Spritual Teachers

I would like to Honour my Spiritual Teachers Venerable Namgyel and Sri Devamitta Holland with this "reflective" article in appreciation of everything they do for Humanity and for me personally.

After a spiritual retreat, I become a little withdrawn and go very deep introspectively to search for, and process, all the possible things I’ve learned that can help me to become a better human being.
The end of this retreat has been no different and one of the many focal points of my learning has been to come to a deep appreciation for my spiritual teachers who have guided me along my journey’s path.

The question floating around in my mind, over the last day or so, has been: “Do we really, and truly, appreciate our spiritual teachers and everything they have been through in order to be in the position they are in to teach us?”

We are all teachers to one another and, every day, we are in this perpetual cycle of learning and teaching - but are we fully aware of it? Or does each lesson pass us by without us giving it the appropriate amount of attention?

Everything we say and do is the product of a lesson we have learned from someone at some particular moment in time - and, although we may not realise it, at the time, everything we say and do also serves as a lesson for someone else.

However, it is my humble opinion that Spiritual Teachers (especially travelling ones) are so very precious, and genuine ones may be a little rarer to find in this day and age when everyone can become a self proclaimed "spiritual guru".

Some Spiritual Teachers travel long distances; enduring the hardships of airports and sleeping in a different bed every week in a different country. And, whoever has travelled a lot knows how difficult airports can be with their policy of being there 2 hours before, the stress of security checks, queues, extortionate prices for food and let’s not mention the need to get up at absurd times of the morning, perhaps with little to no sleep, in order not to miss their flight.

They spend so much of their precious time, and their life, on a plane and suffering chaotic travel conditions for our sake.

I wonder if we fully appreciate how much constant flying, and crossing multiple time zones, in a pressurised cabin, affects the body and, ultimately, health itself.

I, also, wonder if we fully appreciate how tired a teacher must feel when he/she spends his/her day giving so much of himself/herself - sharing precious wisdom, answering all our questions and giving each and every one of us enough attention.

During each retreat/teachings, a teacher may have 30, different, people to respond to. It must be very taxing mentally and physically. That’s not to mention how many emails a teacher has to answer nowadays of other students far far away from the retreat in course.

I think we, sometimes, fail to remember that a Spiritual teacher is still a human being, like us - made of flesh and blood. The only difference between us is that they have optimised their full spiritual potential whereas we haven’t even started to scratch the surface. 



We take so much from them, and, perhaps a little selfishly, expect them to just keep giving and giving and giving but I ask myself how much we, actually, give them back and when I say give back, I mean by looking after them, and their well-being, so that they may always have their batteries fully charged, be in good health, and be able to benefit even more people on their journey’s path that takes them around the world. 



As a event organiser, and a devoted student, I reach out to all retreat organisers around the world to truly value the precious teacher you are hosting. It’s imperative to let our teachers rest appropriately. We all benefit from a refreshed mind in a relaxed body.

It costs nothing to let our teacher rest a day, before any retreat, after a long trip, and it costs nothing to let them rest a day or two after the teachings so they may fully recover.



My wish is that, as retreat organisers, we may show the same compassion, love, patience and kindness to our Spiritual Teachers as they show us. After all, are love, patience, kindness and compassion not the very things our Teachers are trying to teach us?

What use is learning if we can’t put what we learn into practice with the very people that show us the way?

Wherever you are, whoever you are, as a fellow student, I ask you ... please ... love, take care of, and appreciate all teachers in this world because, if they are no longer able to teach, through ill health, who will we all turn to?

All of our "Life" Teachers give us wings (some more than others and some literally) and they also give us the ability to consistently transform/improve ourselves. It's up to us to choose whether to fly or not and what greater Honour is there, for our Teacher, than to see us fly the way they taught us to!
Have a beautiful day one and all.

A simple act of kindness

Dear New World citizens,

Yesterday I spoke about how a simple smile can change the world, can you imagine what a random act of kindness could do?

You may not believe it but a simple act of kindness can travel across the world and last for decades and decades. It is something that, to you, could mean very little but, to someone else, mean the world. Perhaps the person in front of you has never received an act of kindness from anyone. How sad is that?

