Adyashanti, the spiritual teacher and Zen Buddhist, wrote “You are the doorway to the infinite.” It’s all about YOU. William Wallace said in 'Braveheart' "Every man dies. Not every man truly lives."
Something has been on my mind for a while that I wanted to share with you. During Self-realisation and spiritual awakening, there is a period, some people call it ‘The Void;’, the ‘earthquake’, or ‘The Wall’ (Hagberg) during which one feels lost, disorientated, empty, but that one 'must' move through. It is unpleasant and puts many people off undertaking Joseph Campbell's Hero’s Journey, even after they have started. For me this, metaphorically, is the corridor between the door behind you that you want to close (behind which lies your childhood trauma, your ego, fear, toxic people, ‘Hell’, and all the other negative things from your life that you want to leave behind), and the door ahead of you, behind which lies peace, love, joy, bliss, your highest Self, ‘Heaven’, wisdom, Truth, and serenity. You can get stuck in this corridor for many months, even years.
Joseph Campbell wrote “Follow your bliss and the Universe will open doors where there were only walls.” E. B. White wrote “The world is full of people who have never, since childhood, met an open doorway with an open mind.” What holds you back from opening the second door is the feeling that there is much work to do to before you can open the door ahead of you, and also in order to close the door behind you once and for all. You keep dipping back in to fear: It's ok, everyone does the same. We are only human and that's the human condition: Until you choose to change it. Others, such as Sydney Banks, who originated the ‘Three Principles’ and who was an ordinary working man who experienced a sudden and profound spiritual Enlightenment in 1973, said that “Sometimes one genuine insight is worth all your previous experiences in life” suggesting that there may be, through a perceptual shift, very little to do. In the 36 years that followed, Sydney Banks shared unparalleled insights about who and what we are as human beings and went on to articulate the understanding known as the ‘Three Principles of Mind, Thought, and Consciousness.’ Known as the theologist who wrote more books than he read in his life, Sydney Banks’ (a.k.a. Syd Banks) ability to articulate his insights in simple, plain language has helped countless people realise their true nature. He famously said that “You must put action to your thoughts in order for them to come alive.”
Our egos turn everything into a competition to escape our sense of lack (even if we are not aware of it). Mary Oliver wrote "It's not a competition, it's a doorway." So, why can’t we take action and simply close the door behind us and open the door ahead of us? Well, after meditating on this, this is not really the situation and all is well…
Mary Oliver wrote "It's not a competition, it's a doorway"
The spiritual journey simply means in every moment asking your intuition “What would love do now?” That is an instant shift from Heaven to Hell. So why is there a door to close, and a corridor to walk down that takes time, and another door to open?
Was Syd Banks right?
In short, yes. Well, my one genuine insight (as Syd would say), in reference to the two doors and a corridor conundrum above is that there is no corridor and there is only one doorway and it is by closing the door behind us, locking it and throwing away the key (or swallowing it if that is your preference), that we find that the door ahead was always open and shares the same doorway. So there is no corridor of emptiness or tumultuous pain: 'The Void' is an illusion, propagated by the fearful ego: The petrified ego goes into overdrive when it feels threatened, it lies and manipulates and starts screaming at you: “Don’t go that way: You will die”, when in fact the opposite is true. It is the ego that will dissolve and die, when you choose love (and presence) over fear, and that way (through the open door ahead of you) is the way to the birth of your saviour: That saviour is YOU.
Again, as Adyashanti said “You are the doorway to the infinite.” You are also the person who gets the most in your way. Alexander Graham Bell wrote "When one door closes, another opens but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us."
