Join ConsciousCafe Canterbury this March for a discussion on 'Finding Your Path in Life'. Do we all have a particular path to follow? If so, how does one find it?

Many books have been written on this topic and host Cora would like to share some of Stephen Cope’s book “The Great Work of your life” and also the book by Dan Millman “The Life you were born to live - A guide to finding your purpose".

Whether you feel you have found your purpose or are still looking for it this evening will be relevant to you.

Everyone welcome.

Venue: Bradbury House, Merton Lane North, Canterbury, CT4 7DZ (ample parking)

Wednesday Jan 15th
6.30 – 8.30pm
Venue: The Conservatory, Anne Robertson Centre, 55 London Road, Canterbury CT2 8HQ.

“Setting our intentions for the New Year”

ConsciousCafe Canterbury will be looking at what we would like to change about ourselves, our environment and /or our lives in the new year. We need to clarify first what we really want and then we can use the power of the mind and of positive intention. As we start the new year let us set our intentions on the future and on making things better for ourselves and others.

Hannah Nicholls has been studying this topic for many years and will help us to discover how to use the Power of Eight from the work of Lynne McTaggart and also discuss the teachings of Dr Joe Dispenza who wrote the book “Becoming Supernatural”. We will learn tools that can help us to increase our health and happiness.

Refreshments provided.

Our newest ConsciousCafe group launched in Newbury on 26^th November. We had a wonderful turnout with a lovely group of people and a fabulous evening sharing our ideas, insights and experiences around our topic: ‘Belonging - what does it mean to you?’

We began by asking ourselves the following questions:

1. Humans have a deep need for belonging. We feel happier when we have a strong sense of belonging to a family, social group or community. Studies show that it also improves our health, self-esteem and quality of life.
2. What kinds of groups and communities give us a sense of belonging?
3. What are the possible pros and cons of belonging? 

Our format was to discuss the questions above in small groups of 3 or 4, each person sharing their thoughts and reflections whilst being listened to by the others in the group. We then changed groups so that we could meet new people and explore the topic further using the questions below. We also had the opportunity to share our ideas and experiences with the wider group. This created a lovely intimate setting and the conversations were deep and honest – and ranged far and wide.

• “Belonging starts with self-acceptance. Your level of belonging, in fact, can never be greater than your level of self-acceptance, because believing that you're enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic, vulnerable and imperfect." Brene Brown
• What ingredients give you a sense of belonging?
• When they're missing, what happens? How do you feel?

•  “The natural world is the larger sacred community to which we belong. To be alienated from this community is to become destitute in all that makes us human. To damage this community is to diminish our own existence." Thomas Berry
• What happens when we feel as if we are a part of something bigger and more important than ourselves?
• How can we create more connection and belongingness in the world around us?

We talked about how challenging it can to be authentic and to remain true to ourselves when there is a need or expectation to fit in. At what point do we make the decision to leave a group, a place of work or a community if we don’t fit in or conform? Shared values were very important if we were to feel we belonged to a group or community. How could we be more tolerant of other people’s values, beliefs and perspectives?

People openly shared their personal experiences of when they’d struggled in life, feeling different to everyone else and the impact this had had on them. Others talked about how hard it had been growing up because they were so sensitive to other people’s energies and feelings. When they felt over-whelmed and isolated, time alone and in nature helped to rest and re-charge their batteries.

We also discussed the current climate emergency, concerns about nuclear arms, the many benefits of belonging and being in nature, and the different ways we could feel connected to nature even when we live in cities.  

Afterwards, we chatted and mingled over cups of tea, coffee and delicious biscuits. New friends were made and the lively conversations continued! And now we’d like to pass the question on. What does ‘belonging’ mean to you?

This post is written by Rachel Calder, leader of ConsciousCafe Newbury. Follow the Newbury group page to keep up to date with upcoming meetings!

EVENT SOLD OUT

We will be hosting an exciting discussion on “Inspired Leadership” with our special guest and friend to ConsciousCafe, the amazing Nick Williams. Nick is a leadership guide with twenty years experience of coaching leaders and offering his own leadership. He is the author of 16 books, several best sellers, been part of hundreds of media features and has given inspirational talks worldwide. The title of his latest book is “Be Inspired. Be Inspiring. Be Yourself - Your power to enable the best in yourself and others.”
True inspired leadership is your desire to draw the best from yourself and those around you, so we can all blossom into our full potential. Every act of inspiration, creativity, kindness, love and beauty is an act of leadership. So we are all capable of offering leadership in any moment, regardless of whether we have a formal position of leadership or not.

Nick will lead a conversation and discussion about inspired leadership and self-leadership, and how you can start to unwrap your next chapter of leadership. To support you to continue your inspired leadership adventure, Nick will be gifting you a copy of his latest book. Join us this December for a brilliant evening - with tea and cakes, too!

Please book below or contact Cora on corakc@hotmail.com for more information.
Venue: The Yoga Studio, Highfield House, Summer Hill, Harbledown, CT2 8NH
www.canterburyyoga.co.uk

ConsciousCafe Singapore hosted a joyous and meaningful discussion recently on the topic of "The Good Life". We love how international our group is, with people hailing from all over the world - it gives us all such an opportunity to learn new things from different viewpoints. This meet-up in particular was a great example of both Western and Eastern perspectives enriching the conversation.

There were so many different aspects to discuss within our theme. Preparedness and acceptance of life's uncertainties was a big one, and one we have delved into before here at ConsciousCafe Singapore. It certainly hits home with a lot of people, how unpredictable and often hard life can be - how to we deal with things beyond our control, and the emotions that come along with that?

But on a more positive note, the list of attributes that make "The Good Life" grew with each turn of the conversation. Love & relationships, health & happiness, curiosity & purpose, a sprinkle of humour & a pint of beer - so many examples, and a whole host of differing priorities. It was such a mindful moment, to be able to sit and talk about what we are grateful for in life, and how many wondrous things can build us all a good life.

And now we want to pass the question on. What do you think makes "The Good Life", and what are you grateful for in yours?