If you have ever been on the receiving end of kindness, you know how nice it feels. You know how special it is to have been the centre of someone’s attention; albeit for just a few moments. The simple fact that someone shifted their focus from their own world to direct their attention to you and give you their time is an act that should be honoured and treasured.

Before the days of commerce and having to pay for things, we all gave each other our time. We hunted together in community spirit, we shared our food, we protected each other and knew the name of everyone in our village. We had no money. So, all we had to give was our time. Our time spent together is what made our bonds grow stronger and kept us together.

Nowadays, in a society where we cannot, conventionally, survive without money, the last thing we have for each other is time. It is this lack of time that keeps us separate. 



We have children but we don’t really watch them grow up because we are too busy providing for them. 

We mortgage ourselves to the hilts for a house that we end up spending no more than 10 hours a day in - and for 8 of those we are, most likely, sleeping. We get so stressed, with our jobs, that we end up leading unhappy & unfulfilling lives. This leads to frustration that, then, might get vented during the first opportunity you have to spend with your family.


We all only have a certain amount of time on this planet and most of it is consumed with surviving. So, giving someone your time, no matter how small, no matter how insignificant you think it is, is, in fact, the MOST PRECIOUS gift you can give anyone.

A simple act of kindness is giving someone your time and, within that time, taking the opportunity to make someone’s life a little easier, a little less stressful, a little lighter and definitely a little happier.

The beauty of kindness is that it is infectious. It’s like a virus. Once it’s been carried out, it will carry on producing good energy for days, weeks, months and, in some cases, for decades and decades to come. Maybe for a few people, your one simple act of kindness will be remembered with affection and create warmth for the rest of their lives.

Just think - How amazingly beautiful is it that You were able to give that gift to someone. If you are on the receiving end of someone’s effort to be kind to you then think about what a beautiful gift it is for you too and be grateful. 



Our Universal consciousness loves gratitude. When we’re grateful, we attract more of what we’re grateful for.

Teach children to remain innocent

Yesterday, I said that you could help the planet by planting a tree. Well, today I'm going to show you another way you can help.

You can teach your children to keep their innocence instead of showing them how to lose it.

Yes, we, as adults, are responsible for the loss of innocence in our children. We don't do it intentionally. We probably don't even realise that we're doing it. We think we are giving them life skills but, in reality, we are teaching them to judge and be discriminating.

By teaching children what is right and wrong, we are giving them our opinion based on the opinion of the majority that we've accepted as resonating with us as our truth. But, It might not be based on fact nor be an absolute reality. By introducing them to the concepts of happy/sad, good/bad, hot/cold, we are teaching them to judge so that they may avoid unduly suffering. Our intentions are good. We want to protect them from the pain we've been through in our lives.

Yet suffering serves a purpose, too, and it teaches us invaluable lessons; lessons that perhaps we cannot learn any other way than facing our pain head on, learning from it and releasing it.

All of us lose our innocence when we start to discriminate. If we are to live on this planet, as the one Human Race that we are, we MUST teach our children to NOT discriminate. I understand that, with all the tragic fighting and wars, death and devastation, it's very hard to teach our children not to judge BUT ... the majority of you, reading this, probably have the privilege to live in a war free zone. So, you can teach your children to show love, kindness and compassion.

Do we all not search for love our entire lives? Is the hope, then, that love will, eventually, heal everything - even the deepest wounds? Well, what if love is never lost? It is inside us the whole time but we never see it until, one day, someone comes along who reflects it right back at us.

When we teach our children how to discriminate, we are effectively teaching them how to judge and while we're distracted, by judging each other in the physical plane, we miss the beautiful qualities that truly make up who we are, and who we are is one and the same. There is no difference between you and I. When we realise there is no difference, we can no longer live in separation and that is when we become one - The One Human race we have always been.

Trust in Love ...

No matter how far we travel in life; spiritually, physically or emotionally - eventually, everything comes full circle and we find ourselves right back where we started - albeit a little older and wiser (one hopes.) In our quest for growth (as individuals and as communities), we need to let cycles come to their natural end and allow new ones to freely begin.

When everything, finally, makes perfect sense we no longer feel sorrow, nor anger nor regret. We leave behind fears, doubts and insecurities. Like a snake, we shed our old skin so a new one can take its place. We drop the masks that have served to protect us and we surrender the need to be, constantly, defensive. When we do that, we have no reason to fight each other for anything because when all negative energies are cleared, all that remains is pure, unconditional, love and kindness, gratitude and compassion ...