As Syd Banks said about our lengthy and sometimes futile searches outside of ourselves for peace that “What you're looking for is in the most hidden place - right under your nose… The solution to outwardly complex problems created by misguided thought will not arise from complicated analytical theory, but will emerge as an insight wrapped in a blanket of simplicity… You are as close to Truth right this second as you ever will be. Why don’t you just learn to relax and appreciate what you have in life? When you do, I guarantee that you’ll stand a far greater chance of finding what you are looking for than by running all over the world looking for it… The belief that it takes time to find wisdom is one of the greatest fallacies on earth. Wisdom is not learned - it is unfolded from within... It is the now that takes you from living in the darkness of yesterday’s negative memories and turns the darkness into light. Remember, my friend, darkness cannot survive in the midst of light and living in the now is that light… You are one thought away from happiness, one thought away from sadness. The secret lies in thought… Throughout time, human beings have experienced insights that spontaneously and completely changed their behaviour and their lives, bringing them happiness they previously had thought impossible. Finding wisdom has nothing to do with time. Achieving mental stability is a matter of finding healthy thoughts from moment to moment. Such thoughts can be light years or a second away.”
Sydney Banks
“Limitation is always illusion. Relax. Stay still. Wait until the wisdom talks to you, as it will… When the answers are complicated, it's the Intellect. When the answers are simple, it's the Spirit… All you have to do is realise that the past is now only a ghostly memory kept alive by digging into the archives of your stagnated memories… An important thing to realise is that Universal Mind and personal mind are not two minds thinking differently, but two ways of using the same mind… Going back into the past to fix yesterday's negative memories is like trying to blow out an electric light bulb… I do not ask anyone to ignore their past experiences. Instead seek a clearer understanding of the past, realise that the negative feelings and emotions from past traumatic experiences are no longer true. They are merely memories, a collection of old, stale thoughts… Let your negative thoughts go. They are nothing more than passing thoughts. You are then on your way to finding the peace of mind you seek.” Wise words indeed. What a joy to bring peace to the mind. Surrender all thoughts that are not of God: They are merely illusions that are holding you back from bliss. Perhaps Syd’s wisest quote is “The past is dead. Forget what is old and dead, and start life anew.” Or as Socrates said “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Are you ready to start?
The doorway
So, you are not stuck in a corridor, between two doors. It is in your Personal Power to close the door behind you, once you have healed your trauma with a therapist (I had 8 hours of Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)) and practice yoga (I practice yoga five times per week and it is recommended as a modality for a dysregulated nervous system according the 'Bible' of trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, 'The Body Keeps the Score'.
In Stage Three of the ‘Hero’s Journey’, the ‘Refusal of the call’ you could spend time straddling the two worlds. Morpheus, Neo’s mentor in ‘The Matrix’ gives Neo a choice of taking the blue pill (going back to sleep) or the red pill (Truth, adventure, and diving down the rabbit hole) it’s an instant switch. If you are supporting people along the transformational path, the ‘yes’ is crucial, and people need the time and space to come to that decision of their own accord and on their own terms, even if that means that they straddle the two worlds and live with the tension that comes from not choosing to commit fully. Your vibe attracts your tribe.
In Stage Five of the 'Hero's Journey'; this involves departure: 'Crossing the (first) threshold'. Entering the special world and adventure. We are not in Kansas anymore Dorothy. This is the beginning of transformation. The hero’s initial trepidation has now been alleviated by the coach, to the point that he is ready to step over the threshold between the known world and the unknown world. Examples include Siddhartha leaving home, Alice’s falling down the rabbit hole into 'Wonderland', and Neo’s accepting Morpheus’ invitation to take the red pill in 'The Matrix'. Once the hero passes the threshold of his own fear - there is no turning back. In life, crossing the threshold is moving out of your parents’ house, selling your possessions, quitting your job, and buying a one-way ticket to adventure. Sink or swim - you have committed to the journey. At times you will want to give up when you face what appeared to be unsurmountable barriers, or when life's ordeals batter you. In these moments your coach extends a hand of compassion and courage, helps heal your wounds and bruises, and attends to your pain and fear. Your deep coach is a beacon of light and real Personal Power, a bastion of hope against impossibility, one who helps you tap into that place within where all is known and all is well, where all can be looked upon with perfect equanimity and perfect acceptance. Your coach gives you the key to presence.
This is the importance of the guide or mentor (mentor means ‘mind’ or 'to think') as they can guide you to a cosmic viewpoint on your life, where you can start ignoring the ego as you know that it’s a liar, and the ego's way leads to death.