HK

ConsciousCafe Singapore Leader

Uncertainty is everywhere and we cannot escape from it. We crave certainty. However, life with certainty will be predictable and maybe even ... boring?

We know some things to be true. Others we know to be false. In between there remain many things of which we are uncertain. We do not have full information about the present moment, the past is shrouded and we do not know the future.

Uncertainty involves evoking many emotional states: fear of the unknown, anxiety, surprise, anger, depression, the desire to control, to name just a few. The lack of certainty can also create a response on a physiological level. The brain is wired to react to threats; the limbic system triggers an instinctual survival response of flight, fight or freeze, if the threat is too overwhelming. That is an instinctive mechanism that has followed us since primitive times.

At some point in our growing human civilisation - rife with language, the written word, buildings! - our society “exploded” in a new direction, and we humans shifted from instincts into awareness.

These days, our lives are so much more certain than they were even 100 years ago, yet they are ever more complex. We often mix the uncertainty with complexity, applying knowledge or attempting to make quasi-rational decisions to try and overcome or deal with uncertainty. We follow set rules of our intuition. Or sometimes we simply wait ...

We had an excellent time exploring this theme at ConsciousCafe Singapore. We explored and shared personal experiences on how might we deal with uncertainty when it arises. Is the desire to control uncertain situations or circumstances born out of habit or fear?

There were a few artists amongst us and we had an interesting exchange on how the uncertainty affects creative processes, and how curiosity can help to overcame discomforts of the unknown. We expanded the topic, too - shifting into ideas of probability, chance and uncertainty theories in physics, all adding a brand new dimension to the topic.

And now we'd love to pass the question off to you: are you comfortable in uncertainty?

HK

ConsciousCafe Singapore Leader

A good conscious conversation can be life changing but what is a good conversation? Is it the topic explored? Is it being listened to or is it feeling that you have permission to express your own truth? Sometimes a good conversation can make you consider something you hadn’t considered before or it allows some new understanding to come in. I believe that by practising the art of good conscious conversation we can improve our relationships, our well being and happiness. Maggie Smith, retired counsellor from University of Kent and Cora Kemball-Cook (MSc in Human Communications) will facilitate the evening. Come along and tell us what you think. Join the conversation!

Venue: Geoffrey Chaucer Room, Anne Robertson Centre, 55 London Road, Canterbury CT2 8HQ

Join us for a discussion on how to understand ourselves and other people. Marina Barrett is an Inner Freedom Mastery Mentor, specialising in Spiritual Psychology, Energy Alignment and Healing of the Subconscious Mind. She will lead a discussion about the essence of opposing life perspectives, presenting The Archetypal Coping Mechanism Circle, which we tend to adopt in order to navigate our way through relationships with self and others. Understanding these principles helps us identify our current strategies which may run unconsciously and this will enable us to understand ourselves better and make better life decisions.

Booking recommended as places limited.

Venue: Geoffrey Chaucer Room, Anne Robertson Centre, 55 London Road, Canterbury CT2 8HQ.

Cost: £7.00 if paid in advance (book below) or £10 on the door.

Refreshments provided.

I do love the wonderful wide range of speakers, presenters and facilitators that we have at ConsciousCafe. It is always exciting to be presented with new ideas and unexpected ways of seeing the world.

Last night at ConsciousCafe in London Liz Rivers, an experienced mediator and personal development coach, opened up new ways of thinking about the seasons at a much deeper level than I could possibly have imagined beforehand.  Liz reminded us of the unconscious power that the seasons of the year have to impact on our lives.  When we are so busy and distracted that we lose touch and sense of where we are in the week, month or year, then we become distracted from nature and from life itself. Awareness of the seasons gives us a sense of rhythm and connection to something much greater than ourselves.

Some aspects of our lives are fixed and reliable – day and night, moon and sun, the days in the year.  Other aspects of the year are more flexible, flowing, inducing different kinds of feelings in us as we move from one part of the year to the next.

The individual season we are experiencing affects every area of our life.  Business might want us to be in Spring and Summer all the time – feeling creative and with renewed energy and hope in our steps – but Autumn is a time for harvesting the experience of the past few months and Winter enables us to lie dormant for a while, to rest and regain our energy for the coming year.

We also reflected that climate change is playing havoc with the seasons. When flowers bloom too early and rain, sun, wind and snow affect us in unexpected months, it is no wonder that it becomes harder to find our balance and feel centred in these times. 

Liz gave us the chance to write and reflect on what the seasons mean to us and we shared some of our insights.

I woke up this morning and looked at the beautiful trees outside my window as if with new eyes. Something unexpected had shifted in me. I shall be much more conscious of how the seasons affect me now and I feel confident that I will achieve greater peace of mind.

Thank you Liz for a very special evening and for opening all our minds to unexpected new worlds.

JP

Join ConsciousCafe Canterbury for a discussion and exploration of luck and creating your reality. We will look at the science, art and philosophy of how to be in harmony with yourself and others and how you can then control your own destiny.

Barry Fairburn a Metapsychologist has studied this topic in detail and will share with us his more than half a century of experience and original research. He says “leaving luck to chance may seriously risk your health, wealth and happiness!”

All are welcome to join on Monday 12th August, 6:30pm - 9:00pm

Venue: The Yoga Studio, Highfield House, Summer Hill, Harbledown CT2 8NH  www.canterburyyoga.co.uk

Cost: £7.00 advance / £10 on the door 

ConsciousCafe Canterbury hosted a brilliant evening this week on the theme on "Altered States of Consciousness". Host Cora shares her thoughts:

We can reach altered states through drumming, breath work, chanting, yoga, meditation, hypnosis, dreaming and with drugs like ayahuasca. Andy gave us an experience of drumming as we relaxed with the intention of finding our power animal. Julie recounted how she can go spontaneously into an altered state and within this state she can access other people’s reality which she can describe to them with stories, symbols and archetypal characters. She can use these visions to help a person to gain more self understanding and healing.

ConsciousCafe Canterbury is hosted by Cora Kemball-Cook and meets once a month on a new topic. You can follow the Canterbury page for updates all the latest events.

"A SKIPTON-based group which sees members travel from all over the north to discuss life issues and share opinions has gone from strength to strength, say organisers."

