Living Consciously 2015

Living Consciously

FEEL EMPOWERED • LIVE HAPPILY • HEAL OTHERS • FIND MEANING

TH E JO U RNEY S EMINARS

A G O O D NE WS MAG A ZI NE

“I had kids against all odds”

Miraculous real-life stories

Re-vamp your career!

How to be a visionary leader in your field of work

Quit comfort eating for good!

Find out how on the new Journey retreat

22

ways to inner peace

Brandon Bays' advice on conscious living

The most important weekend of your life?

Find out how to radically transform your life in two days with The Journey’s original and still most popular healing seminar.

• Are you stressed?

• Do you feel like life has become dull and meaningless?

• Is work causing you unhappiness but you feel trapped there?

• Do you keep repeating the same old mistakes in relationships?

• Is procrastination something that rules you?

“Brandon s inspiring story is proof of the healing power that exists within every individual.”

John Gray, author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

• Do you ever feel flat and unenthused about life?

• Is illness overtaking your life and choices?

• Are you frustrated at not living your life purpose, or perhaps don’t know what your soul’s true mission is in this lifetime?

• Do you yearn for more meaning and connection to others?

If any of the above sound familiar, The Journey Intensive could help you wake up to newfound freedom and clarity and improve ALL areas of your life.

The Journey Intensive two-day seminar will give you the tools to live life fully, breaking through the limitations and negative patterns that have held you back for so long.

So, stop living life in black and white and gain access to the full-colour, 3D, high-definition version you’ve been longing for – you deserve it!

Praise from former Journey Intensive graduates:

“After experiencing The Journey I felt as if I’d been washed from the inside out, as if someone had just wiped me clean. My heart felt healed, whole. I wanted to dance, sing and celebrate… I felt finally free.”

Suzy Greaves, former reporter for The Sunday Times and now editor of Psychologies magazine.

“Severe abuse during my childhood left me utterly worthless, alone and suicidal. Finding The Journey and using the process work turned my life around and today I feel nothing but love, peace and freedom.” G. Sonnleitner, Austria

“I suffered from depression, experienced a breakdown in my marriage and had to deal with the issues associated with having endometriosis and being told I would never have children.Thankfully I found The Journey and now my life is so blessed. I have a happy marriage and two beautiful children.” C. Dean, Australia

Find freedom!

On the Journey Intensive you will: •Access inner peace •Release grief, shame and/or fear •Find courage to live the life you deserve •Improve all your relationships, personal and professional •Banish negative self-talk once and for all •Lessen or even end physical ailments •Feel lighter and brighter – the way your life was intended to be!

The Journey Intensive is designed for newcomers to The Journey. Former attendees who wish to refresh their knowledge and reawaken their inner wisdom will receive a generous discount.

At most venues, you have the option of adding an extra Advanced Skills day, to deeply experience more forgiveness, empathy and healing than you could ever imagine.

So, what are you waiting for? The first step to your new, improved life could be just a click or phone call away!

+44 (0)1656 890 400 infoeurope@thejourney.com www.thejourney.com

Find a course near you from the Journey Intensive European schedule: With Brandon Tel Aviv, 6 – 8 March Estonia, 13 – 15 March Bern, 20 – 22 March Bratislava, 10 – 12 April Brasov, Romania, 29 – 31 May Netherlands, 25 – 27 September London, 6 – 8 November Germany, 23 – 25 October

WELCOME

“Let’s be the change” this work, then soon it will be natural to feel compassion and understanding for loved ones and colleagues.You can bring consciousness into your work place, helping colleagues and employees grow and reach their full potential.

Excitement bubbled up inside me when I was asked to write an introduction to this magazine. I always love to share my passion for conscious, clean, healthy living, and so I hope the contents of my article, and the entire magazine, will inspire you and perhaps galvanise you into action to “be the change you wish to see in the world”, as Ghandi said. My only concern was that to do this topic justice, I would need to include volumes of material!

Instead, I decided to keep it simple, practical and down to earth by sharing a few ideas, tips, tools, and processes you can easily incorporate into your everyday life. With very little effort, and yet a lot of joy, you can bring consciousness into each and every moment.

Responding to the inner call

The fact you are reading this is confirmation that somewhere, deep within you, there is a longing to make a difference to life: to yourself, loved ones, extended family, humanity, and Mother Earth. I know I don’t need to remind you that for true and lasting change to occur it has to start from within.The ripples of awakening, caring for others and consciously respecting the planet, will come from within our own hearts, affecting our actions, which will be a response to that inner call. If you undertake

With regards to how you eat, what could be more fulfilling than honouring and enlivening your body with life-giving, organic, poison-free, locally grown food?

Feel how good it can be to buy consciously, supporting Fair Trade employment. And, if you can, why not choose a vehicle that creates less pollution? Every positive action will lead on to the next...

Your global family

It will then become second nature to extend that same caring to your global family and environment. I believe we can all feel inspired by the possibility of walking more softly on this planet, and responding to the call from within to live more conscious, open, caring, fulfilling lives. You may be drawn to giving back to life in some way, not only to your local community but on a global scale. Over consumption and the unconscious use of precious resources is no longer a popular model. Instead, there is a call to use resources more wisely, looking beyond the instant gratification that comes from fulfilling our every personal desire and whim. Let’s recognise the precious bounty with which we have been blessed; let’s cherish it, respect it and feel inspired to share it. 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. As Miten – the musician whose beautiful songs are played at Journey workshops – so wisely sings, we must “try to leave this world more beautiful than we found it”.

Contents 5

Living a life of grace The Journey creator and co-director Brandon Bays shares her tips for living a life of conscious creativity, compassion, and caring

12 Tackling depression head on Mental health campaigners from The Journey are tackling the root causes of depression, with a new Journey seminar 14 Stop the food fight Find out how a new Journey course can transform your relationship with food 16 “The Journey saved us” Find out how Journeywork impacts people from all walks of life, from homeless mothers to octogenarians with cancer, in these inspiring real-life accounts 19 Find your inner power Want to become more authentic and influential at work? Attending a Visionary Leadership programme could take you to the next level 20 A magic wand for healing From overcoming her own inner critic, to helping patients clear emotional and physical illness, clinical psychologist Marie-Sylvie Roy recounts her amazing experiences of The Journey 24 Bringing hope to India’s street kids Ravi Rai, a former engineer, recalls the early days of setting up Apna Ghar, a safe house for street children in India that benefitted from Journey work 26 From ghetto to letting go A schools project in South Africa is producing nothing short of miraculous results in the lives of traumatised, victimised pupils, thanks to The Journey 27 “Moses was my mentor!”

Journey practitioner Dorit Segev explains how she found her life’s purpose thanks to The Journey, and is manifesting her vision for freedom and liberation across Israel 28 Help from governments and prisons The Dutch government offers Journeywork to employees to deal with stress, and process work is given to female inmates in South Africa 29 Beyond all boundaries JourneyWoman attendee Jane Ball recounts her tale of discovering her true, authentic self for the first time, thanks to The Journey

For enquiries please contact our office: Journey Events Ltd., PO Box 356, Bridgend, CF31 9NS, United Kingdom • infoeurope@thejourney.com • +44 (0)1656 890400 This magazine is printed on 100gsm recycled offset paper • All information correct at time of printing • © The Journey 2014

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UNCOvER THE TRUE SECRETS OF MANIFESTING ABUNDANCE

Manifest Abundance Retreat with Brandon Bays Here you will be able to remove the beliefs, fears and unconscious programming that have held you back in life.

Financially, Emotionally in your carrer and relationships. And create a life that you truly desire.

Manifest Abundance is a transformational retreat for Journey Intensive grads who want more out of life. It’s designed to teach you how to bring out your true potential as a human being – and truly create a life that you desire. Here you will be able to remove the beliefs, fears and unconscious programming that have held you back in life – financially, emotionally, and in your career and relationships.

Maybe you would like to write a book or launch a business. What about that promotion you’re hoping for, or the soulmate you’ve been longing to meet? This retreat is all about removing the inner obstacles to the life that you truly want to create.

Become a magician of your own life

Once you leave your fears and limiting beliefs aside, magic can really happen.

What Exactly You’ll Be Learning at the Manifest Abundance Retreat

• Uncover and expose the limiting patterns that have stifled and blocked your potential

• Spend an entire day in process, in a massive and comprehensive house-clearing, as you set yourself free from all the potential blocks.

• Discover your heart’s deepest desire for you, as you ‘vision quest’ a brand new life.

• Brainstorm a dynamic action plan with others, with practical ways to allow abundance to flourish in your life.

• Discover the secret of how to be a magician, part of the wondrous and magical co-creative dance of manifestation, and continue to create ongoing abundance in your life.

• Leave soaring in your true potential, ready to magnetize abundance into all areas of your life: health, creativity, financial wellbeing and relationships.

4 Living Consciously

“The Manifest Abundance retreat was a truly life-changing experience. After the retreat, all the things in my life that were preventing me from being my best have fallen away, and my life is in alignment with my purpose.” ~ Clare Jackson, United Kingdom

“I keep pinching myself because the abundance in my life since the seminar has been almost unbelievable!

Whenever I share my story with family and friends, their jaws drop. I can’t wait to see what will happen next! My gratitude towards The Journey and Brandon Bays herself is beyond words. The power of the work speaks for itself. By the way, I’ve earmarked the money I have left from the dividend check for more Journey seminars.” ~ Nicole Greenfield

Your invitation to join us!

This event is for Journey graduates only!

Check our dates for this event on thejourney.com

BRANDON’S ADvICE

Living a life of grace The Journey creator and co-director Brandon Bays shares her tips for living a life of conscious creativity, compassion, and caring for the planet

“When air is negatively ionised, it not only purifies your home but makes you feel better as you're breathing enlivened air”

L

Breathe pure air

uckily, I live on a magical section of the Welsh coast, on a cliff top in an ancient, unspoiled area of idyllic countryside, untouched by industry, but I still like to ensure the air I breathe is absolutely free from household pollutants. For this reason I use an air purifier/ionizer. I even take a small ionizing unit to hotel rooms to clear the air when on tour. Ionizers create the same negative charge you get in the air at the beach or walking in the woods, especially after it’s rained. Most homes are positively charged thanks to all the electronic devices and chemical pollutants within them. This positive ionization can make you feel drained and heavy. However, when air is negatively ionised, it not only purifies your home but makes you feel better as you’re breathing enlivened air.