Similarly, there is a 'Crisis of Integrity' between Stage Three and Stage Four of Hagberg’s Real Personal Power scale: When one day something happens, something shifts within, that marks the movement into Stage Four: From externally-oriented (fake power) to internally-oriented sources of Personal Power: Real power. This event is usually a traumatic event that prompts the person to ask the question "Is what I have been taught to believe about life really true?" Then confusion sets in:'The Void'. The inner earthquake has begun, and something deep within is stirring. Some people have a 'Crisis of Integrity' at this stage so they only dabble in Stage Four and do not commit to the promises that it holds. They might read a self-help book or two, explore spirituality a little or think about their life purpose, attend some personal growth workshops, consider changing their career to match their purpose. But then they fail to progress into Stage Four and remain stuck in the fear of the frightened ego, realising the magnitude of the 'Hero's Journey' and the commitment to change that it would entail. Few people are truly brave enough to wake up. For those that are brave enough, fear is transmuted and felt as courage coming home.
The reflective nature of Stage Four means that people will have unresolved dilemmas that create a sense of unbalance, uncertainty and concern, particularly because the norms by which they have so long lived their lives are coming into question. Some people fear the unknown and so they cannot commit to Stage Four. To live fully in Stage Four Hagberg describes "The Wall" that must be moved through: This is s place of transformation where the ego is transcended. This is s journey down the road less travelled and is not for the faint hearted. It takes great fortitude and perseverance. It is the hardest thing that you will ever do. Trust me, I know. Along the way you will experience a crisis of self-identity, face your darkest shadows and fears, move into a higher state of consciousness, moving beyond over-intellectualisation into pure intuition and face all of your feelings, learn to let go of control, and remember who you truly are without the mask. For this you will need a guide who has taken this journey into the Self. When the student is ready the teacher appears. That certainly happened for me. Stage Four is a Stage of true transformation. This involves the self-concept undergoing a radical transformation from one that is ego-based to one that is soul-based (your true Self). Yet, through the darkness we will come into the light.
Your ego will naturally try to survive. It will not go gently into that good night. It will "rage, rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Dylan Thomas). Your ego-centred fear (your wounded inner child) is who brought you here. They has a loud brash voice as they speak with the voice of your inner critic, who no longer serves you. You need to begin to listen to the voice of your higher Self: It is speaking quietly and softly, That is your real voice and speaks Truth. Doubt and fear are not real: They are constructs of your mind, which so far has only listened to the loud voice of the ego. The collapse of your ego-based sense of self is an ominous, tumultuous, disruptive, disorientating, disruptive and disconcerting experience, like an earthquake. The ground upon which you have constructed your life, without foundation, as your parents did not show you how, is beginning to quake and tremble. It will feel that everything is breaking down and falling apart, which it is: In the same way a caterpillar metamorphoses into a butterfly. There will be a period of intense suffering, even thoughts of death, that will precede your ascension into the light in union with the divine. This earthquake is of your conditioned, acquired, mind-made self concept; what you have held as true.
You are not who you thought you were. This is why you are stuck in the corridor.
The narrative you have told your self is made up of fables; narratives. What lies ahead is your life, the Truth, not a story. Stop catastrophising: It's just thought, not reality. Stop listening to the people who are asleep, unconscious. They are just projecting their own shame. As the great Bard said "Life is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." As Jesus said, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." Pray that one day they too will look inside. No one wins at the blame game. That is never the path to joy and peace.
The inner earthquake is a death knell for a system of consciousness that is to be no longer. Your prevailing system of thought begins to collapse.This is a good thing : It is losing its grip on you. The collapse of any system means significant change, and significant change always engenders resistance. It's time to let go and be what is. You fear came from your ego's need to control.
