When I was first asked to contribute an article to our brand new magazine, ‘Living Consciously’, so much excitement bubbled up inside. The idea that I would finally be given an opportunity to share with you my passion for bringing consciousness, clean, healthy living and fulfilment into all areas of our lives was, and is, the fulfilment of a long held prayer of mine. I’m so thrilled to have a forum where we can exchange ideas on this vast and inspiring topic and my deepest prayer is that it will ignite your passion – that it will inspire you, even galvanize you, to take action to make a difference, to ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world’.

My only concern was that to do this topic justice, we would need to include volumes of material. I decided to keep it simple, practical and down to earth. I asked what would be most useful? And the answer was to share with you ideas, tips, tools, and process work that you can use in an easy, natural way in your everyday life. With very little effort and yet a lot of joy, we can bring consciousness into every aspect of our life, indeed into each and every moment.

There is a way each of us can walk more softly on this planet, contributing to one another and to life itself. I believe all of us feel inspired by that possibility. We feel an urge, a call from within to live more consciously, more openly, with more caring and fulfilling lives. We also feel ourselves automatically responding to a global imperative to begin offering back to life and to our planet. Conspicuous consumption, unconscious use of our precious resources, is no longer a popular model of abundance. Instead, there is a call to use our abundance more wisely, with more compassion – looking wider than just the momentary sating of some personal desire. We are beginning to recognise the preciousness of the bounty we have been blessed with; we want to cherish it, respect it and we feel inspired to share it. As Miten (the musician whose beautiful songs are played at our workshops) so wisely sings in his song ‘Second Chance’, “Try to leave this world more beautiful than we found it…” Somehow, responding to this call feels right, it feels completely fulfilling. And it’s something we can experience in every moment of every day.

The very fact that you are reading this is confirmation that you are already responding to this call. Somewhere deep within there is a longing to make a difference to life – to yourself, to your loved ones, to your extended family, to humanity, to Mother Earth. And I know I don’t need to remind you – you already know – that for true and lasting change to occur it will have to start from within yourself. We will all have to play our parts. The ripples of awakening, wholeness, caring and consciously responding to the needs of life will start from within our own hearts and move from there out into life.

Then, our outer actions will end up becoming a natural extension of our inner life. They will be a response to that inner call. And they will be a reflection of a life lived consciously, with love. It will be natural to feel compassion and understanding for our loved ones. Forgiveness will arise easily of its own accord. It will be second nature to extend that same caring to our global family, to our environment. What could possibly be more natural than bringing consciousness into your work place, growing your colleagues and employees, potentializing their lives? What could be more fulfilling than honouring and enlivening our bodies, knowing that the very food we eat is life-giving, vibrant and healthy? That it is organic, poison-free and locally grown? That what we buy is bought consciously, ensuring ‘Fair Trade’ employment is occurring, that even with the particular vehicles we drive we are more ‘carbon’ and pollution aware in our choices? Truly each moment can be one of living consciously – being open not only to how Grace can give to you, but how it can use you to give something back to life.

So I thought we would begin with some ideas for creating conscious vibrant bodies, in a healthy home environment.

Healthy Home Environment:

Air

As I sit here I realise that so often I take for granted the ways I automatically create an environment conducive to health. Though I live on a very magical section of the Welsh coast, on a cliff top overlooking the sea, on an ancient unspoiled piece of idyllic countryside where no industry has ever been, still I always like to make sure that the air I breathe is absolutely free from the kind of household pollutants that we all have in our homes. So I use an air purifier-ionizer – one that emits negative ions – the negative charge that makes you feel that same freshness you feel when you stand by the sea or walk in the woods. Most of our homes are positively charged with all the electronics and pollutants. This positive ionization can make you feel drained and heavy. When the air is negatively ionised, it not only purifies your home, it charges it with enlivening energy. The air feels fresh and pure. I even take a small unit to hotel rooms to clear the air when on tour.

Water

Of course the water I drink is purified. I personally have a reverse osmosis system as it pulls everything, and I mean even bacteria, parasites and metals, out of the water. So I drink loads (and take minerals made from healthy plant-based substances) to keep my organs flushed clear and purified. If I were you, I’d check it out online.