We realise that everything we have been through and everyone we have ever encountered brought us to where we are now ... and where we are now is exactly where we're meant to be.

From here, with no more mental, emotional or spiritual chains to bind us, we can only move forward.

Where this new cycle will take us - nobody knows - but with such an unconditional trust in love, anywhere will be just perfect because it is meant to be

Happy Women's Day to every woman, girl, child and baby around the world.

To all the beautiful ladies around the world,

It's not easy being a woman nowadays. So much pressure is put upon us to be one way or another, to behave one way or another, to look one way or another. We're given false illusions of what beauty truly is. Everywhere we turn, we're led to believe we're not good enough. We're laughed at, ridiculed, bullied and name called when we don't fit the false standard big corporations (making the money) set for us.

Well, ladies of the world ... let me tell you. You don't have to be any one particular way. There is no right or wrong way of looking, behaving or being as long as you are being true to yourself. You don't have to look like some plastic "Hollywood" fabrication to be accepted. You don't have to dress with as little as possible to show who you are. You are neither your looks nor your clothes. These are cleverly designed marketing strategies to make you feel inadequate. The more you buy, the more big commercial companies laugh all the way tot he bank.

These companies would have you believe you're not beautiful just so you would buy their latest makeup or sunglasses to hide your real beauty. They would have you believe you're not thin enough just so you buy into the latest diet fad and line their pockets with your hard earned cash. They would make you believe that you're never going to fall in love unless you comply to rules they have set, for you, according to their own desire for greed and power.

I'm here to tell you that all you need to be beautiful, radiant, full of love and desirable, is to be a woman of substance - A woman of compassion, a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it - A woman who doesn't need to trample all over others to get to where she wants to go. All you need is to have the inner strength to stand up and be who you truly are within you, and trust me, who you truly are within is more beautiful than makeup, clothes and the latest fad diet.

All you need to receive love, kindness and compassion from others is to give that love, kindness and compassion. However, let me tell you that there is no greater love in this world than the love you can give yourself. If you want happiness, learn to be happy and share that happiness with others.  Whatever you put out into this world is what you will get back tenfold.

All you need is to shine bright like the true star you really are and illuminate the way for yourself and others. Be firm if necessary but never lose your tenderness. Be strong but don't forget to be flexible and delicate. Cry if you have to but 9 times out of 10 make sure they're tears of happiness. See beauty everywhere you go and beauty will be seen in you. Learn to forgive and forget and, for sure, others will forgive and forget too. Laugh out loud and others will laugh with you. Be infectious and spread the light you have within.

Above all just be yourself and if "yourself" doesn't fit in with everyone else, be proud that you stand out from the crowd. The world needs people who are different and who break free from the chains that binds society. Don't be afraid to be that difference and make a difference.

When you look at yourself in the mirror, be proud of who you are and what you've become. Honour yourself. Love every curve and every line for only you can know the true extent of this life journey you've been on.  Be proud to be one of life's survivors. Be proud to be a woman.

Most of all ... don't forget to simply "be a woman."

Don't forget one important thing ... Don't let anyone tell you "you can't". You can be whatever you want. You can whatever you set your mind, body and soul to. All you need is the determination to succeed and the courage to see your dreams through. Remember, all dreams are just dreams until you put them into practice. Add the effort on your part and they become reality. Just go for it!

Happy women's day!

Please feel free to share this if you think it contains a message that is relevant for any woman you know.

Photo courtesy of http://www.fantasticprovence.com

Two wrongs don't make a right!

Physically, we’re all built the same way. Physiologically, we all function the same way. We all experience emotions the same way; when we’re happy we smile, when we’re sad we cry. We’re all fighting to survive in this crazy topsy turvy world. 

Some people may possess more physical things than others. Some may be financially better off than others, but at the end of the day a human being is a human being. Nothing else matters, not the colour of one’s skin, not what nationality we are, not what religious doctrine we adhere to, not our beliefs or culture, nor anything else you can think of that makes you “think” we’re different. 