ConsciousCafe Skipton has been featured in The Craven Herald, the local newspaper for of Skipton and the Dales. Our wonderful Skipton host Gina Lazenby was interviewed for the article - she had a lot of high praise for her growing and thriving group.

"A really vibrant discussion group attracting people willing to reflect and share on issues that are important to all of us, like relationships, making a new start, finding work you love, and creating connection. It’s very participatory and people say they appreciate the warm atmosphere we have created. People are craving the opportunity for thoughtful dialogue and to have their opinions and feelings shared and heard by others."

Read the original article here.

ConsciousCafe founder Judy Piatkis with Singapore group leader Hanna Krasnodebska, earlier this year.

Conscious Café Singapore met recently for another interesting discussion, this time on the theme of Compassion, with special speaker Anita Kapoor who introduced the topic and led the discussion.

Compassion is at the root of human contacts and relationships, but is it really evident in the way we are currently interacting with each other, or with nature? What are our personal experiences of compassion? Is compassion a clearly defined state of being or does it have a spectrum? Is compassion a dominant modus operandi currently? What can we do to bring back the compassion into our interactions and stop being a cutthroat?

Compassion is a virtue of our humanness. It is wired into our biology via the vagus nerve that transmits information to and from lungs, heart and organs of digestion and additionally serves the parasympathetic nervous system that is calming in opposition to the fight-flight response. It is our “nerve of compassion” that promotes altruism, gratitude according to Professor Porges’ Polyvagal Theory. There is also the “love hormone” oxytocin that is responsible for the social bonding.

The dominating concept of “survival of the fittest” that originated from Darwin’s evolutionary theory have been influencing societies and cultures for the past 150 years.  There is a need in the contemporary chaotic, fragmented, competition-dominated world to shift into a kind and compassionate co-existence. Participants shared their experiences of how the education system ingrains and reinforces competitiveness, how workplaces value and reward it, and how at the level of individual interactions this can be a dominant characteristic. In the presence and pressure of constant comparison we either strive to fit in or isolate ourselves into our own personal world - a private reality, we get depressed, feel anxious. If we do not get that top prize we are no longer “unfortunate” - that term has at least a smudge of compassion. No, we become "losers".

That disconnection has been spreading. The rise of individualism, the emancipation of the individual in modernity from many societal structures has been, on one hand, a positive development, but on the other it's increasingly producing its own antithesis – tribalism, conformism. Yet so many of us are craving a true community to belong to.

Our group discussed the aspects of compassion as a spectrum of engagement. Often a compassion is mistaken with pity, the feeling of sharing the suffering of another human being, while compassion is the feeling of empathy and a desire to help, to alleviate the suffering. It is very powerful to hear a personal story and participants were generously sharing.

We touched on the importance of the self-compassion: that special kindness towards oneself that is interlinked with forgiveness towards our own errors, mistakes and failures. Various examples from personal practices on how to cultivate it were shared: looking after oneself, seeking physical comfort, letting go of perfectionism, practising mindfulness, being aware of emotions and shame arising, allowing oneself to seek help.

We concluded that there is rising awareness of the importance of cultivating compassion in children as well as in adults, and that we all as individuals can contribute by being aware of our daily interactions and response choices. Compassion in action.

This blog post is written by Hanna Krasnodebska, leader of ConsciousCafe Singapore. Follow the Singapore group page to keep up to date with upcoming meetings!

Conscious Cafe London hosted what can only be described as a brilliant evening with Christa Mackinnon, psychologist and shamanic teacher. After a networking drinks event, Christa presented a fascinating overview of the 'Power of Altered States of Consciousness'. Christa said that we are all so busy that it does not allow us the space and time to be as creative as we are capable of. We became aware of how frequently we have the opportunity to go into a different internally focused space and how innovative we can be in that space.

There was also a lot of discussion about ayahuasca and the power of plants, how they affect us and how we might use them to improve the lives of those who could benefit from their healing properties.

Afterwards we packed into a local restaurant for more conversation. It was a very memorable evening. Thanks to everyone who came.

This post is written by Judy Piatkus, founder of ConsciousCafe and leader of ConsciousCafe London. Follow the London group page to stay up to date with upcoming events!

Join ConsciousCafe Canterbury for a discussion and exploration of different states of consciousness and how we might discover them. We will look at aspects of Shamanism, dreams, visions and other altered states.

£7.00 in advance (ticket purchase at the bottom of this page), £10 on the door

Refreshments provided. 

Venue: Highfield House Yoga Studio, Summer Hill, Harbledown, CT 2 8NH

 Further info: Cora Kemball-Cook – corakc@hotmail.com Tel  07711 830275

In April we had our biggest event ever in the two-year history of Conscious Cafe Skipton. It could have been the speaker, Nick Haines of the Five Institute joining us from Nottingham that was the big draw, or it could gave been Nick’s subject of “How to Feel Good About Yourself”. Either way, nearly 40 people joined us for a brilliant evening. We have three videos of the event to share with you, along with a full transcript and summary available to download.

The basics of Chinese philosophy, how the 12-year cycles work, and the key dates that will impact us

This first video tackles the premise that the more you know about yourself, the more likely you are to feel good about yourself. We look at the cycle of twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac and, according to Chinese philosophy, how each year affects us, particularly what has happened in the last 12 and what the next 12 years will be like for us, individually and globally.

Looking at the Five Energies, what they say about us, and what we might be here to do in the world at this time

In this second video, Nick Haines explained the Vitality Test and how it helps you to understand more about how, according to Chinese philosophy, the five energies are balanced or emphasised within you. Each of those five energies presents a KEY PRIMARY QUESTION that will likely endure in your life. Knowing this, and knowing the questions that drive us, is very helpful for relationships and understanding what drives others. When you know your Primary Question it’s easier to understand the gift, and challenges, that it gives you. Take the Vitality Test to find out which of the five energies dominates your life and the enduring question that guides you.