Home

You can buy non-toxic paint for your walls, hypoallergenic covers for your mattress and pillows, and even hypoallergenic carpets – just check it out – look closely at the labels to see exactly what you’re getting. Make sure you invest in a healthy, supportive bed – you spend 1/3 of your life in one – and buy natural cotton bed linen. A good night’s sleep is essential for health. I have a Tempurpedic mattress – it’s made from memory foam, a type used for astronauts in outer space because no bacteria can survive in it – but I can also recommend pillow-top mattresses with both ‘give’ and support.

Flooring

These days instead of putting in hardwood floors, it’s better to get bamboo flooring; it looks identical, but grows like a weed and saves millions of trees!

Food

When it comes to food, whenever possible I try to buy locally and organically grown. Not only does that support your local farming community, but it means that it doesn’t have to be flown in from New Zealand or Sri Lanka and freighted to you, thereby losing precious life-force en route, wasting unnecessary energy and creating huge carbon emissions in the process. Of course, wherever possible, organic is always, always best. The toxicity from chemical fertilizers and treatments gets into our organs and is deposited and left there, and the amounts can be is shocking. Do you know that even when drinking normal non-organic coffee, you ingest up to 78 different poisons? Think of the toxic build up in your organs even if you drink only one cup of coffee everyday for many years. So whenever feasible, get organically grown coffee, and if it’s decaffeinated then make sure it’s decaffeinated by water process, which is toxin free. Did you know that Starbucks use organically-grown fair trade coffee and have a hugely supportive employee policy?

Fair trade

As far as possible buy produce labelled ‘Fair Trade’, so that the workers harvesting your food are paid fair living wages for their work. As a matter of fact make sure you look for that fair trade label on everything you buy, even clothing. When you get to your local Marks & Spencer – if you take a moment to look closer, you will see that some clothing labels have ‘Fair Trade’ on them and some not. Choose the ones that give a fair deal to cotton producers and factory production line workers in other countries. I tend to shop not only where the products are fair trade and are made from mostly natural materials, but also where the store itself is making inroads in creating a more carbon-neutral environment. It makes me feel good to know that what I am wearing created healthy living wages for another human being, and that when I support an environmentally conscious store, I’m helping preserve our planet as well.

Clothing

Choose cotton, silk, rayon and hemp fabrics. They feel healthier, breathe better and are longer lasting than most synthetic varieties. And the good news is it doesn’t always mean you pay more – it just means you’re more conscious of what you buy, where you buy, and why you buy.

Natural Cleaning Products, Soaps and Creams

When it comes to your health, and the health of your family and the home environment in which you live, the wisest choice is to stay as natural as possible. Choose natural, non-allergenic, non-toxic detergents for clothes, general cleaning and washing up – they are good for both the environment and your health. Look for genuinely natural cosmetics, soaps and creams. So many so-called natural creams contain carcinogens (chemicals which can be cancer producing) and it’s good to look into the purity of their ingredients. Creams and lotions you put on your body need to be sulphate and paraben free, ideally made solely from plant derivatives. It’s a horrible thought to think that merely for the sake of our beauty animals are being tortured and killed. So buy cruelty-free, plant-based beauty products. Usually genuinely natural products cost a bit more, but they can last longer and I use them sparingly, and they feel like nourishing food for the skin. So many cosmetic companies have jumped on the bandwagon and label their products “Natural” and “Organic” when in actual fact they may contain only one natural ingredient. So be vigilant in reading labels. I sometimes feel that reading the labels carefully should become compulsory! Some good brands include Dr Hauschka, Stella McCartney, Miessence, Living Nature, and Zia – these manufacturers are fully committed to 100% organic products – so each day, instead of putting poison into your blood stream (as creams can enter the body and the bloodstream by absorption and osmosis) you’re actually adding goodness. Use a natural deodorant that is aluminium free (aluminium is highly toxic). I use a mineral salt crystal that bacteria can’t thrive in. It’s natural, highly effective and you can buy it in most chemists or larger supermarkets.