Eat organic

Choosing to purchase organic products helps ensure you ingest fewer, if any, toxins or nasty chemicals. The toxicity from chemical fertilisers and treatments gets into our organs, and the amounts can be shocking. Did you know that regular, non-organic coffee can contain 78 different poisons? Think of the toxic build up in your organs even if you drink only one cup everyday for many years.

So, whenever feasible, get organically grown coffee, and, if it’s decaf, make sure it’s decaffeinated by water process, which is toxin free. Starbucks use organically-grown Fair Trade coffee and have a hugely supportive employee policy.

Eating organic, in-season and local produce where possible helps the environment and local communities. It also means the food wont have been flown in from New Zealand or Sri Lanka, thereby losing precious life-force en route, wasting unnecessary energy and creating huge carbon emissions in the process.

Keep moving

Maintain physical fitness by moving your body daily, be it through walking, dancing, yoga, or running. As Miten beautifully sings, “You gotta move!”

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BRANDON’S ADvICE

De-clutter

Invite fresh energy into your life by dejunking your home, including wardrobes, closets, broom cupboards and the attic.

What is one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, so share what you no longer want/need with those around you. Of course, clearing out on the outside also lends itself to supporting a good mental clear out, so make sure you meditate, chant, sing, laugh and love on a regular basis. Plus, do Journey process work to help clear out any stubborn negative beliefs and habits, so your inner diamond can shine bright!

“Journey process works helps clear out any stubborn negative beliefs and habits, so your inner diamond can shine bright!”

Buy Fair Trade

As far as possible, buy produce labelled ‘Fair Trade’, so the workers harvesting your food are paid fair living wages for their work. Fair Trade also applies to clothing. Some of the clothes in M&S have a Fair Trade label, so I chose those when possible, as this supports cotton producers and factory production line workers in other countries. Not only do I like to shop where the products are Fair Trade and made from natural materials, but also at stores endeavouring to be a more carbon-neutral. It makes me feel good to know what I am wearing contributed to healthy wages for other human beings, and that the shop was environmentally conscious. When I have a cup of tea, I try to use products that are not only consciously produced, but from companies contributing back to the

6 Living Consciously

environment and their employees, such as Organic India, who plant a tree for every box of tea sold. In fact, because of Organic India, Kevin and I decided to sponsor an entire village in its treeplanting project.

them with lots of alkaline greens. And as a rule of thumb it’s better to eat living, high-water-content foods that cleanse and don’t clog.

My morning smoothie

Fill your body with vibrancy and goodness each day with my morning smoothie and cleansing regime.

* ½ organic apple

* 2 sticks organic celery * 1/3 organic cucumber * 1 organic lemon

* 1 thumb-size piece organic ginger

* 1 cup of organic, dark green leaves * 1 spoon of supergreen powder (spirulina, chlorella etc)

* Filtered water

Drink pure water

I only drink purified water now, and have a reverse osmosis system that pulls everything, and I mean even bacteria, parasites and metals, out of the water. I drink loads of it, and make sure to take healthy minerals as supplements, as these are also removed from the water.

Eat alkaline

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 try to limit those and definitely consume

Chop up the above ingredients, add them to a powerful blender - I use a Vitamix - and add enough pure water to make it drinkable. Enjoy in the morning, after your cup of water and lemon juice to cleanse the liver.

Detox every year

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

bandwagon and label their products ‘Natural’ and ‘Organic’ when only one ingredient might be either of those things.

So, be vigilant in reading labels. Some good brands include Dr Hauschka, Stella McCartney, Miessence, Living Nature, and Zia, who are fully committed to 100 percent organic products. Use a deodorant that is aluminium free, as aluminium is highly toxic. I use a mineral salt crystal that kills bacteria. Buy crueltyfree, plant-based beauty products too, as it’s horrible to think that, for the sake of our beauty, animals are being tortured and killed.

Use healthy skincare

Look for genuinely natural cosmetics, soaps and creams. So many so-called natural creams contain carcinogens (chemicals that can be cancer producing), and what you put on your skin does sink in and can enter your blood stream. I recommend using products that are sulphate and paraben free, ideally made solely from plant derivatives. Usually, genuinely natural products can cost a bit more, but they often last longer. So many cosmetic companies have jumped on the

My daily regime

When I’m at home, I start with a 25minute workout on our indoor bike and cross trainer, followed by three minutes on my mini trampoline, which is great for moving and cleansing the lymphatic system – the system responsible for removing waste products. I usually choose music that uplifts and inspires. If time permits, I like to do yoga after my aerobic routine, and if I’m on holiday, I’ll do some sports, too. Following this, I do three minutes of stretching. When the weather is fine, I go for a hike on the cliffs outside my home overlooking the sea, so that wonderfully sweet, negatively ionised sea air purifies my lungs and goes into my blood stream.

Respecting my body Later I have a small helping of organic berries followed by a freshly blended veggie smoothie (see box opposite)

Wear natural fabric

I like cotton, silk, rayon and hemp fabrics as they feel healthier, allow my skin to breathe, and are longer lasting than most synthetics. And it doesn’t always cost more.

Recycle everything

Kevin and I recycle everything, from our books, which we lend out to people, to our clothing, which we donate to charity.

Even this magazine is printed on recycled paper. Everything we have should and can made from apple, cucumber, celery, dark green leaves, lemon and ginger, laced with healthy super green powders. I use a Vitamix blender so all the fibre remains in the drink.

Mid-morning I have an egg-white omelette (made from free range eggs) with vegetables of the day and a salad made of avocados, peppers and green leaves. At my other meals I always include a big salad. Every week I get at least one or two massages to deeply relax my muscles and get the lymph flowing. I prefer deep tissue or sports massage to really work the muscles, but from time to time I include other body work, such as Thai massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, acupressure, kinesiology, or shiatsu. Often, my day includes meditation, chanting, prayer and hanging out in good company with fellow lovers of Truth.

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. They only cost a few pennies more but you’ll feel so much better about using them. Our local government has made recycling really easy, so once a week we put all our recycling out for collection. If you don’t have that service, just take it to the local recycling centre (larger supermarkets often have collection bins in their car parks). Take the kids with you and make it a fun and educational experience for them. Kids enjoy helping Mother Earth and making a difference – it feels good!

ON THE UP: Brandon on her mini rebounder

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BRANDON’S ADvICE

Go non-toxic

You can buy non-toxic paint for your walls, hypoallergenic covers for your mattress and pillows, and even hypoallergenic carpets. Look closely at the labels to see exactly what you’re getting. Make sure you invest in a healthy, supportive bed as you spend up to a third of your life in one, and a good night’s sleep is essential for health.

I have a Tempur-Pedic mattress made from memory foam, a type used for astronauts in outer space because no bacteria can survive in it, but I also recommend pillowtop mattresses with ‘give’ and support.

Also, try to invest in natural, Fair Trade cotton bed linen.

“It feels right to live life authentically, as an expression of your true self” Choose non-allergenic, non-toxic detergents too for laundry, general cleaning and washing up, as they are good for both the environment and your health.

Our eco home

A life of inner peace

Of course, you’ve already figured out I’m going to recommend Journey process work! I don’t know of any more powerful work out there for clearing emotional blocks and opening you into 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 calmness and joy you find. It feels right to live life authentically, as an expression of your true self. I get a Journey process once a week, to release any built up blocks, old or new, and really polish my inner diamond. I think of it as general house cleaning for the soul. And, as my own veils clear away, I find more energy, life, potential and joy arises spontaneously, of its own accord. It causes me to feel happy and at peace with myself and loved ones.

So get creative! Call Journey friends and schedule weekly process work. Get into gear and attend an event if you can – serving either as a trainer or sitting on an Advanced retreat – to recharge your spiritual batteries.

As you may know, Kevin and I are thrilled that our green, eco-build house is finally complete. Some of the things we have implemented that allow us to be more carbon conscious are: collecting rain water to to flush toilets; using eco-friendly insulation made from recycled newspapers; choosing bamboo flooring so no “The Green trees were felled; air Bible (HarperCollins) dumping, meaning transferring the warm is a wonderful book air that comes through to refer to for tips the large glass windows on making your to other parts of the house and, into a home more generator to produce eco-friendly” electricity; having triplepaned windows; installing under-floor heating, which spreads heat more efficiently than radiators; selecting eco-friendly cement and nontoxic paint; using sustainable wood where needed (three trees are planted for each one felled); choosing eco roofing.

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It’s a family affair

So much of our stress isn’t just related to work, it’s linked to strained relations with loved ones. To alleviate this and learn to connect wholesomely with your family, I dearly recommend attending the Healing with Conscious Communication retreat, where you’ll learn to communicate elegantly, and in a way that empowers your loved ones. So often we hurt those we love without knowing it, with negatively embedded commands. It’s time to start letting our words be ones that encourage, support and empower others.

It’s time to communicate healthily and consciously.

“It's time to start letting our words be ones that encourage, support and empower others”

It must be love

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. Much of the time, the unhealthy games we play with our loved ones remain hidden – even from ourselves.

We don’t realise we are unconsciously defending ourselves from getting hurt by putting up walls and not knowing how to take them down. Instead, we blame and criticise others and ourselves, and put ourselves into constant motion to avoid what is really going on under the surface.

Our relationships become a mirror for all the unmet pain we harbour, and, like wounded animals in the woods, we attack before laying ourselves out to be emotionally vulnerable. At the No Ego Retreat, you’ll unearth all the painful patterns controlling your life and face them head on, penetrating the lies, and finding true freedom and wholeness.

Then, instead of having an automatic knee-jerk defence response, you’ll be free to respond from the real truth of what is in your heart. Communication becomes more open, honest and authentic; you’ll feel more real and at ease. You’ll also recognise what’s your stuff and what’s theirs, and, with your own issues, you’ll be more able and willing to own them, clear them, and find healthier ways of being. It’s The Journey’s most powerful week-long retreat and is a must if you are sincere about living in freedom, expressing the real you.

“Communication becomes more open, honest and authentic; you’ll feel more real and at ease”

I am woman! (or man)

Look out for our JourneyMan and JourneyWoman retreats taking place worldwide. At the recent Advanced No Ego Retreat, I welcomed people to write private letters to me, sharing personal issues they wanted to be brought up in satsang. I was stunned at how many were about the deep pain associated with intimacy 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, especially women. So many gender-specific issues arose. If you’re looking to feel whole and at home in your skin, or wanting to be at ease with your own version of masculinity or femininity, I strongly encourage you to attend JourneyMan or JourneyWoman. It feels like a must for all of us!

