Advocates of Living Values, Brahma Kumaris, The Inner Space and Prosel Pharma, Inc. invited many students from Cebu Cherish School Inc., Cebu Normal University, College of Immaculate Conception, University of San Carlos, University of Southern Philippines, Southwestern University, Sacred Heart School (Hijas) and Our Lady of Joy Learning Center to an interaction with British author and life coach Mike George on self-awareness.
Clues to his discussion are the titles of some of his 14 books : “Being Beyond Belief,” “In the Light of Meditation,” “You Can Learn to Relax,” “You Can Find Inner Peace,” “The Myths about Love,” “Mindsets” and “The Immune System of the Soul.”
How awakened are we to our consciousness? Are we too busy trying to merely survive so that we have raised the important questions related to our identity and nature, our purpose and vision?
He invited us to look deep into ourselves and explore our authentic nature. He reminded us that we are actually not creatures of fear; we are human beings of peace and love. We are not merely material; we have spirit and consciousness. We are not our minds either, although we lose ourselves in our current preoccupations like getting lost in a film or being absorbed in a gadget.
While love is part of our essence. We have many misconceptions about loving due to the movies and other popular media channels. He explained that love is the reason why we treasure friends and family. This also explains how much joy there is in giving, and called attention to the reality that many are busy taking, accumulating, wrongly thinking this is a source of fulfillment.
We suffer when we ignore these laws. This is very clear in the case of climate change.
I was quite struck by his definition of “relationships” as “opportunities to exercise creativity.” One only needs to reflect on being involved with an authentic loving relationship, and one realizes the burst of the imagination that happens. A wide range of love expressions: poetry, art, dance — the world is full of these. I recalled friends who had been very sensitive and original about giving gifts.
In the open forum, some asked about beliefs and God. First, he answered that sometimes beliefs are limiting and these have made people tend to be close-minded and less creative. A great deal of religious fanaticism troubles us today. We need a great dose of genuine love and great originality to be stronger and successfully confront the “holy wars” (he considers this a contradiction in terms).
When he talked about God, the Great Energy Source, he compared Him to the Sun and talked about the flower directing itself towards the sun to share of His energy; only those parts reached by the sunlight partook of the energy. So he spoke of the stripping of beliefs and attachments — the nakedness necessary for communion with the Sun of our lives. This reminded me of the life journeys of St. Teresa of Avila and St. Pope John Paul both of whom declared that only God matters.
It was very encouraging to realize that relationships are occasions for innovation. We have to be like our God who always surprises us with joy. For a moment, I was shaken by the required detachment, the challenge of giving up, turning away from the customary superficial affections. But I accept the challenge of liberation.
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