Alkaline Food

When it comes to food in general, I recommend a largely alkaline diet as it is claimed that cancer can’t survive in alkaline (non-acidic) environments. So eat lots of fresh fruits and leafy greens, vegetables, fresh squeezed vegetable juices and protein from natural, organic sources, and drink plenty of filtered water. Wheat, dairy, cheese, meats, processed foods, starchy foods and refined sugars tend to create an acidic environment, so choose to eat consciously. Ask yourself if what you are eating is acid forming or alkaline? And as a rule of thumb it’s better to eat living, water-content foods that cleanse and don’t clog.

My Daily Regime

Each day when I’m at home I start my daily routine with a 25 minute aerobic workout on our indoor bike and our cross trainer, followed by 3 minutes on my mini trampoline (available at sports stores and Argos) which is great for moving and cleansing our lymph system – the sewer system of the body. I usually choose music that uplifts and inspires. I follow this short oxygenating routine with 3 minutes of stretching. When the weather is fine, I go for a hike on the cliffs outside my home overlooking the sea, so I get that wonderfully sweet negatively ionised sea air purifying my lungs, and oxygen-rich blood coursing through my veins.

Later I have a small helping of organic berries followed by a freshly squeezed veggie drink made from organic beetroot, carrot, celery, lemon and ginger, often laced with healthy super greens powders. Juicers are commonly available in most appliance stores. Then mid-morning, to get my protein, I have an egg-white omelette (made from free range eggs produced in a way that allow chickens a more humane life) and vegetables of the day, and a salad on the side with avocadoes, peppers and green leaves. At my other meals I always include a big salad.

When I have more time, I like to do yoga after my aerobic routine. Every week I get at least one or two massages to get my muscles opened up and my lymph system moving. I lean towards deep tissue or sports massage to really work the muscles, but from time to time I include other body work, like Thai massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, acupressure, kinesiology, shiatsu.

Often my day includes meditation, chanting, prayer and hanging out in good company with fellow lovers of Truth. On holidays it also includes outdoor sports.

Cleansing

Once a year I go on a highly purifying, life giving, detox cleanse for a week. It starts with two days of purely raw food followed by five days vegetable juice fasting, and at the end, one day of raw food to get the body moving again. During this cleanse I have colonics every other day, massages every other day, I take herbs for cleansing my internal organs and blood, pro-biotics, food enzymes and healthy supplements. I have yoga everyday and include some other sport like walking or swimming. I also include chanting, Satsang, meditations and of course a Physical Journey process every day.

Most people have up to 30 pounds of undigested protein coating their colons by the time the body dies. 30lbs! It’s like having a heavy rubber inner tube lining our colons. So many nutrients in what we eat don’t even get into our bloodstream because they can’t get through our clogged digestive system’s walls. In a cleanse such as I’ve described the colonics soften that inner lining and the toxins begin lifting and flushing away – the way they do when you leave a food-encrusted pan to soak overnight in warm water – the toxic colon lining gets softened and cleared, allowing healthy nutrients to be more easily absorbed into our systems.

Yeah! The Radiant Health Purifying Retreat is being finally offered this year!

This year (in three weeks’ time) Kev and I will take one week on the beautiful island of Koh Samui at a brand new gorgeous health and detox 4-star hotel, where we will undergo our own specialised deep cleanse programme. This stunning resort overlooks the sea and white sand beaches! And I have exciting news – for the first time in several years we are offering the Radiant Health retreat (the exact programme that Kev and I are undergoing) this summer at this same resort. While there you don’t have to think about a thing – it’s all done for you. All the food, drinks, supplements, herbs are carefully prepared for you, plus you’ll get a colonic every other day, massage every other day, daily yoga, Satsang, meditation, chanting, a Physical Journey process each day – as well as time to walk, swim and play every day.

Wow! What a gift to give to your body, to your cells! After each yearly cleanse I feel totally rejuvenated, alive, years younger and so much lighter! My body sings. I can barely wait!

So if you can get to Thailand this summer I can’t recommend it enough. It’s time to give your body a break and get some life force, some energy into your cells, into your muscles, into your skin, into your life!

