the entire
continuum of his existence. During this time, Buddhists say Mara,
a demon (a metaphor for the process of doubt), tempted Buddha
in his final days before reaching enlightenment with beautiful girls
and other temptations away from the spiritual path. This temptation
failed and towards the end of his time under the Bodhi tree Buddha
realised what were the causes of suffering and how to remove them.
He also realised what were the universal truths of life. During this
time of meditation and self enquiry Buddha reached enlightenment
through experiencing these deep realisations.
By the age of thirty-six Buddha had reached enlightenment
and then began to teach what is known as the ‘Graduated Path’
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to enlightenment, also known as the Middle Way, avoiding both

extremes of wealth and stinginess. Enlightenment means a state
of mind or consciousness whereby all cravings, aversions and
ignorance are transcended; a state of mind unaffected by change
or suffering or caring what people think or say about you.
Buddha taught a philosophy of how to live a ‘middle way’, a
balanced, decent, happy and rewarding life, whilst acknowledging
that mental suffering was the main cause of human misery. That the
cause of both harmony and disharmony lay within us not outside of
us. The teachings of Buddhism are based on Buddha’s teachings,
collectively known as the Dharma.
Buddha taught for forty-five years to all types of people and
all levels of intellect until his dying day, fulfilling his reason for
being on Earth, to shed light on darkness, understanding upon
ignorance and help people out of suffering.
Each morning we would wake up very early and begin with an

early morning meditation. I actually began to like waking up at dawn or
just before. All around was still, nothing stirred and yet as dawn came, the
forest came alive. The mindfulness meditation was followed by breakfast
and then our classes would begin. The course was to provide us with
a high level overview of the teachings of Buddha, often known as the
Dharma. All forty of us sat on our meditation mats in the main meditation
hall and listened to the teachings. I shall start at the beginning.
Tushita Gompa India
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As I understand it, Buddhism does not believe in any god or

creationist theory but rather the Law of Cause and Effect as perceived in
nature and physics.
The main pillars of Buddhism are the three trainings:
Ethics (morality)
Concentration (one pointed meditation)
Wisdom (insight); knowing through listening, reflection and,
finally, realisation.
It has a clear and simple code of ethics, much like most

religions, to help you guide your life. In addition to these ethics
Buddhism is concerned with the study of the mind, trying to
understand how the mind works both on a conscious and an
unconscious level. This study is accomplished mainly through
deep piercing meditation, observing the nature of how the mind
works.
I will start by briefly explaining three universal truths
Buddha discovered, and then go on to explain some of the core
teachings I took away from the retreat.
Three Universal Truths
1. Nothing is lost in the universe

Matter turns into energy, energy turns into matter. Energy cannot be
destroyed, it can only change form.
I can relate this truth to the web of life concept in Borneo. Dead
leaves fall from the tree to the ground. Fungi in turn decompose
the leaves and turn them into mineral rich soil. This soil is nutrient
for the tree. New seeds and the existing tree live from this rich
soil. Another example of this exchange of energy is the process of
photosynthesis, turning sunlight into food. Matter is not lost but
exchanged. We all consist of the same matter. People, animals,
plants, oceans and mountains. We consist of that which is around
us, the elements. We are made up from life’s same building blocks
as everything else.
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2. Impermanence
Everything is continuously changing moment by moment. Life is
like a river flowing on and on, ever-changing. Sometimes it flows
slowly and sometimes swiftly. It is smooth and gentle in some
places, but later on snags and rocks crop up out of nowhere. Once
dinosaurs roamed this Earth then they all died out but this was not
the end of life. Other life forms such as mammals and humans
appeared. Change is everywhere all the time. Change cannot be
stopped. It is best to accept or, better still, embrace change as the
catalyst for creation.
The changing seasons are an example from nature of

impermanence, as is the aging process and renewal of bodily
organs. Gaining new perspectives and levels of awareness as a
person grows is another example of constant change.
3. Law of Cause and Effect

There are continuous changes due to the Law of Cause and Effect,
also known as karma.
I understood from the teaching that any action created must

have a result. Cause and effect. The crucial difference between
mechanical cause and effect and the law of karma is intention.
Our thoughts, words and actions determine the kind of life we will
have. It is our free will and choice. On the subtle level it is our
intentions. If we do good things now, in the future good things
will happen to us. If we do bad things now, in the future bad things
will happen to us. We are the way we are and where we are now in
life due to the things we have done in the past. Every moment we
create new karma by what we think, say and do. If we understand
this, we do not need to fear karma. It becomes our friend. It teaches
us to create a bright future.
Each day we would cover a different topic in class and that same
topic was covered in the guided meditation in the evening. After each
teaching we were allowed to ask questions. To support this learning
process we also had one hour each day during the teachings to discuss the
specific topic of that day. For the rest of the time we remained in silence. I
did appreciate both the short time we had to discuss the different subjects
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in class and the silence. During the discussion I could learn from others
and share what I had learned. However, I felt the silence helped me
somehow to keep my mind focused on what was being taught. If it was
not for the silence I am sure I would have been disturbed by the endless
chatter of the other students. I actually enjoyed the silence. It gave me
time to connect with myself more deeply. It gave me time to really begin
to experience the teachings through the guided meditations, as I will
share shortly.
Tushita Stupa India
These three universal laws are taught within the context of the
Four Noble Truths. Buddha said there are Four Noble Truths of suffering
and happiness. All of Buddhism is contained within the Four Noble
Truths. There is nothing that Buddha taught that does not fall within the
Four Noble Truths.
Suffering – The Four Noble Truths

Buddhism begins its teaching by stating the following.
Suffering: That suffering exists in all life’s many physical and
mental forms. Examples such as ignorance (wrong view or
understanding), sickness, old age, death, mental or physical pain,
not getting what one wants (anger, hatred, resentment, loneliness,
depression), losing what one loves (attachment, craving, greed,
envy, jealousy), meeting or being with what one dislikes (aversion).
Cause: That all suffering has a cause, namely ignorance, from
which spring fear and greed.
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Cessation: That the cause and delusions of suffering can be

removed by removing this ignorance, thus cutting off one’s
attachment, fear and aversion. This means changing one’s views
and living in a more natural, peaceful and harmonious way in
accordance with reality.
Path: This ignorance is removed by following an eight-fold path.
A path consisting of ethics or code of conduct, and meditation,
which in time leads on to Wisdom.
I see the eight-fold path below as more of a code of ethics that

looks at the mind, the speech and the actions performed as a guide to
help us on our paths. By first becoming aware of the eight-fold path and
then incorporating it into my life, I feel this has added value, peace and
contentment to my life.
The Noble Eight-fold Path
Ethics (morality/ethics)
1. Right speech: Once our intentions are pure, we no longer have to
be embarrassed about our speech. We say what needs to be said, very
simply in a genuine manner, avoiding harmful language. By speaking
kind and helpful words, we are respected and trusted by others.
2. Right action/conduct: No killing, stealing, lying, toxins or
sexual misconduct (also known as the five precepts). The teachings
say one can have sex with a partner but that one should not fool
around with others sexually but remain loyal to one’s partner.
3. Right livelihood: Do a job that does not hurt others. Ideally do
a job that serves others in a positive way. A job that follows your
heart, passion and gifts.
Concentration
4. Right intention/effort: Have good intentions. Not wasting our
time and effort on activities that do harm to us or others.
5. Right mindfulness: Be fully aware of our thoughts, words
and deeds. Mindful of our beliefs, the way we talk, perform our
jobs and our attitude towards our friends and family. Being totally
present in all we do. Living in the NOW.
6. Right concentration (meditation): Focus on one thought,
object or task at a time. This will help quieten the mind and attain
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complete focus and peace of mind. (This is also a very efficient

way of working.)
Wisdom
7. Right thought: We are what we think. We become what we
think. Avoid harmful thoughts and nurture wholesome clear, kind
thoughts for the benefit of yourself and others.
8. Right understanding/view: Simply seeing all things as they
really are as opposed to how we think they are. Having an open
and accommodating attitude in accordance with reality. A mind of
Wisdom and Compassion.
I know this is a lot to take in. It was for me the first time I heard it.
I suggest beginning with the teachings that resonate with you. For example,
it could be ‘right speech’ or ‘right action’. You may just want to become
more aware of what you are saying or doing and try to avoid negative or
harmful words or actions. One of the ones that resonated with me was
Right Livelihood. I wanted to do a job that I loved. That was dear to my
heart and passion. A job that would serve the planet and its people, even
if that was local. See which one(s) resonates with you and try to keep it in
mind over the coming days and see what comes up.
Unlike the Vipassana retreat, during this retreat I was allowed to
keep a journal and write what I liked. I took notes both during the classes
and when things came up during the day. Each evening we would have
a guided meditation focusing on the topic of the day. Often thoughts and
feelings would come, as you will see, from one meditation I explain later.
I wrote all my thoughts and reflections down in my journal and I will now
share with you what I believe to be the important ones.
Below, I have tried to summarise my understanding of some of the
key subjects taught. I also try to relate these teachings to my life and our
culture in the West. I try to keep things simple, contemporary and real while
maintaining the wisdom and insights from the teachings. My intention is to
add value where possible to your life. They are in no particular order.
Attachment and Impermanence

Buddha explained that a key part of suffering was due to our
attachment to and greed for things whilst not properly understanding the
limitations of pleasures and happiness that can come through our senses,
from the outside world. Attachment to things, people, places, Buddha said,
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causes us suffering because they are impermanent. Change and decay of

things, people and places is ever present moment to moment throughout
our lives. He said enjoy them by all means but see them for what they truly
are, impermanent momentary external pleasures. So practice moderation
and balance. Don’t become greedy and get too attached to them, thereby
creating afflicted desires; you will suffer if you do. Be aware that anything
created will change and finally disappear. Be aware that no external
pleasure can be a continued source of happiness.
Although this maybe self evident, it wasn’t until someone handed
this universal truth to me on a plate and explained how it related to my
life that I really began to understand it. Even though at this point in time
I only understood or appreciated this from a mental perspective and not
a deeper experiential level. (Not at the time of receiving the teaching
at least.) This teaching of attachment, coupled with the teaching of
impermanence, was really a huge eye opener for me as to what honestly
and sincerely makes a human being feel true, lasting happiness. Relying
on material goods such as cars, watches, shoes, handbags, rings etc. for
my happiness was probably not the wisest thing to do simply because
they do not last. They change, break, get lost or stolen. I understood you
should try to avoid developing a dependency upon external things as your
true and only source of happiness. I see that when I rely on a car or ring,
alcohol or drugs to make me happy, I am giving up my personal power to
an external object as my source of happiness as opposed to me, my own
self being my source of happiness.
Coincidentally, I had demonstrated this truth to myself quite
recently in my life. No matter how much wealth or material gain I had
accumulated, if I am not happy inside, then things and/or money will not
make me happy. I began to see that material things, alcohol, drugs, sex
are simply unable to fill a void of discontentment that might lie within.
Although, remember, it is precisely these objects that we are constantly
being bombarded with all the time through the media and advertising to
persuade us to buy. Buy so we can be happy. Oh, please, what rubbish! No
matter how many things I consume, it will not fill a void of discontentment
or dissatisfaction. It will not make me happy in any long lasting way. I need
to look at the cause of my discontentment. Buying more stuff or earning
more money will not make me truly happy. Why? Because there are two
levels or depths of happiness here. One, a superficial level of contentment
gained through acquiring stuff, another, a deeper level of contentment
gained through listening to and following your heart. These objects do
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not fill the void of the soul. I know because I speak from experience. The
business world loves to promote the mantra ‘Consume and you will be
happy’ but this is a lie. A big lie. True lasting happiness comes from inside
not from a new pair of shoes or a new car and if you look honestly within
yourself you will find this to be true of yourself and all human beings.
This new awareness of the teaching of attachment, that relying on
external pleasures for my state of well being is a false god, a false truth,
well, I have found this to be enormously beneficial in my personal life.
This truth, coupled with the heightened awareness that all is impermanent,
has actually helped to strengthen me as a person, to increase my personal
self power, by shifting my level of awareness.
It was shortly after the retreat that I experienced ‘attachment’
for myself. One night I left my bag unlocked in a guest house thinking
nothing of it. I went out for the night. When I came back I realised my
MP3 player was missing. Well, initially I was upset and angry. Then I
thought of the teaching and I realised I could choose to calm down and
not be so attached. So I began to let go of the thought and feelings. I
began to accept the incident, the theft, for what it was and let it go. OK,
this didn’t happen immediately, it took me a couple of hours to realise I
was acting as if I was attached to the object, and a couple of days to let
go completely. I realised I could do nothing now, after the event. I could,
however, choose to move on if I wanted to. So I did.
Previously, I may have dwelled on this incident for far longer. Feeling
angry, creating self pity, thinking ‘Poor me. How dare they steal from me!’
Making people around feel uncomfortable. But that did not happen this time,
well at least not to the extent it had previously. This for me was an example
of how the teachings were helping me to change for the better. Due to my
new found awareness I chose to experience this incident (life) differently. My
mind has somehow become a little bit more flexible or open or accepting. It
is so self-empowering! I know I am slowly changing for the better and I am
grateful for this. Progression, not perfection, one day at a time.
This teaching of attachment coupled with the teaching of
impermanence was really a huge eye opener for me as to what has power
over me. What external objects, situations, people, events have power
over me? Or, more accurately, I choose to give my power to.
This new awareness has now moved from a mental understanding
to a deeper realisation. How do I know this? Because I have changed. I
now realise in my heart, no matter how much wealth or material gain
I have accumulated, if I am not happy inside then what’s the point?
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Would money, stuff, status make me truly happy? I no longer think so.
My attitude or perspective has evolved. This is knowledge turning into
wisdom right here and we all have that ability and capacity within us. My
mind has somehow become a little bit more flexible or open or accepting.
It is so self-empowering!
I appreciate we are all human beings with feelings, lots of
feelings, and I know I have not spoken about people here, but mainly
material objects. Like you, I am simply a mere mortal and of course,
if someone from my family or a dear friend died that would devastate
me. Of course, if someone close dies that is far harder to deal with
than losing an object. We are not yet enlightened beings. However, this
conscious awareness and acceptance that all is impermanent has already
given me personally some level of peace of mind, certainly towards
inanimate objects and situations. Realising all objects are impermanent
and events are out of my control, has helped me reduce my attachment
or dependence to them. By honestly accepting this I feel calmer
inside. By accepting that change is inevitable and, where possible, by
relinquishing control of the outcome, this already dramatically reduces
the amount of stress and anxiety I feel. We cannot control everything
even if we may want to. That’s life. We can only control how we choose
to relate or respond to what is. That is our personal power. That relates
to the Power of Choice.
Anger
Another teaching that really changed my world view also came
out of the teachings on attachment and they were those on anger. They
said that anger comes from greed and attachment. Attachment to an object,
person or aim. The more attached we are to something the more angry
we will get when a threat or hurt is perceived. The teacher taught us that
there are clues to when you are getting angry. The body heat rises, the jaw
clenches, your breathing changes. Being mindful of these subtle changes
can be an early warning sign, to take a deep breath and centre before
going further. I was taught that patience is the antidote to anger, but that it
can only be cultivated in interaction with others, not in isolation. Patience
is the ability to remain internally calm and undisturbed in the face of
difficulties. In my experience of practising patience it is best practised
with family, friends, loved ones and colleagues. Not in a monastery, but
in real life. Practising patience overcomes anger.
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Awareness of Suffering
Of course, suffering was a key part of the teaching and I think I
have partly covered an element of suffering in the text about attachment.
But there is more. I think you might be nicely surprised that the teaching
was not going on about hell and fires and death but personal empowerment!
Simply said, Buddhism acknowledges that suffering exists
and is part of our lives. However, it states that the causes of suffering
come from within our mind and not externally. That the external world
actually has no power over us. This is an illusion. That suffering does not
actually come from the outside world, event, conversation but in how we
choose to react to these events, people and situations. If we choose to
respond negatively, this causes us internal grief, anxiety and suffering.
If we choose to respond positively or neutrally we do not suffer from
these afflictions. It is actually our own perspective and how we choose to
react to that person, object or situation that can cause our own suffering
or free us from suffering. Obviously this is harder to realise when we
have physical or deep emotional pain; however, I do think it an extremely
important point because again it places the power into our hands.
Let’s use the theft of my MP3 player as an example. I could have
chosen to dwell in self pity for days or a week and I would have suffered.
Suffered longer than if I had consciously chosen to let the event go after
a few hours or days, or better still immediately. Then I would have felt no
suffering because I would have created no suffering for myself. It’s me
that creates the suffering, not the missing MP3 player. It’s gone.
So we all have a choice in how we react or act to a situation and
whether we give our personal power away. No one can take that choice
away from us. It is our free choice. It is our personal power. The power of
choice. It is part of what makes us the powerful individuals we are. We can
have a positive mental outlook on life or a negative outlook on life. It is our
choice. But, in making that choice we will greatly enhance or hinder the
quality of our lives because of the thoughts and feelings we have. How we
choose to think and respond to people and situations is in our own hands,
our own control, and our own power. No one else’s.
Buddha said our own ignorance and our lack of self awareness
is a main root cause of our suffering. That the causes of suffering, these
mental delusions, can be removed through following the eight-fold
path mentioned previously (right intention, thought, word and action).
I shall write this another way. If you are not aware of why you are sad,
discontented or suffering, then you remain ignorant to the causes. It is
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only once you become aware of the reason or causes of your suffering
that you can begin to address the issues, heal, change, let go and grow.
For example, if you work long hours, are constantly stressed and over
worked, this can lead to physical problems or mental anguish or anxiety.
That could be a sign that you might want to consider changing jobs,
lifestyle or create more balance with other activities in your life.
Becoming self aware begins with your taking action. In my
opinion it is always best to seek help from a third party, specialists such as
a therapist, healer, a friend or sponsor. I began with my friend Shahram.
Identifying our areas of sensitivity and asking why we are sensitive in
these areas is key. What buttons are being pushed by others? Why are
these areas being triggered? Knowing why you react a certain way to
specific people or situations is like shining a light on the problem. So
instead of fighting your feelings, give them some space so you can begin
to sense and understand what is the real true underlying cause of these
feelings and discontentment. Of course, we must be honest with ourselves
when asking these questions and seeking the answers otherwise there’s
no point. Uncovering the reason why you react in certain ways to certain
situations will help you change your negative thought patterns and beliefs
so that they become more positive. (Louise Hay has done some great
work in this area. See the Appendix for details.)
Code of Conduct (Ethics)

