A little while ago I was given the opportunity and idea to write a fairy tale. The fairy tale was to be a little different in that it was to be about me, a thread or two of my life from beginning to now, and it was not to have an ending… Not yet! The process of reflection, writing and then sharing the story with a group of beautiful women was one of the most profound and powerful experiences I’ve had. It takes courage to share our creativity, more courage to be seen and heard speaking of ourselves, and yet more courage to read the truth of the story and see the deeper unfolding of our life to present day. I’m now taking another gulp of courage and choosing to share my story with a much wider audience, knowing that I am not granted the same level of protection from judgement or criticism as I had within the circle of women. I am choosing this in the hope that it may inspire others to go through the same writing process, and if you can, to read out your creation to a circle of loved friends. You will be amazed at what beauty and wisdom your story holds, and how deeply it impacts on those who hear it. Write forth with grace and courage…

The Story Of Amanda

Once upon a long time ago, there lived a little girl named Amanda, and although Amanda was not born in a castle or palace, her Mother and Father believed her to be their princess, a largely tatty, messy and boyish princess, but special to them all the same.

One sunny day Amanda went for a stroll in the woods, while out in the woods she came across a fallen tree covered in silky green moss. The bend in the trunk made a perfect place to perch a small bottom, so upon the trunk Amanda sat. As Amanda sat, eyes closed, sensing the gentle breeze on her skin, hearing birdsong and small scurrying animals and insects busying around in the ground, she found herself experiencing magic. Without words, the trees and flowers, animals and insects, seemed to somehow reach out to her, or she to them, and for a short while Amanda was a tree, was a bird flying above, she was a worm pushing its way through dank cool earth. Amanda was instantaneously connected to all living things, she was spirit flowing freely with life, she knew what God was and it was not what she had been told it was at church, at home or at school. The Earth itself held her gently and urged her to remember to come back to this place anytime life as a human felt too challenging to bear. Amanda heard a whisper on the wind, it was the echo of a time long ago, an ancient wisdom told in symbols. A sacred wisdom that had to be remembered in order to allow the future to flow. Rolling her eyes to the skies, Amanda sighed, “c’mon guys, I’m six years old, that’ll have to go on the back-burner for now!”

And up she jumped and skipped and tripped and clumsily danced her way home.

There were many times in Amanda’s young life that she found herself taking refuge in gardens and country lanes, in fields and next to streams in woodland. Life amongst the human’s was tricky, people told lies, their mouths spoke words that simply did not match what their energy was saying. The children she shared her days with at school played games of the not-so-fun kind, they were cruel, bullying, fighting with one another for power and attention. Amanda was not happy here, not comfortable in this awkward gangly body of hers. People were confusing to her, she felt an absolute love for all things, for everything found in nature, this included humans, but she could never feel the love being returned. So Amanda sat, as the Earth had previously urged her, and connected with something bigger, something ever flowing with the energy of love and this connection kept her strong and capable, in a small and fearful way.

Then one day, Amanda’s father surprised her by finally allowing her to do something she had been begging to do for as long as she could remember… He allowed her to go with him on a bike ride with a big cycling club. On this huge day of adventure, her little legs pushed her peddles for twenty miles over hills and into valleys. Amanda met with a group of teenagers, who, unlike the children of the unhappy school variety, accepted Amanda just as she was. They didn’t pick out her freckled face and gappy teeth as something ugly or weird, they didn’t comment on her spindly legs or puppy fat tummy. Instead they were interested to hear her thoughts, they found the jokes she told funny, they gave her jovial little hugs, and they told her they hoped she would be back next week. And she was, and the week after, and the week after that. Amanda grew with this group of companions throughout her teenage years and into her twenties, and in amongst this group Amanda found her first Prince Charming, and her second, and third, well, a few really (she was in her teens after all!)

One Prince Charming was a little more persistent than the others, to the point that on another day, a long time ago, Amanda married this Prince… But far from the happy ending as found in so many Fairy Tales, this was simply the beginning of another adventure into the complexities of human relationship. So long and complex was this adventure that it requires a little side-step, a different tangent, a story within a story, so here it is:

Once Upon a Golden Time there was a little girl, who dreamed her dreams of Kings and Queens and sparkling never-worlds....