Being More Carbon Neutral and Environmentally Conscious

As you may know Kev and I are thrilled that our green, eco-build house plans have finally been approved by our local council after 3 years of going back and forth (You’d think they would be thrilled to have citizens wanting to give back to the environment, instead of obstructing it. It’s been a real slog!). Some of the exciting things we plan on doing that will allow us to be more carbon conscious are:

• Rain harvesting – we’ll collect rain water and use it to flush toilets
• Eco-friendly insulation made from recycled newspapers
• Bamboo flooring – no trees felled in the process and just as attractive
• Air dumping – transferring the warm air that comes through our large glass windows to other parts of the house, and ultimately into a generator that generates electricity
• Under-floor heating to spread heat more efficiently than radiators
• Eco-friendly cement
• Non-toxic paint
• Sustainable wood where needed (3 trees planted for each one felled)
• Triple paned glass windows
• Eco roofing

The Green Bible is a wonderful book to use when learning about how to make your home more green. And all the exhibitions taking place today all over Europe are really inspiring.

Recycling

Also we recycle everything. A new staff member who hails from Australia joined our road team recently and remarked on going into our offices, “It’s amazing – you recycle everything! You’ve got a whole huge library here of books for all to use, you give your clothing away to whoever can use them or they go to a charity shop”.

And it’s true. Even the magazine you’re reading is from recycled paper. Everything we have, should and can be used by someone else if there’s life still in it. So if you don’t absolutely love something, and wear or use it regularly, give it away to someone who will! Make sure you buy recycled paper products – toilet paper, kitchen roll, writing paper, printer paper – as well. They only cost a few pennies more but you’ll feel so much better about using them.

Whenever it comes to recycling waste, in our house we have three boxes – 1 for paper, 1 for plastics and 1 for glass. Once a week we put it out for recycling. If you don’t have that service locally, then just take it the local recycling centre (you may have noticed that often larger supermarkets have them in their car parks). Take the kids with you and make it a fun and educational experience for them. Kids enjoy contributing to Mother Earth and making a difference. It feels good!

More Environmentally Friendly Vehicles and Travel

As a business owner I am fully aware of how much travelling we do, so our company is enrolled in a carbon-offset programme to completely offset every mile flown and every mile driven. British Airways and some other airlines have comprehensive programmes that you might like to look into.

Additionally, when it came time to purchase our company cars, Kevin and I began looking into the most environmentally friendly options. Surprisingly one brand came out heads and shoulders above the rest – even better than the hybrids! – BMW. BMW’s whole platform for the future is entirely environmentally based, all without sacrificing performance. It meant we had to downsize a few of the company vehicles to more fun “run-around” types, but I’m loving my new BMW 1 series clean diesel car. It has a whole host of fuel-saving technologies on board. The engines turns itself off at every light, so the car never idles, and as soon as you put your foot back on the clutch it starts up again. It took a little getting used to, but I just love it. And I love the quiet of the car shutting down every time we stop – it’s quite restful. Plus it gets 60 miles per gallon on average and up to 70 on motorways. Everything in its design is set up for less carbon emissions (128gms/m) and more fuel efficiency. So do some reading of your own when the time comes to trade in your old car. Consider looking at your car in the wider context of global warming and the environment. You’ll feel so ‘right’ with each mile you drive. Of course when possible, do like Dutchies and ride a bike or walk.

Living With an Ease of Being, Emotionally at Peace

Of course you’ve already figured out I’m going to recommend Journey process work. I frankly don’t know of any more powerful work out there for clearing emotional blocks and opening us into the peace and wholeness within. It’s fast, simple, effective and lasting. And there is nothing more joyous than opening into your own essence and living from the peace and joy there. It just feels right to live life authentically, as an expression of your true self.

I get a Journey process once a week. I can think of nothing I would rather feel than that the diamond of my being is fresh and clean. I think of it as general house cleaning. And as my own veils clear away, I find more of me – more of ‘This’ is available. More energy is available, more life is available, more potential is freed up and more joy arises spontaneously, of its own accord. And mainly I feel happy and at peace with myself and my loved ones.