For me the code of ethics or conduct provided an overarching
view, or a helicopter view, of how I might try to live my life. I believe
what is being taught within the eight-fold path is written to help
support us, guide us along our paths to live happier more meaningful
lives according to a possibly higher set of personal values. This code of
ethics or guidelines is not new; you can find similar codes of conduct
in other religions. They simply act as a useful light to shine a way to
living a happier and more fulfilling life. Personally I think we need
them in our society today. In places, the fabric of society and the
family unit is falling apart. This code of ethics provides guidelines
coming from a source of wisdom as to how to live. Highlighting what
might be acceptable, honourable behaviour. However, an intellectual
understanding of the ethics alone won’t change your life. It is putting
these ethics into practice that changes your life and that starts with how
you perceive the world. Analysing your current beliefs and seriously
asking whether they are ethical or not. It’s also about action and speech,
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not just thoughts and beliefs. Being there in the moment. Demonstrating
patience and generosity to family, friends, and strangers. I think it’s true
what they say – charity does begin at home. Not being judgemental,
critical, short tempered or fearful, but being grateful for what you have
already. By embracing life. Be present in all you do. Try to give out
love in all you do and to all you meet. For example, choose not to be
judgemental or critical but patient and generous with your words or
time. It might not be easy at first but we can start with some small steps.
Karma
Karma is an important part of both Buddhism and Hinduism and
relates to the Law of Cause and Effect. Karma relates to our thoughts, words
and actions. It simply states that good deeds will attract good outcomes and
bad harmful deeds such as lying or stealing will attract bad outcomes, events
and situations into our life. It seems to me that it works a little like the Law
of Attraction. If we think and act virtuously, this will result in positive results
in our lives while the opposite is also true. I think the teachings on karma
support living our lives with a decent code of ethics such as the eight-fold
path. Knowing that when we do harm to ourselves and others, harm will
come back to us in our life. Karma in effect teaches us responsibility in our
actions. The universe is not personal, it simply responds or is attracted to
that which is put out or emitted by us. Karma is not complex, it just means
watching what you think, say and do. Living with integrity.
Karma Kopan Monastery Nepal
Compassion
The last teaching I would like to share with you, before I go
on to talk about the meditation we did in the group and an experience
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I had, is about Compassion. The underlying principle supporting the

ethics of Buddhism that I took from these teachings is to move away
from the self cherishing mind. To stop always thinking selfishly of
me, me, me. Instead, to move towards a more compassionate state of
mind. To think of others, helping others and not only helping yourself.
This is a key intention behind the code of ethics. For me, I see this
in more pragmatic terms and that means helping our brothers, sisters,
parents, friends, but also strangers, perhaps through our work or private
life. This relates very closely to the point I made earlier about finding
meaning and purpose in life through service.
When we put this key principle of a compassionate mind into
practice in our daily lives I believe it also concerns having a regard for,
or an attitude towards, serving others, whilst doing our work, whether
a secretary, painter, yoga teacher, architect, accountant or journalist.
You take pride in how you perform your work. You do your work to the
best of your ability. Begin with yourself. It is the knock-on effect of the
appreciation and gratefulness shown by the other person (client, patient,
colleague) of the good work you have delivered that brings happiness
to you. Not in a co-dependency way but in a mutual appreciative and
respectful way. So in that respect happiness does come from giving and
serving others, or even serving a higher cause. That cause could be as
important as bringing up a child into the world. You give your time,
energy and love to that child. You do this because you want to do this
out of love for doing it. Maybe you might receive love and happiness in
return but that should not be a prerequisite. This is what I discovered.
It is a shift in mindset and attitude that counts, moving away from the
selfish and fearful mind of only looking after me and moving towards
an open more loving mind of looking out for others too.
I was taught that generosity is a key activity to help erode the self
cherishing mind and I think this is part of being spiritually intelligent. Being
generous in thoughts, words and deeds. You may be thinking, ‘why?’ The
fourteenth Dalai Lama said quite clearly, ‘It is very important to generate a
good attitude and a good heart as much as possible. From this, happiness in
both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.’
Meditation
The second main part of my time and activity at Tushita was
spent in meditation. Two types of meditation in fact, the first being the
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mindful meditation that we practised each morning. This is the same as the
Vipassana meditation. And the second meditation was a guided meditation.
Each evening we had a guided meditation on the teaching topic of the day.
I will share with you shortly a story or experience that happened to all of us
during one guided meditation. But first, why do people meditate?
Buddhism looks at the mind first before it starts looking at words
and actions and it does this through meditation. ‘Why the mind first?’ you
may ask. Because words and actions come from the mind. Meditation is
practised to help us observe what current thoughts we hold in our mind.
To help us gain a better understanding of any negative thought patterns we
hold on to and perhaps even unconsciously project onto the outside world
through our words and actions. By witnessing our thoughts we slowly
begin to become aware of our individual character traits or negative
views, values and prejudices we can hold. Whether you have a healthy
positive state of mind or a negative perspective, it will influence your
thoughts, words and actions. In NLP (Neuro Lingusitic Programming)
they say the same. That ‘state’ (mind) drives behaviour.
So I was taught first to observe my mind and the thoughts that
rise and pass. I found it fascinating to learn to recognise and acknowledge
that thoughts rise and pass through my mind all the time, from moment to
moment. I had never looked at the mind this way before: the mind being
a large immense clear blue sky with thoughts, clouds, passing by all the
time. That it is from these thoughts that my beliefs, words and actions
come forth. In between the mindless chatter, there are thoughts and
feelings that I choose to keep and pursue, and others, possibly negative
thoughts such as judgements, criticism etc., that I choose to disregard.
The objective is to become mindful all the time of what thoughts we
carry and, ideally, why. From here we can start to replace these negative
thoughts with more positive wholesome thoughts and affirmations about
and towards oneself and others. To let go of negative thoughts because
they serve me no beneficial purpose. To stop giving them my precious
energy. As Deepak Chopra so succinctly puts it:
‘If you want to reach a state of bliss, then go beyond your ego and the
internal dialogue. Make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to
be approved, and the need to judge. Those are the three things the ego is doing
all the time. It’s very important to be aware of them every time they come up.’
So, back to the story. About forty of us sat in the main meditation
hall, or gompa as it is known, each having a meditation mat and
cushion. Sitting cross-legged facing a magnificent statue of a golden
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Buddha dressed in a yellow robe, I was excited and eager to learn what
this man taught about life. The room was painted white, interspersed
with yellow, maroon and blue with text and pictures written on the
wall. The gompa was located at one end of the grounds, situated with
a view overlooking the McLeod Ganj valley. A very peaceful location
set among tree ferns. The peacefulness was only interrupted by the bird
song in the surrounding trees and sometimes these naughty monkeys
that lived in the trees above us. Playing and squabbling at different
moments throughout the day.
The first type of meditation we practised was the mindful
meditation where we sat in the lotus posture, sitting cross-legged and
simply focusing our mind’s attention upon our breath, much like in the
Vipassana retreat. I am told the breath acts like a bridge between our
body and mind, hence we focus on the breath first just to settle and focus
the mind away from random thoughts. We always did single minded or
mindful meditation first thing in the morning before breakfast. Often at
dawn all is calm both outside and sometimes inside our mind too. We
focus on our breath first and then begin to observe our thoughts arising
and passing from moment to moment. Again, the key point is to extend
the time you focus on your breath while reducing the time it takes for you
to become aware that your mind has wandered off again onto another
random thought.
The Meditation Posture

The lotus position I have been taught is as follows and now
works for me for about twenty, possibly thirty minutes at a time
before I have to move my legs. So you sit cross-legged on the floor
or bed. I rest my feet beside each other, not on top of each other. Just
one in front of the other. I place a small cushion under my knees for
support and, importantly, another cushion or two under my bum.
The reason for this is to try to have the hips slightly higher than the
feet and to have the pelvis tilting slightly forward. Pushing your
pelvis a little forward will help straighten your back. Rest your
hands either on your knees or the right hand on top of the left hand in
front of your belly button, resting on your ankles. Eyes closed or just
slightly open look at an angle of forty-five degrees (diagonally down
one to two metres in front of you). Tongue resting on the roof of
your mouth (it stops the saliva from constantly flowing). I’ve found
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that when I do find the right, comfortable position gravity just helps
me and my back sits on its vertebrae, each disk resting on the one
below; it can become quite comfortable, surprisingly enough. Close
your eyes and mouth and just breathe normally through your nose.
Just try to focus your mind on your breath, that’s all. Concentrate on
the breath. When you concentrate on your breath for a while, your
body becomes relaxed and your mind becomes peaceful. Of course,
this may take a little practice.

As I mentioned, the mind is full of endless chatter and dialogue.
Very momentary thoughts (mind chatter) and emotions, rising and
passing all the time throughout the day. The Buddhists call it the Crazy
Monkey Mind, because the mind is always moving from one, often
random, thought to another, like a monkey from one branch to another.
I was taught when a thought arises to re-focus my mind back onto my
breath. As I said before, you are supposed to have 25% of your mind
focused on your breath, being mindful; 25% of your attention being
alert and aware, ensuring that you are focusing on your breath and not
on something else. The alert part of the brain brings the thought back
to the breath. The remaining 50% is left for you to just be. To rest in
spaciousness. To rest in the silence of simply being, being the witness
or observer.
This is why single minded meditation is practised. To merely
observe the thoughts, not to give them any energy, just simply observe.
This way one can gain a clearer awareness of the types of thoughts,
attitudes and beliefs one carries in the head whether one realises it or
not. Simply observe the mind. Observe and witness the thoughts without
judgement. You may surprise yourself, perhaps by realising how negative
or judgemental you may have become over time or how fixated or attached
you may have become to certain things, ideas or people.
It took me three days to get a bit of a grip on my mind so that
when a thought did pop up I would become aware of it, observe it and
bring my concentration back to breath. So each time a thought pops up
bring your concentration back to your breath. Thoughts and sensations
continually rise and pass, none remain. Try to feel how your body feels.
If there is an external sound during your meditation, ignore it, do not
follow it. Just observe your thoughts, don’t give power to them, they will
slow down. In time there will be spaces between the thoughts, spaces of
silence. These spaces will grow. This is the silent witness in you growing,
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becoming more aware. Dwell in this awareness. At a later stage you will
have more and more silence in your mind; it feels good, the silence I
mean. You’ll always have the odd random thought, but less and less so.
In time and with a little practice, the mindless chatter will calm.
From this observation point one becomes aware of the junk one
carries as negative thought patterns in the mind and of what needs to be
cleansed and changed. You can’t clean out any negativity unless you can
see it so you have to first see what’s there. You must also be honest with
yourself. If you cheat yourself, you will be the loser and your future life
will suffer. You must see negative beliefs and attitudes for what they are,
harmful to yourself and others. Based on fear not love. In Buddhism they
call these mental defilements and delusions; we might call them character
faults, negative ideas, beliefs and thought patterns. In Buddhism it is
believed that the mind is clear and knowing at the beginning, but over
time we fill it with junk and mental defilements, with the help of our
fear based ego. Hence the deep cleansing process needed to regain the
right view, right intention and right effort. It seems to me we look after
our bodies, our hair and faces, but rarely our minds. They can become
like gardens that are not looked after with weeds slowly overcoming
the beautiful flowers unless we take care. So meditation is practised to
cleanse the mind and expand our awareness. Buddhists believe that when
we meditate properly we purify and bring peace into our unbalanced
mind. Remember, any changes that we want to place in ourselves and in
our lives are only going to come from us and what we choose to do, not
from outside, not from anyone else but ourselves.
Mindfulness
So each morning we would sit still for thirty to forty minutes, relax
and allow the mind to gradually calm down, giving no attention to all the
passing thoughts. Just focusing on the breath to quieten the mind first. Just
focusing on being in the present moment. The only moment. The Now. The
future and past being only mental projections of the Now by the mind. The
point of mindful meditation is to be totally present in the now so that we
may bring this into awareness or mindfulness other areas of our lives such
as eating, conversation, sport, work, reltionships etc.
I understand the mind is naturally inclined to settle but it needs
practice. It’s our incessant involvement with thinking that keeps the
mind unsettled. Energy follows focus. When we focus on emotions and
thoughts and become involved in them, we feed energy into them. A
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different point of focus is required to settle the mind. The breath can
be that focus. You no longer become involved in the thoughts in your
mind, you observe, just letting them rise and pass whilst always coming
back to the breath.
I was taught that mindfulness is a faculty and like any other
faculty if we neglect it, it remains dormant. However if we work on being
mindful this faculty grows. It is also very helpful to develop an attitude
of kindness and acceptance towards ourselves so if or when disturbing
thoughts arise we are non-reactive. I do believe that if this facility is
developed it will lead to the limitless development of our human potential.
Also if we continue the practice of mindfulness we can enter the
second stage of the process, the development of insight. A natural and
spontaneous seeing into the workings of the mind that begins to reveal
its depths. Showing us deeper levels of how the mind works. Eventually
freeing us from problematic states of mind. Knowing what is happing,
while it is happening without judgement or prejudice.
Mindfulness needs practice and training, like an athlete. Being
committed to the long term benefits both to us and those people we love
around us, due to us becoming more mindful and aware of our thoughts,
speech and actions. Motivated by wanting to heal, love, be at peace and
becoming whole.
Guided Meditation
We practised two types of meditation at the retreat. Early morning
we practised the single minded or mindful meditation to help us become
more present and mindful of our thoughts and the present moment. In
the afternoon and evening we had guided meditations in between the
teachings. We would always start with ten minutes of mindful meditation
to move the mind into a state of calm awareness. Not a sleepy mind but
a quiet alert mind that is totally present and centred. I found being in
silence is very conducive to doing inner work. From here we would go
into a guided meditation.
Each day we had several guided meditations upon the different
lessons taught that day. Whether the subject was death, gratitude,
compassion or whatever. The guided meditation was designed to help
move a thought from the conscious mental state of mind into a deeper
awareness and realisation through the process of deep contemplation
and reflection. Meditating on the thoughts and feelings that arise from
listening to the guided meditation. Finally moving the mental concept
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into the heart, into a deeper realisation. This is when a change took place
within me, whilst listening to a guided meditation on the Precious Human
Life. I realised deeply how fortunate I was. My health, physical and
mental well being. I began to really feel grateful for what I had in my life.
For my health, creativity, education, loving family and friends. I began
to feel deeply appreciative of these things in my life, perhaps previously
taken for granted. I have found when I am more present in what I do or
where I am I develop an appreciation and gratitude, especially when I am
in a natural setting.
I remember another guided meditation on forgiveness that also
touched me deeply. We all sat there on our meditation mats in the lotus
position. We began as always by relaxing, calming the mind and focusing
on our breath for five/ten minutes. Then the guided meditation began. We
had to start by visualising someone we wanted to forgive. While I was
creating my visualisation I felt the energy both in myself and in the room
change. It became a little tense. Then I began to hear crying coming from
behind me. I just tried to focus on the teacher’s voice. I too, I should add,
was feeling a little delicate and raw at this moment. The teacher would
speak and then pause. During the pause we were to feel more deeply the
meaning behind the words of the meditation and so move the words or
understanding from a mental construct to a feeling, to a deeper realisation. I
felt, along with a lot of the other students, that the technique really worked.
It really helped us to better understand and appreciate what was being
taught. Here are some of the words from the guided meditation that I noted
word for word. That’s how powerful they were.
‘With all my heart I forgive you for whatever you may have done,
intentionally or unintentionally by your actions, words or thoughts, that
has caused me pain. I forgive you’ [Pause]... ‘and I ask that you forgive
me for whatever I have done intentionally or unintentionally to you by my
actions, my words or my thoughts. I ask your forgiveness.’ [Pause]... ‘May
we both open our hearts and minds to meet in love and understanding, as
we grow in wholeness together.’
This speaking and the pausing carried on for some time.
Meanwhile these sobbing noises in the room were becoming louder
and louder. I think we were all taken by surprise by the overwhelming
emotions that were aroused deep within us and by the power of the guided
meditation. Suddenly I heard the door open; someone had run out of the
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meditation hall in tears. Well. My goodness. After hearing all this, about
80% of the room was in tears, including me. Clearly there was some pain
and hurt in the room and this guided meditation had struck a deep chord
within all of us whilst possibly catching us all unaware. I now realise
forgiveness is a heavy powerful emotion and state of mind because it
deals with hurt and pain. Grieving, cutting the cords, letting go, seeking
closure, acceptance and peace are key parts of the process. So when you
are not expecting it, you can become overcome with emotion as I was, as
we all were, while meditating.
I think this is a good demonstration of the work, power and
objective of a guided meditation. To reach deeper into the unconscious part
of the mind. The conscious being the tip of the iceberg, the unconscious
being the vast part of the mind under the surface, often unseen and
unknown to us. This experience touched me deeply and has really helped
me progress along my journey of personal awareness and transformation.
While I was going through this painful process a quotation from Deepak
Chopra stuck in my mind. ‘The best way to get rid of pain is to feel the
pain. And when you feel the pain and go beyond it, you’ll see there’s a
very intense love that is wanting to awaken itself.’
Finally, I wish to include an excerpt from a book written by a
very special woman whom I was fortunate enough to meet in 2009 at the
nunnery she is building. Venerable Tenzin Palmo was raised in London
and became a Buddhist while in her teens. In 1964, at the age of twenty,
she decided to go to India to pursue her spiritual path. There she met her
guru (teacher), the eighth Khamtrul Rinpoche, and became one of the
first Westerners to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. This book,
Cave in the Snow, is about her journey to India. A short fascinating read.
This excerpt resonated strongly with me, regards the subject of the mind
and meditation and why one meditates. Read it a couple of times for the
meaning of the words to sink in, if you like. She eloquently explains what
I have crudely tried to explain in these previous pages.
Excerpt from Tenzin Palmo’s great book, Cave in the Snow

‘Our mind is so untamed, out of control, constantly creating memories,
prejudices, mental commentaries, thinking of the future. It’s like a riot
act for most people. Anarchy within. We have no way to think and these
emotions engulf us. Never being in the present moment. Meditation is
where you begin to calm the storm, to cease the never ending chattering
of the mind. Once that is achieved you can access the deeper levels of the
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consciousness which exist beyond the surface of the noise. Along with
that comes the gradual dis-identification with our thoughts and emotions.
You see their transparent nature and no longer totally believe in them.
This creates inner harmony which you can then bring into everyday life’.
After these ten days I was blown away and it took me and still is taking
me a lot of time to understand and process these insights, truths and
wisdom. And to really begin to use it in my daily life.
I want to leave you with a quotation that I took away from this retreat.
Attachment is ‘I love you because you make me happy’.