Your egoic fear-based consciousness is being replaced by soul consciousness. To the ego, any relinquishment of the status quo of limiting beliefs is perceived as impending death. Let that ego go. Let everything go: Surrender. Your doubt and fear came from the ego, so let those collapse with the ego. They are not real. There is no invisible lion. Your guide will come, who will help you endure the suffering and pass courageously through it: I will guide you at every fork on your path, for I have been where you are: I have walked this path: I know it well. I will walk side by side with you. This is just a phase. Waking up is the best thing that will ever happen to you. The best is yet to come.
As people set out on the journey of transformation, navigating the tumult of the inner earthquake that signals deep reflection, the journey is not so much an external physical one as it is an internal spiritual one. The inner path will contain many obstacles and hurdles, and at times people will get stuck, struggle, and find it difficult to proceed without aid. This presents a magnificent opportunity for a coach to show up as that seasoned traveller of the worlds, the one who has him- or her-self faced the challenges and opportunities of “The Road Less Travelled” as per the book by psychiatrist Scott M Peck. In the book, he suggests ways in which facing our difficulties - and suffering through the changes - can enable us to reach a higher level of self-understanding. The Buddha said “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear”. It is often through the early interaction with the coach that our hero gains the insight, self-awareness, and courage needed to drop their ego and to say ‘yes’ to the call, and cross the threshold from the known world into the unknown world. Your coach’s transformation enables your transformation. It is only this that prepares them to be the way-shower for you to transform to your true Self at the deepest level of your being. Eventually you will become your own coach: In reality your coach is your true Self: This is why you need to look inside. It’s just that others can guide you to doing just that more quickly and safely until you become the hero of your own life story.
A coach allows you to see the Truth and saves you time stuck between ‘the two doors’ and realise that it a moment to moment choice, not just a journey. You can start right now. Say to your Self (and God) “I choose to come from my higher place at all times.”
James Van Praagh wrote “Meditation is a doorway to the soul.” Meditation on all these concepts is what allows you to confidently stride through the open doorway.
The two doors are not separate. There is no corridor. The doors share a common doorway. That doorway is you. You are the doorway to the infinite. You may need therapy to close the first door, but the reality is that the door ahead of you was always open...
The Bible says in Revelations 3:8.“I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” So, it is through Grace that the door ahead of you is opened, and held open by the Universe, so that you may pass through unhindered.
Dalla Willard wrote “Jesus offers himself as God's doorway into the life that is truly life. Confidence in him leads us today, as in other times, to become his apprentices in eternal living. "Those who come though me will be safe," he said. "They will go in and out and find all they need. I have come into their world that they may have life, and life to the fullest.” Here, the amazing human being that was Jesus, is talking about abundance.
There are not just philosophical, Biblical, and spiritual ways of viewing these concepts. In Eastern terms Marci Shimoff wrote “The first doorway (or chakra) is what I call in the book, the 'Doorway of Safety'. This doorway relates to feeling safe in life and being present in the here and now. It's only when we are really grounded and safe that we're able to relax and open up our hearts.”
Being stuck in the 'corridor' without having closed the first door and not knowing that the second door is already open (there is only one doorway) is akin to what is called by many authors and philosophers 'The Void'. 'The Void' is something that we all experience at some stage in our lives – it’s a feeling of yearning or restlessness that asks us to bring something ‘more’ into our world. It’s an acute awareness that things are currently unreal and that if we tweak things here and there we can make them more real again – if only we can figure out how. It indicates that we are asleep, unaware, unconscious even, and yet in pain and suffering: It's a yearning to come home to one's Self. 'The Void' is a kind of inner call – it feels like emptiness, but really it’s a kind of homing beacon calling you back to your Self and the things that already fulfil you. How you respond to this ‘beacon’ basically affects the course of your whole existence and whether or not you’ll stand any chance of living your own life or a pale imitation of it because you’ve been following somebody else’s commands (you have been driven by childhood trauma rather than following a calling). If you don’t listen to this ‘homing beacon’ and act upon it, you’ll always feel the restlessness or yearning mentioned above, or, even worse, you’ll experience anxiety and depression as you take yourself further and further away from yourself and more deeply into the illusions of the ego. In short, 'The Void' is simply the feeling you get when there’s a gap between your real Self and the self-image or ego that you’ve tried to replace it with when you were a child. Being aware of 'The Void' is how your real self attempts to communicate with you from beneath the surface of whatever mask you’re hiding behind.