In reality, the only things that make us think we are different to one another are our own construed, and somewhat distorted beliefs and our ignorance. 

Please note that when I use the word ignorance I mean it in the sense of “lack of knowledge and a consequential lack of understanding.” I also refer to ignorance as the lack of interest to discover and enquire. 

When we learn something, we come to know it. When we know it, we can grow to appreciate it. We can come to terms with it. We can investigate it further if we wish. We can create a big enough database of  its characteristics in order to begin to fully understand it. Thus, we can start to make educated formulated opinions about it instead of using third party here-say and guesswork.  

Of course, there is one golden ingredient that’s essential for any type of learning and understanding to take place. We need to have curiosity. Motivated by curiosity, we’re driven by interest in the subject matter. 

As many of you know from your own experiences, if we’re not interested in something we never learn about it. No matter how much information comes at us about it, we simply discard it. We pay no attention to it and dare I say, we even close ourselves off to the notion of it. 

Likewise, if we don’t have a certain flexibility of or within our belief system, we’ll simply reject any new possibilities that arise from any topic relevant information coming at us. Pardon me, but in doing so we cocoon ourselves. We voluntarily become ignorant. But, under the circumstances it’s not because of lack of information. 

When ignorance is due to lack of instruction or knowledge, it’s excusable and even forgivable; to an extent. I say to an extent because, even without instruction, most of us have a conscience. We all have a little inner voice, or an inner sixth sense that guides us through right and wrong. Most of us are also equipped with common sense which, when it’s followed honestly and open heartedly, also guides us in a positive way. 

Quite frankly, I strongly believe that laziness and hatred are the major culprits behind voluntary ignorance. Laziness, because we can’t be bothered to do our own due diligence. Half the time, we expect others to spoon feed us with information; be it right or wrong.

Most of us are so indoctrinated to look up to our elders and respect ruling authorities, that we choose to blindly trust anyone we think has a little more education than us.  Worst of all, we blindly put our lives in the hands of those we think have a more important role in society than we do. Yet, it’s exactly this mentality that’s made us lazy in the first place.  It’s this handing over of responsibility to others, for our welfare, that allows us to continue to be in denial and live blame free. 

If a bomb explodes somewhere, it wasn’t us. It was some militant or military of some government of some country for some reason. Yet, who elected the government who ordered the military to detonate the bomb. Isn’t that the same elected government some militants are fighting against because they see the evil of its members? 

We all have responsibility every single day in every little thing that happens in every single country around the world.

Most of the time, because we only hear bad news coming at us, we switch off and go back into our little blame free world of denial. We might empathise for a short while, but human memory is short-lived. 

I hear people say to me: “Well, what can I do? - I can’t do anything.” There is always something we can do. Half the time, we just can’t be bothered to find out what it is we can do. Doing nothing is worse than doing even something minute.

Hatred is the worst of all evils. One of the most useful things my step-mother ever said to me was: “You should never hate anything or anyone in life. Dislike it, but don’t hate it.” She’s right. Hatred is a very strong emotion. The word alone carries with it very heavy connotations. The sentiments behind it are even stronger. Both the word and the sentiment are charged with so much negative energy. 

Hatred is a destructive emotion. It doesn’t create anything positive. It only creates more of the same. It wedges barriers between people. It destroys mother nature and this very planet we live on and depend on for the sustenance of life. 

Whether we think it or verbalise it, we’re sending out poison into the world by way of our energy. Similarly, any time someone else sends out poison into the world, we’re influenced by it. 

If we were to analyse hatred, I think we’d find that really it’s only motivated and fueled by ego, pride, a sense of superiority, arrogance, stubbornness, un unwillingness to adjust who we are in front of someone else or something else. In fact, many times we knowingly, and sometimes unknowingly, cut off our noses off to spite our face; all in the name of a proud ego.

Just like love, kindness and compassion feed off and spread love, kindness and compassion, so too does hatred, anger and rage feed off and spread hatred, anger and rage.  

You’ve all heard the sayings: Two wrongs don’t make a right and you reap what you sow. It’s true, we generally get back from the world what we put out there. We can’t expect to receive love if we give hatred or indifference. Similarly, nothing will ever change unless we start taking back responsibility for ourselves, our actions, thoughts and beliefs and, of course, the environment around us.