Love is, ‘I love you and I want you to be happy’.
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Part 4:
Empowerment
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Chapter 13
The Inner Revolution.
‘What lies behind us and what lies in front of us, pales in

comparison to what lies within us.’
Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Poet, Lecturer
and Essayist, 1803–1882
My ten days at Tushita were ten of the most insightful and eye opening
days of my entire journey around the world and, in all honesty, my life.
In fact, I believe Tushita was my turning point, in the sense of receiving
knowledge, gaining wisdom and seeing life from a new perspective.
Concepts such as attachment and impermanence, that we suffer from
being too attached to material things, people, situations. That we lose
or give away our power by being too attached to these material things,
people and places because we rely on them for our happiness. These
new perspectives or levels of awareness have changed me and my
perspective on life. The concept of karma and the fact that you get what
you give, emotionally, physically, financially, in all aspects of life. That
we have this precious human life, that death can happen any time and so
it’s best to make the most of it. So many powerful aspects of life and the
universe conveyed to me in such a short period of time. Old thoughts,
beliefs and values crumbling away, being replaced with new ones.
It was as if the wisdom and knowledge that I intuitively felt
I had been missing had found its place within me. Perhaps the Law
of Attraction was at work responding to my intentions of seeking
wisdom or perhaps I was just on my path. Either way, here I was in
northern India, receiving the lessons that I so longed for. The teachings
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had a profound affect on me and had definitely found a place in my

heart. They had taken root within me and were now beginning to
work their magic helping me to grow, hopefully, into a more balanced
and complete human being. Offering me the possibility through the
wisdom of the teachings to reach my full potential.
Listening to the teachings, they made so much sense. Not just
common sense but sense from the heart as a way to live life. Suffering
exists in its many forms. Ignorance, attachment, impermanence
(change) and aversion all cause pain. I can relate to these teachings
because I have experienced this suffering myself. But I am growing, as
the example of the theft of my MP3 player demonstrated in the previous
chapter. The code of ethics, meditation and observing the mind work,
karma, compassion and the concept of a precious human life, to not
waste it but do something meaningful and purposeful with it. This all
resonated strongly within me. The teachings just felt right. And I knew
these were not teachings about a religion but teachings about life, the
universe, how it works and our place in it. For me they were about how
to live a happier more meaningful life with less pain and suffering. But
I would also discover in the weeks, months and even years to come after
these initial teachings that the true personal power of these teachings
was only just beginning to manifest in my life in a positive way. So
empowering, I am so grateful. That being said, I do have to work on
implementing these teachings, whether it be more accepting of myself
or life, developing my patience for family and friends, and people in
general. Becoming less attached to things if they broke, were stolen or
lost. It does take time and effort to change a belief system and thinking,
especially when we have been thinking or been taught to think a certain
way for most of our lives.
I am now grateful to know that I can take a step aside from
having to control everything in my life. Control driven by fear, fear
of change, fear of the unknown, and acknowledge a force greater
than myself, like a universal intelligence at work. By having faith,
that what is happening to me right now is exactly as it should be,
brings me serenity, even if my judgemental mind cannot see this. By
actually accepting things as they are or as they unfold brings peace
of mind to me as opposed to over dramatising things. When I see
and accept situations as they are, I feel more centred and grounded.
Thus I am able to respond from a stronger position than if I were to
react emotionally to a person or situation. This peace comes from the
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13. The Inner Revolution.
acceptance of what is and enables me to retain my personal power

and not lose myself or my strength to emotional dramas going on
around me. By not trying to control everything around me but having
clear intentions and then letting go. Surrendering, detaching from the
‘how’ and the outcome. Just being present and open to the signs and
guidance. Allowing events to unfold, knowing that nothing is random
but as it should be. For example losing my job during my travels was
not so bad after all, it gave me additional space, time and money to
be free and think about my life and what I really wanted to do with it.
This is not a weak position of letting life walk over me. Quite
the contrary in fact. A position of strength due to my being centred
and more connected with my intuition, my inner guidance and so the
universe. A position of peace with myself and my place in the world.
By ignoring fear and the world of the ego and listening to my heart, my
true authentic self.
Me Mc Loed Ganj India
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So back to my story. I stayed for a week or more in McLeod

Ganj with friends from the retreat, simply recuperating from the silence
of the retreat whilst slowly discussing with my fellow students what we
had all learned. After leaving the silence of the retreat and going back
into the outside world, I didn’t feel like speaking much. I was acutely
aware of all I said and realised I didn’t want or need to talk much at first.
I was also very aware of noisy places and some places I just had to leave
because of the intensity of the noise from people speaking. However,
as the days passed most of us from the retreat group began to open up
and talk a little more. The discussions did help me to clarify what I took
from the teachings, sometimes having small moments of realisation and
understanding of what had been taught. We talked for example about the
eight-fold path and what it meant to be more mindful of our thoughts and
what we say and do in our lives. However now having spent over a month
in McLeod Ganj I was beginning to feel it was time for me to move on,
to head north and explore the real Himalayas.
I took an excruciatingly long bus ride (twenty hours) from
McLeod Ganj to Manali, where we were stopped by two rock slides
along the way and had to sleep in the bus until workmen came to clear the
road the next morning. Then a second twenty hour bus ride (shows how
keen I was) from Manali to Leh over the second highest pass in the world
(5300 metres high). In return for all this pain was the scenery of what was
literally the top of the world. Simply stunning. Massive wide open blue
skies, large open plains coupled with gigantic rock formations all around.
Very high mountain peaks, set against a background of white clouds
floating in big blue sky, interspersed with green-blue rivers carrying
glacial melt water down from the Himalayas. Honestly, I had never seen
anything like this landscape in my life. The Himalayas are something
else. And the altitude, well you have to get used to it, and slowly.
Himalayas
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Indus River Himalayas India
I found it incredible how many completely different natural

landscapes our beautiful planet is made up of. From the complex
rainforests of the Amazon and Borneo to rooftop mountain ranges
of Tibet and Nepal and everything in between. All pristine clean, all
seamlessly working together in harmony, all interconnected, feeding
each other’s ecosystem…that was, at least, until we came along with our
clumsy ignorant ways over these last two or three hundred years. I am
convinced there are lessons to be learnt from how nature operates, its
operating principles with regards assembling, processing, building and
dispossessing. For example, in nature there is no waste. Waste equals
food for another organism or ecosystem. In nature we perceive everything
in competition, fight or flight, survival of the fittest. Indeed on one level
this is the case. However, if you look more closely at ecosystems and
how they work, it is predominately all about collaboration and creating
abundance. I am sure of it, and mainstream science and ecology is
beginning to appreciate and understand this perspective.
I arrived in Leh, the capital of the region I was in, Ladakh. I chilled
for a few days and got over the mammoth bus rides from hell (excluding
the incredible views, of course) and took in the new local culture. Leh is
a very interesting town because it has a mix of Buddhists, Hindus and
Muslims all living quite peacefully together. I had never seen this before
and it was a beautiful sight to see and experience. It just goes to show
that of course this is possible. People following different religions living
side by side. It just depends on the mental attitude and mindset of the
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people. I must also add it was very evident how the global forces of free
trade, global brands and globalisation itself were simultaneously eroding
their way of life and culture here. I found this sad and it was a sight I saw
repeatedly throughout my travels. The Western consumer culture eroding
away the fragile and unique culture of these very special places I visited,
all in the name of progress. I saw unhealthy big brand snack foods being
sold, such as crisps, chocolates and soda drinks, instead of fruit, fruit
juices and other healthier local foods.
I stayed for a week or so in Leh and began to reflect a little upon
my journey and the last eighteen months before heading to Nepal, my
final country. Wow, country number twenty-three. I couldn’t believe it.
My eighteen months were almost up. I literally had to sit still to take it
all in, all that I had experienced and seen. On the one hand I was happy
to go home, it felt right, like the end of a chapter, a most amazing chapter
of my life. On the other hand I could have stayed and carried on. But I
felt it was time to go home and begin the next chapter in my life and I
was excited about that. But for now I was heading to a one month annual
Buddhist retreat in Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal. This would be
my last and longest retreat ever before going home. I wanted to use the
time to not only learn more about Buddhism, but to reflect on my journey,
on what I had learned, on how I had changed and, very importantly, what
I was going to do with the rest of my life. What changes was I going to
instigate? What new direction was I consciously going to move my life
towards? I will share more about this later.
Trekking in Nepal
I had a month before my Buddhist retreat in Nepal was to start
so I decided to go trekking with a group of friends I had met previously
on my travels in India. Another long journey, this time to Pokhara, Nepal.
A lovely lakeside town. On arrival, I met the guys and it wasn’t long
into the conversation before we had decided to trek to Annapurna base
camp, some 4100 metres high. I had no idea what I was getting myself
into. What a journey. Literally thousands of steps up and down, passing
through rich green valleys, mountain side waterfalls and huge mountain
peaks on either side. The trek was ten days in all, sometimes painfully
long but well worth it.
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Annapurna Base Camp Trek Nepal

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During the day we trekked from early morning until early or late
afternoon, depending on where the next guest house was located along
the route. Each evening we would find a small village with a guest house
to stay in. I would like to share one other story before I move on. It was
a story that really touched my heart and that is why I feel compelled to
share it with you.
One evening during the trek, I was sitting outside in a court
yard area of a guest house waiting to use the shower. Looking out at the
magnificent Himalayas, completely knackered from the day’s trekking, I
was struck by the amazing beauty of the mountains. I sat quietly in awe
of the view in front of me, snow covered peaks of the Himalayan range.
The highest mountain range in the world, some 8000 metres high, formed
when the continent of India collided with mainland China.
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Snow covered Mountains Nepal
Well, I was just staring at this magnificent site, which I can see
clearly in my mind as I write this to you, when an old local man sat down
next to me. I turned, smiled and said hello. He greeted me back. We both
just stared in awe at this incredible view. The type of view that makes you
feel so good to be alive, so grateful to be alive here on Earth. The type of
view where you have to pinch yourself to check you are really looking at
what you are looking at. So beautiful, the white on the mountains on the
blue sky backdrop.
After a while I turned to the man, whilst looking at the snow
capped mountains, and asked him if he was local and if anything had
changed since he was a boy. I discovered the man had lived here all
his life. I would say he was now in his mid sixties, so he had a good
understanding of any changes that might have taken place over that
time. In reply to my question he pointed, squinting his eyes as we both
looked out at the snow line on the top of the mountains. As I looked at
the mountains, I could see the snow covered a little less than a third of
the mountain. He pointed and told me that when he was a boy, the snow
covered two thirds of the mountain. He said over the past thirty years he
had noticed a rapid retreat in the snow cover, which was at a speed he
thought unnatural.
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This sounded very worrying to me and I was intrigued to discover

more. This is an example of synchronicity at work, the universe guiding
me along my way to become educated and aware about the environment.
About how we affect the environment and how important it is for me and
us all to act now, and fast.
I first asked him how the snow got there in the first place. He told
me about the two great monsoons that take place each year in India. One
coming from the east, one coming from the west of India, both heading
north up the country towards Nepal and the Himalayan range. Apparently
these monsoons drop tonnes of fresh rain water as they climb up from
the south to the north of India. Finally, leaving India and entering Nepal,
the clouds hit the Himalayan mountain range and stop, unable to pass
the 8000 metres. The rains stop here and drop their water load across
the entire mountain range from east to west. Look at a map: you see the
mountain range stretches from left to right, from Pakistan, through India,
Nepal, Tibet and up to Bhutan, some 2500 kilometres long (1500 miles)!
Due to the extreme height and cold temperatures of the Himalayas, the
rain water is captured on these mountain slopes and frozen into thick ice
and held there.
“OK,” I said, as I was building a picture in my mind of the
process, then I asked, “Why has the snow level retreated so much in the
past thirty years? Have you had less rain?” He looked me in the eyes and
said, “No, we still get the heavy monsoons for now, but what has changed
over the last few decades is the increase in temperature here in Nepal.
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And this increase in temperature has stopped the monsoon rain fall from
being captured in the form of ice and being safely and cleanly stored on
the mountains, later to melt and slowly be released back into the cycle via
the rivers. Now, instead, the water either evaporates or sinks down into
the ground and gets washed away in rivers almost immediately. No more
slow release.”
‘OK’ I thought to myself, but I still didn’t feel I had the whole
picture so I asked in the politest way I could, ‘so what?’ So what if the
rain is not being captured by the mountain? What’s the big deal? Then I
got my answer. The old man looked at me with a face of ‘you really don’t
get it, do you’. He told me that the Himalayan mountain range here in
Nepal, along with the Tibetan Plateau behind, feeds the biggest five rivers
throughout all of Asia. Namely the Indus, Ganges, Yangtze, Yellow and
the Mekong. Each year the sun is now melting the snow caps, releasing
the annual capture of rainfall into these rivers at an accelerated pace.
Previously the monsoon rain water was captured, held by the mountains,
and slowly released over time in the form of fresh rain water into the
river. That is no longer the case, with the water either evaporating or
sinking into the ground, meaning far less fresh water is now entering
the five biggest rivers in all of Asia. These rivers provide fresh water to
over two billion people throughout China, India, Pakistan and Southeast
Asia. Water for drinking, cooking, washing, fishing and agriculture. This
fresh water sustains the livelihood of over two billion people, 30% of the
world’s population. Without this reliable source of water, this could in
turn spell trouble among the countries and people in all its many forms.
My goodness. Wow, now I get the picture.
It hit me like a bat on the back of my head. The annual rain fall
from the monsoon was no longer being stored by the cold temperatures
of the mountain, due to changes in climate. So due to rising climate
temperatures the rivers in Asia were lower, which I witnessed for myself
in Laos. Therefore the water was no longer being slowly released by
nature into the rivers and tributaries throughout the subsequent year. This
meant many animals, plants and people were going without water or were
trying to survive on far less water, which in turn was creating tension,
hardship and finally death. People now had far less water and so less
electricity (hydro dams) and food (water for crops). He said it had now
got to the point where there were regular skirmishes and fights happening
in towns and villages where people were queuing up for access to clean
drinking water.
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‘Wow,’ I thought. This conversation really made me understand

how serious things are becoming regards the detrimental impact we
humans are having upon the environment and other species. I do feel we
must change our ways. Without water there is no life, that is a simple fact.
With little water, what can be grown suddenly becomes very expensive and
so unaffordable for the poor. That wherever water is generated naturally,
there would be great tensions for ownership and control. Scary! Could
we reverse our selfish competitive fear based mindset of ‘me first’ and
collaborate and share instead? Not waste our energy in futile competition?
Thoughts and feelings similar to those I experienced in Borneo
started to rise again. That we are not separate from nature whether we
like it or not. Nothing is separate, including humans and the actions we
perform. We are all part of the whole, part of and indeed connected to the
environment. In pragmatic terms this means that the climate warming
process is happening because of our industrial ways and is now affecting
the lives of two billion people and their ability to easily access clean
drinking water. We are not separate from the Earth but live in a world of
causes and effects.
I reflected on this chance meeting with this Nepalese man over
the coming days of my trek. Like in my time in Borneo, I believed the
universe was giving me another little nudge (sign) to steer me onto my
path. Synchronicity at work. This story was another small but critical step
in changing the direction of my life. The environment is a subject close to
my heart. There are environmental issues affecting us now, which, more
importantly, are likely to affect our children in far worse ways in the
very near future. Unless we change how we interact with the planet, our
children are going to inherit a toxic planet in decay. We can avoid this by
taking the right action. This does, however, require the right mindset and
values, hence the inner revolution is required and must take place within
all of us, spiritual and non spiritual. It’s about how we relate to each other
and the world, in harmony, love and respect.
I continued my journey from Pokhara to Kathmandu, the
capital of Nepal, and registered at Kopan Monastery for my place at
the retreat. I’m not going to go over the detail of the teachings of the
retreat because, if I am honest with you, they were very similar to those
teachings at Tushita, perhaps a little more in-depth, and mainly covered
the same subjects I shared with you in the previous chapter.
***
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In the last part of this book (the first of a two part series) I will
summarise what has been going through my mind and the realisations I
have now taken from this epic journey. Realisations about how my world
view perspective has changed and how I have changed. How fear is no
longer a big part of my life. I am also excited to share with you a big life
decision I have taken. My hope here is to inspire and motivate you to take
action. To declare a ‘call to action’ and ask you to also have the courage
to listen to your heart and do what feels right for you so you too can
contribute and add value to our society and planet, however that may be.
This is your life not anyone else’s and if you have a dream in your heart,
it is there for a reason – to be fulfilled by you!
In addition, to help you take those possibly small but certainly
concrete next steps and actions towards beginning living your life’s
purpose I have created an appendix after this chapter. To help with
this critical but important first step the Appendix has some very useful
information for you to review, including contacts of organisations that
I have been in contact with and that have agreed to help you on your
journey. Contacts and organisations that are willing to help you on your
path and help you bridge the gap between where you are right now and
where you want to be.
Lastly, I have left my personal contact details at the end of my
book for you to contact me on a one on one basis if you would like to
reach me and ask me for help. Whether that be a simple question and
answer email or to go more deeply in a workshop or one-to-one coaching.
Just trust in following what feels right to you and begin with that one
small step of action. This is your precious human life and I believe you
must act; we all must act, now, to fulfil our life’s purpose.
***
Awareness
With each step of my journey, from my early beginnings with the
reading of books in Brussels, where I learnt a lot about spirituality, to my
actually effecting change in my life and leaving it all behind to travel, my level
of personal awareness has grown enormously. Awareness about myself, how
I am, how I think and act. The thoughts I carry, my prejudices and judgements,
my beliefs have all come into focus in varying degrees. Awareness of how I
communicate, my body language, whether I am operating from fear or love.
Where I deemed I had an issue, for example patience, I would focus myself,
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my awareness on this issue, by becoming more aware of situations that made

me feel impatient and trying to understand the underlying reasons. Once we
have awareness we have more choice.
Over time, this increased level of personal awareness has also
helped me see how I react to certain situations and people and again
has helped me to change and improve. Greater awareness has allowed
me to change certain behaviours (stop smoking), change routines (walk
more, drive less, eat more healthily) and enabled me to become more
responsible for my life and ultimately change the way I live my life.
That is why I do believe awareness of yourself, how you are,
is the first step in personal development and growth to change for the
better. Remaining ignorant or unconsciously incompetent is not the
answer. Awareness and education are the antidote to ignorance and the
foundations to personal growth.
Interestingly, awareness is not confined only to personal
awareness. Awareness also relates to becoming aware of the outside
world, of issues and challenges we face as a society. My journey around
the world has brought me face to face with many global issues such as
water scarcity (Nepal), the destruction of the rainforest for money, crops
and grazing land for cattle (Indonesia), the displacement and exploitation
of an entire nation by another (Tibet), to name but a few. This only
spurred my curiosity and hunger to better understand the issues we all
face globally and the possible solutions that may not be in place today
but have at least been thought out. (The Outer Revolution, is all about the
revolution that needs to take place throughout our society on a systemic
level if we are to survive as a species and not die like 90% of all other
species previously.)
So awareness, in my opinion, is a critical first step on our
personal and societal journey of growth towards living more in harmony
with ourselves, each other and the planet. Much earlier, we were all
led to believe the world was flat. It was only later that our awareness
and understanding grew to accept that the world was round. From this
heightened level of awareness and consciousness we can begin to make
better, more informed choices for our lives and the planet. This brings me
nicely to my next point, which I have become aware of more recently.
The power of choice. Probably the most powerful and profound force and
gift we have in our hands!
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The Power of Choice – 1. Perspective

We all make choices in life, either consciously or unconsciously,
some we regret, and some we are happy with. How we choose to see
our own life, from what perspective, either the glass being half full or
half empty, either positively or negatively, is in our hands, no one else’s.
This perspective or mental attitude affects our lives now and, more
importantly, in the future whether we like it or accept it or not.
What I have found, from choosing to see my life from a more
positive perspective instead of a negative perspective, is I attract more
positive things, health, well being, people, events, into my life. My
mindset or state of mind impacts on what behaviours and outcomes I
see in my life. Only you can make this choice or shift in thinking for
yourself. No one else can do this for you, but you. To begin to choose to
see life with a positive mental attitude, if not all of the time then most
of the time. On many occasions I have found it hard to stay positive but
through perseverance I am noticing the positive changes in my life. In my
personal relationships with people, my work and my general happiness.
This partly comes from keeping a positive mental attitude. I do believe
that when you change your thinking by having an attitude of gratitude for
yourself, for your life and for all that you have, you can change your life
and bring about dramatic positive changes in your life. By focusing on
the positive you see things that you didn’t see before. It is, as the Law of
Attraction states, what you give out you will receive. I do believe this to
be true. This is an important point I will come back to again.
Imagine if you could change the way you could think. By only
focusing on what you want and not on what you don’t want. By letting
go of limiting beliefs that you might have picked up from other people’s
opinions or views about yourself. Limiting beliefs that we hold on to and
carry around in our head actually serve no positive purpose or benefit to our
lives at all. We might even be unaware that we carry these limiting negative
beliefs and thought patterns in our heads. Beliefs that limit our potential.
Instead, thinking ‘I can do this, yes I can’ and not ‘I can’t do this’. When
you change your thoughts and mental attitude from negative to positive you
shift both your point of perspective and your point of attraction. Say this: ‘I
can do this’. Believe it. Know it. Act upon it. Have faith that your intentions
are honourable, they are coming from your heart, ask for guidance and you
will receive the signs.
To get your mind into a positive state and to get you to begin to
understand who you are, what you like in life and what you love to do, I
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would like to ask you to do at least one activity a week in your free time
that you always wanted to do, that you’d love to do but never made the
decision to do before. Or even an activity that you do occasionally, perhaps
a massage, but don’t do often enough to treat yourself. It can be anything.
Roller skating, walking in the woods, whatever. So long as it’s something
you want to do, ideally something you’d love to do. If after a while you
realise this particular activity is not for you, no problem. Change, but do
something you like or love at least once a week if not more.
The Power of Choice – 2. Intention