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BRANDON’S ADvICE

Love your job and reach your potential

Most of us spend about a third of our lives at work. Of all places, our workplace needs to be supportive, open and able to help us reach our potential – no matter what our profession. Of course, it has to first begin with each of us as individuals.

We need to take off our own ‘lids’, clear out the deeply held negative beliefs that act as silent saboteurs, such as selfimposed limitations and damaging negative self-beliefs. Only when all our programmes are exposed and cleared will our true leadership potential arise.

We need to uncover our own natural genius, talents and skills, and from there, empower our work colleagues to do the same. We ought to be able to leave work feeling inspired – used by Grace to our fullest capacity. Everyone ought to feel they’ve made a difference, and experience natural contentment that arises when a job has been well done.

Personally, seeing our employees being stretched, expanded and fully reaching their potential feels truly satisfying. It creates a wholesome and successful business on all levels, and, as a boss, I go home at night knowing our beloved team is being encouraged and nourished; there

10 Living Consciously

is nothing more inspiring. In response to this call to spread The Journey into the world of work, Kevin has formed Conscious Company, which gives powerful seminars called Conscious Leadership to business people who truly want to liberate their own leadership potential and bring consciousness into their careers. The results from these hugely inspiring seminars have been astounding. One businessman’s income and profitability increased three-fold after the programme; some shared feeling more relaxed and confident in work situations that previously were stressful; others shared how productivity in their business – both their own and their colleagues’ – soared since the workshop; yet more shared about successful contracts being signed, unexpected doors opening, or instead of feeling emotionally drained, felt excited to go to work again. We want to access what Grace has in store for us, to fulfil our potential and be able to look back and say we did our best and helped serve others to achieve their own potential.

Kevin offers a special commitment to Journey graduates, offering them a muchreduced rate for the Conscious Leadership course, because of their commitment to truth, to life and to The Journey.

Kevin has also made a commitment to train and use only Journey practitioners when this work begins moving into more corporate coaching and presentations in businesses directly. This means Journey practitioners will be leading the way in teaching businesses and organisations to reach their potential all around the world.

If you want to make a difference to the lives of others, and make your workplace a more harmonious, productive, wholesome environment, I strongly encourage you to attend.

Bringing spirituality into my life

In all areas of my life I am committed to being spiritually conscious. There is much I do to deepen in love and open wider into 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, sing and dance to up-lifting music, then roll up our sleeves and do deeply healing process work. All these joyous and liberating practises are brought into my daily life; I pray and meditate before every task, be it a Journey process or writing an article, a board meeting, radio show or phone call; in my car I listen to Miten and Deva Premal or Kirtana, and sing at the top of my lungs – it’s probably a funny sight for anyone who pulls up at the lights next to me! At home, this music usually plays softly in the background, permeating my home with Grace. I recommend having chanting evenings at home with your friends; just put on some music, 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 know that if I am conscious of the kind of company I keep, and the types of businesses I support, my whole life can become spiritual.

It’s down to all of us

Ultimately, it is my prayer that we bring Grace and consciousness into every aspect of our lives – from our family relationships and businesses environments, to our homes, bodies, the food we eat, and our very beings. Kevin and I want to bring Grace into everything, from communication, to our workout routine and spiritual life. Every breath we take and every action we make can be to serve life, the environment, humanity, and ourselves. It’s time for us all to celebrate living consciously.

OUT OF THE BLUE Freedom from the real causes of depression

Join Kevin Billett for a 3 day workshop where you will:

• Get to the root cause of any signs of shut-down and depression and finish it completely!

• Release and clear the old consciousness and set yourself free from any limitations • Let yourself be guided to open to the energy, passion and true joy of life

Kevin Billett (CEO and co-founder of The Journey and my husband of 18 years) is an inspiring model of the possibility of becoming totally free from the trap of depression. Having suffered from chronic depression for over 20 years he used journeywork to get to the very root of it and finished with it completely. He now lives authentically, passionately, from true fulfilment and is a powerful teacher who has the uncanny ability to help others get to the real core of what has been blocking them – what has been causing them to shut down, helping them to release and clear the old conciseness and ultimately guiding them to open to the energy, the passion, the joy of life.

He is a living example of liberation from the shackles of depression who can, in a very inspired way, help you set yourself free.

With Kevin Billett Park Inn Hotel, London near Heathrow 8 – 10 May €495

CEO and co-founder of The Journey, Kevin Billett is an inspiring model and living example of the possibility of becoming totally free from the trap of depression.

BRANDON BAYS

INFO & BOOKING: +44 (0)1656 890 400 infoeurope@thejourney.com • www.thejourney.com

SPECIAL REPORT

Tackling depression head on D

It might seem like depression is spreading faster than an Aussie bush fire, but anti-depression campaigners such as Kevin Billett are throwing healing waters onto the root causes of the problem, starting Down Under. Katy Sunnassee reports iabetes, heart disease and cancer might top most health agendas in terms of monetary investment and media awareness, but there’s another, perhaps more insidious condition silently creeping its way through society, often undiscussed due to social stigma: depression. In the UK, the Government has been pushing to raise awareness of depression, especially in the National Health Service (NHS). Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said earlier this year: “We are still not doing enough to address the often serious physical health problems of those with [depression].”

Depression is also gradually becoming less taboo thanks in part to celebrities coming ‘out of the dark’ so to speak, and revealing they too are or have been sufferers; these include former footballer Stan Collymore, who has helped raise funds for the charity The Depression Alliance, and comedian, writer and mental health campaigner Ruby Wax, who investigates the mind and writes candidly about her own experiences of depression in her new book Sane New World (Hodder).

Depressing statistics

• Mental illness costs the UK economy more than £105billion every year, with depression and anxiety alone costing £16.4billion through NHS treatment and lost earnings

• Around 350 Million people worldwide suffer with depression, according to the World Health Organization

• Around a third of men and half of women in Britain, according to a poll by The Depression Alliance, reported feelings of depression

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The silent saboteur

A recent UK survey revealed that almost half of Brits are or have been depressed.

The study, conducted by the Depression Alliance, covered 2000 adults and found that just over a third (37 percent), and half of women (53 percent) in Britain had reported feelings of depression either currently or in the past. The usual estimate is one in four. Most of those said they’d experienced depressions also reported feelings of loneliness as a result. The survey, made public in January 2014, But men, it seems, are less likely to get help. Separate figures in 2013 showed around two-thirds of patients referred for counseling or behavioral therapy in the UK were women (475,000) compared to 274,000 men.

The charity’s survey found that seven in ten men who reported suffering from depression found talking to someone close about things was helpful in maintaining their recovery, compared with almost eight in ten women. However, they were less likely to seek help.

myself together’ or ‘snap out of it’ was of no solace.” Kevin thinks he knows why so many of us, in Western cultures, are affected with depression. “As children, we often grow up learning strategies to keep our emotions in check, or hidden, as it’s ‘safer’ not to feel or express them, especially the ‘unwanted’ ones that create discomfort for our elders or are judged as inappropriate,” says Kevin.

“Years of blocking your emotions can not only lead to physical illnesses but also depression”

Decades of depression

One man who knows just what it’s like to suffer with depression is Kevin Billett, CEO and co-founder of self-development therapy The Journey. “Since my teens, I had suffered from clinical depression.

Though a relatively successful businessman of mostly positive and outgoing disposition, I would often find myself in despair, not able to get out of bed in the morning. I would take days off work to lie on the sofa, unable to motivate myself to do more than watch television and sleep. My friends’ and family’s advice that I should either ‘pull

But failing to express emotions only results in them becoming trapped within the body, says Kevin. “Years of blocking your emotions can not only lead to physical illnesses but also depression,” he says. Despite being advised by doctors to take conventional drugs, Kevin didn’t want to go down that route. However, by his late 30s, things had gotten worse. “I was mentally disassociated from my friends and family, and unable to focus long enough to hold a simple, intelligent conversation,” says Kevin. “Anxious about every personal circumstance, I would often find myself sitting in my car in remote places, not knowing how I had got there.” By then suicidal with despair, Kevin reluctantly turned to his GP, who referred him to a psychiatrist who gave him a prescription for Prozac, Diazepam and Temazepam. With no other realistic option, Kevin gave in. “The drugs enabled me to function normally, at least, though they left me with a sense of unreality, and, more worryingly, an overt aggressiveness that eventually caused me to plunge back into depression. “I now know that these drugs, which are often the first and only line of help given to support those with depression, actually further suppress the body’s natural state of happiness.

“By lifting the blanket of depression we can begin to live life fully, passionately, joyously and in vibrant health”

They were originally developed not as a cure for depression, but as anti-anxiety drugs, and they essentially suppress all emotions and keep people in a state of fogginess,” says Kevin.

Healing childhood trauma

After 20 years of suffering in the dark, it was self-healing therapy method The Journey that kicked Kevin’s depression into touch (and of which he is now CEO and married to its creator, Brandon Bays, a best-selling author and teacher in the field of mind-body healing). cellular healing seminar teacher). “What I experienced was probably the most profound thing of my life, up to that point,” says Kevin, recalling his experience of the weekend workshop, now some two decades ago. “I was encouraged to uncover the emotional layers that lay beneath my depression, and eventually encountered a hopelessness so overwhelming that I had been prepared to do anything to avoid it. But, in finally facing this hopelessness, its hold on me evaporated!” Kevin says he was able to resolve the childhood issues that he feels was the root cause of his depression, and felt a sense of inner peace, stillness and confidence. Within 48 hours, and against the advice of his medical consultant, Kevin stopped his medication. “Although I would never recommend anyone withdraw from this type of drug so abruptly, my personal experience was that the depth of wellbeing I discovered on The Journey, stayed with me. I have not had a moment of depression since.”

Feeling uplifted Down Under

Kevin’s profound experience led him to create a weekend workshop targeted solely for other suffers. Entitled ‘Out of the Blue – freedom from the real causes of depression’, the programme was first held early in February 2014 in

Melbourne, Australia. Using Journeywork techniques to specifically deal with depression, anxiety, stress related issues and other related health problems, the workshop helped participants locate and eradicate the root causes of depression, leading to “freedom from limitations, and a newfound passion for life” says Kevin.

Prior to starting the course, two thirds of the participants filled in a questionnaire indicating levels of depression, anxiety and stress ranging from mild to severe.

Pre-workshop responses indicated moderate levels of depression, anxiety and stress (out of a range of normal, mild, moderate, severe and extremely severe), with post-workshop responses showing, in some cases, more than 70 percent lower scores in all three categories.