I met you as a tender teen and swore I'd found my prince
I clung on tight through rough rebukes that turned my brain to mince
I wore your ring too readily tho t'was heavy with rejection
The icy looks of pure disdain took place of sweet affection
All those hopes and dreams and needs and lists of expectations
Were ripped and torn and unfulfilled, stamped out with condemnation
You too my Prince were led astray by the given label “wife”
I did not fit the category so burdened all your life
Until the day I spat you out, frustrated with suppression
The victim turned from whining cow deep seated in depression
To fearsome feline, like cornered cat I hissed and scratched and bit
I thought I'd share my battle scars and gave you wounds to lick
The ring was tossed into the night in furious bid for freedom
My heart did bleed as did my eyes with tears for all years stolen
The fairy-tales of Kings and Queens were bitter in my mouth
I ripped them out, with my tongue, and buried them along with my youth
Encased in brittle cast iron shell I found my independence
With self-sufficient warrior soul I kicked against dependence
I stood so strong, a tower of might cascading through the world
I took God's love in place of man's and entered a spiritual swirl
And in that swirl I opened up and tasted all the lessons
In awe I gazed into your soul and recognised your blessings
Through you and others who have since been I have learned of many things
Of what love is, of what love is not, of truth and how life sings
Of challenge, of joy, of peace, of hate, of Oneness with all souls
Of the illusion of expectations, and of the beauty as grace unfolds...

Once upon a Golden time there is a wiser Queen, who dreams life's dreams, who flows with love, who is now ready for her King.

And so to present day…. Amanda is now all grown up, well, nearly, and is hearing the whisper on the wind once more, a whisper of intangible truths given in etheric symbols. Now she rolls her eyes to her third eye and says to the world ‘ok guys, bring it on!’ Although Amanda can only sense a hint of what this may mean, she is willing to go there, wherever there may be, and be whatever she is, in order to bring forth the ancient past to support the flow into the future. The future that is yet to be written…

This is not the end!

One Billion Rising Flashmob – Februray 14th 2013

Piccadilly Gardens was yesterday host to a large group of women and men, holding a ‘flashmob’ to support the One Billion Rising campaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness of violence and discrimination against women all over the world. Through a combination of dance, song and protest it has united people globally to say enough is enough.  The protest lasted around two hours, and included a minutes silence for all past atrocities against women. It was put on by a number of organisations, which included the Pankhurst Centre. An evening event with music, poetry and theatre was also put on by the Zion Arts Centre in Hulme.

The reasons for this event are clear. One third of women (1 billion) are raped or beaten in their lifetime. Female genital mutilation is still practiced in some parts of the world. Many women have to put up with sexist behaviour on a regular basis in their work, social or family lives and often feel unable to speak out as they fear the consequences. Ignorant and sexist attitudes still exist in all societies.

As a man, I feel it’s particularly important to support such campaigns. I want to make the point this is a male issue too. If it’s viewed as just a women’s issue, then it won’t be solved. The whole point is that we’re all human, we’re all life and we’re all dependent on one another. A lot of men feel uncomfortable speaking out about women’s rights, or gay rights (but not so much racism!) I think there’s a perception it’s somehow emasculating. All these issues are about discrimination, and they’re all as important as each other.

What does protesting actually achieve? It’s a valid question I’ve heard a lot of people ask before. What protesting does is to raise awareness. It raises awareness which is harnessed in people’s everyday actions. Even if people don’t immediately accept what they see or hear; if it’s true it will stick with them. There’s no hiding from the truth. I think this point is missed by some as you can’t always see the effects straight away, but this is how it works.  Too many people in the UK are unaware of too much, but no one can be unaffected when they hear about some of the things that go on in this world. Protest and campaigning can fill the gap often left by the mainstream media.