My second point on the power of choice, probably the most
powerful capability we have in our hands to direct our lives, relates to what
we choose to focus our attention on and, more importantly, our thoughts
and feelings. What Buddha and other wise teachers have taught is that
with every thought you have you are effectively creating your present and
future life, right here, right now. In the only moment that exists, The Now.
Please pause for a second and think about that sentence. With every thought
you have now you create your present and future. Often people think that
our thoughts are a reflection of the outside world. A reflection of what is
happening to them. It is very much like with every action now, we create
our future. People often think that life, their life, is not something they
create but something that is happening to them. Something they react to.
But think of this for a second. What if you are creating your present and
future life’s story with the very intentions, thoughts and feelings you are
choosing to hold right now? Have you thought about that before? This is
what some of the wisest teachers of the past have taught, that we create
our present and future life by where we focus our attention, intentions and
thoughts/feelings in the present moment.
Do you know where or what you are placing your attention upon
on a daily basis? Is it reactive problem solving or do you spend some time,
energy, focus, visualising, thinking about your future, your intentions and
life goals? Do you have any life goals and intentions with regards to love,
building a family, the type of place you would like to live in, the type of
work you would love to do?
Interestingly, Buddha said, ‘You become what you think. You
are what you think’. At first I didn’t know what this meant; now I feel
have a better understanding. I think he meant that quite literally you
become your thoughts, positive or negative. That is why he taught and
used meditation as a very effective tool to observe the mind. From
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meditation we gain some awareness about ourselves, the thoughts we

hold on to. We begin to understand that we can have much more control
over our lives than we thought we did, or I should say control over
our experience of our lives, by becoming more mindful of the types of
thoughts we are having and if we are not happy with them we can bring
our mind back to the breath. Or be totally present and mindful of our
surroundings, that way also quietening the constant chatter of the Crazy
Monkey Mind.
In my experience it begins with a change in attitude that you
can decide to instigate into your life right now, regardless of the past.
By choosing only to hold positive thoughts about your life today and
positive intentions about your life in the future. By choosing to ask for
guidance from the universe to better understand your life’s purpose, by
choosing to self educate yourself and taking constructive action if needed
to heal yourself. This is your life, this is your choice. Remember, how you
choose to think and respond to people and situations is in your hands,
your control, and your power, along with the areas you choose to focus
attention and thoughts on. No one else’s. People, things, events, actually
have no power over us whatsoever unless we allow them to.
This is our life and we can choose what we would like to do
with it, something constructive or something futile. You are the creator
of your life through your thoughts, feelings, intentions, choices and
actions. By the conscious decisions and choices you make, you create
your life now and for the future and it all starts with having a positive
mental attitude. You can choose your partner, friends, work, hobbies
and pretty much everything else in your life if you only spend a little
focus and attention on yourself and understand what you need. But
remember, every choice has a consequence, a little like cause and
effect. This is the power of choice. And it begins with your having a
positive mental attitude and thinking constructively about your life
and what you want to do with it! Forget the others for a moment. Are
you really choosing what you want to do with your life?
.
The Power of Choice – 3. Response
Thirdly, we all choose how we respond to life. We choose how
we respond to people, events and situations in our life. We choose how
we love, communicate, act, our judgements, beliefs, attitudes etc. We, no
one else, choose these. If we choose to respond to someone or something,
because we don’t have to respond, but if we do, how we choose to respond
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is 100% in our hands. Think about that for a second. No one is telling
you what to think or say. You might need to take a good long hard look
at your beliefs and personal values, what you carry around with you in
your head, and question whether you still believe in these beliefs, or are
they indeed inherited from your upbringing, family, culture or society?
Are these beliefs still valid? Are they constructive? Do they add value to
your life? If not, then it could be time to start throwing out some of these
old beliefs and re-educating yourself on certain things in life. Think about
this. Take some time to get to know who you are right now today.
Be mature. Take ownership of your actions and thoughts. These
thoughts and ideas come from you, no one else. You are responsible for
what you think, say and do and the consequences. If someone steals your
car it is you who decides how to respond, either angrily or upset but
accepting. Not the car and not the thief, you make this choice of how to
respond. By choosing to respond more positively to life, you will change
your life and your experience of your life. Yes, there are challenges in life
but it’s how you respond to them that makes the difference. Indeed we may
not always manage to respond in the most skilful way we would like, but
by simply acknowledging this, that we could have handled a particular
situation in a better way, we raise our level of personal awareness.
Awareness is the first step towards personal development and
growth. If you are not aware of the problem then you cannot correct it. This
increased self awareness of how we act, what we are sensitive about, what
we believe in, what triggers us, all helps us become more personally aware of
ourselves and so helps us evolve and transform for the better. This is known
as becoming mindful. Mindful of ourselves and how we think, speak and act.
People also choose to be mindful to remain grounded and in the
present moment. In The Now. Next time, whist being present and mindful,
you might handle the same situation differently, perhaps taking a deep breath
as the event unfolds, counting to three or even ten and then responding in
a calmer manner. I try and I am not always successful but sometimes I am
and I do believe I am improving over time. You will feel proud of yourself
and rightly so for responding in a more centred and mature manner when
you practise this, for example in a supermarket or in a traffic jam.
When Buddha said the outside material world is all a delusion,
he meant this from the perspective that the outside world has absolutely
no power over you. That only you can choose to give power to a person
by reacting to what they say. Those words cannot affect you unless you
let them. Of course, the advertising industry would not like you to know
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that. The outside world cannot force you to think or feel a certain way. You
can blame the outside world for how you feel and so not take ownership
and responsibility for how you choose to feel and respond, but that is
moving into the victim, poor me mindset. Instead, acknowledging the
fact that only we choose how we respond, not the outside world, is very
empowering because, again, we lose less energy over things, dramas,
situations and people that we have absolutely no control over. This means
that you essentially choose to be happy or miserable. You choose. If you
are angry or upset with The Now, it means you have certain expectations
of The Now instead of accepting it as it is. Don’t fight with The Now.
Accept it, then you can act on it.
Change
We all accept that change is a fundamental part of our lives. We’ve
talked about impermanence, that nothing in the universe or in our lives
stays the same. But more importantly, that change gives birth to creation
and new possibilities, new beginnings. Transformation begins with a
change in consciousness and awareness. History tells us change happens
through the build up over time of heightened levels of consciousness, to
the point where that consciousness has built up in a large enough number
of people so that the people act upon that new level of consciousness and
awareness. Several small acts performed by millions of people over time.
Apartheid in South Africa, the Human Rights movement in the USA, the
abolition of slavery, the removal of the British from India are all examples
of this change I speak of. Change happens because you are concerned.
You and millions of other concerned people like you and me who form a
movement, a revolution to change the world into a better place.
I have become a firm believer in the principle that any changes
you instigate in your life today, through the choices you make (by force or
circumstance), will have a consequence in the future. So depending on the
types of positive or negative choices we make in our lives today we will
influence the types of positive or negative outputs later in life and, more
importantly, the quality of our life in the future. In effect how we live today
creates our world of tomorrow and that importantly means whatever time
and energy we invest in ourselves and in our lives now, what decisions
we make or are afraid to make, we will see the impacts or consequences
of these, either positive or negative, in the coming months and years. By
thinking ‘I will opt out and not make a decision’ is itself a decision not to
decide and there will be repercussions from that later in life too.
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For example, we might choose to learn a new language, a musical

instrument or a skill, or we might begin smoking, drinking, meditating,
running or drawing. Whatever it maybe, there will be a consequence,
an effect (cause and effect), either positive or negative later on in our
life. Why? Because we are all interconnected and so are our actions. The
Buddhists call it karma. And as we have discovered, our thoughts, words,
actions do not happen in isolation, they affect both ourselves and others
around us, as do the decisions we make. So we either consciously or
unconsciously make decisions, choices in our life for our life today that
have an impact in the future.
An example from my story of making a conscious choice and
change was my wish to break free from the corporate chains, open my
mind and my heart to experience another part of the world. I had the
intention, followed the signs, took action and surrendered. I met new
people from all over the world, had many very different experiences,
some more pleasurable than others. I learnt more about life. A partial
result of my consciously choosing to take positive action in my life based
on my inner guidance is my choice to completely change sector based on
my inner guidance, my intuition, my passion and my values. This book
you are now reading is also a result of my making that choice.
All this happened because I had the courage to listen to my heart,
my intuition, put fear aside and took action to fulfil my heart’s intention.
To create some space in my life, to travel the world and reflect on what I
wanted to do with my life and the direction I wanted to head in.
We all make decisions today that affect our lives now, and in the
future, either in a positive or negative way. Once you allow yourself to
become or remain an addict, a victim or a co-dependent, you are choosing
to give away your personal power.
So first we must acknowledge that a tremendous force lies within us,
that force being the power of choice. Your choice. We should acknowledge
that change is inevitable. Before taking action, reflecting on what is the
most appropriate course of action (direction) in our lives. Knowing that all
choices, all decisions, have consequences.
We can only change ourselves. What I mean by that is we cannot
change anybody else in our lives. Any belief that we can change someone
else is a form of delusion. We cannot change anybody else and actually we
undoubtedly might need to ask the universe to help us change ourselves if
we are stuck in particular behavioural patterns. It is hard enough to change
ourselves and I believe it is ultimately futile to try to change someone else
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aside, from it being a waste of our energy. The only way that we might
change our relationship with someone else is by changing ourselves and
how we act in our relationship with that person. Either from a position of
love and compassion or fear and control. You choose. Only then might
another person in our life change the way they act in response to how we
act. Becoming spiritual meant for me being more authentic and congruent
in my life and specifically in my choice of work. We can’t change the past;
accept and learn from it possibly, but not change it.
Once we realise we cannot change anybody else it can make our
life a lot simpler and easier whilst helping ourselves to become more
centred, grounded in ourselves, not losing our energy on other people.
We should just focus on ourselves and seriously question whether we
are happy in our relationships, work, friendships. You can’t change your
family but you can choose how you act with and towards them. You have
a choice in how you choose to understand your family or friends and
respond to them. For example, your parents may perhaps overstate their
views and opinions on or about your life. That can be seen as meddling or
as having positive intentions in the form of a concerned interest in your
life. So we can either have more of a compassionate understanding or a
combative view. It’s our choice how we respond. With this choice you
choose how you experience the world that you live in.
Paradoxically, I have also come to understand that it is not about
controlling what comes across our path, it is simply about being aware of
and accepting what is happening and trying to be in control of ourselves
and how we act and respond to that which comes across our path. I believe
we do have the power to change and decide whether we will respond
negatively or positively. I have managed to stop myself from normally
overreacting emotionally by taking a few deep breaths and then being able
to respond more calmly. This change partly came about through personal
awareness and development. I know we can either respond angrily (fear)
or with patience and compassion (love). I do agree it may not seem easy
at first but it is well worth it. The least we can do is acknowledge that this
power of choice and change is in our hands and no one else’s. If we blame
someone else or something else for how we act, we give away our personal
power. Be aware of this. This power of change is in our hands.
I believe we are not here on this planet to be ‘people pleasers’ ,
doing what other people want or expect us to do, but should indeed do
what we love to do, both in our free time and in our professional life. By
doing what we love, we will automatically become more fulfilled and so
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happier. It does not mean closing other people out of our lives; the opposite
happens and we give more, care more and are more compassionate and
patient towards others. This process of thinking of you and behaving for
you will get you into the mindset of focusing on you, and understanding
what it is in life that you love. And so getting you into that habit of taking
positive action for yourself. This being the act of self love.
Exercise # 5 – Life goals

Do you have any life objectives for your time on this Earth?
If not, you may like to try this exercise to help get you started. I
would like to ask you to stop for five minutes only and write down
in a brainstorming fashion, whatever comes in your mind regarding
life goals. No more than five minutes just now. Write down perhaps
three or four or more life goals that you have now, both big and small.
For example, healing yourself, working in the sector of your choice,
learning a language or living abroad. They may involve love and
building a family, or working or setting up a business in an area you
are passionate about, or creating something. Whatever they are, write
them down now in your journal. Once you have done this I would like
to ask you to reflect on these over the next few days and see what else
comes to mind, whether you add, change or delete a goal.
Now for each life goal, or you may combine the goals into
one life goal, I want you to write (2-3 pages) down the specific detail
in the present tense, starting with the date in the future by when it
has happened. .e.g. Its July 2020 and I’m…
To be successful the goal must have the following elements:

1. Stated in the positive - what specifically do you want? Be very
specific.
2. Specify present situation. Where are you now?
3. Specify outcome. What will you see, hear, feel etc when you
have your goal?
4. Specify the evidence procedure. How will you know when
you have it. Again, be specific.
5. Is it congruently desirable? What will the outcome get for you
or allow you to do?
6. Is it self initiated & self-maintained? Is it only for you? (you
can’t be dependent upon or blame others)
7. Is it appropriately contextualised? When, where, how, with
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whom do you want it?

8. What resources are needed? What do you have now and what
do you need to get your outcome?
9. Is it ecological for all? Will it benefit or harms others? For
what purpose do you want this goal?
Follow these points and I believe it will come true. I have
a detailed single life goal with seven differing elements within it
on my wall at home that I look at almost daily and think what am I
doing today that helps me to be one step closer to that goal? Like the
famous Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu said, “A journey of a thousand
miles begins with the first step”. The key is instead of making
decisions to move away from what you don’t want you begin to
make decisions to live towards what you do want in your life.
There is a reason behind these exercises, writing down your life

goals, thinking about what you like and want and not what you don’t
want. You have the power to make personal changes in your life. Changes
that will benefit you and others around you in the long term. We actually
have a choice of what we want to do with our lives. We don’t have to
do what society tells us. We can and should take some quiet time on our
own to reflect sincerely about what we want to do with our lives. Having
reflected, thought and written down your life goals you can now use your
logical rational mind to figure out the steps that need to be taken today
to get you on your way. That begins with focusing your mind on your
intentions and goals. Visualising and feeling your life goals.
Life can be like sand in your hand that slips through your fingers
and before you even realise it you are ten years older. Think about this,
think about your life. The time is NOW. ACT Now.
Personal Change
Now I realise you must be asking, ‘Luke, why are you writing
all this stuff about change, about choice, about intentions and mental
attitudes? Why is this so important?’ It is for this reason. Your greatest
potential for change comes from within you. Not from the outside
world or any outside force but from within you. I believe I can do
anything when I put my mind to it. I really do. I feel this deep inside.
I have found this belief to be very empowering. To know that I can
make positive change within me and in my life and I don’t have to rely
on anyone else to make that change. That I can choose to do anything
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I want with my life. And I can make that change right now and indeed
continually throughout my life.
You too have this power; it’s the power of choice and I believe you
should exercise it or lose it and have life forced upon you through outside
circumstance. Sometimes I would choose not to make a choice, but my not
making a choice was a choice in itself. In the past I sometimes put off making
a decision. That was a choice and, like all choices, that has a consequence. I
found when I didn’t make a choice that expanded my life but chose out of fear,
then life, other people and happenstance would often make a choice for me.
Now, instead of making decisions to move away from what I don’t want, I make
decisions to move towards what I do want.
I have already shared with you an example of change and my exerting
the power of choice in my life (leaving my job, choosing to travel, writing
this book, changing sector). This is change, empowerment and the power of
choice! Don’t underestimate this and don’t take it for granted. This is your
personal power.
This is your life and your choice. No one else’s. Not your
employer’s, not your friends’, partner’s or family members’. No one can
take that power away from you. This is your choice to choose your life.
Don’t be scared, have faith and listen to your intuition. We are indeed the
masters of our journey and by realising and accepting this as true, by letting
go of fear and worry of the unknown and having a little faith and an attitude
of I can do this, I know we can work wonders in our lives and in the lives
of others around us. That means that even if you have given your personal
power away all your life until now, it means that from this second onwards
you can begin to reclaim your personal power and begin anew.
Please remember to congratulate yourself each time you succeed
in doing something you set out to do. This is an important part of the
process, to validate the good work you have done while being kind to
yourself. Feel what it is like to progress while simultaneously being
patient with yourself along the journey.
Self Help
It is important to become aware that nowadays people are
moving from relying only on others to save themselves to also relying
on themselves to heal themselves, if that makes sense. But firstly you
must sincerely ask yourself the question, ‘Do I really want to change?’
If yes, genuinely you want to, and are prepared to work for it, then it is
very possible. Self help and self reliance has been made further possible
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by the internet and all the information, educational tools, audio and video
guides, healing methods that are often there for free. Traditionally people
may seek the support of a therapist or life coach, which is very helpful;
however, some people are far more proactive in their search for help.
Why? Because there is far more literature, audios and videos available,
thanks to the internet. This is also helping to speed up the level of personal
awareness and consciousness of people around the world, simultaneously
enabling people to become well informed global citizens. There is also far
more awareness of the potential of what a single person can achieve and
far more awareness of what can hold a person back. This level of personal
awareness can be very liberating and empowering. Acknowledging the
power of choice to make positive constructive decisions to better your
personal life for now and in the future is an important part of that process
of transformation. Please see the Appendix at the end of the book and
on the book website. I have purposely put together, with my current
awareness, what I believe to be the best information I have found to date.
Use it, benefit from it, share it and enjoy the process of personal growth
and development if you so choose.
I do appreciate it will be easier for some to make changes in their
life than for others. People who have children or other dependents might
find it hard to make certain more dramatic life changing choices. But there
are still many choices you can make. Choices about your attitude to life,
how you communicate and love. Choosing to create personal boundaries, so
thinking of yourself first and not people pleasing. Choosing to start a hobby
or something you always wanted to do. There are still many ways you can
exert your power of choice to bring more joy, meaning and happiness into
your life. It starts with awareness and consciousness.
If we want to change our circumstances we must change our
limiting belief system and sincerely acknowledge to ourselves, perhaps
in personal meditation, or in the car, or in nature, that we can choose
anything to place our full focus and effort towards. That could include
taking small actions such as buying a self help book or self improvement
audio CD or doing a class or workshop. It includes going to evening or
weekend classes to heal or better yourself, it includes doing voluntary
work in the area of life that you love but don’t currently work in. It
includes joining clubs or mixing with new types of people that interest,
inspire and motivate you, being with people that you feel add value to
your life, and it includes the basics such as eating healthily and doing
regular exercise. But first, you must acknowledge and fully accept that
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any changes that you are going to make have to come from within you,
not from outside. Not from anyone else but you. You can begin to change
by changing the way you think about your life, by letting go of negative
limiting beliefs and doing things that are more loving and nurturing
towards yourself. Wherever you are and whenever, you can begin that
personal change. Know that you can do it, that you can change. Reading
this book is a brilliant step, a massive step, potentially towards helping
and healing yourself. Hopefully, at a later date you can review the notes
and exercises you have written down in your journal and continue to
reflect upon them and grow.
Please remember, as with all change, there will be a transition
period between moving from the old thinking, behaviour and habits to
the new ones you would like to assume. Until the new way of relating
to yourself and others around you, is firmly established, meaning you
are resting securely in your new self, there is often a strong pull back to
the old way or state, by both the ego and friends and family around you.
There is a period of oscillation, going back and forth until you break the
old thinking and habits and have learned and are living the new habits,
perspectives and thoughts. It takes moral courage, inner strength and
perseverance. It takes a little time and practice, so please be patient with
yourself. I know we can get angry and impatient with ourselves but we
shouldn’t beat ourselves up. Just try to be patient and kind to yourself
during this period of transition.
Spirituality
Now I realise you may feel scared of change, especially if
change could be affecting one of the big three – love, health or money.
The massive difference for me now is the realisation that I am not
alone. There is a higher power, a universal intelligence, or god if you
like, whatever label you want to give this force, that is greater than
you or me. Spirituality is about acknowledging a universal intelligence,
through observing its evidence in coincidences and guidance in our
daily lives and realising that we are connected to this intelligence. That
the universe has the best intentions for all life, including our lives, but
we also have an active role to play. This includes having a positive
mental attitude and taking time to reflect on why we are here and what
we are here to do.
What spirituality means to me is that when I get a strong feeling
inside from my inner guidance to do something now that is going to effect
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small or large change in my life, I just know I have to do it. I know I have
nothing to be scared of because it’s for the best for me and for others. Fear
melts away because I am not being led from my rational mind or my ego
but from my soul, my higher power; because I am choosing to instigate
that change based on my inner guidance, not fear. Again when you feel you
are becoming disconnected from your intuition, your inner guidance, spend
time in nature, do something you love in nature like surfing or horse back
riding, meditate, focus on the breath and perform the intuition exercises
previously mentioned. This will all help you get reconnected and grounded
so you can again make choices that are right for you based on listening to
your heart.
Synchronicity
I now feel change is our friend, inherently guiding us, directing
us onto our own individual path. It is like the universe guides us
through providing signs in the form of coincidences, dreams, events,
conversations and repeated observations. This is also known as
synchronicity, synchronicity being a coincidence of events that may seem
unrelated at first but on closer inspection are all related. I really would
like to emphasise how important it is to develop a sense of awareness,
alertness and mindfulness of signs and coincidences as they actually
happen in your life. If you are mindful, you will notice that these signs
and coincidences are happening quite often, if not all the time. If you can
at least begin to realise that a sign or coincidence has just happened, that
is a brilliant first step. Sometimes I get signs and I think, ‘wow, that was
just a massive sign from the universe’, other times they are more subtle,
hence the need to be mindful and aware.
The more attention is paid to coincidences, the more frequently
they appear because you are looking out for them and the messages they
hold. The more frequently signs appear means the more opportunity you’ll
have to interpret their message, all the while becoming more skilled at
doing so. Increased access to the messages will help guide you onto your
path, which will in turn provide greater clarity as to the true nature and
direction of your life. See messages for what they are – signposts to guide
you onto your path. A quick note for an action point: from now on, if you
would, please keep a journal of all the miracles that do happen and all
the signs or messages that you notice. This really helps you to keep faith
while you may see some patterns or messages in multiple signs that you
had not noticed before.
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Co-Creation (Action)
Once guided from within onto our path, onto our calling in life,
the next step is about having the courage to follow through with action and
concrete steps. This is where soul meets action. You may have felt your
intuition and know the direction you must go or have asked for guidance
and are now looking out for the signs (conversations, coincidences,
dreams) that come onto your path to guide you. Once you get the signs
you can then take the necessary steps and action required to lead you
further onto and along your path to fulfil your life.
But this journey, our journey, is a dance between ourselves, our
choices and life. We co-create our lives, our present and future. What
I mean by that is, opportunities arise, inspirational ideas come and we
can choose to have the courage to go forth, often into the unknown, and
create. We can choose to ignore other people’s opinions, follow our heart
and the synchronistic opportunity that lies in front of us. If we are not on
our path then change in the form of signs will direct us back onto our path
at any time throughout our life. So if a change comes your way and unless
you have a very strong uncomfortable feeling that it is telling you not to
follow it, then go with it. Say ‘Yes’!
To make this judgement call it really helps to be connected
with your intuition, which we all have. Your inner voice. Simply put,
if it feels right inside, go with it. You might be happily surprised as to
where it leads you. Conversely, if it feels wrong, follow your intuition
and avoid it. I would also say, if you don’t feel connected and it doesn’t
feel wrong, say yes to the change and go with it. Follow it until you
get a feeling of ‘this doesn’t feel right’. When we are on our path, we
receive guidance and follow that guidance that confirms the direction
we are heading. Normally there is a flow, a smoothness, to this path,
although obstacles will and do arise, again, to guide us. Of course, you
need to have faith in the universe, faith in the guidance you are given and
be willing to surrender, to go with the guidance, the flow, whilst being
detached from the outcome. I agree, not too easy at first, but it does get
easier as your confidence and faith grows, I can assure you. To give you
more confidence in the process, write down in your diary any and all little
miracles as they happen in the day. After a few weeks you should see
some patterns or direction in the signs you receive.
Do you want to change? Are you willing to change? Are you
willing to step up and put the necessary work in to heal and grow? Are you
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willing to be honest with yourself and take action? We create excuses to