To understand where 'The Void' comes from, you need to understand the three basic levels of human existence and how they all relate to each other:
Stage One: Childhood (Wholeness) – In the early stages of our lives, the ‘gap’ between our realness and our ego is minimal (even non-existent in our preverbal state) and so the inner and outer worlds are aligned. Children are spontaneous and connected to the world around them as a result of this spontaneity – they act on instinct and intuition and they are free of fragmented internal barriers (that older children pick up because of their CONDITIONING).
Stage Two: Unreality (Fragmentation) – At some stage in our lives (usually in early childhood), we become disconnected from our state of wholeness for a number of different reasons. Firstly, we go through biological changes which make us aware of ourselves as fragmented or independent bodies and we project this fragmented independence out into the world around us. Secondly, we go through psychological changes and start to build a self-image or ego for ourselves that allows us to stand out or differentiate ourselves from the rest of the world. Thirdly, we go through social conditioning processes where the world teaches us to be something besides what we are in reality (through shame, trauma, and guilt usually) – this is the main source of our CONDITIONING and our spiritual dis-ease.
The consequence of all this is that we end up wearing a fragmented mask that takes us away from the reality of our wholeness – eventually, we think that we are the mask and forget that we put it on. This mask takes away the spontaneity that comes with being whole and makes us hesitate at every opportunity because we have added an extra layer between our will to act and the actions themselves; we act to uphold the image, not to keep growing and being real (growing real can be seen as a process of ‘directed spontaneity’).
Stage Three: Realness (Wholeness) – If we’re lucky or we work on it, something will happen, or even better we will make something happen, that will allow us to become aware of the mask that we are wearing and to take action that allows us to take it off and start the process of growing whole again. This involves going through a transformative experience of some kind which means that the gap between our illusions and reality is exposed and we build with something whole instead of mere fragments.
This clarion call may involve hitting rock bottom (mental or physical illness, collapse of your career or relationships) or it may involve a ‘spiritual awakening’ of some kind: either way, the result is the same – the mask is removed and the gap between ego and reality is exposed for the sham that it is.
Understanding 'The Void' means that we understand these cycles of wholeness -> fragmentation -> wholeness and that we have an honest awareness of our position within it. Ultimately, 'The Void' means that we are stuck in Stage Two: Unreality (Fragmentation) at some level and we need to get out. The way out is always the same: Reality (because reality is always about making the conscious choice for wholeness over fragmentation).
The challenge is that most people (in modern Western society, at least) are stuck in Stage Two: Unreality (ego) and that we actively seek to keep our masks in place and build our whole lives around protecting the state of unreality that imprisons us in the first place. Not only do we hide in the prison of the ego, we defend this prison because we don’t want to have to face the pain of facing reality again after a period of hiding behind our illusions.
Avoiding reality to avoid pain is illogical because there is no pain in reality… This is because reality is about experiencing the whole. The only ‘pain’ we experience is when we cling to the fragments that keep us from reality and experience the anguish and waste of energy of clinging to something that isn’t even there.
If you’re getting negative feedback from reality then you will suffer from anxiety and/or depression as well as the friction, frustration, and then misery that comes from projecting an unreal image out into reality and receiving constant cycles of negative feedback and denial as you resist the messages reality is ‘giving’ you. In short, if you’re not feeling good or experiencing a sense of ‘flow’ in your life, then you’re being unreal with yourself about your self-image at some level because you are stuck in Stage Two: Unreality.
All of these modern ailments (increased anxiety etc.) are symptoms of the Void because the only reason you’d have an unreal self-image is because you have a gap between yourself and reality and you’re trying to fill it with the wrong things (fragments, not something whole).
The only 'cure' is to close the gap and to become ‘whole’ again so that you can live your real life as your real self instead of being lost forever in Stage Two: Unreality and living a life of quiet desperation and disconnection. 'The Void' is just a sign that you’re not whole. To get rid of it, you have to align yourself with reality/wholeness again.