So get creative. Call Journey friends and schedule weekly process work. Get your ass in gear and find your way to the events – serving either as a trainer or sitting the advanced level retreats. The atmosphere is charged with Grace. It’s palpable and it’s like re-charging your spiritual batteries.

Healing with Conscious Communication

If you haven’t yet made it to Healing with Conscious Communication, find a way to get there. There is NO seminar in The Journey curriculum better for helping you to have healthy, conscious communication with your family, your loved ones and yourself. So much of our stress isn’t just related to work, it’s related to strained relations with those we love. At this workshop you’ll learn to communicate elegantly, in a way that empowers your loved ones. So often we hurt those we love without knowing we are doing it – with negative embedded commands. It’s time to start letting every word that comes out of our mouths be ones that encourage, support and empower all. It’s time to communicate healthily and consciously.

Relationships and the No Ego Retreat

Speaking of relationships, I can think of no better seminar for understanding and penetrating the lies of our relationship games than the No Ego Retreat. So often the unhealthy games we play with our loved ones remain hidden – even from ourselves. We don’t know that we are unconsciously defending ourselves from getting hurt. We put up walls and don’t know how to take them down, we blame and criticise both others and ourselves, and we put ourselves into constant motion to avoid what is really going on under the surface. Our relationships in fact become a mirror for all the unmet pain we harbour, and like a wounded animal in the woods, we attack before laying ourselves emotionally vulnerable to getting hurt.

At the No Ego Retreat, we unearth all the painful patterns controlling our life and face them head on, penetrating the lie of them, finding true freedom and wholeness in the leave-taking.

So when it comes to our relationships, instead of an automatic knee-jerk response of defendedness and justification, we feel more free to respond from the real truth of what is in our hearts. Communication becomes more open, honest and authentic. And we feel more real and at ease with our being. We recognise what’s our stuff, and what’s theirs. And with our own issues we’re more able and willing to own it, clear it, and find healthier ways of being in life. It’s our most powerful week-long retreat and is a must if you are sincere about living in freedom as a true expression of the real you.

Male and Female issues – Living Wholesomely, Freely, Fully as Yourself

This Autumn JourneyMan with Kevin will take place in Europe, and for the first time ever JourneyWoman with Laurie will be happening in Europe and the US. At the recent Advanced No Ego Retreat, I welcomed people to write me private letters sharing personal issues they wanted to be brought up in Satsang. I was stunned at how many letters were about the deep pain associated with intimacy with love partners and sexual issues. One man shared feeling inadequate as a man, though he loved his wife dearly. Another woman shared her pain of feeling uncomfortable living in a female body – how she didn’t know how to be ‘equal’ in what she saw as a male dominated world. She felt sexually shutdown, lost in fear and completely insignificant as a woman. Another man shared how he felt intimidated out there in the ‘real world’. He was okay as long as he was achieving something at work, but felt incompetent relating to people and specifically women. So many gender specific issues arose.

So if you’re looking to feel whole and at home in your skin, if you’re wanting to be at ease with your own version of masculine or feminine or if you’re longing to be authentically expressed and fully at home with who you are, I STRONGLY encourage you to go to JourneyMan or JourneyWoman. It feels like a must for all of us!

Bringing Consciousness and Leadership into Our Workplace

Living consciously doesn’t end the moment we arrive at work. Most of us spend about 1/3 of our life at work. Of all places, our workplace needs to be potentialized to its fullest – no matter what you do. Of course it has to first begin with you. We need to take our own lids off, clear out the silent saboteurs, the self-imposed limitations and damaging negative self beliefs. Only when all these games are exposed and cleared, then the true leadership potential that is within you can arise spontaneously. We need to uncover our own natural genius, our talents, our skills, our leadership abilities and then, of course, from there we can empower our work colleagues to take their own lids off.

We should leave work feeling inspired – used by Grace to our fullest capacity. We should feel that all of what we are is available. There is great joy in allowing Grace to use you to achieve the highest and best – to get truly high quality results. Everyone leaving work should feel they’ve made a difference and feel that natural contentment that arises when a job has been well done, to the highest of our abilities.