sabotage ourselves from getting onto our path and living our full potential.
A list of excuses and reasons why we should not do something that feels
right. I acknowledge that you might be going into the unknown, much
like me when I got on that flight to Guatemala, but try to develop the
courage to go forth and take a leap of faith. Take action. This might entail
self education, going to classes, working towards changing any limiting
beliefs, beginning meditation, doing healing work, having an open mind,
having faith in the universe and asking for help. Talking to other people,
learning about yourself, your beliefs, how your particular mind works and
the behavioural patterns we repeat. Being present and open to allowing
new ideas in, to expand your level of awareness. Are you willing, open and
ready for this? If yes, then Now is the best and in fact the only time this
can happen.
The only way to properly address your future is to be as present
as possible ‘in the present’ where you make your choices and take actions.
You cannot ‘presently’ change yesterday; you might be able to learn from
it or heal and let go of it but you can’t change it. So it is vital that you
dedicate all of your efforts to ‘right now’. It’s the only time that matters,
it’s the only time there is and if you don’t focus on The Now, the present
moment, life, passes you by. Where are you now in life and why? Who
are you in a relationship with now and why? What work are you are doing
now and why? Are all the above aligned with your personal values? With
your true self and your higher self? Are you congruent, authentic? Be
honest with yourself. If not, then identify what good would look like
in each of these areas in your life. Identify your visions and life goals
and realise what the barriers, the blockages, are so you may learn from
these, change your actions and progress on your path. Focus on what you
want, not on what you don’t want. It’s the difference between success
and failure.

This Inner Revolution for me has been a process of growing
personal awareness and transformation. A shift in consciousness that is
happening within a lot of us now. A shift from blind ambition for stuff,
money and status to needing meaning and fulfilment in our lives. To
seeking our calling or vocation in life. I experienced this as a process of
awakening to healing, to transformation and finally self empowerment.
Awakening from denial, fear and ignorance of our true nature and the
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true nature of reality. Healing wounds of the past and the present whilst
seeing them as necessary and valuable lessons in our life to allow
progression to the next stage. Personally transforming thoughts, mental
attitude, behaviour patterns and how we see and act in life. Our habits,
beliefs and goals. Building upon this healthy platform you begin to get
to know yourself more intimately, your strengths and weaknesses, your
gifts and passions. So reclaiming your personal power (choice), taking
your guidance from inside, not outside, to fulfil your path and live a
long, happy, meaningful life. But be aware this personal change can take
place over a number of years. I experienced a transition period between
moving from the old thinking, behaviour and habits and the new ones
I wanted. There is an oscillation, going back and forth until you have
learned the new habit. It takes a little time, practice and patience with
yourself. We can get angry and impatient with ourselves but we shouldn’t
beat ourselves up, but be kind and patient during this period of transition.
I believe we as human beings are on a personal journey of
learning and growth here on earth and we evolve as we progress. I believe
there are stages or steps in that journey towards inner contentment and
fulfillment that look like this, starting at the bottom with stage 1.
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7. Service. Higher Cause.

Higher Purpose.
6. Calling.
Voca.on.
Contribu.on.
5. Internal
Cohesion.
Congruence.
Authen.city.
4. Transforma.on. A shi>
in personal values and
global/personal
awareness.
3. Self-‐esteem. Self conﬁdence.

Career. Self worth.
2. Rela.onships. Community. Family.
1. Survival (food, shelter, work, money)
This Inner Revolution I believe is critical to breaking the

chains of financial servitude and serfdom (slavery) that we currently
have in place today in the form of the current corporate shareholder
employee model. The Inner Revolution is a powerful spiritual
awakening that is happening to people today all across our planet. It
is vital to reclaiming your personal power because once this happens
and you are operating at a higher level of consciousness, you will begin
to attract new, higher, more elevated inspirational thoughts into your
life. Through your thoughts and feelings you begin to create your own
projects around the areas you love. Whether that be setting up your own
business, or foundation, or simply being creative. Since fear no longer
plays a dominant role in your mind and life your not scared of it. Your
behavioural patterns change for the better. Creativity flows far more
and so what you attract into your life changes, including the type of
thoughts you have and the type of people you meet, when you have that
inspirational thought and feeling in your gut. You are not scared of it,
but embrace it in the awareness that you are supposed to do it. I realise
this because I am experiencing this now. You no longer fear setting up
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a business and becoming a self empowered entrepreneur. It feels like

a natural progression, to break the chains of the monthly allowance
(salary). I am now wholeheartedly looking forward to setting up my
own business, bringing my dreams into manifestation, which is what is
going on right now in my life.
This very personal revolution must take place within all of us if we
are going to effect a larger external revolution. To change and transform our
current corrupt, dysfunctional and unsustainable ways that we have in place
today. This revolution I speak of, both The Inner Revolution and The Outer
Revolution, are about you and me standing up and making positive and
constructive changes within our sphere of influence, locally and globally. But
first you have to make a choice. Are you going to be part of the problem or
part of the solution? This is your life, this is not a dress rehearsal. Now is the
time. Now is your time to take action. Are you going to make the necessary
choices and changes in your life so you can become aware, empowered and
support or lead this new paradigm shift? A shift away from this current state
of separateness duality, fear, competition, greed, power and control over
ever dwindling natural resources. A shift in consciousness based on mutual
respect for all life, collaboration, joy and unconditional love. Are you ready?
Are you willing to make that choice, to make that change? If you are, this
power is in your hands and it will happen, but first you must have the courage
to make that choice, listen to your heart, follow your inner guidance and take
action based on your inner guidance.
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Chapter 14
A Call to Action.
‘Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t
be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s
thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner
voice. And most important: have the courage to follow your heart and
intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.
Everything else is secondary.’
Steve Jobs, CEO Apple Inc., 1955–2011
My Decision
For the last month of my travels I stayed at Kopan Buddhist
monastery just outside Kathmandu in Nepal. My time travelling was
ending and I could feel a little anxiety beginning to creep up inside
me. What now? What next? Having been away for eighteen months,
living a different way of life, being free to be spontaneous and do what
I wanted to do all the time was incredible. It’s a different way of living
and experiencing life. Learning and growing all the time. Making free
choices based on what I want to do, not anyone else. So what next?
The retreat itself was OK, but it didn’t have the same impact
as Tushita and just covered the same topics at the same depth. There
could have been another reason for the lack of impact. When I wasn’t
in a teaching or meditation thoughts were racing through my mind that I
seemed powerless to stop. First and foremost was how would I react to
the chains of Corporate Ville again and being an employee? I had mixed
feelings about this, especially after this epic journey. I was ready to go
home, but to do what specifically?
It was clear this chapter of my life was coming to an end and I
knew it. I accepted that, but I did want to ponder a little more about the next
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chapter of my life before it began. Spending my last month in a retreat was

vital because I needed a quiet space to reflect. I needed silence.
One afternoon towards the end of the retreat I left the monastery
and went for a walk. I wanted to gather my thoughts and come to some sort
of agreement with myself as to the next steps and the direction of my new
future. After walking a little way I found a hill with a view overlooking
the town of Boudhanath below. I sat quietly on my own in the long grass,
the sun shining. I could hear school children laughing and running below.
Otherwise it was a peaceful spot. I began to write in my journal.
I was sure I didn’t want to go back to the corporate world of sales
and IT. That much was for sure. My time during and after the Vipassana
meditation had made that much clear to me. I wanted to consciously choose
another path, another direction for my work life. I hadn’t done all this just
to go back and do the same thing again. I wanted to follow my passion, the
environment, and perhaps combine this with my gifts and strengths I have
around people, perhaps in a coaching or educational capacity. As I thought
about this more, I began to write down ideas in my diary. I began to feel
a lot better about what specifically I wanted to focus on when I got home.
Good feelings slowly began to come up from inside me that I believed
confirmed that what I was thinking was a good idea.
I stopped writing and sat in silence. No thought. No words. Just
silence. Looking out at the view in front of me, I closed my eyes. After some
silence I began to talk with myself, with the universe in my head. Asking
for support. Guidance and help. This self talk for me was the beginning
of my affirming that I will go forth and take action towards working on
this new area in my life. I then stopped. I started to talk out loud to the
universe or any higher power listening to me, saying that I would trust in
my feelings. That I would once again step off into the unknown, the abyss,
based on the fact that it felt the right thing for me to do in that moment. All
I asked for was support and guidance, and perhaps a little strength too.
I probably looked crazy to onlookers, sitting there talking to
myself out loud but it was an important moment for me. This was when
I was bringing my inspirational thought and intuitive feeling from simply
that, a thought or feeling that no one else knew about, to reality. My reality.
Something I would focus my time and energy on, making this thought, this
feeling, a reality. This quiet time, this conversation, was aligning my will
power behind my intention, to follow my calling onto my path.
I was quite aware of the power of spirituality, having faith in your
intuition, surrendering, interpreting signs and following the guidance.
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14. A Call to Action.
But I also realised this all meant nothing without concrete constructive
action. This conversation on the hill with the universe and with myself
was my pact with myself and the universe to move on to the next phase
of my journey. Much like in Brazil, I was now consciously choosing to
change the course of my life yet again and inject my personal power
behind this decision in the form of my choice and action. Much like
Brazil, I had no idea where this would lead, except that it felt right. I
felt like I was stepping on that plane into the unknown on my way to
Guatemala. This was the same and I needed to have faith and courage,
knowing that I would be looked after as I had been these past eighteen
months. I had to keep a positive mental attitude, focus and take one step
and day at a time.
Courage
I believed this was a brave decision on the one hand and took
courage. I could have quite easily had gone back to my career in IT sales,
earned good money and had a materially comfortable life. But would I
have been happy? No. Although I had friends working in six or so global
IT telecom companies, I had to be honest with myself. This was no longer
right for me. I felt there had to be congruency in what I was feeling and
what I did with my life. Some alignment and integrity with my dreams
and goals and with what I was doing in my daily life. Some action to
make my dreams a reality. I couldn’t live a lie any more otherwise what
had this journey of self discovery over the past year or so been about?
What had being spiritual meant if there was no authenticity or alignment
between my values and passions and the direction of my life? I was now
also aware that if I did create incongruence in my life, that I would suffer
in the long term through this manifesting in physical disease. I had to
change my life and I needed to have courage and faith, having listened to
my heart, to now follow through with action.
Yes, on the one hand I did feel alone, perhaps physically speaking,
but on the other hand I did not. I gained courage through realising I
was not on my own. That I would be OK, more than OK, so long as
I followed my heart and my inner guidance and was not persuaded by
my fear driven ego or other people’s opinions to do otherwise. I would
follow through. Having acknowledged to myself that my passion did not
lie in IT, but in the environment and working with people. In helping to
create a sustainable environment (who wants to live in a rubbish tip?)
through educating and talking with people, businesses and communities.
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I decided I wanted to be part of the solution in creating a more sustainable

and just society and not part of the problem.
I made a list of my next steps there on the hill. When I got home I
would research the environment sector. Understand and map the different
areas within it and the skills needed. I would research what educational
courses existed that, ideally, met the needs of the job market. Understand
the costs, lengths of time and topics covered in the courses along with
the knowledge and certifications gained at the end of the process.
Afterwards, I would also analyse the personal life coaching sector and
understand what qualifications existed versus what the needs were of the
market place. All these concrete steps would help me better understand
the sectors, the skills required and the challenges ahead. By breaking
the tasks down into smaller steps, the challenge ahead did not seem so
daunting.
Coming Home
I arrived home in time for Christmas 2009. It felt just wonderful
to see my family again. They hadn’t changed a bit but I think I had. We all
sat round the Christmas table at my auntie’s, full of joy and emotions. I
didn’t know which story to begin with. It was a wonderful time. Christmas
and New Year flew by but not before I could feel overwhelmed by the
family events. I found it difficult in the beginning. I still had my head and
thoughts in another world, different from my immediate surroundings.
The experience of returning home was a little disorientating to
begin with. The thought of having to become an employee again. Earning
money. Paying bills. Routine. So much so in fact that it took me about
three months just to acclimatise to my new life. I then slowly began to
research the environmental market place, the main NGO organisations,
their main projects and programmes while also researching courses.
It was March 2010; I was staying at my friend Matt’s house
when I had the idea. It had been planted in my head earlier as an idea
but I had never done anything with it. The idea was to write a book,
but I wasn’t entirely sure what about. Not about my travels, that wasn’t
meaningful enough for me, but I felt I had something to share. That
week in March, I asked the universe what was it that I might write
about. Then it came to me one morning as I woke up. The whole idea,
the whole book, an inspirational idea coming into me like a bolt of
lightning. I had a very clear idea of the story and its elements, from the
beginning, to the middle and the end of the book. So I quietly began to
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write. Whenever I was not researching the environment sector or taking

a course, I wrote. At this moment in time I did not know what would
come of the book. I did feel I had something special to share and I did
feel it could help others. Inside I just had a feeling this was something I
should do and so I decided not to question why, what for etc. I took my
ego mind out of the decision and just did it. Quietly inside I felt very
excited. Who knows where this might lead to.
Meanwhile, later in 2010 and 2011 I began my environmental
studies. I found some excellent courses that covered both the corporate
Environmental Management (ISO14001) side of things and the more
holistic Systems Thinking (Cradle to Cradle) perspective of the world. I
was super excited and motivated to learn about a subject I actually cared
about. Plus, I was very fortunate to be taught by some excellent teachers
and managed to qualify as Environmental Practitioner with IEMA, the UK
body. I did well and passed my exams with high marks. I felt confident in
my knowledge and so began applying for jobs in 2011 but, to my great
shock and surprise, without success. During interviews I was told I needed
sector work experience. I thought ‘how can I get that if you won’t hire
me?’ Then I was told I should do a voluntary work placement (internship)
to get the work experience needed. Which I did. I worked on two different
voluntary projects in 2011 and still no luck with interviews, so no paid job.
Luckily I had my redundancy package to help me get by. Meanwhile I kept
on writing regardless of not having found a job or a publisher.
These were challenging times for me. On the one hand I was
doing what I thought I should do, trying to find a job in the environment
sector. And yet I kept on getting short listed to the second or third out of
fifty or eighty candidates. I felt frustrated, disappointed and confused. It
just goes to show, it’s not always seamless. The things that were constant
in my life aside from the ‘No’s were my writing, my passion for the
environment and my wish to do something meaningful with my life.
I then slowly began to question what I was doing and what I
was meant to be doing. I mean, if I am to interpret the signs, no means
no. I persevered but was not progressing how I would have liked to as
regards finding a job. The thought was now dawning on me that I may
not actually return to being an employee and that my life might have a
different direction, perhaps related to my book. It wasn’t until shortly
after I met my partner, Susana, that I truly realised that, indeed, I was
heading on a slightly different path from what I had originally thought
back there on the hilltop in Nepal. A path, I must add, far more to my
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liking. One of autonomy, freedom, power, independence, creativity. I was