We all have a masculine and feminine side, whatever category our bodies fall into. Denying either of those will cause suffering. I hope violence and discrimination against women will be ended as soon as possible, though I fear it could be a while. The most important thing is for people to educate themselves, speak out and take whatever action they can. This applies to any issue which is causing people to suffer. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.

http://www.manchesterawakening.org.uk

This thing we call stress, which most of us have experienced at some point and I’m sure many of you experience on a daily basis, what is it? What does it mean when someone says they are suffering from stress and anxiety? Stress and anxiety are symptoms of something underlying which is causing an imbalance in our thinking.  This has an impact on us physically, mentally and emotionally.

 Let’s look at the emotional/ mental aspects first. We very often blame the external factors in life for the stress we are feeling, money, relationships , career. However, if we look inside and question what really lies at the heart of the issues we often find that there is a feeling of being out of control of our own lives. Managing stress is about taking control of how you deal with your life, being honest and realistic with yourself about the life you wish to create. I believe it is how you choose to think about a problem that is very often the cause of the problem.  It seems logical to think that it is the event happening to us that is causing stress, but the opposite is actually true. It is our response to the event which causes the stress. It is our assumption about reality and not reality that cause us to think in a way that is stressful. It is the thought ‘I can’t cope with this workload’ that is the stressor not the work load itself. So with this in mind, we can process what is going on in a more productive way.

· Be realistic about what you can and cannot achieve

· Be honest about your emotions let your feelings out, talk to someone.

· If you are struggling, get help. It is not a sign of weakness to admit that you cannot cope. It is a sign of strength to recognise that you need help.

· Ask honestly ‘Is it the situation/person that is causing me stress or is it reminding me of something/someone  from my past?’.

·  Realise that you can change your perspective on a problem. Ask ‘How can I change my thinking on the issue to be more positive/productive?’

· Focus daily on the bigger picture, give less importance to the small stuff and remind yourself that life can be ultimately about joy, the joy of your connections with others and with the activities and simple things in your life that bring you meaning and joy.

Physically, stress impacts on our bodily systems . The main impact is on the nervous system. The central nervous system has two parts, sympathetic and parasympathetic .  In ancient times when we roamed the plains we humans had to get away from dangerous wild beasties rapidly and so the sympathetic nervous system ,kicks in and gives the body what it needs to make its ‘flight’ from danger. Blood leaves the vital organs and moves into the limbs to enable a quick getaway and all unnecessary activity is ceased until the situation is safe again. This is marvellous for getting away from scary beasts but when the scary beast is your boss or the bills coming through the letterbox we cannot just run away. So stressful situations mean that the parasympathetic system is switched on constantly and adrenaline is pumping, when this is a daily norm the nerves get weakened and burnt out. The parasympathetic nerves do act to calm the stress response and bring us into a relaxed state. However, in order to do this we need to learn to relax. I am constantly amazed by the blank faces when I ask people what they do to relax. Watching television or going on Facebook may be part of your down time but the body really needs to rest deeply and in order to do this we need to come out of the mind and rest deeply in the body. Two great ways to relax are, Yoga Nidra ( a yogic sleep practice), Body scan ( a guided meditation) there are many websites and even MP3’s you can find and download. Less formally, just walking in nature or spending time doing hobbies you love can be very relaxing if you make the time for yourself.  It seems like madness to invest so much into getting the life we want but never stopping to enjoy it.  Giving so much to our external world but giving nothing back to ourselves, is futile.  The food we are consuming can also add to levels of stress, anything that is a stimulant will raise the stress response. This includes coffee, tea, salt,sugar and processed food. There is so much information available these days on the internet about healthy diets and stress relieving, soothing foods. If you are not sure what to do about your diet then educate yourself, it can be wonderfully empowering and give you a feeling of taking control.

Here’s some tips:

· Try the meditation included below, aim to do it at least 5 days out of 7.

· Learn how to relax, there are lots of resources on the internet.

· Try left nostril breathing to calm and relax you . Blocking off the right nostril with a finger and breathing long and deep through the left nostril you can change a stressful state of mind into a calm state within 3 mins… try it for yourself!