All in the mind?

for fighting viruses and even attacking cancerous cells. For Kevin, this all just proves, scientifically, what he has already experienced. “We know angry people are more prone to heart attacks, stressed-out folks get ulcers, and even that strong and long buried emotions like grief, fear and resentment can contribute to cancer,” he says. “But by lifting the blanket of depression, and opening into the natural flow of our emotions instead of trying to suppress them with drugs, we can begin to live life fully, passionately, joyously and in vibrant health.”

Do you suffer with the blues?

Kevin will be sharing his remarkable story of recovery at his Out of the Blue – Freedom from the Real Causes of Depression, seminar this autumn at Park Inn Hotel, London, near Heathrow, from 8 – 10 May. Entrance is €495. Find out more and enroll at thejourney.com

But, is it all just mumbo jumbo? Can selfhelp processes like The Journey really make lasting changes to people? It seems sceptics and supporters of orthodox western medicine are beginning to lose their basis for argument, as developments in the field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) begin to suggest our thought SOURCES: patterns do indeed affect our body (1) Psychol Bull. Jul 2004; 130(4): 601–630.

(2) pni.osumc.edu/jkg/stressandhealth/research.htm chemistry. This has led researchers to the conclusion that negative thinking can suppress the immune system. PNI research looks at the interactions between the nervous, endocrine and immune systems and stress or illness. If you are experiencing any negative emotions such as fear or anger, these are picked up by your brain, which prompts your endocrine system to release hormones that have an adverse effect on immunity, thereby leaving you more open to disease. A meta analysis of 300 articles and studies published in 2004 (1), pointed to a link between chronic stress and reduced immune function. The authors stated that the most chronic stressors were “associated with reliable decreases in almost all functional immune measures examined”. Dr Janice Kiecolt-Glaser of Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center (2), looked at the blood tests for immune function of medical students during exams and compared them to baseline blood tests taken a month prior to their final exams. A decline was seen in natural killer T-cells (a type of cytotoxic OUT OF THE BLUE: Kevin Billett, CEO of The Journey, lymphocyte critical to banished his depression and has now developed a the immune system), Journey course to specifically tackle mental illness which are responsible www.thejourney.com 13

EATING HABITS

Stop your fight with food F

Banish your diet demons and get healthy for good, thanks to The Journey’s latest week-long retreat or much of his life, Kevin Billett, codirector of The Journey, struggled with food. “At 14 I felt pudgy and embarrassed about my waistline. At 16 I looked at my body with anger and decided to do something about it ‘once and for all’ but to no avail,” he says, remembering how upset and frustrated he would feel that no matter what he did, the weight stayed. Since his mid-twenties Kevin was always 30-50 pounds overweight, which took a huge toll on his self-esteem not to mention fitness levels and lifestyle choices. Though he tried diets and made many commitments to exercise regularly, the results were limited and temporary, and Kevin would succumb to the internal battle between what he wanted to eat and what his body really needed. “I carried on struggling, eating more and doing less until my weight crept back to, and beyond, its previous levels. Each time my determination to 'get serious' seemed more hopeless than the last,” he says. And he’s far from alone. Official NHS statistics show a marked rise in obesity over a

14 Living Consciously

period of 18 years, with 13 percent of men and 16 percent of women classified as obese in 1993, compared to 24 percent and 26 percent in 2011(1). The NHS Choices website (nhs.uk) blames the increase on “easy access to cheap, highenergy food that is often aggressively marketed” along with people leading more sedentary lifestyles thanks to increased TV watching, internet browsing, and driving more than walking. However, being less physically active is only half of the weight gain epidemic; it’s the rise in junk food, and people literally becoming addicted to foods high in sugar, bad fats and artificial additives, that’s causing people not only to pile on pounds, but fall into depression or create other chronic health conditions, such as autoimmune diseases or adrenal fatigue – where the adrenal glands are overworked by the stress of a highly processed diet. A junk food diet could even lead to arthritis, says Lynne McTaggart, editor of What Doctor’s Don’t Tell You (wddty.com). In the December 2013 issue, which included a special report on arthritis, she wrote that

the disease is not only caused by excess weight but by eating foods that cause inflammation. “The major contributors are sugar, processed and fried foods, which release oxidising free radicals into the system that, in excess, can damage the tissues around joints,” she said(2). It can’t be denied: eating a poor diet leads many people to suffer emotionally, physically and mentally, especially when they use comfort food as a crutch.

Food for thought

But help is at hand for those stuck in destructive cycles with food, thanks to a new week-long retreat created by Kevin and his co-workers. Having accumulated years’ of experience dealing with people’s food and weight issues during Journey processes, including his own, Kevin and other Journey practitioners created Stop the Food Fight, a powerful, effective programme to specifically help people with food additions, unhealthy habits, and stubborn weight. “The results have been astonishing. My core relationship with

food has fundamentally shifted. I no longer crave anything, and instead only want to eat what my body needs to keep it healthy. My food fight has stopped.”

Kevin’s weight dropped effortlessly, he says, and his desire to exercise returned.

Seven days to freedom

During the retreat, participants feast on healthy food and take plenty of exercise, but, more importantly, undergo Journey

processing to banish deep-seated, unhealthy behaviours around food, and learn ways to create lasting change.

“People leave feeling inspired, energised, refreshed and full of motivation to continue their healthy changes, both physically and mentally,” says Kevin. With success stories already hailing from events in Australia and the US, there’s bound to be more transformations occurring this November when Stop The Food Fight takes place in Holland this November.

So, if you’ve long struggled with weight

issues and food addictions, why not book yourself a place on the course and be in control of food again, not the other way around.

For information or to book your place on Stop The Food Fight in Corfu, Greece, 9-15 May, visit stopthefoodfight.org SOURCES: (1) Compiled by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in 2011 (2) What Doctor’s Don’t Tell You, December 2013, p36.

“My food issues vanished!” “It was never about Journey Practitioner Bet Dieningthe weight” Weatherston, who is presenting Stop The Food Fight in London this year, reveals how the programme changed her own life.

When I first attended this seven-day experience I thought the focus would just be on food and diet, but although Stop The Food Fight did begin with a discussion around overconsumption and habits, it quickly moved on to why we abuse food.

I soon realised the way I ate and what I ate reflected my relationship with myself, others and life. Clearly I’d been using food to reward or punish myself. Issues of selfesteem and self-worth arose, as I brought to light how I’d been measuring my self worth by the approval/disapproval of others.

“The way I treated food was a metaphor for my relationship with myself, others and life”

Shaking it up

The course was far from just verbal; we all got moving, doing specific body movements to stir up cell memories, such as a ‘liver cleanse’ to release toxins. A series of techniques helped us make peace with the past and become inspired by the possibilities life offers.

Kevin's tailor-made process allowed us to clear out and heal from past emotional, physical and mental blocks, guiding us throughout with love, humour, clarity and humility to become our best selves.

Getting results

By the end, all my self-defeating issues were addressed and healed. All of a sudden the fight with food simply stopped! I now find it effortlessly to eat more consciously and healthfully. I also enjoy regular exercise and celebrate my body’s abilities to be strong and fit. My issues around self-worth are healing. All in all it’s truly been lifechanging.

The retreat gives you a set of tools to live a life of love, awareness and compassion for yourself and others, not to mention the inspiration to create a meaningful legacy for humanity.

Pepé Soomers, who discovered The Journey a few years ago, describes himself as having been “thin and wiry” until his late twenties, when he suddenly gained 45 pounds in just over a year – for no apparent reason.

Doctors could find nothing wrong with him, and dietitians had no clue about how to help him as he was eating healthily.

Only yo-yo dieting led to significant weight loss, but it would always creep back on. Resorting to meal replacement bars and shakes led to a 30-pound weight loss, but also the loss of most of Pepé’s hair! That was the final straw – no more dieting.

Lighter at the end of the tunnel

Fortunately, Pepé discovered Stop The Food Fight and, since attending, says his weight issues have changed radically. “I came to realise the whole thing was never about food, but about issues connected to protecting myself from emotional harm,” says Pepé, which he now believes led him to gain extra weight.

Pepé was able to clear his issues despite the discomfort.“Though it was painful to go through the process, it was easier than dragging the weight around with me,” he says. Now, Pepé only eats what nourishes his body, and the weight came off until he lost 20kg! “I feel revitalised, energetic, fit, positive and, most of all, full of trust for the future. The tension and pressure have gone, and I finally feel free after years of struggle!”

“Pepe lost around 20kg after having completed Stop The Food Fight”

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REAL LIFE

“The Journey saved us” From barely surviving, to thriving; find out how Journeywork impacts people from all walks of life, from homeless mothers to octogenarians with cancer, in these inspiring real-life accounts

“I was saved from a life on the streets”

As a child, I was sexually abused by my step father and physically and psychologically abused by both parents. By the time I was 12, I was selling cannabis; by 14, I was actually smoking the stuff. I went on to marry an alcoholic and had seven children. After taking yet another beating, I ran away from my husband, left my children with my mother and went to Watford in the hope of being re-housed and to start a new life. But things went very wrong and I ended up on the streets, where I lived for about nine years, getting respite in night shelters and couch-surfing where I could. I too then became an alcoholic and abused my body with drugs to numb the pain and suffering I felt. I also had a few brushes with the law; in short, I had completely lost my way and was heading down a path of destruction.

Emotionally I was drained, tired of my

jumbled thoughts about my past and present, and fears for the future, pessimistic of ever seeing change... until I met Barry. Barry Phillips, a Journey practitioner, helped me completely changed my life after just one Journey session. I found a sense of freedom, clarity of mind, acceptance of my past and childhood, along with forgiveness. I have since done the process many more times using Journey therapy CDs and books to guide me and to find inner strength I never realised I had. I now want to share with others the joy, peace of mind and freedom from the self, which can be obtained through doing Journeywork.

L. Green

“I was told I couldn't have children, but weeks after doing a Journey process I became pregnant!”

“Grandad’s cancer cleared in just two months”

I believe a holistic approach combined with doing Journeywork helped my grandfather, Donald Upton, clear himself of cancer at the age of 82. Having been diagnosed with the most aggressive type of prostate cancer, he went into remission within just two months thanks to a combination of therapies. He had always been a pioneer of alternative approaches, and was on the Council for Complementary Medicine and was one of the founders of a prominent osteopathic college in London. Because of his beliefs in the power of the mind and body to heal itself, he declined chemotherapy and radiotherapy, instead going to work on himself by beginning a totally raw food diet and doing Journeywork to clear his emotional blocks, just like Brandon did when she cleared her uterine tumour. Within two months of beginning this holistic healing programme, he had reduced his cancer down to 13 percent, which is deemed full remission. He looked about 60 years old and was vital, healthy and radiant.