going to create a business; more accurately, we would create a business.
Combining our complementary strengths and love for people and the
environment. Sacred Place was born.
I must add that during this challenging time I found it very
important to create a support network of like minded friends. That’s not
to say I dropped all my old friends who were not with similar views/
perspectives. Perhaps some I did, but not the ones who were dear to
me. I did, however, actively seek out new friends who held similar
worldviews and values as mine. Who believed in a higher power or
universal intelligence, synchronicity and signs. Having this new group of
friends was really beneficial to my progressing forward. It gave me more
confidence and faith to believe in my writing and not to worry so much
about the job front. It gave me a lot of support that I really needed at this
challenging time in my life. And I had changed. I was no longer corporate
Luke. My personal values had changed, and with them my perspective of
the world. That meant I needed to have other types of friends with whom
I could discuss other subjects. That was a crucial part of my transition
as it kept me from losing faith and helped me to continue to believe in
myself, my intuition and my spiritual path.
To conclude this piece about coming home: I have since
successfully completed my studies in the environment sector; I have also
competed my studies in Life Coaching and NLP. I am now qualified as
a professional life coach with the ICF International Coach Federation
and as a qualified NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) practitioner with
the American Board of NLP. I now work with clients on a 1 to 1 basis.
Having now completed this book I am now in the process of setting up
an ecological retreat with my partner, offering various programmes and
workshops with the goal of supporting the healing, growth and personal
empowerment of people around the world onto their own paths. It’s a
very exciting new phase that I will write a little more about at the end of
this last chapter.
Personal Values
During this long journey of personal transformation, change
has manifested in the form of a shift in my personal values. A subtle
change at first that happened slowly over the last few years as I became
more aware of the world around me, my impact upon it and the subjects
I have shared with you. Although happiness has always been one of my
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main personal values, how I perceived I attained or experienced it has

dramatically changed. Before this time I was more focused on my status
in the relentless corporate rat race, my salary, the stuff I had accumulated,
the type of car I had, the good times (sex, drugs, rock n roll) and even
people pleasing. Why? Because this is what I deemed valuable to me.
This is what I valued. I was influenced by my society. Sadly, this is
what my society still values today. Status, title, stuff, external pleasures,
accumulation of money etc. This is what it meant to me to be happy.
These were the most important things to me. But there has been a change
and if you ask my close friends and family they will confirm this. Perhaps
a subtle change in their eyes as they look at me from outside, but from my
perspective it has been a big change. A transformation.
Of course, I need money to live, to pay bills, but now I prioritise
my values very differently. My spirituality comes first and for me that means
being honest and authentic with myself and with others. Being honest and
authentic with myself means doing work that I love and not just working for
money. It means looking after myself and doing things that I love, like eating
healthily. Putting myself first if needed. Doing exercise. Being more patient
with myself and others. More importantly and ultimately it means being in
alignment with my inner guidance and so my higher purpose, my calling.
I can no longer work in a sector that I have no feeling or passion
for. That would be lying to myself, cheating myself while losing my time in
not being aligned to what I’m here to do. Personal peace and inner harmony
are important to me. I don’t want to be involved with other people’s dramas
any more where at all possible. Most of these dramas are their dramas
being projected on me. Dramas coming from their ego personality, not their
authentic self.
I need to be honest with myself and about how I feel about things
and no longer ‘people please’ but look after myself by defining personal
boundaries. I can’t cheat or lie to myself or others as I may have done in
the past. I ignored things that were important to me in the past to fit in
and please others. I would say it didn’t matter when it did. I was people
pleasing. That is no longer acceptable to me because it is not an act of love
towards myself but an act of hurt and denial. It is through my spiritual
journey that these personal changes and values have come about. A slow
process of transformation emerging within me over time as I grow. Just to
clarify, I don’t mind doing things for others but not if it hurts me.
I don’t smoke any more because I am very aware that by choosing
to smoke I am choosing to hurt myself. It’s like an act of dislike towards
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myself. I got rid of the TV. I drink only on occasions. I eat more healthily, I
stopped eating meat, I eat more raw organic food and try to exercise more,
both of which I could improve upon, but one step at a time. For me it’s
about progression, not perfection. About being kind to myself. I am more
aware of myself and spending more quality time with and on my doing
things I love. Spending time with people I want to be with. This all creates
an inner peace and serenity within me much like when I practise my daily
meditation. I see these all as acts of kindness and love towards myself,
which in turn helps me become more balanced, grounded and to grow.
This is all new to me since the days of working way too many hours and
then going out and getting drunk. But I must add, all this knowledge I am
sharing with you and that I have gained myself must be acted upon, we
must have the will power to make changes and act otherwise it is futile.
Little will change and we could ask the same question of ourselves ten
years later. Hence action is required.
I have now moved into the ‘meaning phase’ of my life. These last
few years have been full of dramatic personal change due to my growth
in awareness. A change or inner revolution that has not only helped me
become more aware of myself and so grow but also my entire motivations
in life have changed. My motivations in life have changed because my
personal values have changed. I believe this is all a natural part of the inner
revolution that can take place in any of us at some point in our lives. Now
I would like to do something more meaningful and fulfilling with my life,
more purposeful. I would like to do something related to the environment
and personal empowerment. With that, my intentions and life goals have
changed. As I talked about before, it’s my calling towards a higher purpose,
my vocation, as I move into the meaning phase of my life that is now driving
me forward. Meaning is now my motivation and not money. Money is just
a part of the equation, not the entire goal.
I now have a feeling that I have something greater to offer,
something greater to do with my life and something greater to give back.
This all started after I reached my low point, my crisis point back in 2006,
when I finally acknowledged I was not happy with this shallow consumer
society life. That I felt empty, lost and confused. That the system, this
consumer society we currently live in, was simply not meeting my needs
and never would at this deeper level of my being. In my opinion this
consumer society operates only at the superficial level of happiness, not
the deeper life-long fulfilling level of contentment. Although I may not
have realised it in Kopan, Nepal, it was indeed time for me to hand over
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to a power greater than myself, such as the universe, and let go. Having
found spirituality, it was now time for me to test what I had learnt and
trust in letting the universe have more influence to guide me. I had to let
go because I was unhappy where I was. I had to follow my heart, my
inner guidance and become detached from the how, from the outcome
and just follow my heart, my intuition.
You might have guessed it but once you let go of trying to
control everything in your world, once you make that crossover, that leap
of faith of letting the universe into your world, you don’t want to go back.
Life does become more magical, fun and mysterious and more peaceful
because sometimes it’s simply out of our hands and we should just
acknowledge that to ourselves and to our higher power. Even if I could
go back to my old life and my old ways I would not want to. So now I
just try to have clear honourable motivations and intentions coming from
my heart, my authentic self, and then by taking little steps day by day
towards these goals I look out for signs and ask for guidance along my
journey. Enjoying the journey, not worrying about the detail of ‘how’.
Trying to be detached from the outcome. I know, perhaps easier said than
done, but practise, let go and just enjoy THE NOW.
Exercise # 6 – Personal values –

http://sacred-place.com/personal-values
The first time I did this exercise I loved it because it really helped me
learn about what was actually really important to me and my life.
Not what my friends, colleagues, parents or other peers thought,
but what I felt and thought. Please take your time when doing this
exercise. Find a quiet place, at home, in nature, wherever you can
be alone and silent. Once you have completed the exercise, come
back to your answer, reflect on it, walk in nature, and see if it
‘feels’ right to you deep down inside. This is not about what others
think or feel about you, this is what you think and feel about you
and your precious human life.
Print out the list of values from the above link. Then go down
the list of values and highlight which values mean the most to
you (add any that you feel are missing for you). Take your time.
Look at each value and see what you feel. See what resonates with
you. Whether it’s honesty, or justice, or happiness or integrity.
Only highlight the values that really speak to you, that really
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mean something to you. This exercise is more about feeling than

thinking and it’s 100% about you and not other peoples perceptions
or opinions of you.
Now that you have highlighted your shortlist of values, I
would like you to go over that list again and circle the five main
values that mean the most to you from that list. I know you might
feel this is difficult, but please go ahead. Finally, once you have
your shortlist of five, I would like to you prioritize those those
values in order of importance with your top value being the one
you identify with the most. That you identify with the most.
This exercise will help you get to know yourself slightly better
by identifying to yourself what’s important to you in your life, your
work, your relationships and in where you choose to live etc.
One of the hardest things, being spiritual asks for, I believe, is
congruency. Congruency of your beliefs and values in alignment
with your thoughts, words and actions. Be kind to yourself, it takes
time and practice.
Global Citizen
Well, it has been my travels, reading and talking with different
people that has helped me open my eyes, mind and heart. My travels
have given me a clearer perspective about the world and what is really
going on today regarding globalisation and the impact on people,
culture and the environment. I have grown to become what I would
call a Global Citizen. Someone who has become conscious of how their
decisions and actions impact on the world. Someone who has respect
for the world, who has an understanding of how the world operates and
the important issues faced by our civilisation today. Being a Global
Citizen is also about becoming aware of and acknowledging that
repercussions and consequences resulting from the choices and actions
we make. Whether you ask for plastic bags (they are mostly non-
biodegradable and come from oil) each time you are at the supermarket
or take your own reusable bag. Whether you choose to eat less meat
(it takes tonnes of water, land and energy to grow the food to feed the
animals for industrial slaughter farms) or eat less fast food (high in fat),
drink fewer soft drinks (high in sugar), buy less bottled water or turn off
the tap when you brush your teeth.
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Knowing how our decisions and actions impact cultures,

environmental habitats and species positively or negatively is part of
what becoming a Global Citizen is all about. As a Global Citizen I am
now becoming very conscious about my actions and how they affect the
world I live in and I believe this is part of the global shift in awareness,
in consciousness that is happening now around the world. More and
more people do not want to have a negative impact on the planet
through what they buy. They want to be part of the solution to develop
more sustainable societies and not be part of the problem driven by
this consumer society. You have real power as a person through what
you choose to buy. Whether you choose to buy a sustainably produced
product such as MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) fish, FSC (Forest
Stewardship Council) paper or wood, local, seasonal, organic fruit and
vegetables or boycott unsustainable products such as palm oil or rare
fish or products shipped in from the other side of the world.
I am in the process of researching and understanding how
important systems such as finance, law, food (genetically modified food,
GMO), free clean renewable energy and other systems in our society
operate and the impact they have on the environment and communities.
I am not alone with these interests. Many other young and old people
are becoming more and more interested in the many common global
issues we all now face as a species. The internet has been an extremely
valuable tool in helping me educate myself as it has been for many
others, as you will see from the Appendix in both books. The exponential
growth of organisations such as Avaaz (www.avaaz.org), of which I am
a member, Wiser (www.wiser.org) and Evolver (www.evolver.net) is
testament to the increased growth in Global Citizens concerned about
the world. (Avaaz is a global web movement of fifteen million members
to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere. Wiser
is a global movement of 73,000+ people working towards sustainability
and justice and Evolver is a global community of eighty million people
focused on healing the planet and ourselves.)
Paradigm Shift
I do believe we are at the end of era. The end of an old way of
thinking and doing based on an economy that destroys the planet and
society. All the rules are changing. Some call it the end of the fossil fuel
age because of peak oil (no cheap oil left) but I believe it is far more than
that. It’s a shift in consciousness that has come about through increased
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awareness of how we are in the world today.
Our generation today no longer wants to continually waste their

precious time and energy fighting each other in wars. We no longer want
an economic system that destroys the planet and cultures, that supports
a ‘take make waste’ culture. A self destroying economy. We no longer
want to buy cars that pollute the Earth, use fuel that destroys the Earth,
eat unhealthy processed food and sugar laden soft drinks that harm us
through diabetes and heart disease (both of which are preventable).
We no longer feel comfortable buying food products that have come
from the other side of the planet. Increasingly we want more local,
seasonal, organic food, that way supporting our local communities, the
environment and our health. We no longer believe it is right or acceptable
to treat animals like non-living beings, forcing them into mechanised
feeling-less corporate factory farms (see Food Inc). We no longer believe
it is right to continually take from the Earth all in the name of profit. To
continually pollute the Earth without any thought to rejuvenate the planet
or the needs of the next generations (see Home Appendix). We want
integrity and authenticity from the supposed leaders of our countries not
corruption. I am not alone, there are millions of people just like me who
no longer wish to support this toxic ‘business as usual’ way of operating.
It is unsustainable and we want change. Now.
For us, money is no more our primary aim in life. Consumerism
is no more our focus or main activity or identity. This is the past.
Conditioned behaviour the spells of which we are now breaking. We are
not the baby boom generation, born with very little and who aspired to
have the latest stereo or car. We are different from our parents because
we were born with clothes, toys etc. provided; indeed we have changed
and grown up. We now know that ‘stuff’ doesn’t make us truly happy. We
no longer believe the advertising hype because we now realise it’s a lie.
Health, well being, mutual respect for all beings, loving relationships,
meaningful work, personal power, justice and sustainability are all
far more important values to us as opposed to status, power and the
accumulation of financial wealth. I know this because of all the young
people I spoke with on my travels who think and feel the same way as
I do. These people represent the growing awakening in global human
consciousness away from this illusion that we must always fight, struggle
and compete.
This rapid change, or more accurately put, this transformation,
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has come about partly with the aid of technology and the internet’s
enabling people around the world to educate themselves for free on
all manner of topics. This new found transparency of how animals are
treated, how products are produced, how waste is managed, how natural
resources are processed, how people are treated is greatly increasing our
awareness of how large corporations and globalisation itself works. This
is impacting our perspective on how we see the world and our personal
values. My generation no longer supports the goal and objective of big
business to consolidate ever more smaller competing businesses into
even fewer giant corporations in the name of maximising shareholder
value as the primary objective of existence. NO.
There is now a shift in consciousness from a predominant
fear based culture, supported by the ego towards competition, control
and greed to a consciousness coming from the heart. Based more on
integrity, collaboration, grass roots community initiatives and social
entrepreneurship. This global trend towards a higher state of awareness,
consciousness and wellness is acting out both on the individual and
community level. Realising that we are not alone and that we are
all connected to a higher power, universal intelligence and so receive
guidance all the time in the form of feelings and intuition to direct us onto
our paths.
Individuals, communities are becoming more aware of
dysfunctional systems and sick behavioural patterns and want to heal,
change and become well. Furthermore, a social environmental movement
has started, a cooperative movement, made of (social) entrepreneurs,
parents, community leaders and local communities around the world.
They are focusing on becoming more self sustaining in the areas of
food, water, jobs, recycling and energy. This movement is based on
the qualities and values I have mentioned above, mutual respect for all
beings, including plants and animals, a movement based on collaboration
and love. The focus is upon well being. Well being of the individual’s
health (physical, mental, emotional), community and business.
The Transition Town movement is just one example of this.
The localism movement is another example. Global Citizens the world
over are forming transition towns, eco-villages, permaculture, renewable
energy initiatives and low carbon cities in response to the extremely
serious global threats we all face. Their goals are to reduce their overall
environmental footprint, which includes their dependency on foreign oil
and food. These towns and villages around the world are becoming self
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sustaining in many key areas such as food, water, energy, jobs etc. People
are realising they must transform their ways towards living and building
more sustainable communities, societies and economies.
This localism movement is a global movement acting on a local
scale. There may still be a mass migration of the poor in the developing
world from the countryside to the slums of the city in the false hope of
a better life. Simultaneously in the developing world, there is also an
exodus of powerful individuals like myself from the corporate system
towards setting up their own businesses, to generate income and help
empower others to do the same. This book is only part of that movement.
Global Citizens no longer wishing to be dependent upon a corrupt system
in decay for its financial security or lack of it. We want to empower
ourselves and reclaim our full potentials. The reason why I have decided
to set up my own business is partly because I would like a little more
control over what I do in my life, the direction of my life, and so realise
empowerment to reach my full potential.
We need more than ever before spiritual and non-spiritual
empowered people to have courage, become more active on their feet and
contribute more positively to our society and the planet. Sincerely, we have
no time to lose.
A Call to Action
You have a choice now. That is your power.
I have written this book to support you with your own personal
transformation and personal empowerment, on an individual level. The
Inner Revolution is about the revolution that must take place within each
and every one of us for us to get our society and our world back on track
to becoming sustainable and just. First, this change must take place with
you, the individual, and part of that change is based on what you choose
to do with your life.
The Inner Revolution is about change. A personal change in beliefs,
attitude, personal values, motivations and priorities that must take place
within you. Aligning yourself and your life with your true purpose. It must
take place within all of us if we are to survive as a species and live on a
healthy functioning planet. We are all on a journey to find our true purpose,
to learn and to live to our full potential.
I believe there is a very good reason why you are reading this
book right now in your life. While reading you may even know what that
reason is. Perhaps you know, perhaps not, but, hopefully, you are now
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open to signs from the universe and the feelings coming up inside you in
the form of intuition and inner guidance to help you on your journey.
While you might have obstacles in your existing life, simultaneously
you will have feelings coming from inside about what you would really
like to do with your life. This is your first sign, coming from inside you.
It’s your inner guidance. You might begin to visualise or day dream about
this other life. Having stronger intuitive feelings about the nature of your
purpose is the beginning. Much like my intuitive passion to go travelling
or my inspirational idea to go to Borneo or Vipassana. At this point in your
life you might begin to want to let go of what you have been doing up until
now and start to have serious thoughts about what you would like to do
with the rest of your life. You might begin to realise that what you do with
your time becomes of crucial importance. Realising that time is our most
precious commodity, you might start to make some serious decisions about
the remaining part of your life. For a lot of us this transformation happens
in our mid thirties to mid forties, but it can happen sooner and later.
All this change starts at the individual level, with you and me.
You will feel when that time for change is here because you become very
unhappy with what you are doing and you’ve simply had enough. Hence
your reason to start looking at other avenues in your life. For me, the key
step to enacting change in your life is to understand what you love. What is
your passion? What are you good at? Once you know the area of life that
excites you, you can begin to place your mind’s focus and attention onto
this area through various actions. Actions such as setting clear intentions
and goals along with journey goals, smaller step goals to help you along the
way. By doing research into the area that interests you. Understand what
courses are being offered in your part of the world. Go to seminars, talks
and trade events in your new area of focus. If you can, begin doing some
voluntary work in this area to give you further exposure, knowledge and
experience. This will also help confirm that this really is what you love.
All these actions are about firstly increasing your awareness on
the subject. That can be done through education and gaining qualifications,
doing voluntary work, networking with people who already work in this
sector. I did all the above to change sectors.
And above all keep a positive mental attitude. If you are listening
to your heart and take the right action based on what feels right, based on
saying ‘yes’ to the opportunities that arise and that you create, you will
get onto your path! You can always ask for guidance each day along the
way and look out for the signs; they may come thick and fast. Remember,
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the Law of Attraction is always working. Where thought goes, energy

follows, so focus on what you want and the universe will attract to you
what you focus your thoughts and feelings on.
I do believe this transition and transformation I and many others
are experiencing is about all of us moving into the ‘meaning phase’ of
our lives. We have acknowledged that stuff alone will not make us happy
and we are looking for more meaning in our lives, our work and what we
choose to spend our time doing and with whom. And this often begins by
listening to our inner guidance, our intuition and no longer our ego driven
by fear. Acknowledging that we have all been blessed with certain gifts
and that by listening to our hearts while allowing ourselves to be guided
by the universe, we will live a more meaningful and joyous life. Mahatma
Gandhi said it perfectly: ‘Be the change you want to see’. Well, this change
all starts with you and me. We can only begin to heal society by healing
ourselves first. By making that healing transformation within us first, we
can then reclaim our personal power and become self-empowered.
As we grow in awareness and consciousness as Global Citizens
we must ultimately accept responsibility as individuals for our personal
choices and actions and the impact they have on both our lives and
the world. That is partly what becoming a Global Citizen is about. A
heightened level of awareness that ultimately leads to a change in values
and motivations that in turn leads to a change in lifestyle, choices and
possibly career.
Choose your Work Carefully