· Make time for relaxation every day and do not let anything encroach that. Be as dedicated to yourself as you are to your work/family/ friends.

· Cut down on those stimulating foods and eat more natural, wholesome healthy foods instead.

· Exercise regularly, this builds up strength in the nervous system so you can cope much better with stress. Kundalini yoga works on strengthening the nervous system.

· Make sure you get out into nature as often as possible. Nature is a marvellous help, not only for the sunlight and fresh air but also nature is a great teacher. We can watch a passing cloud and realise that all things do pass. We can delight in the seasons and also learn about death and rebirth. By letting go of what is past we can make way for something new to come into our life.

Try this meditation. Click here

Elaine 'Akal Dev'

Holistic Manchester was built out of the idea of community togetherness. Travelling the world I found there were many areas, particularly in the US that had a sense of belonging and encouragement. Their communities would meet, for no reason but to offer support for the great work they were doing. Based around the ultimate universal idea of love and acceptance, these events were social, creative, impassioned with music, dancing, singing and new friendship.

I returned back to the UK almost 5 years ago and found no such community. Everything was based upon Mind Body Spirit selling worthless trinkets and spiritual materialism. Real missing the point kind of stuff. So I started to build the idea of having a holistic social, for anyone working or just interested in the field of holistic wellbeing or medicine. This would of course in clued all the alternative and complementary therapies, yoga, meditation and any other conscious work. I wanted to provide a space of acceptance inside Manchester and demonstrate that there was a support community, where people could come together , eat and chat and with no agenda but to meet, eat and chat.

It worked excellently. Having been running for the last 3 years the events are excellent and enjoyed by all. No one is cast aside and everyone is encouraged. At the events we have speakers, often 5 or 6 and some speaking at the same time so you have to chose which to go to. The topics vary from life coaching to sound healing to meditation practice and kundalini yoga.

There is a 650 plus facebook group now www.facebook/groups/holisticmanchester and a web page at www.holisticmanchester.com  - For those people not on facebook I have recently created a Meetup page on http://www.meetup.com/HOLISTIC-MANCHESTER/

The group welcomes all and currently hosts events every 2 months with the next on the 17th of Feb in Hale – the following one is on the 14th of April in Hale.

The facebook page also doubles wonderfully as a community posting board and I welcome all posts that are holistic in some way – they must be promoting the togetherness of holistic understandings. The group is completely non religious and welcomes all faiths and belief systems so long as they are themselves accepting of others.

It’s a joy and an honour to be part of this group.

With love

Mark
www.markabadi.com
www.bookevolve.com

The last two or three weeks I have been at the receiving end of what I perceived as a lot of negative interactions. Just to name a few: rejection, being judged, lack of understanding, humiliation, attempt to discredit me, being lied to… I have been observing my reactions in these situations with great interest. Don’t misunderstand me, it still hurt my feelings and I still had the urge to hide under my duvet and cry. Not that there is anything wrong with hiding under the duvet and crying, but this time I decided to do things differently. Instead, I started to search my memory for situations when I was unkind to others and why I behaved the way I behaved. I discovered a whole range of reasons: feeling insecure; the fear of feeling worthless; fear of the different/unknown; fear of rejection; annoyance that the other person does not share my values, beliefs, opinion, or simply stress and a lack of time just to name a few…

This experience made me realise how easy it is to be insensitive towards the needs of others and take their dignity. At the same time it would take the same amount of energy and effort to leave them their dignity. It all lies in the power of communication. Instead of outright rejection, or inflating the ego to make the other person feel really small and worthless it is possible to acknowledge their needs and still politely decline their request. It is possible to respectfully disagree with an opinion but still offer the other person a safe space to have their opinion. Instead of scolding someone for what one perceives as a stupid question, it is possible to acknowledge that they might have a different background, whereby they don’t possess the same information/knowledge as we do. Just as there is no point in trying to force food into someone’s mouth who is dying of thirst, there is also no point in trying to force a piece of information or experience on someone who is not yet ready to hear it or experience it.