How family dialogue makes an impact on us in childhood and why it is virtually impossible to emerge out of it into adulthood with robust self-esteem

The 3rd video is where Nick Haines hypothesises why it is virtually impossible to come out of childhood with robust self esteem. Neuroscience now indicates that questions have more power over us than statements. Statements with power and force, like scolding ones that are negative in childhood, have greater impact and staying power than ones spoken with gentler, loving tenderness. Your unconscious mind is programmed to answer questions. You best serve yourself by asking Conscious Questions. Conscious questions that leverage our imagination and command the unconscious mind to respond can be constructed with a “WHY?’” or a “HOW?”. These will generate more positive, creative responses and will help us feel good about ourselves. Being kind to ourselves is key, and questions about good self care will make us more sustainable and of course happy.

This post was written by ConsciousCafe Skipton host Gina Lazenby.

We meet once a month to enjoy mind-expanding conversations in a safe space with like-minded people. Come to ConsciousCafe to meet others and explore the journey of life using walking the labyrinth as a metaphor of life’s journey.

We will look at the value of walking as a tool for meditation and reflection. The labyrinth was used in the past as a substitute for pilgrimage.

Victoria Fields and Maggie Smith will act as facilitators for the event.

Victoria Fields is a poet and writer who has written about her own experience of pilgrimage walking the Camino in her book “Baggage”. Maggie Smith is a counsellor who was involved with the development of the labyrinth at the University of Kent and undertook labyrinth facilitator training at Chartres Cathedral.

This event is part of the Canterbury Pilgrim Festival and is a free event.

To book, contact Cora Kemball-Cook   

Email:  corakc@hotmail.com or 07711 830275

Catherine Hill will lead the discussion on In Sickness and In Health, Making adversity work for you. In 1986 Catherine was badly injured in the Pam Am hijacking in Pakistan and since then has endured over 40 operations and constant pain. She wrote a book about her horrific experience and life after the hijacking, this was described as “inspirational and optimistic…convinces us of the unquenchable force of the human spirit”.
Catherine says she has learnt a huge amount from dealing with the challenges in her life and she will share some of her wisdom.

Cost: £7.00 if paid in advance or £10 on the door.
Refreshments provided.
Venue: The Conservatory, The Anne Robertson Centre, 55 London Road, Canterbury CT2 8HQ (parking available on site)

Conscious Café Singapore group held its monthly meeting on 27^th March 2019 to discuss the theme of “Identity and a Need of Belonging”.

The historical evolution of 'identity' as a concept in the western hemisphere was presented in a short introduction. In Medieval times, identity was based on a communal and religious affiliation, the communal living and thinking and a blind acceptance of the status quo. The Humanist movement in Italy in 15th century recognised that people possess the mind and intelligence to think for themselves - the “private enlightened conscience”. The alluring new cult of the Self had been discovered. During the Age of Enlightenment, philosopher Locke proposed that identity is a matter of psychological continuity; that when a person is born, the mind is empty - a tabula rasa - which is then shaped by experiences, reflections and sensations. In the 20^th century a plethora of views on an individual identity as a correlation between mind and body, as well as development of a social identity theory, was pursued.

Our group discussion started with a few questions: Is our identity our story? How is the access to cyberspace, social media platforms affecting our identity? Does one’s sense of identity influence one’s sense of belonging?

The conversation was immensely enriched by the fact that participants were representing diverse nationalities, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. We shared personal stories that expanded our knowledge and understanding of different historical, social and cultural contexts influencing our individual identities.

We agreed that identity is a story that we constantly construct and embellish in response to changing circumstances in our lives.

With an easy access to cyberspace and social media platforms, we have the opportunity to create digital selves. These projections can reflect our real self or our desired self and the demarcation between these identities can be blurred. Some of us expressed concerns about data protection issues and privacy control when engaged in online activity, and a potential manipulation and for-profit exploitation with increased presence of Artificial Intelligence and its algorithms.

The sense of identity has definitely had an impact on our sense of belonging. Being away for a prolonged period of time from one’s community can make it difficult to “fit in” as it was shared by a few expatriates. It takes an effort to find a mutual acceptance and common ground again. Having an open mind, understanding that life is a constant change, an ability to reflect, an alignment in values and believes, and a capacity to listen and to be heard were listed as some of the attitudes and conditions that positively influence our sense of belonging.

Conscious Cafe Canterbury is meeting to look at the power of the mind and explore the magic of placebos and affirmations.

Philip Tucker will act as a catalyst for this subject – he is a coordinator of Brighton Health Freaks and has had a life time interest in all areas of health and well being.

£7.00 in advance (ticket purchase at the bottom of this page), £10 on the door

Refreshments provided. 

Venue: Highfield House Yoga studio, Summer Hill, Harbledown, CT2 8NH

www.canterburyyoga.co.uk for directions

Further info: Cora Kemball-Cook – corakc@hotmail.com / 07711 830275

We invite you to join us in a very special evening.  Come and ask a question, any question, and Judith will provide answers.  This may sound absurdly simplistic yet using this format, Judith's ability to offer hugely valuable and sage answers to questioners has time and time again shifted perspective, altering familiar landscapes and revealing hidden wisdom and much greater depth of understanding in answer to the question.

Judy Piatkus says "I was privileged to share a similar experience with Judith.  It felt so special and so profound that I asked Judith if she would come and offer it to ConsciousCafe members.  I was so thrilled when she said yes! "

Date: Wednesday 22 May 2019

Time: 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm

Location: Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London NW1 6XT (1 minute from Baker Street station)

Networking

We are enhancing this event with a networking opportunity in a café nearby. We will meet at 4.30 pm and you will have the chance for a networking conversation with Conscious Cafe people. We will also go out together after the event for a drink or a snack so that we can continue the conversation afterwards. Please email judy@consciouscafe.org if you would like to come to the early networking event and/or the supper afterwards, and we will let you know where we are meeting. 

About Judith Seelig

Thirty years ago Judith’s career as a journalist, editor and travel writer halted after a series of unexpected consciousness-altering events.  She now teaches self-realisation on retreat, in private sessions and in small yoga classes, the body being fundamental to complete transformation. Judith enjoys surfing, sailing, laughing, climbing and running. She regularly retreats into solitude in the wilds of Cornwall.