Sally Glover, Journey practitioner

“I was told I’d never have kids – but did!”

When I was told by my gynaecologist that I couldn’t have children, I was devastated. Being a mum and having a family had always been my dream. A friend and Journey Practitioner invited me to do a Journey process with her; two weeks later I was pregnant! I’m now a mother to two healthy todlers, and am so very happy and grateful to Brandon Bays and her life-changing work.”

Carolin B, a business consultant in her late thirties from Australia.

16 Living Consciously

“I’ve re-gained my health”

Having been diagnosed with cancer in 2004, I had a large portion of my sigmoid colon removed. For the next year everything was OK but then in 2005, I developed complications involving scarring around the titanium staples that had been used during the surgery. For the next three years I had to undergo some very painful procedures to rip the scar tissue using an inflatable device (similar to an angioplasty). After nine of these painful procedures there was still no end in sight.

So, I decided to seek some alternative/complementary healthcare in the form of visiting a naturopath. In addition to making changes to my diet and undertaking a cleanse, my MD at work suggested I read a book called The Journey. In September 2008, I attended my first Journey Intensive, and on December 17th I had my last procedure with the gastroenterologist and haven't seen the inside of a hospital since. I've continued to do Journey processes and have also done other forgiveness work.

Both my spiritual and physical health have been steadily improving ever since.

Dan O’Connelly

“My depression completely vanished!”

In 1997, my husband, Russell, died of cancer after four years. We’d been together almost two decades. The illness took a tremendous toll on both of us and our children in the lead up to his death.

Russell so wanted to stay alive, yet his body was riddled with cancer – he was so weak. After the funeral I was exhausted, worn out from all the worry

that I had lived with for so long. I was vulnerable and completely disorientated. I soon fell into a deep depression. As a trained counsellor/psychologist, I naturally turned to my profession for help, and saw a counsellor once a week for almost four years. I spent most of my time in bed, trying to drown out the never-ending suicidal thoughts. Someone recommended Brandon’s book The Journey to me; as soon as I read it, I knew it was going to help me. I immediately found an accredited Journey practitioner in my home town, went to see her, and in just one session I felt the depression lift.

Help loved ones

Is there anyone in your close circle of friends or family who struggles with life, illness, depression, relationships or career? Let them know that The Journey is for everyone and can heal and transform at the deepest level. Leaving their problems behind might only be one Journey process away! To check out the 2015 schedule of Journey Intensive weekends, visit thejourney.com

“I felt the emotional trauma from the past four years leave my womb, where it had been stored”

“This is amazing,” I said, as I felt the emotional trauma from the past four years leave my womb, where it had been stored. I thought to myself that if I could clear something as big as that then there had to be so much hope for the healing of the entire planet. Three sessions later, which I did all by myself, I was able to stop taking my depression medication.

Since then, I have stayed faithful to Journeywork on a regular basis and keep clearing more and more things as they come up. The Journey is the most empowering set of skills I know.

Joanie McMahon, from America, in her mid thirties

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Change from the heart

The Visionary Leadership Advanced Programme A message from the programme’s founder...

“Humanity is facing a difficult conundrum: we rely on leadership to organise and regulate our societies, our governments, our religions, our cultural and sports groups, our corporations, yet every existing model of leadership that exists is deeply flawed. In every area of our lives, self-interest, greed, corruption, short-term blindness and fear of danger and lack are not just commonplace, but have often become the norm. Our trust in our leaders, those who deeply influence and shape the context in which our lives take place, has eroded and disintegrated, leaving us cynical and despairing.

If humanity is to succeed and thrive, if it is to develop wholesomely, something big will have to change. We will need to reappraise who we are, what drives us, what is most important and what we are willing to contribute to changing our old fear- and greed-driven paradigms. Ultimately, we will need to access a greatness deep in ourselves, a capacity that may have lain dormant all our lives. We will need to wake up to our infinite capacity to imagine, to envision, to create, to innovate and to love – not just for the sake of our individual selves, but for the sake of others as an integral part of that same universal self.

The Visionary Leadership program will allow you to uncover and consciously utilize an authentic greatness that lies within you, a greatness you may have long recognized but may not, until now, have known how to access and use. It is an opportunity to clear out old restrictive conditioning and to explore and practice your own unique expression of conscious greatness in the company of others willing to do the same.

If not you, then who? If not now, when?”

Kevin Billett, Founder of The Visionary Leadership Programme

Uncover your own authentic greatness, the innate visionary leader that lies within, and become an agent of conscious transformation in your family, career and society.

With Kevin Billett 17 – 25 April 2015 • €2,690 Hotel Mennorode Elspeet, NL +44 (0) 1656 880 500 vleurope@consciouscoaching.org www.consciouscoaching.org/vl

JOURNEY AT WORK

Find your inner power S

Want to become more powerful, authentic and influential at work? Whatever your career path, attending a Visionary Leadership programme could take you to the next level, says The Journey director Kevin Billett

even years ago I began to contemplate how Journeywork might be relevant to people in leadership and the world of business.

Requests had been coming in thick and fast about how to use The Journey tools in a more professional, less typically ‘spiritual’ context, and I’d finally run out of excuses not to cater for this growing need. But how would I go about creating the content for a new course? I went away on solitary retreat for a few months to open up, pray, and see what might arise from the stillness.

Road to discovery

I’d already been doing Journeywork for 13 years by that point, 11 of which were working full time alongside Brandon, and seven of them teaching The Journey to others.Yet, despite all my training and inner work, when I pondered what conscious leadership might entail, I saw clearly that I did not fully embody its principles.

Admitting this truth to myself felt deeply shameful. In spite of the deep healing and transformation I had undergone, I still felt I was playing small in life, making excuses, playing the resentful victim, and blaming others for burdening me with responsibilities that kept my real potential under wraps. It was then I realised I’d been on autopilot, all the while thinking I was in the groove of self-development, when really I was in a rut.

A sharp awakening

Over the years, I had built up an expectation of what Journeywork could do, and ideas about what I thought truth, change, development and freedom looked like. But, in doing so, I’d grown stale in my progress and had turned away from the mystery and magic of the unexpected. The questions I asked myself then I now ask of others: are you in the groove or in a rut? Are you soaring in

freedom, or are there ways in which you are still playing small? Are you merely open to truth, or hungrily embracing it?

“Are you soaring in freedom, or still playing small? Are you merely open to truth, or hungrily embracing it?”

The answers provided me with a catalyst.

They drove to the surface a strong determination to stop, change, open up and surrender with humility to whatever life wanted to teach me. I now don’t recognise myself from seven years ago; I am now a new man. I feel more joy, bliss and freedom on a daily basis.

The birth of a new programme

From that experience of inner questioning, I began to wonder how I could be of greater service to others. I became a ‘lab rat of consciousness’, so to speak: actively and enthusiastically seeking out my own issues, facing them head on,

clearing them for good and finding greater levels of freedom. This process led to the creation of the Visionary Leadership programme, which is presented around the world with amazing results, helping people release their unconscious limitations, and to uncover their greatness and leadership potential. If you feel drawn to increasing your levels of success, productivity, authenticity and positive influence on those with whom you work, why not attend our next programme and find out for yourself how life can change in rewarding ways?

Book your place!

The visionary Leadership programme helps participants connect with their power and authenticity, empowering themselves and those around them. It is relevant to all walks of life and career fields.

The next visionary Leadership module 1 will be held October 1-7 in Millarville, AB, Canada. Find out more about the course at consiouscompany.com

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JOURNEY IN PRACTISE

A magic wand for healing E

From overcoming her inner critic, to helping patients clear deep emotional and physical illness, clinical psychologist Marie-Sylvie Roy recounts her amazing experiences of discovering and healing from The Journey

very day I witness the deep, lasting transformation of the people who come to see me in my practice as a clinical psychologist in Canada. I see people freeing themselves from depression, anxiety, grief, low self-esteem, debilitating mood disorders, physical ailments such as IBS, migraines and even cancer. I know what the Journey can do for others, and have also witnessed its profound effects for myself. So, when I was asked to pen some healing stories about Journeywork, I wasn’t quite sure where to begin, as the tales were numerous! For starters, there was the client who cleared herself of breast cancer in just two processes; one who suffered from sexual impotence for years but was able to resume a normal sex life after he competed two Journey processes; the person who had panic attacks and couldn’t sleep, who felt instant relief and change after the first session; and the client who was so depressed they could not get out of bed for weeks, who, after Journeywork, became fully functional and well. There was also the lady completely obsessed with and unable to let go of a past relationship, who managed to forgive and move on; a woman distraught by and in denial of her mother's terminal illness, who, after a Journey process, could attend to her mum and be there to hold her hand as she passed; the women suffering with fibromyalgia who had all become pain free; and a client whose decade of chronic hemorrhoid bleeding cleared up after we worked on seemingly ‘unrelated’ issues. I could share countless other healing stories of change, transformation and healing on a physical, emotional and 20 Living Consciously

spiritual plane. All are worthy of a page in themselves, but should I tell my own tale, I wondered?

From sceptic to convert

For me, The Journey enabled me to finally release myself from the relentless, yet subtle, critical inner voice that kept telling me I was never good or worthy enough, no matter what I did or how much I succeeded.

“The Journey gave me a tool, not just a random experience of freedom; a tool so powerful, it felt like having access to a magic wand.”

Until I did The Journey, I thought I had already ‘cleared my shit’, to pardon the phrase. Being a fervent believer of change coming from within, I had, over the years, undergone extensive psychological treatment and carried out continuous training in self-development fields. I had been in the client chair many times and was constantly willing to look at myself to

improve in some way. But, somehow I knew there was more. So, when three people, in just two days, mentioned that The Journey workshop was coming to Ottawa, where I live, I took that as a sign and registered. Already I felt a pull, a little voice inside saying it was going to change my life, and boy did it!

The weekend was a revelation. I went along with no expectations; I was aloof; I hadn’t even read Brandon’s book. I was initially a little overwhelmed by the intensity of the love in the room, even in the way I was welcomed. My everprotective mind, full of fear, started wondering whether I’d stumbled into some sort of spiritual cult; after all, I’d seen many things in my 20 years working in hospitals, schools, and attending workshops. However, once my fears subsided I felt and lived the magic along with everyone else. The weekend was amazing and I finally made contact with the free, non-judgmental part of me that, though I’d glimpsed before, I’d never been able to access whenever I liked. The Journey gave me a tool, not just had a random experience, to enable me to get back to that state of freedom; a tool so powerful it felt like having access to a magic wand. From that weekend, such was the change in my very being, I decided to enroll on the training course to become a certified Journey Practitioner!