Personally, the only way I can imagine consciously running a business would be to free myself and to potentialize and empower my employees and so that we can all be more available to life, to Grace. I love being fully used by Grace. And I love seeing the potential of our employees being stretched, expanded and fully realised. It creates a wholesome and successful business on all levels! And as a boss I can go home at night and know that our beloved team is being encouraged, nourished and fully used by Grace. There is nothing more inspiring. Nothing.

Conscious Leadership with Kevin

Kevin has recently formed a new seminar company called Conscious Company, and is giving powerful seminars around the world to business people who truly want to liberate their own leadership potential and who want to bring consciousness into the work environment. The results from these hugely inspiring seminars have been astounding. One businessman shared that income and profitability at his business increased 3-fold after the Conscious Leadership programme. Some have shared feeling more relaxed and confident in work situations that previously would have been stressful. Some have shared how productivity in their business – both their own and their colleagues’ – have soared since the workshop. Others are sharing that contracts have been surprisingly favourably concluded, to the delight of all parties; that unexpected doors have been spontaneously opening to their business; that they are personally soaring and flourishing at work, and that they are really growing their work colleagues. They go home juiced, excited and inspired with how effortlessly their achievement and performance levels have expanded. And instead of feeling emotionally drained, they feel excited to go to work the next day.

We all want to experience the exhilaration from allowing our potential, talent and genius to soar. We want to be fully used by Grace and look back and say, ‘Job well done! I lived my full potential and achieved my highest potential, and I served others in achieving theirs.’

Kevin has made a special commitment to Journey Grads, offering a much reduced rate to Grads because of their commitment to Truth, to life and to The Journey. And so the course fees for all of The Journey family are significantly lower than those for outside businesses.

Kev has also made a commitment to train and use solely Journey Practitioners when corporate coaching and presentations in this work start being taken directly into businesses. So Journey Practitioners will lead the way in teaching and potentializing businesses and organisations – laying the groundwork for corporations around the world to become more conscious, more fully potentialized. So if you can get to the upcoming events this Autumn I strongly encourage you to go. It’s time to bring consciousness into all aspects of our life.

Bringing a Live Spirituality into Our Lives

For me, all of my life is committed to being spiritually conscious. There is much that I do to deepen in that love, to open wider in Grace. I like to engage in activities that encourage an ease of being and joy in my everyday life.

At our Journey seminars we meditate, pray, and sing to conscious up-lifting music. We dance, celebrate and roll up our sleeves and do deeply healing process work.

I bring all of these joyous and liberating experiences into my daily life. In my car, I put on a Miten and Deva Premal or Kirtana CD and sing my heart out at the top of my lungs (probably a funny sight to see if you are waiting at the light in a car next to mine!). At home this music usually plays softly in the background. It permeates my home with Grace.

I pray and meditate before each and every task – be it a Journey process or writing this article, a board meeting, radio show or phone call. As I surrender more and more to Truth, and veils fall away, everything deepens and becomes more available.

When I have a cup of tea, I try to buy products that are not only consciously produced, but by companies contributing back to the environment and their employees. So even a cup of tea from Organic India, means that not only am I receiving the goodness from it, but that a tree is being planted for each box of tea bought. This is true for Volvic water in Europe as well.

I recommend having chanting evenings at home with your friends. Just put on a CD, sing together and meditate, share with one another and do Journey processes if there is time. Keeping good company allows you to stay saturated in Grace. I truly value the extraordinary company I keep.

There is a way that without having to do something myself, I can bring Grace into each moment of my life. If I am just conscious of what kind of company I associate with, what kind of businesses I support, then my whole life can become one that is spiritually, consciously lived.

In Conclusion

Ultimately it is our prayer that we bring Grace and consciousness into every aspect of our lives – from our relationships, to our home environment, to our businesses, to the food we eat, to our loved ones, to our bodies, our beings, to life itself. We want to bring it into our communication, to our workout routine, our spiritual life. Every breath we take, every action can be a conscious one that serves us, serves life, serves the environment, serves humanity. It’s time to celebrate living consciously.