Cancellation Policy Full refund minus 10% up to 7 days beforehand (Wednesday 15th May) after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

Having a sense of belonging is part of being human. It’s one of our most important basic needs. Where is your strongest sense of belonging? To a church, an organisation, a tribe on social media, extended family? Where is it that you feel most valued and recognised? Sometimes we can feel strongly connected to many people and many groups or ideas. Then again, we might move through periods of our lives when we feel disconnected, separated, perhaps lonely. Are there times when you have drifted away from an idea or a group and lost your sense of belonging? What was it that took you away, and what brought you back?

Feeling a strong sense of belonging to a greater community, a cause or even a circle of friends, not only stops us feeling alone, it brings happiness, motivation and wellbeing. What type of effort and practice does it take to build and sustain this connection?

This was the conversation that Conscious Cafe Skipton had when 18 of our community gathered in Avalon Centre for Wellbeing, near Skipton at the end of February. Here are the insights from the three questions we discussed.

Not Fitting in

• Perhaps our sense of not belonging comes from feeling that we no longer fit in to a particular group or even a way of life. Something might have changed in us and we have outgrown a situation. The period of time when we recognise the need to separate or disconnect can be very lonely. Even getting older can make us feel this distancing from a way of being that has felt natural to us before, but now we are shifting.
• It’s a big decision to acknowledge that we no longer fit somewhere and decide to remove ourselves from where we previously felt we belonged -whether that was in a church, a career or a geographic place. Even though a voice deep down within tells us to leave, it can still be painful. These shifts and changes in our lives can be viewed as exciting, but we can also feel alone, caught between a past we have known and left behind and a future that has yet to emerge or present itself to us. Maybe we lose our sense of belonging until we begin to recognise our new self and seek out other people and places where we feel a better fit.
• These transit points in our lives can be both powerful and painful .. walking away requires courage and strength but can give us a sense of liberation even if initially we might feel the loss of the familiar reference points that gave us comfort or that we were attached to.

Negative Thinking

• Comparing ourselves to others is a negative way to think. Doing so can cause us to judge ourselves harshly and is a surefire way to make us feel separate. Having a sense of feeling inferior, less than or not equal to can really damage our right to feel that we belong.

Feeling the Difference

• People from mixed race heritage can feel different as they grow up between the two different cultures of their parents. Being exposed to two different worlds and not feeling like they fit in to either. People can feel at odds with a family or community’s cultural expectations placed on them that are not in sync with a local culture that they are also growing up in.
• For a variety of reasons, people have described feeling like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that is in the wrong box.

Where, when and how is the Strongest sense of Belonging felt?

Our discussions led us to express six key ways that help us connect and make us feel that we belong.

• Family: the close bonds of connection with blood family are strong for most people but for some there can be one key relationship in their family that is their strongest anchor point. A pivotal and close relationship with a parent, sibling or child can provide deep nourishment and a feeling of safety where anything can be shared. Not everyone has this blessing.
• Place has power: wanting to move to a different town or area, somewhere that calls to us at a certain time in our lives. Here we can make a fresh start, be inspired by the landscape, enjoy more activities and community perhaps in a more populated place, or simply feel like we are coming home, whether there is family there or not.
• People: longstanding friendships that take us through the years, these provide deep nourishment if we are lucky to have them. New friendships are valuable too, particularly if we find friends with whom we can be our authentic selves. Being with others is important and many express a preference for the one-to-one contact rather than group gatherings where they can have an increased sense of isolation. As much as people can feel lonely or disconnected when they are in the company of others - perhaps at a social party with many strangers - if the gathering is mindful or purposeful, then we can actually feel deeply connected to a large group of strangers. Odd as it may seem, the reason that people gather, and the degree to which people are willing to open their hearts, seems to be more important than the quantity of people present.
• Ritual & Ceremony: we feel the power of this and mourn the loss in our modern life. We recognise how this can unite us. The right kind of facilitation can change a group of strangers into a connected community in a very short time by providing an open forum for sharing. When we have the opportunity to see and understand our shared meaning, a community can be brought together quite easily. Grayson Perry did four programmes on Channel 4 about rituals for Death, Birth, Marriage and Coming of Age. These are still available for viewing online.
• Spiritual Power: aside from what is happening in our lives, where we live and who we have the opportunity to meet (or not) we can always develop our own inner world of connection through our spiritual practice of choice. This can be done in a group, a church or an organisation that values mindfulness and meditation practice. Even then, there is no need to belong to a particular group when a personal practice of meditation and reflection can make us feel connected to a higher power that we can reach anytime. It gives us a transcendent ability for us to feel connected to everyone and everything, and continued practice can help us to sustain these feelings.
• Purpose: we can feel a deep sense of belonging when we can engage in work that aligns with our values and which feeds our life purpose. Through work, we can find connection with others who share our values, our vision in the world and our role in it. If we are lucky enough to do what we feel we are here to do, that can give a strong sense of fitting in to the world in the right place and at the right time. That is powerful belonging, particularly when we are able to to set aside our differences and look forward to a greater cause alongside others who feel the same.

What helps us to shift, feel more connection and increase our Sense of Belonging - how to feel less lost?

• Acceptance: accepting yourself and what is, is a big first step to belonging. We can’t ask others to do what we are not able to do for ourselves.
• Self-Awareness: instead of us focusing on any difference we see in ourselves, turn that around so that we recognise and accept our own uniqueness.
• Growth: understanding that we are always growing and evolving. Yes, that can sometimes present us with difficulties but that is what makes us grow.
• Values: aligning with a strong cause can re-enforce our sense of belonging. Attaching our professional and work identity to something important that makes a difference that aligns with our values.
• A new Third Age: later in life after retirement where our sense of purpose was totally wrapped up in our work, it is good to discover new ways to express ourselves and create a sense of belonging from other areas of our lives.
• Open up: be more curious. Be willing to express our vulnerability. Allow new people and experiences into our lives.
• Join in: deciding to say ‘yes’, make an effort. Sharing experiences with others.
• Decide: making a decision to move forward, setting the intention, meeting the universe half way so we can attract in what we need. Step out of your comfort zone – push yourself.
• Deeper connection: listen deeply to others. Concentrate on what we have in common instead of what might us apart.
• Widen your circles: find a group that shares your interests or passions. Be open to connecting with people outside of your normal like-minded circle.
• Follow the Love: open your heart - you get what you give. Be more loving and feel the love come back to you.