In other words, 'The Void', and all the associated feelings of restlessness, anxiety, or whatever else, only exist because you choose to remain fragmented within yourself from moment to moment regarding the choices you make about your own identity and the actions you take in the world.
Your self-image is a habit like any other habit you have and you can choose to align it more closely with wholeness whenever you like – 'The Void' is dealt with when you choose to align your self-image with reality instead of something else.
The world reflects your self-image (which is false) but you believe that this reflection of the image is the truth (which it isn’t). Change your self-image (through experience and insight) and you change your whole life. That’s how you become and eradicate 'The Void'.
Behaviours of people who attempt to fill 'The Void' in an unreal external way include:
Buying material goods and thinking this will define them or nullify the sense of restlessness that 'The Void' brings.
Projecting an image that is the direct opposite of their fears about themselves (trying to look smart if they fear they’re stupid, feigning confidence to hide their insecurity, making a ‘big show’ to hide their self-perceived smallness, etc.)
Chasing goals for the validation of others etc.
Anything that projects their ‘shadow’ out into the world and gives them drama to keep their mask in place.
Going through the doorway is a shift in BEing. This is very healing spiritually. It is a return to wholeness by melting together your inner child, your adult assertive higher Self, and your shadow. You also become one with the Universe.
So, the corridor is a return to fear as we have started listening to the ego (the false self or the mask) again. When we only accept thoughts from the Universe (the still quiet voice inside) the corridor vanishes, the door behind us is firmly locked and there is only one open doorway into bliss.
The 'Hero's Journey'
Very few biographies can be described in three words, yet the entirety of mythologist Joseph Campbell’s career has often been summed up in one simple message: "Follow your bliss."
Joseph Campbell's work led to the spiritual metaphor that is the 'Hero's Journey'
Joseph Campbell said that when you follow your bliss "You follow that and doors will open where there were no doors before, where you would not have thought there’d be doors, and where there wouldn’t be a door for anybody else... And so I think the best thing I can say is to follow your bliss. If your bliss is just your fun and your excitement, you’re on the wrong track. I mean, you need instruction. Know where your bliss is. And that involves coming down to a deep place in yourself." Joy is very different to excitement and fun. Joy is the soul of happiness, and it's a very powerful feeling that tells you that you are on the right path for your life.
The 12 stages of the 'Hero's Journey' by Joseph Campbell
The doorway into BEing
Eckhart Tolle wrote “Make it a habit to ask yourself: What's going on inside me at this moment? That question will point you in the right direction. But don't analyse, just watch. Focus your attention within. Feel the energy of the emotion. If there is no emotion present, take your attention more deeply into the inner energy field of your body. It is the doorway into BEing.”
Stepping through the doorway
Aldous Huxley, one of my favourite authors and philosophers, wrote “There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” We are afraid of stepping into the unknown (the open door ahead of us into the real Universe). Stepping through it, in other words taking action, is what allows us to move out of fear and into love. This shift from fear to love is a shift in perception that creates miracles. As William Blake wrote “If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” Martha Beck wrote "Are you walking through doorways to pain (fear) or to joy (love)?" Jack Hyles wrote “Love is the doorway through which the human soul passes from selfishness to service.” Peter Shaffer echoed “Love is the only doorway from the prison of ourselves.” Love always wins.
Fear and emotional pain may be why you see a corridor and two doors, when in reality there is only one doorway, no corridor and a closed door behind you. We may give gratitude for our pain, for it brought us here. Gary Zukav wrote “The pains that you suffer, the loneliness that you encounter, the experiences that are disappointing or distressing, the addictions and seeming pitfalls of your life are each doorways to awareness. Each offers you an opportunity to see beyond the illusion that serves as the balancing and growth of your soul.”Rodney See wrote “Any doorway that leads you to a deeper understanding of who you are is worthwhile.” Keith Miller wrote “Pain is the doorway to wisdom and to Truth.” Craig D. Lounsbrough wrote “A door is nothing more than a passageway from one place to another. Therefore, when God opens a door, don’t make the ‘passageway’ (the corridor) the ‘place.”