Currently all events seem to lead me back to these two sutras: “The other person is you and if you don’t understand through compassion you will misunderstand the times”.

The fear of feeling worthless is an illusion. Running away from our shadow is first of all useless, because it is attached to us. We can hide from the sun in order not to see our shadow, but we cannot get rid of it. Second, seeing our shadow gives us the opportunity to improve, it is a friend rather than a foe. The only way to rise above our polarities is to acknowledge both our light and shadow.

Yogi Bhajan once said:

“I am not interested in how off the point I am. The question is how soon I can make my point again. I am not interested in how stupid I am. I am interested in how wise I soon can be. I am not interested in how damaged I am, I am interested in how healthy I can be. I am not interested in how wrong I am, I am just interested in how soon I can be right.” © The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan, June 29, 1987

With love and gratitude,

Ajeetdev Kaur

I am a painfully shy person. A nightmare situation for me would be to find myself centre-stage with the spot light on me, and an audience of expectant faces looking in my direction waiting to hear what I have to say… Arrrrrgghhh!! Stage fright, brain freeze, and forget performance anxiety, we are talking performance terror here. For years I have fought this part of me, tried to find ways to heal it. I’ve read Susan Jeffers ‘Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway’, I’ve had hypnotherapy to increase my confidence, been to healers and counsellors to eradicate it, had pep-talks from motivational speakers, everything to remove the irritating hindrance that stops me from stepping up to the mark fully in life… Or does it?

Another aspect of my character is quite the opposite, this aspect dreams of centre stage, has a fantasy of appearing on the top spot of Jonathan Ross’s TV show. This is the part of me that grabs the shyness by the hand and forces her to face students and workshop attendees whether she likes it or not. She is absolutely sure she has the capacity to dazzle the nation with her wit and wisdom – she is a little egocentric, well, ok, she is HUGELY egocentric but I like her and welcome her, yet can’t quite allow her the extent of fame she desires due to the shyness. That damn shy little girl who won’t heal, how annoying she is – or is she?

This year I had a breakthrough. A simple statement made by one lady delivered one of those blissful ‘Ah-ha!’ moments which removed the whole dilemma in seconds. And all she said was “It is your nature to be shy, it is who you are”… Wow!

It is not a wound that needs healing, or a conditioned response to my environment that needs re-educating, and nor is it a liability, block or obstacle. I have since been making friends with this part of me, I now look back in wonder at all the times I have attempted to murder her. This beautiful, sensitive, blushing aspect that serves me by guiding me away from situations that are too harsh, warns me when my ego is getting a little too carried away, and gives me the gentleness and humility to consider my overall needs as well as the needs of others. And far from being weak, this aspect has stayed strong and steady throughout all my attempts to kill her off. She has remained loyal regardless of my disapproval and continued rejection.

In reflecting on this one aspect, the shy-self, I have also recognised many other aspects that may appear to be negative, unwanted parts of myself and realised that each of them are here to serve. Some of them are a part of my nature, some are the results of wounding and conditioning, yet all of them serve my growth either directly or indirectly. Cynical-self, impatient-self, bossy-self, the list goes on, each help me either by containing my energy until it has grown sufficiently in wisdom to be released, or by increasing my wisdom and strength by giving me something to push against, to provoke me and motivate me to deepen my understanding of my own nature. The more we understand our own nature the more we can support others in understanding theirs. The more we can accept ourselves, the whole of ourselves, the more we can accept others, even the irritating parts of others that prickle and scratch at our skins.