Our Conscious Cafe Circle: what were people taking away from the evening?

People thought the discussion was thought-provoking, enjoyed the different ideas expressed and liked having the opportunity to contribute and be heard.

More about Conscious Cafe Skipton events on our Facebook page.

Hanna Krasnodebska with some of the members of the recently launched Conscious Cafe Singapore group

On Tuesday 26^th February 2019, Conscious Cafe's Singapore Group met at the cosy Reading Room to discuss the theme of “Love and Loving practices”, fitting with February’s holiday sentiments.

Hanna Krasnodebska, the group’s leader, started with the notion that love is an energy, and the highest frequency which connects us with the deepest part of ourselves; how love influences human biology, creating an internal environment for nourishment, connection and well-being.

The group discussed aspects of love in the context of forgiveness and gratitude, the giving and receiving. We talked about unconditional love, parental love as experienced from both familiar perspectives, that of a child in a family, and that of a mother who created and raised a family. One of our participants offered an insight: "a woman who experiences a rhythm of cycles has unique path marked with milestones of puberty, potential motherhood, life creating and nurturing family, menopause and becoming of a wise woman, a guiding elder.”

We explored self-love and how we find it challenging to accept ourselves as we are; how the family, community and wider environment influences us in our “quest for love and its expression”. 

The gathering comprised of women and we observed that it would be very interesting and complementing to have a male perspective.

Conscious Cafe Canterbury is meeting on the fascinating topic of 'The Power of the Subconscious Mind'.

Our subconscious mind creates beliefs which can be baffling as they dictate patterns of behaviour that appear to be unwanted, unhealthy, negative and ultimately out of our control. Why do we do the things we do when we know they are not helpful, productive or sane?
Jo Price will lead us in this topic as we explore the workings of the subconscious mind. Jo from Reframing Minds is a powerhouse of interesting thoughts, questions and fabulous ideas around the workings of the subconscious.

Time: Monday March 11th 6.00 - 8.00pm
Venue: The Charles Dickens Room, The Anne Robertson Centre, 55, London road, CT2 8HQ
The conversation will continue afterwards in the bar of the Victoria Hotel nearby.
Cost: £7.00 if paid before March 10th or £10 on the door (Refreshments provided)

Since it's humble beginnings, Conscious Cafe Geneva's meetings have taken place at the MLC Café-Littéraire, a charming coffee-cum-bookshop in the heart of Carouge, run by the lovely Francis. Due to ongoing renovations, the café is set to close for while, which set group leader Debbie King the task of finding a new space.

"I thought it would be REALLY difficult," says Debbie. "So I set aside a day to go hunting for one in Geneva, thinking it would be the first of several expeditions. And guess what - I found three! Not a single person refused me. At the venue I liked the most, the patron simply opened his arms and said 'of course! Walk this way and look at this little room beside the bar which you can have all to yourselves FREE, whenever you want.' AMAZING."

Debbie left town feeling on top of the world, with the most powerful thought: the universe truly provides for a well-intentioned deed.

ConsciousCafe Canterbury held a wonderful, deep and honest conversation on the topic of uncertainty at The Conservatory, which is the perfect place with an intimate feel. Perfect to hold a thoughtful and mindful discussion.

Our conversation ranged far and wide from talking to the moon, and finding solace from the moon and nature. We realised that we need to accept uncertainty as part of life. We felt that religion may help some people deal with uncertainty by giving them something they could trust in and a feeling of something greater than themselves. One participant, Vicky, said it is best to “go with the flow and accept that we are just a little wave on the ocean”.

Each of our group looked back to a time many years ago when they faced uncertainty and dealt with it and looked at what they had learnt. Richard remembered that at a difficult time of uncertainty in his career, keeping a dialogue with everyone really helped him. Another participant said that she had learnt that uncertainty “bears a gift”, and “we can learn to thrive on uncertainty. Feel it, allow it and surrender. See what your gut feels”.

Everyone is different in their reactions to uncertainty. For some, it may trigger fear and stop them progressing whilst others feel the fear and uncertainty but don’t let it hold them back. What are your experiences with uncertainty?

This post is written by Cora Kemball-Cook, leader of ConsciousCafe Canterbury. Follow the Canterbury group page to keep up to date with upcoming meetings!

An Evening with Christa Mackinnon

The Power of Altered States of Consciousness

Expanding our consciousness is key to evolution; humans possess the capacity to expand their perception through altering their mental states, accessing deeper and wider realities. Artists create their best paintings or music in altered states, writers access them to create fiction and poetry, spiritual masters receive their teachings and even scientists utilise these powers.

Christa Mackinnon is joining ConsciousCafe for an interactive talk on these alternative mental states. You will discover:

* how they naturally occur,

* how we can create them intentionally

* how you can use them to tap into your vast creative potential and connect to wider fields.

Christa is a psychologist, family counsellor, hypnotherapist, shamanic teacher and best-selling author. Working internationally as a psychologist, trainer and university lecturer, she specialised in complex trauma, which formed the basis for her expertise in the functioning of the human mind. Her fascination with the capacities of the human mind and consciousness led her to explore spiritual teachings, living in Ashrams in Asia and apprenticing to Shamans in the Americas. Christa now combines her knowledge of the contemporary psychological with ancient shamanic teachings, a subject she speaks, writes, trains and lectures widely about. Christa is the author of  ‘Shamanism: Awaken and Develop the Shamanic Force Within’ (Hay House) and the ground breaking book ‘Shamanism and Spirituality in Therapeutic Practice’ (Jessica Kingsley Publishers). She is also the founder of ‘Bridging the Worlds’ and the co-founder of Women Weaving Change’.