As Friedrich Nietzsche wrote "Run your own race." Others, and your ego, may be negative, but that's just their fear speaking. Helen Keller wrote “No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit”: That's for sure. "The willingness to grow is the essence of all spiritual development" (Bill Wilson, founder of 12-step programme).
Frederick Lenz wrote “If you line everything up, just right, you walk through a doorway where the world as you know it collapses.” Get your inner purpose (awakening) and your outer purpose (guiding others to awaken, thus serving the Universe) and the illusions disappear through Grace, which is the blessing of the Universe for your works. He continues “Meditation is a refocusing on symbols. It's not emptiness. We are using symbols, doorways to step from one world to another, from darkness into light, from death to immortality.”
Presence is the golden key that unlocks any door. Gautama Buddha (The Buddha) said “Nirvana is this moment seen directly. There is no where else than here. The only gate is now. The only doorway is your own body and mind. There’s nowhere to go. There’s nothing else to be. There’s no destination. It’s not something to aim for in the afterlife. It’s simply the quality of this moment.” Deepak Chopra added “Every present moment will offer itself as a window onto eternity, a doorway to the infinite.”
Ram Dass said “Your problem is you are too busy holding on to your unworthiness.” This is so true! The problem is being fixated on your unworthiness. Many people are experts at judging themselves. We are our own worst enemy. Ask yourself this, what will you benefit from unfairly judging yourself? Nothing. Loving yourself does not mean you’re arrogant and self-centred. It’s far from that. It’s about being at peace with yourself. It’s about knowing who you truly are.
Don't hesitate to walk through the open door. Stagnation in the 'ordinary world' allows your 'enemies' to gain strength: The lizard turns into the dragon and now it’s angry and breathing fire. No-one wants that lizard.
Jaggi Vasudev wrote “If you pay sufficient attention, everything in life is magnificent, everything is a doorway to the Divine.” It doesn't matter what happens in life. Life just is. Nothing is either good or bad. Erwin W. Luther wrote “Often the doorway to success is entered through the hallway of failure.” All human beings fail. It's what you do next that maketh the man. Louise Hay, the spiritual Master wrote “When we forgive and let go, not only does a huge weight drop off your shoulders, but the doorway to your own self-love opens.” The door is wide open, why don't you step through? Remember, "You are the doorway to the infinite”...
My gift is to be your guide. Let me know if you would like to continue this conversation...
Email me: hello@transformativelifecoach.co.uk
“Transformative life coaching uniquely creates and holds the space for you to see your self afresh, with clarity, and step into new ways of BEing, which will transform how you perceive and intuitively create your world. My work is to guide you to raise your own conscious awareness to the level that you want to achieve.” Olly Alexander Branford
My coaching themes and services: Transformative Life Coaching, Transformational Coaching, Life Coaching, Personal Coaching, Positive Psychology Coaching, Recovery Coaching, Trauma Informed Coaching, Work Addiction Coaching, Workaholism Coaching, Addiction Coaching, Mindfulness Coaching.
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Hello,
I am very pleased to meet you. Thank you for reading this far. I very much look forward to connecting with the highest version of you, to seeing your highest possibility, and to our conversations. Please do contact me via my website for a free connection call and a free experience of coaching.
See you soon,
Olly Alexander Branford MBBS, MA(Cantab), PhD
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I have a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge; a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Trinity College, Cambridge; a PhD Doctorate in Scientific Research from University College London (UCL); a Medical Degree (MD/MBBS) from The Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London and have been a doctor and reconstructive trauma and cancer surgeon in London for 20 years. I have published over 50 peer reviewed scientific journal articles, have been an associate editor and frequent scientific faculty member, and am the author of several scientific books. I have been awarded my Diploma in Transformative Life Coaching in London, which has International Coaching Federation (ICF) Accreditation, as well as the UK Association for Coaching (AC), and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). I have been on my own transformative journey full time for four years and I am ready to be your guide to you finding out who you really are and how the world works.