Helping others find freedom at last

In the meantime, I began to integrate the tools and processes into my psychology practice, with wondrous results.

“I finally made contact with the free, nonjudgmental part of me” Clients were able to reach down to what we call their ‘source’, which is a deep, free part of themselves, and start to heal. They were releasing block and stuck emotions from the past, often through forgiveness of themselves and others. Some experienced spontaneous healing; some got better gradually. I myself am now freer from those critical voices, which allows me truly to be myself as I guide others on their paths of transformation.

My daughter, now 24, used to help out in my practice by taking down the answer phone messages. She was dumbfounded by the countless calls of gratitude I received. One day she asked me, with an equal measure of curiosity and scepticism,

“Are you God or what? People love you so much!” It was flattering but in reality, people were in love with the freedom they had found, and were simply grateful to have been introduced or awakened to their infinite potential.

I am glad that there is a tool to help people fully access the unlimited potential that exists in us all; this tool, which you will learn on The Journey Intensive, is vast enough to cover all human experiences and emotions, clear or heal them completely, then restore meaning and dignity to even the most ‘damaged’ of souls. I share these stories here, including my own, with the hope of spreading the word about The Journey and its amazing, transformative abilities. Whatever you may be suffering with or from in your life, know that there is a path to healing. I am living proof, as are my clients.

Try is yourself!

If you want to experience transformation, whether physical, emotional or spiritual, just as MarieSylvie did, then sign up for one of the next European Journey Intensive courses. Dates in 2015 are: March 13-15 in Tallinn, and March 20-22 in Bern.

For more dates with Journey presenters, go to thejourney.com/ seminars-schedule/main-track-events

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“Be the change you wish to see in the world,” Ghandi

Want to change your life?

Become a Journey Accredited® Practitioner and begin leading the life of your dreams, and facilitate others to do the same...

Do you have a burning desire to create unlimited abundance, inner peace, optimum health and harmonious relationships? These are just some of the benefits that come from stepping onto the path to becoming a Journey Accredited® Practitioner.

What’s involved?

The Journey Accredited® Practitioner Programme is a seven-part series of profoundly life-changing courses designed to help you break free from the past and any limiting beliefs, to create a life you truly want and deserve.

You will learn how to:

• Manifest abundance in your life

• Create more harmonious relationships

• Banish the ego and its negative influences

• Dissolve your subconscious fears and limitations

• Live life effortlessly and improve your circumstances immediately

• Plus, facilitate Journey healing for clients and build a successful reputation

Be the change “When you reconnect with the truth of who you are, you soar! Seemingly impossible personal barriers simply dissolve, vibrant health and healing becomes available, abundant success and creativity is manifested and you connect with greater understanding to family and friends,” says course creator Brandon Bays.

All graduates of the programme are added to the worldwide list of recommended Journey Accredited® Practitioners, which is now in its 14th year.

The time is now!

If you yearn to liberate yourself from the shackles of self-doubt, fear, anger, shame, and all the subconscious ‘stories’ that prevent you from moving forwards and living out your true purpose in life, the Journey Accredited® Practitioner Programme will cut through the barriers and allow you to soar on so many levels: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

If you feel it’s time to upgrade your life and help others do the same, sign up today!

Get started today

visit www.thejourney.com/become-a-practitioner or call +44 (0) 1656 890400 for information. To qualify, you need to have attend the introductory two-day Journey Intensive, which takes place regularly around the world.

22 Living Consciously

Journey around the

world

Find out how The Journey has helped transform lives around the globe, from school children to prison inmates and government employees 24 Bringing hope to India’s street kids Ravi Rai, a former engineer, recalls the early days of setting up Apna Ghar, a safe house for street children in India that benefitted from Journey work

27 “Moses was my mentor!”

Journey practitioner Dorit Segev explains how she found her life’s purpose thanks to The Journey, and is manifesting her vision for freedom and liberation across Israel

26 From ghetto to letting go A schools project in South Africa is producing nothing short of miraculous results in the lives of traumatised, victimised pupils, thanks to The Journey

28 Help from governments and prisons The Dutch government offers Journeywork to employees to deal with stress, and process work is given to female inmates in South Africa

29 Beyond all boundaries JourneyWoman attendee Jane Ball recounts her tale of discovering her true, authentic self for the first time, thanks to The Journey

www.thejourney.com 23

JOURNEY WORLD

Bringing hope to India’s street kids

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Ravi Rai, a former engineer, recalls the early days of setting up Apna Ghar, a safe house for street children in India that benefitted from Journey work, and which has grown to now look after around 200 children

ometimes it’s hard to believe it’s been 15 years since I left my engineering profession in Singapore to set up homes for underprivileged children in Lucknow, India. The safe house, called Apna Ghar, was established by COME (Children of Mother Earth), and started off with just seven kids; we now house more than 200. There are orphans, kids who’ve been abandoned, those whose parents might be sex workers, or children who just ended up living on the street. Apna Ghar offers them an environment where love and care flows, and it gives me great satisfaction to witness their transformation.

Bearing deep emotional scars

Lights out is around 9pm each evening.

The kids have a habit of falling asleep all over the place, with their quilts or comforters strewn about, so I like to visit each one to rearrange their pillows and tuck them in, just like a loving father would.

One night, during the winter of 2006, I was puzzled to see then six-year-old Bhavesh wide awake, gazing at the ceiling. Before I could ask him a question, he fell into my arms, sobbing. Tears flowed with intensity and, as he clung to me, he whispered, “I am missing my mother.” I embraced him with all my love and compassion, wiping his tears. After an hour, he slept, but I was still wide awake, thinking about how we could better serve the needs of these children with such diverse backgrounds. I began checking on other children and was surprised to find about a fifth of them pretended to be asleep, their issues often troubling them during the night. Aside from the psychological and emotional support we had been providing, these kids clearly needed some sort of additional emotional support. But what exactly?

24 Living Consciously

Answered prayers

The answers came from Ms Siang Hui Tay, a young documentarian from Singapore who did The Journey Advanced retreat some years ago in Australia; Ms Tay connected our project with The Journey,; a team of workers, who had been traveling through India on a Satsang pilgrimage, arrived on our doorstep a few months later. Those who spoke Hindi spent time doing Journeywork with the children, and it made an immediate, positive impact: the kids were happier after just one process. I wanted to know more, so decided to experience the work for myself on a Journey Intensive in Sydney. On the last day of the Advanced Skills workshop, one of the trainers asked me what I’d gained from the course; “A whole new world,” was my answer.

Shedding their painful past

On my return to India, I began doing Journeywork with the children. It was amazing to see them start opening up.

Many painful secrets and bottled emotions were released.The children have very sad, abusive and lonely pasts due to lives on the streets, begging, stealing and working without pay, suffering physical and mental abuse almost every day. During the ‘campfire’ part of the process (where you imagine sitting at a campfire and bringing to mind those who have wronged you in some way) there were many ‘culprits’, and sometimes it took 2-3 hours to complete the process.Their stories often made me cry, and I wondered how these innocent, tender beings withstood such pain and agony. Finally, little Bhavesh revealed his true story. On arrival at the safe house, he’d briefly told us his father was an alcoholic and abusive, and that his mother passed

away when he was five. He could only remember ‘Nandi Gram’, a railway station in West Bengal where he boarded a train to nowhere and ended up at Gorakhpur.

During his process he remembered the whole picture, including how his drunken father stabbed his mother to death. He recalled how frightened he was and how he ran away to avoid his dad. He wept many times during the process and it was tough for us to hear.

“His drunken father stabbed his mother to death, so he ran away.

It was tough for us all to hear”

Bhavesh was much better after doing Journey work, and became more outgoing, cheerful and playful. I hope, with more process work, he will get even better. I have given Journey processes to some of the caretakers at Apna Ghar, and now they are very careful when giving instructions to the children.They explain things in detail, to avoid misunderstandings, which has been very helpful. I am forever grateful to The Journey and it’s team of amazing practitioners for all their generous support, and wish to continue the positive work at Apna Ghar to help even more youngsters who are victims of circumstance.

Ravi runs the childrens’ Homes with love and efficiency, where every dollar reaches the children and the staff who care for them. For donations or sponsoring a child, please go to: www.comeinternational.org

Using pocket money to bury her mother Journey practitioners Megan Bardsley and Tina Kapadia recall their experience of meeting the kids at Apna Ghar and how The Pooja Project came about due to the courage of one little girl

ed ORK: Pooja, then ag AFTER JOURNEYW d ha e sh er aft Bardsley eight, with Megan s es oc ey pr done her first Journ

W

hen Ravi’s first email arrived at our offices, pleading for help, we were all moved to tears,” remembers Megan Bardsley, a Journey worker at the time. MD Kevin Billett and members of the team, including Megan and Tina, happened to be in India on a pilgrimage and so went to meet Ravi and the children. “The experience of meeting all the children broke our hearts, especially hearing Pooja's tale,” says Megan.

Turned away by her own family

Pooja was seven years old when she first went to live at Apna Ghar. Two weeks before, her mother had been “cancelled”, she said, meaning she had been stabbed, leaving Pooja, her five-year old brother, and three-year old sister without parents.

The day of the stabbing, Pooja and her brother went to their mother’s workplace, found her injured, flagged down a two-wheeler rickshaw, and took her to the hospital while she was still alive, but they were turned away because of poverty and social status. The driver of the rickshaw took pity on the children and said they could use the rickshaw for the night. Pooja and her brother carted their mother to another hospital, where

OLDER AND HAPPIER: Poo ja, now 15, with Journey Director Gaby Bur t

2013 don Bays at the PARTY TIME: Bran India, with in for Apna Ghar, Christmas party home. e th m children fro Pooja and other

she was bandaged but not admitted.

There, Pooja was told to take her mother home to die. Using the rickshaw, the brother and sister struggled home, where their beloved mother mother passes away before morning.

Pooja ran and hugged me with such love and intensity; I don’t know who was hugging more, me or her!” Out of a desire to support Ravi and his work, and inspired by the young girl’s transformation, the Pooja Project was born: a CD compilation of beautiful music played at advanced retreats, with proceeds going towards Journey Outreach children programmes. Ravi also received support from Journey Outreach to attend the entire Practitioners’ Programme, so he could continue giving Journeywork to his children, staff and others in India.