I honestly believe that your most important asset is yourself
and your time and energy. YOU are the most valuable asset that you
can give a corporation, or any other third party. Your time and energy.
And time is our most precious commodity. What you choose to do for
work is critical because it is 60–70% of your waking day. This is your
precious human life, no one else’s. This is your life and your choice.
No one else’s. Not your partner’s, not your parents’ or friends’, but
yours. But we can so easily lose or waste our time on activities that
aren’t related to why we are here. Becoming aware of this is vital to
taking charge of your personal transformation.
You choose what you do with your time, what you do for work,
unless you give your power away and allow someone else to force you
into doing something you don’t want to do. When you do that, when you
give away your power and ‘people please’ by doing something your don’t
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want to do, be aware of the consequences of this choice and action. The
consequences can manifest in detrimental physical, emotional and mental
side effects because you chose to give your power away. Having read
this book, you may no longer plead ignorance or hide behind ignorance.
You are becoming conscious and aware of yourself and your life and the
decisions you make and why! I do believe what you do in your work
and life should be aligned with your personal values. So now please ask
yourself again, what is it I love? What am I passionate about? What am
I good at? You may even ask yourself, why is that question so hard to
answer? What do I love doing?
We all have a choice whether we believe it or not. A free choice
to live a meaningful, joyful, happy life but it all begins with awareness
and choice. You have this choice, to make your life, those you love and
the world around you a better place and I believe you must make a choice.
If not, you may live in regret for not listening to your heart, your calling,
but living in the shadow of the life you could have chosen to live. All our
choices have consequences, as does not choosing, allowing someone else
to choose for us or allowing ourselves to do something against our wishes.
I know this might seem challenging and difficult but we must
begin somewhere and I believe, based on my experience, that these life
questions are a good starting point. Are you doing what you really want
to do with your life? That is the main question of my book! Is what you
are doing today in line with your passion and your life’s calling? Are you
sincerely in alignment with your true authentic self and your calling? Be
honest with yourself. If it is not then perhaps it is time to take some actions
towards that direction by looking at your life goals list and then thinking
back, and writing down what the small steps are that you can take today
to get on your way towards your goal. Finishing this book, making some
notes and taking some small steps is already a very good start.
What kind of world do you want to live in? What kind of world
do you want to leave your children and grandchildren? What is your role
and contribution in creating this world? It could be teaching the local kids’
baseball team in your free time. It doesn’t have to be saving the world or
saving the planet as every little bit helps.
What is the connection between what you do in your day job
today and the impact, either positive or negative, it has on the planet
and the world (society) as a whole? Write down in your journal whatever
comes up and please feel free to ask yourself this question again when
you might be sitting in a quiet spot or are in nature. Do you have a sense
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of the impact and contribution, either positive or negative, that your

work is having on the world and community around you? Is it adding
value to life, community, society, the environment or not? Is what you are
doing connected with your life goals or not? Are you happy, I mean truly
happy? Or do you feel it’s time for change? Time for action!
From this point on listen to your heart, your soul and see what
comes up. Meditate upon this. We all have gifts, positive ambitions and
a calling inside of us, including you. We have come here for a reason,
to create something powerful. What are you going to do with what you
have? What are you going to do with what you have been given? With
your gifts? What is that dream in your heart?
Think back to what I previously said about what work of
a spiritual calling or vocation might be. It could fall into a number of
categories, so think in the broadest terms possible. Don’t limit yourself,
it’s the intention and attitude that counts. A ‘teacher’ could be a mentor,
a guide, a leader, a facilitator, a teacher, instructor, writer, speaker, or
business or public leader. Anything along those lines that helps add
value to people’s lives and the well being of the planet and animals. A
carer, in the broadest terms, is a healer of people, animals, the planet.
It is a position of service such as a fireman, policeman, postman, vet,
doctor, nurse, dentist, gardener. A spiritual vocation could also mean
performing your existing job or role but from a different perspective or
motivation. Perhaps from a heightened level of awareness about yourself
and your surroundings. For example, if you are a buyer and work with
supply chains, you may begin to incorporate more ethical, social and
environmental values into your procurement policy and the suppliers you
work with both nationally and internationally. Whatever it might be, it is
usually in service of or in support of people, animals and the planet. For
example you could be a lawyer whose focus is upon healing the planet
and raising the awareness of crimes against the environment performed
by larger corporations in the pursuit of money. The key point is not only
what you do and how, but why. The spiritual question is why you do it?
And that relates to your personal values and what excites you.
The Social Entrepreneur

With that in mind a new role is emerging within the work and
business place, that of the social entrepreneur. A social entrepreneur is
someone who is creating a business, not only to make money but to serve
a social and/or environmental cause. Social entrepreneurs are individuals
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who are tackling major issues that for-profit businesses or government

often overlook or perceive as too much hassle or not profitable enough.
These individuals are change agents and can be seen as role models,
helping to change society for the better, by improving existing systems,
inventing new approaches and creating new solutions to existing problems.
These ambitious, courageous individuals often have a set of personal
values that ensures their work is always for a higher purpose. Their work
is not only about making money but also their cause and the positive
change they are trying to create through implementing their visions in
very pragmatic ways. They often collaborate with different sectors of
society whether that be health, education, business, government, youth,
environment. Focusing their ideas on being user-friendly, understandable
and ethical, social entrepreneurs try to engage widespread support in order
to maximise the number of local people that will stand up, seize their
idea and implement it. While a business entrepreneur might create a new
product or industry, a social entrepreneur comes up with new solutions
to existing social problems and then implements them on a large scale,
collaborating with other local change agents, channelling their passion
into action. Their intention: to create widespread positive change for the
good of society and the environment.
Creativity
A creative person is anyone who wishes to create, innovate,
inspire change. An entrepreneur, product designer, writer, artist, architect,
clothes designer, musician, poet, film maker, content creator, multimedia
web designer, programmer. Anyone who is working with the gift of
creation, expressing themselves ideally in the service of and benefit to
people and the environment.
I used to think that the professions above, poet, musician, fashion
designer, were the only creative roles in life. That was a limiting belief
that had instilled itself in me from my art class in school when I was
about fifteen. I believed and chose to carry this limiting belief with me
for fifteen years or more until I became aware of its falseness. During my
times in television, when performing live satellite uplinks, I had to think
extremely quickly on my feet when a problem occurred. This type of
thinking or brainstorming was my creativity in action.
I now know we are all born with an innate ability to create. All
of us. It’s part of what makes us who we are, human beings, and it’s part
of our personal power. I now realise being creative touches every aspect
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of our lives, whether that be through thoughts, thinking laterally to solve

a problem, or through conversations, or gardening, cooking, skiing. Fear
blocks our creative energy. Wake the sleeping giant within you and begin
your personal process of creation. What is your gift? What are you doing
with your creative energy?
One example is The Khan Academy. It is a beautiful, simple,
powerful idea that someone has put into action to help teach the world
mathematics for free while changing the lives of millions. Anyone,
anywhere in the word with a connection to the internet can connect to
www.khanacademy.org and begin their wonderful journey of learning
mathematics, among other subjects. This for me is a brilliant example
of a simple but powerful creative idea that is helping change the lives
of children all around the world through providing free education
in finance and maths at all levels of difficulty. Another example is
Workaway, set up by a traveller to help other travellers integrate more
easily in whatever country they are travelling in. I wish I had been
aware of this when I went travelling (www.workaway.info/). We are
all creative. We can all do this type of work. Is your giant potential
sleeping, or awake and inspired?
Higher Purpose
To close this first book, I wish to return to the beginning. I asked
in the title of Chapter 1, ‘What the hell is it all about?’ I now believe
I have an answer. It is first about positive personal transformation to
become healthy individuals. This means doing the serious internal healing
work necessary to clean up any issues, resentments or negative thought
patterns. Thereby creating a solid foundation to work from so we can
proactively contribute towards society and the planet. The second part of
the answer is to take the necessary time to really listen to our soul, our
intuition, and ask these all important life questions. To greatly increase
our personal awareness of who we are, what we love in life, what our
passions are and what we are good at. It’s about better understanding our
creative potential, which we all have inside us. I used to think I was not
creative because I was rubbish at drawing. But that is not the case, it was
simply a limiting false belief I carried in my mind for far too many years.
In fact I am, we all are, very creative. This book is just one example of my
expressing my creative talent. I bet you have examples in your life even
if you are not be aware of them now.
In addition, we may need to research, discover, or self educate
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about our newly realised passions or loves. That may mean participating in
workshops, seminars, learning more about our strengths and weaknesses.
This is all part of a natural process of transformation. Transformation
to realising our full potential, which means being fully self empowered.
If you know there are areas in your life that you would like to change,
your diet for example, or doing more regular exercise in the week, or
meditating so you can begin to focus your mind on having more positive
not negative thoughts – well, begin here. There is no one judging you.
No stage. Just you. Begin here. Begin with your diet, physical exercise,
your (self) education. But you must take action. Your intuitive feeling or
vision is not enough. You must engage your will power and your mind
constructively and follow through with focused action.
Personally, I sincerely believe we are not here to just consume
stuff as we might be led to believe! That is not our purpose for being here.
We have all been blessed with certain gifts. It’s about recognising these
gifts and having the courage to use these gifts towards a good cause. A
cause beyond ourselves. In my personal opinion, it, life, is all ultimately
about service and a higher purpose. Service towards each other and the
planet. Service towards creating a healthy functioning society that operates
in harmony with nature and people. I feel I am here not only to learn and
grow but simultaneously to serve the world and all who live in it in my
own way. This is about appreciating and experiencing a deeper level of
meaning and ultimately fulfilment in our lives. This is what our soul needs.
Experiencing the deep inner joy of contributing beyond ourselves. Its not
only about me, it’s about WE. That relates to your calling. This is why we
not only look at ‘What’ we are doing with our life, but ‘Why’!
Exercise # 7 – Final Exercise…Next steps
I would like to ask you now to perform one final exercise.
Firstly review your life goals, both big and small, that you wrote
down in the previous exercise. Now I want you to write in your
journal a list of concrete steps and actions you will take today,
this week and this month to begin your new journey of personal
transformation towards fulfilling your new life goals. All this
knowledge, awareness and wisdom is useless without the courage
to take concrete action. This is really important, to get the intentions
and feelings behind these goals. To get into the right mindset of
making specific choices and taking specific actions to help achieve
these life goals one step at a time. So go for it now!
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Think about what you have gained from this book and how you
will let it change your life. Where do you want to be in three or five
years from now? What do you want to be doing? Reflect back on your
life purpose answers and begin to put your goals and intentions into
action. You have a choice. You can either stay at home or at the office
and continue doing what you have always been doing up to now for the
rest of your life, or take action towards creating your new life.
Your time is now. To take however big or small an action.
That action can be in the form of further self education or self healing
from listening to audio teachings and books – (see Appendix). It can
be in the form of voluntary work in your new sector (see Appendix) to
make the bridge between what you are doing now and what you would
love to do in the near future. It could be enrolling in an evening course
in the area that interests you to earn some qualifications. It could be
contacting me and enrolling in further one-to-one or group healing and/
or coaching work. Whatever it is, having read this far, I believe you owe
it to yourself to take some positive action towards an area of your life
that you are passionate about and that, ideally, positively contributes to
society and the planet.
The Revolution
This movement, or revolution, is about more and more
evolved and empowered citizens following their heart and taking
small and big steps of action in their communities’ towns and cities
wherever local or national governments or businesses are failing. I
see a world developing with more and more Global Citizens, of all
races, gender and age, stepping up to take action and be counted.
Realising that we are all in this together. We are all facing the same
challenges and will all face the same consequences of taking no or
the wrong action.
It is an exciting time to be alive. We are indeed at a crossroads
and we all have a choice to make. To remain closed, in denial or
make a difference now for us, our kids and all other living beings. I
believe we are the generation that is going to change things. To make
the old fossil fuel based economy obsolete by creating resilient,
sustainable, healthy alternative solutions for people, society and the
planet. We are in the midst of a revolution today, both Inner and
Outer. A shift in awareness, a shift in personal values and a shift in
consciousness is taking place right now. Within me and you today.
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This is the revolution. It’s about us all taking positive action in our
lives to reclaim our personal power, to help ourselves, others and
the planet live in a more just and sustainable way. However, for this
change to happen globally, we must all individually make those all
important choices, use the gifts that we have all been blessed with
and take action with integrity.
Today is the first day of your new life. What are you now going
to do with your precious human life?
THE END
Luke Hancock © 2015
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Note from the Author

Hello. If you feel that reading this book has helped you in your life
and you think it can help another person you know, then please share this,
either by giving them your copy of this book, or by sending them this link
(http://sacred-place.com/the-book/) so they may buy their own copy.
Furthermore I would greatly appreciate it if you could share
online with our community your thoughts and the experiences gained
from reading this book. By sharing what you liked or learnt in the
testimonials section of the website you are helping the learning process
of other fellow readers just like you. In addition to this, if you would like
to leave me a positive review on Amazon that would also help the cause
and be greatly appreciated.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Inner-Revolution-Luke-Hancock/
product-reviews/0957220006/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_
txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
If you would like to learn more about my travels, experiences and feelings
at the time, please visit http://lukesworldtour.blogspot.com/
If you would like to contact me personally with any questions or for

support needed, please email me on:
info@sacred-place.com
Thank you.
Namaste.
Luke.
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The Outer Revolution

The Inner Revolution has been about the personal inner change
that I believe must take place inside each and everyone of us if we are to
live truly fulfilling lives while creating a more harmonious, constructive
and loving relationship with ourselves and the planet. The Outer
Revolution is all about the outside world and where we are headed as a
society and a species. It’s about growing our awareness so we can change
our systems and our relationship with the planet.
Our current way of producing and consuming today is
completely unsustainable and our global business and government
leaders know this. The international scientific community have
explained that we are facing very real problems today on a scale that
no other generation has faced ever before. Catastrophic problems
involving the degradation of environment and all habitats (species
extinction, rampant pollution, climate change, top soil erosion, coral
reef bleaching), the dysfunction of the economy requiring unending
growth on a finite planet (exponential national and personal debt), not
to mention peak oil, among other systems in decay.
We are at an extremely important crossroads in our very short
history of civilisation. Today we are on the verge of undermining the
ecological foundations of the entire planet if we do not change our ways
quickly and radically. The next twenty years are going to be completely
unlike anything we have ever seen before on this planet. Massive
change is already upon us. The international scientific community have
recognised that almost every ecosystem, habitat and species is now in
decline. Lord Stern, in his report on the economics of climate change,
described the consequences of our current global capitalism upon the
environment as ‘the greatest market failure the world has ever seen’.
On the global scale our inability to agree legally binding measures
and targets such as the Kyoto Protocol to reduce polluting activities has
meant it is business as usual and all the above problems are reaching tipping
points. Points of no return. Today in 2013, we are currently consuming 1.5
planets per year. We are living beyond the planetary boundaries of Earth.
Stealing natural resources from the future to meet the so called needs of
current society.
Our monetary system and our supposed need for relentless
growth are at the heart of the problem. Our government and business
leaders encourage the relentless consumption of stuff to satisfy the needs
255
of shareholders in the pursuit of short term profits. We still operate today

completely disconnected from this fact and are heading for a massive crash.
All these dysfunctional systems are connected. Connected by
our low level of consciousness, our values, our ignorance and denial.
We believe we are somehow separate from nature, that we don’t need
her while we live in our concrete jungles. That we can control her. This
is simply not true and this thinking will be our fatal mistake if we don’t
change our ways, and fast.
Our False God

Our economic monetary system and the economy has become our
false god and in the process we have created unprecedented national and so
citizen debt in the form of Quantitative Easing, Fractional Reserve Banking
and Personal Credit. These gigantic massive national debts created today (often
issued by The World bank or the International Monetary Fund) are supposed
to be paid off by current and future generations that cannot even afford to pay
the interest on the loan never mind the actual loan to these private banks. (The
Federal Reserve is a private bank and has never once been audited in its 100
years of existence). And when the country cannot pay, they must give up the
countries natural resources in return (Read Jonathan Perkins - Confessions
of an Economic Hitman). This is the financial trap. Control of sovereign
nations, their natural resources and sovereign citizens through money, though
debt, by private banking cartels and private corporations. This is modern day
slavery, serfdom’. No debt means no/less control. The economy, greed, power
and control have become more important than the needs of the people and
the planet. The stock markets have become like a money sport, competing to
make money while adding little to no value to life on Earth. Proof of this is
the legalised destruction of the environment by global corporations in pursuit
of profit. Foolish corporate greed and the relentless pursuit of quarterly profit
earnings are destroying the very foundations it needs, we all need, to survive on.
That being a healthy natural world and prosperous society. We are separating
ourselves from the natural world and now believe the economy is the most
important thing in our lives. The trouble is we are not separate from the world
and what we do affects the world. So I ask, what is an economy for if not for
the well being of all and the natural world? How much is enough?
In the process of globalisation, we are creating vast social and
financial inequalities throughout the world, including the West. (The UK
and the USA have some of the worst social and financial inequalities on
the planet!) Proof of this global inequality is the two billion people, almost
256
30% of the world population, living on less than two dollars a day. Today
in our society, success and status are measured by material wealth gathered
by an individual, not by social or environmental contribution. The priority
of human well being and a healthy environment is a distant second to the
needs of the global economy and the mandate of the corporation to make a
profit for its shareholders. The machine never stops. One product placement
after another. Manufacturing false desires. Bombarding us constantly with
advertising messages. But the magic triangle of manufacture, credit and
advertising developed in the 1920s to create false needs is breaking down.
Why? Because of our heightened levels of awareness and consciousness
that no longer believe the hype. We now know that ‘buy this and you will
be happy’ is a lie. We know that greed, corruption, accumulating more
wealth than you need while your neighbour stays poor is sick dysfunctional
behaviour coming from the ego mind.
There is a law in nature that says no ecosystem or species should
take more than it needs. Something that takes more than its share is a
cancer. We break this law every day of the year on planet Earth and right
now our mega trillion dollar economy is destroying the very ecosystem it
needs to thrive. Why? Because we act (produce and consume) in ignorant
unsustainable ways. We can either continue in this way and go extinct or
we can change drastically and quickly.
Systemic Dysfunction…Where are we Heading?

Pick any sector, any business and I will demonstrate how
today’s MBA (Masters of Business Administration) culture is working,
perhaps unintentionally, against the greater cause of humanity and the
environment as opposed to with it. As opposed to working in harmony
with and rejuvenating planet Earth. Pick any ecosystem or habitat and
I will demonstrate how we are destroying it instead of nurturing it into
health because of our ignorant industrial systems, processes and actions.
Some examples are the devastation of the Niger delta in Nigeria
over the past thirty or forty years by the oil companies’ amassing of wealth
alongside the extreme poverty still faced by the local population. The
devastation by the same oil companies in search of oil in the tar sands of
Alberta, Canada (Alberta Tar Sands). The ‘land grabbing’ by companies and
countries from the poorer countries in Africa (buying millions of hectares
of land for $1 per hectare) to grow food and energy crops and to extract
minerals for their own personal benefit. Displacing whole communities
and populations in the process. Is that fair? Where is the corporate social
257
responsibility or sustainable business practice in any of these cases? Or the

world’s industrial fishing fleets that are wastefully emptying the oceans of
its fish until there will be no fish left and so no livelihoods, jobs, money
or food. The collapse of the Atlantic cod in the 1990s is the first example
of this. Or the toxic oil laden food and textile growing processes that use
vast amounts of land, water and oil based chemicals (fertilisers, pesticides,
herbicides) for the textiles and food industries, food being produced
supposedly in the most cost-efficient industrial way. However, there are
indeed huge costs to society (diabetes, obesity due to very poor nutritional
content), to farmers (debt), animals (mad cow disease, cow infertility from
growth hormones, pollinating bee crash) and the planet (soil degradation,
pollution and climate change), who are actually paying for these supposedly
hidden costs. Or the coral reefs of the world that are dying or dead from
over pollution or the gigantic plastic jiars in the Pacific Ocean the size of a
continent destroying all sea life.
Our short term thinking is so bad that we believe forests are
worth more to us dead as timber than alive as living ecosystems providing
fresh water, medicinal plants, food, oxygen, carbon sequestration,
climate regulation, habitat for pollinators, and rain water, to name just a
few of the services. Injustices whereby senior management are not held
criminally accountable for the atrocities their companies perform, either
accidentally or on purpose. In my opinion this industrialised corporate
way of thinking is narrow, short sighted and unsustainable. This cannot
go on any longer.
All cultures ultimately come up against limits to their growth
and these cultures either die off or reinvent themselves in a way that is
sustainable. Our culture today in 2012 is no different. I just hope we will
not have to receive shock after shock as a species before we finally wake
up and change our sick dysfunctional ways. There are other ways that
meet the needs of current and future generations that are more sustainable
for the planet and for society. I do believe it is better to focus our time
and energy on creating alternatives to the current dysfunctional products,
processes and services we have today, to make them obsolete through
offering superior solutions, than to try to stop the existing model and the
vested interests of the old school thinking that support them.
Values Disorder
As I look out at the larger world and society as a whole today, I am
partly saddened because I believe the reason why our civilisation is in the
258
mess it is in has to do with our lack of values. We have a crisis in values.