Date: Monday 25 February

Time: 18:30 GMT

Location: Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London NW1 6XT (1 minute from Baker Street station)

Networking

Following our successful November event, we are enhancing this event with a networking opportunity in a café nearby.  We will meet at 4.30 pm and you will have the chance for a networking conversation with ConsciousCafe people. We will also go out together after Christa’s event for a drink or a snack so that we can continue the conversation afterwards. Please email judy@consciouscafe.org if you would like to come to the early networking event and we will let you know where we are meeting.

Cancellation Policy Full refund minus 10% up to 7 days beforehand (Monday 18th Feb) after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

Listening is one of your most important life skills. You become a good listener when you take the time to truly hear and understand what people are saying to you. 

When you do that, your relationship with everyone improves instantly. Being a good listener enables you to deepen the connection you have with everyone in your life - family, friends, work colleagues or strangers in the street.

All of us are capable of listening but very few of us do it well enough.  Yet deep listening is the essential ingredient for building trust, developing better relationships and improving communications in all of our relationships. 

During this interactive session, you will

• experience the difference between hearing and listening
• learn how to listen at a very deep level
• discover what it feels like when you are truly heard
• and much much more. 

About Colin

Colin is ‘The Listener’, a listening skills specialist with a passion for changing the way the world listens.  His listening presence enables individuals to feel heard, to think smarter, and to transform their business and personal relationships by learning how to listen more effectively.

Colin has an innate ability to deeply listen, hold space and develop trust with people. He works privately with individuals, enabling them to express their feelings more easily, address their personal concerns, and to articulate their creative ideas.

He works with business teams, facilitating the development of listening and thinking skills to improve business relationships, be more creative and increase the level of trust.

NEW VENUE

To enhance the event, we are also offering the opportunity to meet nearby at 4:30 pm for a networking conversation.  After the event, we will go to a nearby cafe to continue connecting.

We would like to thank our generous host, Konditor & Cook who have offered us their fabulous cafe which is situated at the bottom of the Gherkin building.  You will be able to purchase their delicious patisserie (including vegan and gluten-free items), hot and cold drinks and prosecco.

Please book early as places are limited.

Please email judy@consciouscafe.org if you would like to come to the networking session at 4:30pm.

Cancellation Policy

Full refund minus 10% up to 7 days beforehand (November 6th) after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

ConsciousCafe invites you to an evening with Jane Bailey Bain where you will be able to explore the power of stories in an interactive experience.

You are constantly working on your own life story.  In our time together we will look at how you construct this – using archetypal figures, universal themes and classic storylines. You will have an opportunity to reflect on the stories that influenced you and we will discuss how you can consciously craft your future life. You will discover:

• how your early life experiences link to later ones
• what is really important to you
• how your life is influenced by stories
• how to use the power of narrative to create the life you want to live.

The stories you heard as a child have a profound influence on your life. Jane will be talking about how you still relate to those tales today and about the importance of storytelling in creating what you want to achieve.

Your life has a thread. It tells you where you have been and what you have done. It shows how one incident led to another and explains why things turned out the way they have.

But your life also has a deeper pattern. This one links the people, places and events that matter to you. It shows themes and motifs in your experience. It relates your actions to your inner values.

Jane’s event for ConsciousCafe in Geneva was a sell-out and we look forward to welcoming her in London.

Jane Bailey Bain is an author and creative coach, now based in London. She trained as a social systems advisor and worked for many years on development projects in Asia and Africa. During this time she became interested in stories and how people use them in everyday life. Jane now runs workshops on how to create your own life story and has written three books, Life Works, Story Works and Soul Works.

Cancellation Policy

Full refund minus 10% up to 7 days beforehand (10^th September) after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

Survival is the most basic of human needs. Mikkel Juel Iversen is a film producer who runs a remarkable charity project, UnderOneSky which aims to support the homeless.  He facilitated a very moving discussion at ConsciousCafe in London which was not just about being homeless but also about being human.

There are an estimated 8,000 people sleeping rough in London annually and many more who have no home but sleep as and where a friend or family can offer a bed. 85% of rough sleepers are men. And, in 2016, 270,000 people had a homelessness related case processed by their local council. For many of us, losing our home might be just one month and one pay-packet away.

90% of people who are sleeping rough have some form of mental health issue – including disorders which many of us will be familiar with such as depression, bi-polar or addiction. Aside from that, the message of the evening which came through loud and clear is that all of us are human beings. Homeless people are not ‘the other’. They are no different from any of us and are in that situation because of many different reasons which our society has been unable to help them with.

One of the group shared how she always carries some food – often fruit – to offer a homeless person when she is out and about. She likes to engage with people and will often speak with them. She might start the conversation by asking how they are, and then if they feel inclined to talk she will explore how they found themselves on the street and how they feel about that. One time she suggested a woman make contact with her father whom she had not seen for many years.  Passing by a few weeks later, the woman told her she had been in touch with him and they were going to meet.

Sometimes a remark or a smile, nod or wink from a passing stranger can make all the different to a homeless person’s day.

Mikkel reminded us that everyone is an individual. Some days we want to talk to people and other days we don’t and so it is with all of us.  If we walk with love, compassion and empathy, that is what we are bringing to the situation. If what we offer is not welcome, it is not about us.

Another group member shared that she had been homeless in her life. ‘It’s important for people who are homeless to know that they are not invisible’ she said.

Some of the people living on the streets have struggled with  living in ‘chaotic’ households since they were very young. Some of them feel safer on the streets than in the homes they come from or in hostels where there can be no privacy and much drug-taking, drunkenness and abuse. It can be very hard for them to develop resilience and as soon as their lives improve a little, sometimes they self-destruct. Some people have had so much trauma in their lives, they simply can’t function.

Mikkel said that once a person becomes accustomed to sleeping rough, they develop a completely different set of survival skills to protect themselves.  It is important not to measure people in that situation by the same yardstick that we might make judgments about our neighbours.

The most important thing to remember when engaging with people on the streets is to only do what feels right to us. We too need to be in touch with our gut instincts.

People who are homeless are on their own life journey in the same way that the rest of us are.  When we meet them, we hold up a mirror very close to ourselves.  This is an opportunity for each of us to reflect on how we are feeling when we engage or do not engage with strangers on the streets. We can question why we feel this way and what do we need to deal with in ourselves?