“At the hospital, Pooja was told to take her mother home to die”

“Pooja told us how she used all the money she had saved to bury her mother, since they could not afford a cremation,” says Tina. “At the funeral, she begged her relatives to take her and her siblings in, promising to be well behaved.

No one one did. “It was Ravi Rai who took Pooja and her siblings in, gave them a home, a family, a life, lots of love, and everything a child needs to grow and to shine,” says Tina.

From sorry to joy

Pooja’s story brought everyone in the room to tears. “But the joy that emanated from the room after she and the other children had completed their Journeywork blew the roof off the place!

We all wept at the amazing change,” recalls Megan. “I felt extra blessed as

To support to Journey Outreach and buy a Pooja Project CD, visit journeyoutreach.com .Ravi Rai now has five homes under the charity COME, in the central northern region of India. To contribute to his ongoing work, email raviraisingapore@hotmail.com, and find out more at comeinternational.org or thejourneyindia.in

www.thejourney.com 25

JOURNEY WORLD

From ghetto to letting go

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A schools project in South Africa is producing nothing short of miraculous results in the lives of traumatised, victimised pupils, thanks to The Journey reas of South Africa can be rife with violence, rape, substance abuse and poverty. Alexandra, a township in the Gauteng province of Johannesburg, is no exception, and many children there are vulnerable. Pass rates in schools are low, and anger and aggression are commonplace. Although circumstances are often bleak, hope and peace have been brought into the hearts of children at the Kwa-Bhekilanga Secondary School, thanks to three Journey practitioners. Junior Morudu, Juditte Nthabiseng Schlebusch and Jay Bhana set up the Alexandra Schools Project in 2008 to help children and some adults release their past pain and break through to their inner brilliance.

their students. One teacher said: “If this programme can get through to our learners, we can have violence-free schools and good citizens.” Another commented: “Every year, there are pregnancies in each class from grades 1012. My class (where The Journey is done regularly) makes me very proud because none of them have become pregnant this year (2010).”

“Through doing The Journey, I have forgiven my parents and myself.

I am now joyous – not a ‘bad boy’ anymore”

No more fighting

Reducing crime and teen pregnancies

Covering five grade levels (age 8-12), the practitioners give Journeywork to each class as a group, once a week. Students who participate may have been: raped and/or abused, victims or witnesses of attempted murders, attacked and assaulted, stigmatised by chronic physical conditions such as epilepsy, or have attempted suicide. Since the project began, teachers have reported reduced violence, less drug use, fewer pregnancies, improved learning and behavior in and out of class, and higher self-esteem in

26 Living Consciously

One student in particular stood out for his unbelievable turnaround. “Prior to doing The Journey, he was coming to school high on drugs, totally unkempt and was living on the streets,” said one teacher, “but after doing the work he was back at school, sober every day, and living at home once more.” The Alexandra Schools Project is recognised by the country’s Department of Education as being the “most important tool for intervention” for traumatised, underperforming or difficult learners.

But it’s not just teachers who notice vast improvements – the kids realise they have changed, too. One admitted: “Before I did The Journey, my temper was very short. I used to fight against anyone who disturbed me. After The Journey, I got the confidence to control my temper. Now I talk instead of fight.” Another said: “I was a thief and a fighter, a drunk and a liar. I had no respect. I called myself a bad boy.

Through doing The Journey, I have forgiven my parents and myself. I am now joyous – not a ‘bad boy’.” These are just a few examples of how The Journey is

impacting the lives of those whose futures might otherwise be bleak. The work is clearly making a difference by bringing joy, peace and love into the hearts of those in challenging situations, but additional funds are still needed to allow the programme to reach out to more young people in South Africa.

To find out how you can help or donate, visit the Journey Outreach website at journeyoutreach.org

A school in mourning

The Journeywork was really put to the test in October 2010 when a tragic road accident killed two people, one of whom was a student, outside the Kwa-Bhekilanga Secondary School in Alexandra. To help those who were traumatised by the event, a group bereavement process was carried out during an assembly, attended by educators, students and psychologists from the Department of Education. One of the psychologists was so impressed, she decided to attend a Journey Intensive and the Advanced Skills workshop. Since then, she has taken bereavement processes into other schools.

JOURNEY WORLD

“Delivering myself to freedom, with Moses as my mentor!”

I

Dorit Segev, a Journey practitioner, explains how she found her life’s purpose thanks to The Journey, and is manifesting her vision for emotional freedom and liberation across Israel

want to learn this method!” was the first thing I said to myself after my mother-in-law gave me Brandon Bays’ book The Journey. It had only taken me a weekend to read, and I could barely wait for the first Journey Intensive to arrive in Israel, where I lived. That was back in 2008, and it was Brandon herself leading the seminar. I knew straight away there was something special and authentic happening, both within me and The Journey community as a whole, and felt there was a mission waiting for me to undertake. After the Intensive, I signed up for the Journey Practitioner Programme. I was quite nervous as the course approached, and questions filled my mind about where it was going to lead me.

Almost missing my flight to Germany, where the course was held, almost had me in doubts. Was it a sign not to go? But, with faith, I put one foot in front of the other and let myself be guided...

A vision of freedom

During the week, I had a most profound Journey process where I saw myself breaking the shackles of slavery and delivering myself to freedom, with Moses as my mentor, no less! I then saw a bigger vision for Israel: me guiding an entire nation to freedom! This became burned into my mind’s eye, and was so deep and profound I can still see it today. My life’s purpose continued to unfold throughout the week, and though my job was at the Israeli Ministry of Education, my vision grew into how The Journey could be used by counsellors, education ministers and teachers throughout all of the country.

Intuition told me to begin with adults, as that would be the fastest way to connect with a multitude of children. I was so excited and on a high about this vision!

Straight to work

When I returned home, I told UP AND AWAY: Pupils in an Israeli classroom find creative people about my vision. As part ways to release their negative emotions by writing them of course work for the on balloons then 'dissolving' them into water.

Practitioners programme, I had to conduct 48 one-to-one encouraging. One said they were a “much Journey processes as case studies. Suddenly, better community” with “so much love in people who had heard of my experience our schools now”. One teacher,Tal, has set showed up in droves, and, in no time at all, up a ‘corner for emotions’ in her classroom.

I’d completed all my processes and shared It contains balloons on which she write with each person my vision for the Israeli words such as anger, fear, sadness, etc. Next Teachers and Education Counsellors. to this is an aquarium containing a diamond.

Thanks to help from others, During the day, when pupils feel upset, they I ended up being given the chance to talk can drop their emotion into the water and at an Education Ministry conference about return to their seat silently. At the end of the benefits of The Journey.The day arrived each day, Tal holds a discussion for pupils to – October 1st, 2008 – for me to present share the emotions from the day, followed my findings. I wasn’t expecting many to by a meditation to uncover what was attend, especially as it it was solely for beneath the negative emotion.

Finally, they educators and teachers, and I’d been so empty the water, clean the diamond, and fill busy in the run up that I’d not had a the tank with clean water to start the next chance to promote the event. But, to my day afresh.

For the past three years, there shock and surprise, 550 people showed up! have been open workshops held for all Words couldn’t express how humbled I educational workers, many of whom report felt.Those in attendance said they could increased self-belief both for their students really see my passion for The Journey and and themselves, including a better ability to my vision for Israel, and it really cemented manage any classroom crises. The future is in my mind the possibilities of fulfilling my looking bright, with plans to develop life’s purpose.

Journey programmes within the health sector. A connection has already been made with the association called Sons of Since that wonderful day six years ago, so Abraham, which develops projects to many exciting things have happened.The promote peaceful co-existence between Ministry of Education enquired about the Hebrew and Arabic people. incorporating The Journey into education programmes; counsellors have set up The next Journey Practitioners groups to bring The Journey to both Programme is open and applications students and teachers, much to my delight are available to anyone who has and amazement. Some of the comments already attended a Journey Intensive received from teachers who’ve undertaken weekend.visit thejourney.com/ this work have been extremely become-a-practitioner

A bright future

www.thejourney.com 27

AROUND THE WORLD

Beating work-related stress

S

The Dutch government offers Journeywork to employees to alleviate burnout and work-related stress, with remarkable results tress and burnout are high on the list of 21st century maladies, and a Journey practitioner duo in The Netherlands is helping government employees return to work after periods of stress-related absence. In 2008, Barbara Kok and Victor Overmars established The Burnout Poli, a treatment centre in Voorburg, which won a contract to supply Journeywork to employees from all ministries in the Netherlands suffering from burnout or other stressrelated illnesses. The centre offers a therapy based on three pillars: mental coaching, emotional therapy and physical treatment by an osteopath. The emotional therapy part is based on Journeywork, which, say the practitioners, is making a real difference by going

beyond what conventional treatments can offer. In a relatively short time period, huge results are being achieved, according to the practitioners: the recovery time is quick and there is next to no incidence of relapse. Twelve governmental departments now offer the triple therapy package to their employees as well as other institutions and companies throughout the Netherlands. “We noticed that with stress-related health problems, talking therapies alone are not the solution,” said Journey Practitioners Barbara and Victor. “If you really want to recover, you have to find the underlying causes of stress and clear them out at the deepest level, which allows for consistent and lasting health results,” they added.

RELIEVING STRESS: Victor and Barbara at work

“People undergo a wonderful personal liberation. Not only are they empowered to return to work, but they feel genuinely happy and in touch with their authentic selves.”

Find out more about this project at burnoutpoli.com

Freedom behind bars

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Journeywork used in prisons and correctional facilities in South Africa is helping female inmates find inner freedom, whatever their past traumas may be n 2006, a group of practitioner volunteers introduced Journeywork to female prisoners of Westville Prison in Durban, South Africa. Due to the growth and success of the programme, an additional pilot programme and partnership was set up with the

Heather Slabbert counselling a prisoner

28 Living Consciously

Department of Correctional Services to work with victims of crime. Having passed quality assurance, the programme gained accreditation from the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) in Durban.

Rahila Khan, prison project leader, recounts his tale of how the programme worked for one inmate, who not only healed her mental but physical illnesses: “Some years back I received a very moving letter from a woman who had been incarcerated for life in the Durban correctional facility. She was in for murder, which had happened while defending her child against violent physical attacks from her husband. While in prison, she had contracted Hepatitis C, which had become very advanced; she had been told she would die an early death. In her letter she pleaded for us to continue sending Journey Practitioners into the prisons.