A systemic disease that permeates every facet of our society and how we
act. We have the awareness, the intelligence and the technology to tackle
these major problems. What we lack is moral values and ethics in our
society. We lack honest leadership with integrity at the top of government
and business supported by ethical values and a clear vision that meets
and serves the needs of all, not the few. Our leaders, with their amoral
values, driven by their egos are at the heart of our dysfunctional world
along with their greed and insatiable appetite for power and control.
This value disorder permeates government, the media, education,
health, food, energy, finance, manufacturing, everything. A systemic
values disorder that is like a disease infecting all our minds, our lives and
how we should really be in the world as beautiful creative human beings.
Psychiatrist Stanislav Grof sums up the point I am trying to
make regarding our society and the change in values and ways that is
required if we are to save ourselves and the planet. (Well, the planet will
still be here, but we won’t!)
‘The two most powerful psychological forces in human history have been
without doubt violence and greed… In the course of this century, we have
often witnessed more major scientific and technological breakthroughs
within a single decade, or even a single year, than people in early
historical periods experienced in an entire century. However, these
astonishing intellectual successes have brought the modern society to the
brink of global catastrophe, since they were not matched by a comparable
growth of emotional and moral maturity. We have the dubious privilege
of being the first species in natural history that has achieved the capacity
to eradicate itself and destroy in this process all life in the planet. …
Modern science has developed effective means that could solve most of
the urgent problems in today’s world, combat the majority of diseases,
eliminate hunger and poverty, reduce the degree of natural waste, and
replace destructive fossil fuels by renewable sources of clean energy.
The problems that stand in the way are not of economic or technologic
nature; their deepest sources lie inside the human personality. Because
of them, unimaginable resources have been wasted in the absurdity of the
arms race, power struggle, and pursuit of unlimited growth. They also
prevent a more appropriate distribution of wealth among individuals and
nations, as well as a reorientation from purely economic and political
concerns to ecological priorities that are critical for the survival of life
259
on this planet.’ Stanislav Grof – Consciousness Evolution and Planetary

Survival.
Heightened Awareness, Elevated Consciousness, a Brighter Future

I sincerely believe we have to devise another path to prosperity
that does not rely on unlimited growth and consumption of the planet’s
resources. I do believe another world is possible that isn’t only about
money, the individual, fear, greed and competition, but family, community,
cooperation and the environment. That creates shared value and employs
cooperative business models. A world where the power and money is
removed from the ruling elite and brought back into equilibrium, into
the hands of the masses, not the few. A society that operates within the
boundaries of the planet based on principles of democracy, cooperation
and community.
The Inner Revolution within all of us is vital to creating a critical
mass of people that have evolved levels of awareness and consciousness
and who are willing to communicate their dissatisfaction with the current
system. Institutional investors, insurance companies, scientists, NGOs
(non governmental organisations), local communities, local governments,
Global Citizens, entrepreneurs, these are some of the key stakeholders
that can drive this change. I believe we must take steps all around the
world to further change the current dominant business paradigm. Today,
the old school of thinking and vested interests are being replaced with
new thinking from more enlightened, socially conscious and aware
human beings who work less from the ego (power, greed, control) and
more from their heart, their intuition (harmony, compassion, love).
Our civilisation is at a crossroads and we can go two ways. One
is a slow path to extinction like 90% of all other species, or we can wake
up. Become aware. Realise our errors fast and prioritise the necessary
changes that need to take place locally and globally.
Thankfully there is a positive side to our humanity. There
is another movement that has been building in size since the nineteen
sixties. Both James Redfield in The Celestine Prophecy and Paul Hawken
in Blessed Unrest have written about this movement. A critical mass that
is growing worldwide. It’s happening now, by my writing this book and
by your reading it and by our sharing our thoughts with others within
our sphere of influence. Through this activity alone we are growing this
critical mass. This is all part of the movement and growth of human
consciousness.
260
Paul Hawken, in his book Blessed Unrest, speaks of one to two

million environmental and social organisations now operating around the
world that focus on serving the needs of humankind and the environment.
Working in health, education, the environment, agriculture, teaching,
healing, all with similar values, relating to service, preservation, integrity,
justice and equality of people and planet. The people working in these
groups now amount to between one hundred and two hundred million
people. (Visit www.wiser.org)
This segment of society, I call them ‘change agents’, are acting on
behalf of planet Earth as its immune system to protect the Earth and speak
up against the crimes committed against the Earth and the people. These
change agents have a feeling, an innate urge, inside them, a knowing that
they must do something with their lives to help make a difference. That
time to change things is running out and that their time is NOW. This is
their calling. The nine to five drudgery of an office job just for money is
no longer enough. It’s no longer an option. Their soul, has deeper needs
and these can only be met by service. Another modern day example of
this movement is Avaaz (www.avaaz.org), an online community donation
based group that works on social, environmental, corruption and other
campaigns to make positive change happen in the world with the support
of petition and Global Citizens around the world. Avaaz already has fifteen
million supporters today and is growing. Evolver is another organisation
(www.evolver.net), with eighty million people involved in their work to
positively transform our society and planet for the better.
I am part of this movement that is now rising up and speaking
out against the injustices that are taking place today within all segments of
society and the environment under the banner of globalisation, economic
progress and the monetary system. Within this segment of society the
level of global consciousness is rising sharply as more and more people
are becoming acutely aware of global issues that they see, hear and read
about in their daily lives. Issues that affect their lives negatively. These
same people are healing themselves, educating themselves, becoming self
empowered and joining with like minded people to discuss and speak out
about the issues that really matter.
The Occupy movement around the world is another example
of this Earth movement, this revolution, expressing its dissatisfaction
with how corporations conduct business both at home and abroad.
This dissatisfaction is just beginning to be heard but it has been
there some years. The revolution now will not go away until there is
261
constructive change.
If the very fabrics we rely on, the environment, its fragile
ecosystems, are destroyed, there will be no more (cheap) food, water, energy,
medicine, and clothing. Once we sincerely understand that the integrity of
our own personal existence and that of our children and grandchildren is
completely and utterly reliant on how we interact with each other and the
planet, only then can we have a chance to create and build a sustainable
society based on values that serve the greater whole and not just the few.
Industrial Ecology
How can we achieve abundance as a society? How can we
continuously obtain renewable sources of water, food, energy, shelter,
well being, peace? Perhaps by mirroring nature. We as human beings
have control over the rules of this capitalist game that is destroying both
our environment and the very fabric of our society. This is in our hands,
not alien hands but ours. Part of the problem lies in the vested interests of
our financial short-termism for greed and profits.
We can and must change the rules of the game, rules of investment,
production and consumption. Without sustainability at the heart of all we do,
we will not be able to create an economy that can continue to function. People,
business leaders, scientists are learning from nature and slowly realising there
are other ways to meet our current needs without diminishing the quality of
life and possibilities of the next generations. Ecosystems are a key inspiration
for changing our extremely wasteful production and consumption model. For
example solutions that employ ‘Closed Loop Cradle to Cradle’ regenerative
thinking as opposed to linear industrial business models whereby each
product has an accounted for ‘ecological footprint’. Where waste is seen as
nutrients, food or raw material for another sector or business. In nature the
concept of waste does not exist, so ideally we would design our systems
so that every element is sustainable. Other real examples of this thinking
are renewable clean energy, polyculture and permaculture (growing multiple
grains at once), vast cooperative movements, zero emissions electric public
transport and buildings, ecocide and crimes against the planet, government
issued as opposed to privately issued money, holistic healthcare not pill
popping healthcare.
262
Sacred Place
Sacred Place
Sacred Place is a business I am now creating with my partner, Susana,
here in Laos. Sacred Place is an ecological centre whose focus is
on providing programs and workshops in healing, education, self
empowerment, and the environment. The Sacred Place philosophy is to
balance the mind, body and soul in harmony, bringing together teachings
and techniques from both Eastern and Western culture within a beautiful
natural environment. Sacred Place offers life-changing workshops that
enable its guests to cope with the ever-increasing stress-filled challenges
of everyday life. Ultimately helping guests to restore balance and
harmony in their lives. We encourage a commitment from our guest to
a proactive healthy lifestyle that encompasses the mind, body and soul.
Our philosophy is to work in harmony with nature and the environment
in all aspects of our business.
The business consists of two main pillars of work. People and

Environment.
People
We will offer several programmes consisting of different technologies
and services depending on the clients needs. In broad terms our goal
is to support the client along a personal journey of awareness, healing
and transformation, towards self empowerment. To help clients better
understand and overcome both their challenges and limiting beliefs. To
help them heal physical and emotional pain, trauma and the stresses of
modern day life. We will also focus on helping clients better understand
their gifts, strengths, personal values and life goals towards living happy
and meaningful lives.
Environment
The second pillar is about the environmental and sustainability.
It has two parts. One being the operational side of the business. The other
being about providing educational workshops to guests on environmental
subjects. This will happen from two main fronts. The first being from
our centre. The centre will be as self sustained as possible. Organic food
will be grown on site in a permaculture farm to supply the restaurant.
We will also create a medicinal plants garden for use and education. Our
intention is to reduce the environmental footprint of the business to the
263
bare minimum, if not create a net positive impact upon the environment.
The centre will be a showcase in environmental sustainability and will be
used to educate guests on how we can design and build more sustainable.
Furthermore, as we develop, we may work with local partners to develop
business models and products from the land.
Secondly, Education will be at the heart of the centre providing
workshops and trainings to guests led by ourselves. Education is key
to changing behaviour and systems and forms an important part of our
offering both on the people side and environmental side of things. To
learn more about how you can get join us and get involved visit www.
sacred-place.com
If you are interested in either, please contact me on info@sacred-place.

com
Thank you.
Luke.
264
Appendix
APPENDIX - www.sacred-place.com/free-library
I have created an Appendix to help you with your personal transformation.

There is a section on volunteering and a section on recommended reading
and watching. Do feel free to contact me with any questions you might
have or for 1-1 life coaching. I hope you find it useful.
VOLUNTEERING ABROAD
I have researched and contacted the following organizations below. They

would be happy to receive your help. Volunteering is a very effective
way in providing people a stepping stone and so helping make that career
transition. To take a break from what you usually do in your work life and
try something new, something you love. Pick a country. Pick the type of
work you want to do and off you go. It’s brilliant.
HelpX http://www.helpx.net/ Links travelers worldwide with farms,

hostels, ranches and boats to work a few hours a day in exchange for
food and accommodation.
Work Away www.workaway.info Enables budget travelers to work in
a country they like. In exchange for a few hours work a day, you can
receive food and accommodation.
The US Peace Corp http://www.peacecorps.gov/ Financially supports
young Americans (only US Citizens) to live and work abroad in a country
and area of work they would like to work in. This can be for a year or more.
VSO Voluntary Service Overseas http://www.vsointernational.org/
Enables volunteers to work in a social area of their choice and in a country
they like. There is some help given with accommodation.
Woofing http://wwoof.org/ Links interested volunteers with organic
farms willing to receive their help and together build sustainable food
and farming systems.
SPIRITUALITY - www.sacred-place.com/free-library
Entry Level
The Celestine Prophecy – by James Redfield – Audio book, paper back and Film
The 7 Spiritual laws of success – by Deepak Chopra – Audio book & paper back
The Peaceful Warrior – by Dan Millman – Film & Book – Good Film
265
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDNobJ-wmPI
Fierce Light – Where spirit meets action – Good documentary about people,
power and change. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2MSWSxPUqc
Zeitgeist: Three Must Watch Excellent documentaries. 1) Final Edition,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi6v4OTeBTk , 2) Addendum http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EewGMBOB4Gg&feature=relmfu 3) Moving
Forward http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z9WVZddH9w&feature=relate
The Secret – by Rhonda Byrne – Book and Film
I AM – by Tom Shadyac – Great spiritual movie www.iamthedoc.com
The Living Matrix http://www.thelivingmatrixmovie.com/
Kymatica http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AanQ2mY2jjc
Medium Level
The Shift From Ambition to Meaning – by Wayne Dwyer – Excellent
Documentary explaining personal transformation.
Anatomy of the Spirit – by Caroline Myss – Book
The Shadow – by Deepak Chopra – Documentary
The Awakening – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7uOBNZZ7cY&f
eature=related
Gateways – Documentary http://www.openhandweb.org/contents/five_
gateways/5gateways_documentary_fullfilm
What the bleep do we know – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2HfK
iYFo8Y&feature=related
Advanced Level
Advanced Energy Anatomy – by Caroline Myss – Audio CD
Caroline Myss – Free Audio Visual Library http://www.myss.com/
CMED/media/
The Tibetan Book of Living & Dying – by Sogyal Rinpoche – Book
The Soul of Leadership – by Deepak Chopra – Audio book & paper back
Love, Reality and the Time of Transition - http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=UrAgb1-UKQ8
The Power of Now – by Eckhart Tolle – Audio book & paper back, and
Finding your life’s Purpose http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGPYW
GR9yGg&feature=related
Meditation
The Attention Revolution – by Alan Wallace – Book – Mindfulness Meditation
The Art of Living – by William Hart – Book – Vipassana Meditation
266
Appendix
How to Meditate – by Kathleen Mc Donald. Excellent Guided meditations
Healing
Home Coming – by John Bradshaw – Book. (Inner Child work).
Why People don’t heal – by Caroline Myss – Audio
You can heal your life – by Louise Hays – Audio book & paper back and Film
101 Power Thoughts – by Louise Hays
Healing your inner child – by John Bradshaw – 10 program TV
documentary. Very powerful!
Quantum Healing – by Deepak Chopra – Book
The Power of Vulnerability – by Brene Brown. TED Talks is an excellent
source of free inspirational and educational talks. Just brilliant. http://
www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html
The Healing Code by Alexander Lloyd - Book
Relationships
Relationship Rescue – by Dr Phil – Audio book & paper back. When
having problems in a relationship.
Venus and Mars on a date – by Dr. John Gray – Book. Understanding
how to find the right partner for you. Very insightful.
The Mastery of Love – by Don Miguel Ruiz – Book
Nutrition
You are what you eat – by Dr. Gillian McKeith’s – Book
Aggressive Health – by Mike Nash – book
Dharma Healing Centre – Detox, cleansing & nutritional teaching centre
http://www.dharmahealingintl.com/
Diet for a new America – Simple concise health food documentary
Super Size Me – A very interesting documentary about a man who only
eats Mc Donald’s fast food for one month and what happens. http://
topdocumentaryfilms.com/super-size-me/
Food Inc – A strong documentary about the corporate food system. http://
topdocumentaryfilms.com/food-inc/
The World According to Monsanto - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
0uls507hvM
Inspiration
Steve Jobs CEO Apple. 2005 Stanford Commencement Address – An
excellent talk about having the courage to listen to your heart and follow
267
your intuition. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World – by John Wood – Book
Awaken the Giant Within – by Anthony Robbins
Personal Empowerment
The Soul of Leadership – by Deepak Chopra – Audio book & paper back
Getting the Edge – by Anthony Robbins- Audio CD
Rich Dad, Poor Dad – by Robert Kyosaki – Book
The 5 major Pieces to life’s Puzzle – by Jim Rohn – Book
The 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen Covey – Audio book
& paper back
THE OUTER REVOLUTION

Home – by Yann Arthus-Bertrand http://www.youtube.com/
movie?v=jqxENMKaeCU&feature=mv_sr
The Age of Stupid – Removed from You Tube
The End of Surburbia – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3uvzcY2Xug
The Corporation – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqcaF81N-
d4&feature=related
Consuming Kids, The Commercialization of Childhood – Removed from
You Tube
The Economics of Happiness – A very good documentary of how a financial
system and way of using money could be created to support human life.
This is the TED Talk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r06_F2FIKM
Super Size Me – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-eRXuuH9AI
The World According to Monsanto – Removed from You Tube
Patent for a Pig, Monsanto – http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=pNvWia3dYCE
Seeds of Freedom – by Jeremy Irons http://seedsoffreedom.info/
The Power of Community – Renewable Energy http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=L2TzvnRo6_c
“Awareness” is the first step to “Action and Empowerment” by the

people for the people to protect the planet and the basic needs we all
have.
Go to the website for the most up to date appendix.

www.sacred-place.com/free-library
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Note from the Author 254

The Outer Revolution 255

Sacred Place 263

What the hell is it all about?

‘It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly

We have never needed change and transformation both on a personal

The difference now, is that I do believe I know where true authentic

Once you realise that you are actually a very powerful

journey of healing, growth and personal transformation towards self-

Are you ready to make the first step?

OK, let’s go.

The slippery corporate ladder.

‘Greed and envy demand continuous and limitless economic growth of a

I was not particularly academic as a boy; I was more interested in sport,

to go out at night to pubs, bars and restaurants. It was pretty tough, to be

once. My girlfriend said, “Welcome to Africa.” WOW. I had never seen

It wasn’t long until my six months were up and a second meeting

Europe. Although reasonably happy, I was beginning to realise that my

I managed to find a beautiful brand new apartment in just the

The burn out. The Crisis.

point of no return, at least in terms of self-awareness. Purely because I

A light went on…to a new perspective.

It is a total understatement to say that this was a very unsettling time in

Well, Shahram handed me a book called The Celestine Prophecy by James

These concepts, ways of looking at the world, beliefs, were all

Interestingly, at the same time my relationship with Shahram

This was extremely interesting and exciting. It was the beginning

I was happy about this new openness of mine and I embraced

Brazil, drawing a line in the sand.

‘Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.’

I was still working stupid hours at work despite my recent realisations.

case of corporate sickness he had witnessed. And wouldn’t be the last.

must work faster’. That’s how it is in corporate life. I believe we are

work. I printed it out, put it in my briefcase to read at the weekend.

A pact with myself to new beginnings.

I felt empowered and ready to make some life changing decisions.

employed for five years. He asked me about my employment contract

That morning driving to work I had the tunes pumping at full

routine but as completely unknown, where all manner of possibilities and

my buying an apartment, my career, it just didn’t seem realistic. That I had

The feelings of my doubting myself and the plan lasted about

kept my focus upon my intentions and goals. Persevered regardless of the

Guatemala here I come!

My dear friend Matt organised a farewell BBQ in Belgium, as did my

I had orchestrated. It felt great. Great to take control, real control of my

Don’t dream your life, live your dream!

I spoke to a large middle aged woman, confirmed my details with my

Antigua Town Guatemala

Antigua Town Guatemala

Market Town Guatemala

While in Brussels I had taken some Spanish classes in the evening

I sat there excitedly observing, listening, marvelling at the

Honduras and the Shaman

Sailing through the San Blas islands Panama

San Blas islands Panama

San Blas islands Panama

Me in San Blas islands Panama

Dolphins San Blas islands Panama

Due to several electrical storms in the area, very shallow waters

Colombia and Latin America

The Andes Mountain Range

By now my Spanish was getting a little better and I certainly