It is no good trying to get children to play nicely when they simply do not like each other, and in the same way, we are never going to get warring aspects of ourselves to play nicely if we keep dividing them into groups of ‘acceptable/likable’ and ‘unacceptable/unlikable’. If we tune into those different parts of our nature, and those different layers of wounding, and embrace it all as a Divine gift, a tool that ensures our evolution, then we can resolve the inner conflicts that otherwise arise from trying to get rid of the parts we don’t like in favour of keeping the parts that are easy to accept. One of Yogi Bhajan’s well used quotes is “If we can’t see God in all, we can’t see God at all” and while this is largely used in the context of seeing God in others, it is also useful to remember that we too are reflections of that wonderful Great Spirit – If we can’t see God in every aspect of ourselves, we can’t see God in every aspect of others. If we desire to take part in resolving conflict out in the world then we need to revel in the peace of inner harmony that occurs with deep acceptance of self. Sat nam! <3

Amanda

I like to fix things, it makes me feel good. I like to find a way to fix things when they are broken. I am quite a resourceful and practical woman and I love a challenge. To me the urge to fix is irresistible. My Father is the same, I give all my broken jewellery to him and a few weeks later he proudly hands it over to me fixed.  I give him all my dying plants too and they come back, months later, healthy and fixed. Fine when fixing objects but what about people? I do get caught up in trying to fix them too. The trouble with that is if you try to 'fix' a person you do it with the pretence that they are somehow broken.

 When I was little, My Mother suffered with depression and often took herself off on her own in the house. To me it seemed very simple, she was sad and just needed cheering up and I was the one to do it. One day, I had a brilliant idea; I made her a plate of food and arranged the food to look like a smiley face. I was so pleased with my efforts and it was sure to make her feel better again. I presented it to her with such expectation, and I don't remember what she said about it, I just remember the feeling when my efforts did not have the desired effect. The feeling was that I must not be good enough to fix her. Of course, it was a juvenile philosophy but a powerful one just the same. I can see how it shaped me and my idea of myself in the world. Now I am older and it’s not surprising that:  1. I am a therapist and 2. I find it is easy to drop into the dynamic of being 'the fixer', as indeed anyone who is in the healing profession will know. 'If I can fix others then I am a good enough therapist' is deliciously tempting to fall into. I constantly have to remind myself that it is the strength of the human relationship between therapist and client which heals, not the interventions one uses.

When I have a problem, I want it fixed right away! I want to analyse, understand and fix it all as soon as it happens. I find it very difficult to just sit with something and not ask 'what's the answer?’ It has taken me such a long time to become aware of this and have any kind of patience with myself. I still find myself lost in trying to find the answers most days. For Christmas, my Partner bought me a wonderful book containing letters written by the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. A young aspiring poet named Franz Kappus had written to Rilke for some advice on his poetry, from which began a 6 year correspondence. I was moved deeply by his advice on patience:

"I would like to beg you dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer." ~Rainer Maria Rilke, 1903

When we feel broken and get caught up in the idea that we need to find the answer and get 'fixed', it is a poignant reminder from Rilke for us just to sit with whatever is unresolved, without needing to know. Just simply sit with the heart as it is, however heavy. By doing this we allow space for the questions without immediately needing answers. Sitting with what is, we can drop the idea that we need to be fixed and come into a sense of ‘I’m ok as I am'. When I remind myself of this I can breathe again, I can start again from a place of acceptance and self-love.  Start each day with 'I'm ok as I am' and breathe deeply.

With love, Elaine Akal Dev.

Yesterday, I went for a walk with my son. He likes to look at animals so I took him to the farm nearby. The chicken and ducks there share a small fenced off area with a pond for the ducks. As we were standing there admiring the animals, a small hen suddenly flew against the fence. I didn’t even see her coming. She might have thought that we have food for her, I don’t know. She bounced back from the fence and fell into the pond. Strangely, she only tried to get out of the water once. After that she literally gave up. She was just floating on the water and did absolutely nothing to survive. There was this passive acceptance on her little face. She was just waiting for her feathers to get soaked and sink. The area was fenced off so I couldn’t reach in to help her. Suddenly, I noticed an old man with a long walking stick. I don’t speak Spanish (this happened on the Island of La Gomera, Spain) so I just pointed towards the hen. He reached in with his stick and ushered her towards the wooden plank laid across the pond for the ducks to walk on. The hen finally got on the plank and just stood there. I thought ok, now she is safe. I continued my walk with my son. When I came back 30 minutes later, the hen was floating on the water just as she did before, only this time she was dead. I was devastated. Should I have stayed longer to make sure she actually gets out of the tank? Could I have prevented her death?