Well, after just three months and three full Journey processes, her blood count levels were shown to be in the normal range and she was pronounced medically cured of her illness! “She later wrote to me saying that although she would never leave the prison, nor get the chance to watch her children grow up, she felt ‘more free now’ than she ever had been on the outside.” Mr Pooben Pillay, from the Office of Education and Training at the Department of Correctional Services in South Africa, was also singing the praises of the Journey programme, encouraging its continuation. “Offenders who were considered challenging, transformed their lives from having been addicted to prescribed medication, in poor state of mental health, in poor general conduct, to lives full of hope, purpose and confidence,” he said.

REAL LIFE

Reclaim your inner power!

Calling all women!

The JourneyWoman seminar is back and this time it’s twice as powerful!

How it all began

A

re you tired of playing small in life?

Of feeling overwhelmed by a seemingly endless ‘to do’ list that saps your energy and creativity? If you’re constantly trying to be superwoman yet feel miserable, unfulfilled and worn out, the new All-European JourneyWoman Retreat could help you regain access to a pool of innate, powerful feminine intuition that’s buried deep inside you. Senior Journey practitioners Bettina Hallifax and Ariane Schurmann host the new JourneyWoman retreat this October in The Netherlands, and say it’s for any woman irrespective of language, background or conditioning.

“There is a magic that happens when women come together and are open; it’s like we effortlessly remember a temporarily forgotten language deep within our bones,” says Bettina. Both presenters strongly believe that all transformation, whether it’s more wealth, better health or happier relationships, begins within. But, sometimes we are not even aware of the issues and sabotaging beliefs that hold us back. “These issues prevent us from receiving all the blessings we deserve,” says Ariane, who thinks thousands of years of female repression are stored in our collective consciousness. “If these unconscious beliefs are not addressed, we block off abundance, health, expression and creativity. We might continue the search, reading books and following spiritual masters, yet it’s the divine woman within that is calling us home!”

In 2008, Bettina and Ariane were delegates at the first European JourneyWoman retreat, and were so moved and transformed by the event that they went away and, individually, explored Journeywork within their own female groups and one-to-one sessions. This autumn, they come together to collaborate on the biggest JourneyWoman event in history. Here, they recall their individual JourneyWoman experiences.

Bettina’s story…

Prior to JourneyWoman, I thought I was a privileged, free and fully emancipated woman – a leader in my chosen profession. I felt no need to work on ‘women’s stuff ’, and had no conscious recollection of issues my mother, grandmother and greatgrandmother had faced and unwittingly passed on to me. So, it was a shock to discover that, deeply hidden away, I had a whole web of belief systems around relationships with other women, inferiority complexes and hidden ‘certainties’ about what life as a woman must be like. I was, unconsciously, repeating ancient unhealthy patterns from my ancestors. I was putting myself second, playing small and wasn’t free at all! Once I’d opened up to this, I realised I actually needed to be in a supportive environment with other women to access and remove these unhealthy patterns. So much was revealed to me in this first retreat; I let go of envy, rage and other hidden emotions, mainly around not being a mother. I came to a place of peace and completion, deeply rooted in my full power.

After the retreat, my whole being changed.

Journeywork has enriched my life enormously, as has learning to listen to my body and be in an atmosphere of acceptance with other women.

Ariane’s story…

It wasn’t until I’d read the JourneyWoman flier for the fifth time that I realised I hadn’t felt fulfilled and joyful in as long as I could remember.

So, I booked a place for myself and my daughter, Ninya. Boy, were we in for a ride!

I discovered I’d had been living on male energy. Though I was a strong woman, I had been in leadership roles my whole life and didn’t really understand or know what being a woman actually meant. I was quick to judge other women as ‘weak’, even though inside I was burning out from a total lack of soft, feminine energy. At the retreat, I discovered my inner truth for the first time, and learned how to speak that truth then live it. My whole life has now changed for the better. Joy has returned to my body and soul, and I feel free to be a woman in a woman’s body. What’s more, I found my life’s calling and the courage to move to the next level. To this day I still experience the fulfilment of that retreat, and – the biggest gift of all – my daughter and I transcended the conditioned ‘mother/daughter’ roles and now live in harmony and freedom. We’ve even started our own company together!

If you feel drawn to creating lasting change and finding inner fulfilment, why not sign up for the biggest JourneyWoman retreat of all time? It might just change your life.

Senior Journey Presenters Bettina Hallifax and Ariane Schurmann will host the All-European JourneyWoman in Mennorode Netherlands, 1 - 4 October 2015.

Find out more at thejourney.com

www.thejourney.com 29

Discover the Mystery that Lies Within

Many of the issues we face as women are ingrained at a cellular level, having been passed on from generation to generation. The spoken and unspoken challenges we face as women have become part of our consciousness and at times hold us to a way of life which actually limits our own natural way of being.

JourneyWoman is your key to discovering the real feminine freedom that lies within.

• Experience the divine presence of the real you - a woman in all her glory, power, strength, beauty, presence and grace • Cut through the concepts of what it means to be a woman and clear these limiting patterns out at the level of consciousness.

• Open into your true female essence. You'll leave enriched, having experienced what this new definition of the feminine is, and begin living your life, free to soar in all your womanly glory.

Bettina: After the first Journey Woman Retreat my whole posture changed, inside and out. The calling to explore deeper in a sacred female circle, accessing and uncovering what a “heavy burden from the past” we all carry in our subconscious became louder and louder! Exploring with, inviting in and trusting other women enriched my life enormously!

Learning to listen to my body and being in a circle where everything is allowed helped me to explore all sides of me.

Ariane: The greatest benefit was the joy that returned to my body and soul, the freedom I regained and the permission I gave myself to be myself, a woman in a woman’s body. I found my life’s calling and the courage to move to the next level. My fulfilment levels were boosted a thousand percent and are long lasting, and the biggest gift of all – my daughter and I went beyond the conditioned mother and daughter roles and are now living in harmony and freedom – even starting a company together as soul sisters!

JourneyWoman 1 - 4 October 2015 Mennorode, Netherlands with Ariane Schurmann & Bettina Hallifax 30 Living Consciously

International Schedule for Journey and Leadership Events in 2015/16 2015

Entry level seminars Advanced Retreats for Journey Practitioners

Journey Intensive Seminar w Brandon Bays 13 – 15 Mar • Tallinn Estonia Journey Intensive Seminar w Brandon Bays 20 – 22 Mar • Bern, Switzerland, Journey Intensive Seminar w Brandon Bays 10 – 12 Apr • Bratislava, Slovakia Manifest Abundance Retreat w Brandon Bays 17 – 19 Apr • Estonia Visionary Leadership Advanced Retreat w Kevin Billett 17 – 25 Apr • Elspeet, Netherlands Manifest Abundance Retreat w Kevin Billett 1 – 3 May • Bratislava, Slovakia Out of the Blue – Freedomfrom the Real Causes of Depression, w Kevin Billett 8 – 10 May • Park Inn Hotel, London Heathrow No Ego Retreat w Brandon Bays and Kevin Billett 15 – 23 May • Elspeet, Netherlands Journey Intensive Seminar w Brandon Bays 29 – 31 May • Sinaia, Romania Healing with Conscious Communication w Kevin Billett 5 – 7 June • Bratislava, Slovakia Healing with Conscious Communication w Kevin Billett 12 – 14 June • Tallinn, Estonia Healing with Consicous Communiation w Kevin Billett 19 – 21 June • Bucharest, Romania Life Transformation Week (final Journey Practitioner week) w Brandon Bays 3 – 11 July • Elspeet, Netherlands Visionary Leadership Advanced Retreat w Kevin Billett 18 – 26 Sep • Slovakia Journey Intensive Seminar w Brandon Bays 25 – 27 Sep • Netherlands JourneyWoman w Ariane Schurmann & Bettina Hallifax 1 – 4 Oct • Mennorode, Netherlands Journey Intensive Seminar w Brandon Bays 2 – 4 Oct • Bucharest, Romania

Maintrack advanced events Bespoke Events

Out of the Blue, Training for Journey Practitioners, w Kevin Billett 9 – 11 October • Wales, UK Journey Intensive Seminar w Brandon Bays 16 – 18 Oct • Tallinn, Estonia Journey Intensive Seminar w Brandon Bays 23 – 25 Oct • Germany Journey Practitioner Mastery w Brandon Bays 29 Oct – 1 Nov • Elspeet, Netherlands Journey Intensive Seminar w Brandon Bays 6 – 8 Nov • Heathrow, London Conscious Coaching w Kevin Billett 13 – 15 Nov • for Journey Practitioners, Elspeet, Netherlands Journey Intensive Seminar w Brandon Bays 16 – 18 Nov • Tel Aviv, Israel Advanced Communications and Presenting w Kevin Billett 16 – 21 Nov • Elspeet, Netherlands (pre-requisite: VL Adv) Manifest Abundance Retreat w Brandon Bays 27 – 29 Nov • Elspeet, Netherlands Manifest Abundance Retreat w Kevin Billett 27 – 29 Nov • Romania No Ego Retreat w Brandon Bays and Kevin Billett 10 – 18 Dec • Bangalore India

2016 Journey Practitioner Mastery w Brandon Bays 14 – 17 Jan • Byron Bay, Australia No Ego Retreat w Brandon Bays and Kevin Billett 22 Jan – 30 Jan • Coffs Harbour, Australia Advanced No Ego w Brandon Bays 9 – 19 Feb • Tiruvannamalai, India

There are many more Journey Intensive events with our dedicated presenter team on offer around the world – please check our website: thejourney.com/seminars-schedule/main-track-events/ For bookings, please contact our office: +44 (0)1656 890 400 • infoeurope@thejourney.com www.thejourney.com 31

STOP the Food Fight!

Exercise Lifestyle

Wellness

Diet Health Weight

Food

Radically Transform Your Habits and Your Health... in Just 7 Days!

This 7-day retreat is for anyone who:

• Is tired of trying to reach the ideal weight; • Has tried diets and exercise regimes that didn’t work; • Doesn’t have enough will power to stick to healthy habits; • Feels tired and weighed down with the burden of needing to make life style changes.

If you want to live in harmony with your body and put an end to unhealthy food habits (cravings, binging, self-punishsing or self-rewarding rules, etc.) than this week is designed for you!

with Bet DieningWeatherston Corfu, Greece 9-15 May, 2015 Corfu Buddha Hall

Cost: €1995 or book now with a deposit of €100 and receive the Early booking price of €1795 if paid by 31 March 2015 Pre-requisite: Open to Journey Intensive, STFF 2-day and Out of the Blue graduates