This incident brought up two things in me. First, the question: How much help is enough help? How far can or should one go in helping others? Yogi Bhajan once said: "Touch a person, hold a person and then carry a person. You can't drag anybody. You can't lean on anybody. Carry them, simply and truthfully. And what are the words that dignify the carrying? Can you repeat after me? 'I am with you.' That's all. One line, 'I am with you.'" (Yogi Bhajan, Success and the Spirit). But, where is the line between dragging and carrying? I still don’t have a complete answer to that.

The second thing that touched me was the look I observed on the face of that hen while she was floating on the water. I have seen that look on the faces of humans many times. Sometimes, the pressure or the demands of a certain situation are just too big for us to handle. In those situations some people freak out and become aggressive, hysterical, hyper-active, turn to food, drugs, alcohol, extreme exercising, etc. Others, like that hen, freeze, give up, accept their defeat and wait for death to come. Yogi Bhajan calls this cold depression. It is cold, because we don’t see or feel it. Sometimes not even the people around us see it. We gradually lose the connection to our soul. According to Yogi Bhajan the beginning of the Age of Aquarius will see more and more people affected by cold depression and other stress related deceases.

What to do to handle it with grace and dignity? This blog being related to Kundalini Yoga the obvious answer would be: do some Kundalini Yoga regularly. But what if someone does not want to do Kundalini Yoga? Should they give up and drown like that chicken? Of course NOT!!! If you don’t want to do Kundalini Yoga or any other type of yoga, do some deep breathing exercises, listen to uplifting music, read inspirational books, go for walks in nature, eat healthy food, do whatever exercise makes you happy (don’t overdo it though), dress for your soul... In other words, find things and people who inspire you. People who help you keep up with staying connected to your soul! But DON’T GIVE UP! Chose to RISE UP instead of falling prey or numbing out.

For me personally, Yogi Bhajan’s sutras for the Aquarian Age have been very helpful:

1. Recognize that the other person is you.
2. When the time is on you, start, and the pressure will be off.
3. Vibrate the Cosmos; the Cosmos shall clear the path.
4. There is a way through every block.
5. Understand through compassion or you will misunderstand the times.

To read more about the five sutras click here.
To read more about cold depression click here.

With love and gratitude,
Ajeetdev Kaur

Manchester Awakening is about helping people in the Greater Manchester area to come together and make a positive difference in the world. This could be by doing anything from growing your own food to becoming more conscious in your daily life. From moving your money to a more ethical source, to getting involved with a community project. When people network, they can learn from and inspire each other.

We also aim to raise awareness of many of the problems people are going through at the moment, as well as the solutions. We want to help people find more peace and fulfilment in their life, and show how this is the way to solve issues on a global level too. We do this from a Manchester perspective as this is where we are based.

Suggested topics: Sustainability, Economic/Monetary Systems, Food Systems, Media, Political Systems, Education Systems, Consciousness, Spirituality, Culture.

"At the moment all I can say is I want to spread as much awareness as possible about the big problems the world faces, and the ways we can solve them." Chris, founder of Manchester Awakening http://www.manchesterawakening.org.uk/

To join the Facebook group click here.

"When I say, “Sat Nam Ji,” to you, I am saying, “Truth is your soul.” That is exactly what it means. ~Yogi Bhajan, July 27, 1996





There is always hope beyond the clouds
When dreams are shattered, shards scattered
Puncturing our hearts and minds and bodies
Falling into the illusion that all is lost

What's the point? Why bother? No one knows, no one truly cares!

Truly?
Not so...

It takes this pain, this wreckage and breakage
A long aching discomfort, a red inflamed irritation
It takes this experience of stripping away the falsehoods
For our truth to be revealed

Tearing away the shiney paper, bows and ribbons
To find the treat within, the gift
Discovering our gift so we can play and share

Sharing our gift to bring joy and hope into the world
Sharing our experience of the clouds closing in
The torment that touched us that forced us to win

Being this truth - beyond the clouds the rays of light shine eternal ♥

By Amanda Lyons