Living on the streets changes a person and all of us have to learn to let go of judgment.

This was such a powerful discussion with everyone contributing and listening.  There was so much to reflect on and we continued talking over drinks afterwards. Each one of us left the evening feeling much more thoughtful and those of us who had not done so before resolved to take the first steps towards beginning to engage with people on the streets ‘when it feels right’.

Huge thanks to Mikkel for giving so generously of his time and for facilitating the discussion so gently. He started UnderOneSky six years ago as an initiative to offer support to homeless people sleeping rough particularly in winter when it is cold.  His teams go out on the streets in groups with parcels containing a number of items including a small gift voucher which enables people to purchase everyday things which they might be acutely in need of.

If you would like to learn more and donate, please go to https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/2017-18-winter-support-for-london-s-homeless#/

If you would like to take part in the work of UnderOneSky or observe what is going on, you are welcome to join the Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/432122693577153/ 

JP

26.04.2018

ConsciousCafe invites you to an evening with Dina Glouberman at Central London social club,The Lib-rary in St Martin's Lane, WC2. 

Dina has just published her new book, Into the Woods and Out Again: A Memoir of Love Madness and Transformation and she will be sharing her wisdom with you in an interactive session.

She will compare her experiences of a mental health breakdown with her experience of a spiritual breakthrough and will explore the question: how can you tell the difference between madness and miracles? She will also talk about and demonstrate the use of imagery to reach the 'genius imagination', our deep level of wisdom, and yet stay well grounded at the same time. There will be an opportunity to do an imaginative exercise to bring new insights into your life and a Q and A session.

Dr Dina Glouberman is one of the best-known and most respected pioneers in the UK human potential movement. We look forward to experiencing what is going to be a very special evening with her.

The price of your ticket includes a complimentary drink.

Dr Dina Glouberman is well known as a psychotherapist and author of several books including the bestseller, The Joy of Burnout. She is the creator of ImageWork Therapy and co-founder of the world-famous Skyros Holidays. Find out more on her website www.dinaglouberman.com 

Cancellation Policy

Full refund minus 10% up to 7 days beforehand (7th June) after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

A discussion facilitated by Caroline Shola Arewa

We are living in extraordinary times. We are constantly pulled in different directions, balancing the daily requirements of our private lives with those of our demanding work-places. We long to switch off but find it hard to detach from our increasingly complex 21^st century busy schedules.

It is both exciting and thrilling to live during these times. But the fast pace of change can also generate fear, anxiety and stress not just for us but for the people we love. 

Caroline Shola Arewa is a Psychologist and Wellness Expert. She will facilitate an interactive discussion during which we will have the opportunity to explore our increasing need to take better care of ourselves.  We will share some of the forms self-care can take and we will learn from one another’s experiences.  We will leave with new techniques and tools for reducing stress and instantly raising our energy.

After the discussion we will go to a nearby café and continue talking and networking over a drink or snack (everyone pays for themselves).

Cancellation Policy

Full refund minus 10% up to 7 days beforehand (9th May) after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

Tamara Alferoff facilitated a memorable discussion at ConsciousCafe on the topic of Self-Love, on a freezing cold snowy night in London, at the end of February.

She started by telling us that when she googled the words ‘self-love’, there were 54 million results for it. Such a huge number.

Why are so many people wanting to explore the meaning of self-love at this time?

Tamara posed a number of ideas which we explored together.

She suggested that society’s obsession with the topic reflects back to us what is happening in our Western world today.  Many people no longer experience the loving stability of their family as in previous times. The women’s movement has raised womens’ self-esteem but men now feel destabilised. Elderly people no longer feel part of the family unit while too many children are in care. Western society has lost its respect for mothering and for the importance of nurturing. Even people in solid relationships feel unworthy, not good enough in some way.

In addition we have few leaders and role-models in all walks of life who we respect. We live in a time of great change and upheaval and comfort ourselves with shallow gossip from the media. Positive politics does not seem to exist.

The topic of self-love in magazines focuses on pampering ourselves in spas with wine and selfies. But is that what we mean by self-love? Is it what we really want or need?

Where is the mirror that mirrors back to us that we are worthy, good human beings?

The group were fascinated by the deep connection of the ideas around self-love and its alignment with the changing social values in our contemporary Western society. It left us all with many important questions to reflect on.

After this powerful introduction, the group began to share their ideas and their wisdom.  There were divergent viewpoints about the meaning of self-love.  Does a lack of self-love illuminate our shadow? How do we love people and their shadows? Perhaps the real challenge with self-love is to find our own shadow, meet it and integrate it?

Is our lack of self-love also caused by a lack of meaning in our lives? Does too much material wealth cause people to lose their humanity and compassion and respect for themselves?  Do we struggle with self-love when we do not have a powerful purpose in our lives to get us out of bed in the morning?

Perhaps the key to self-love is being totally present with ourselves on all occasions even though that is not always possible to achieve.

After much more discussion and exploration, we ended the evening with one of the participants sharing Elizabeth Jennings’ poem Delay and a gorgeous song which Tamara had downloaded for us: I Love Myself the Way I Am  (Jai, Alice Altink)

Tamara’s parting gift was this lovely quote from a friend:

Self-love is the acceptance of who I am in the given moments. This means both times I see things I like about myself and those times when I am not a big fan.

Huge thanks to Tamara for her deep reflection and sharing on this powerful topic and to everyone who contributed to this memorable evening.

Mikkel Juel Iversen runs Under One Sky, an organisation which raises awareness of what life on the streets is really like and supports the homeless with life support packages and simple offers of help which may enable them to leave the streets and live independently.

Mikkel will facilitate an interactive discussion which will expand our understanding of what it means to be homeless in our wealthy and materialistic society and we will have the opportunity to explore this most basic of human needs and emotions for ourselves.

After the discussion we will go to a nearby cafe and continue talking and networking over a drink or snack (everyone pays for themselves).

Danish-born London based Mikkel Juel Iversen has one foot in social consciousness and change and one foot in the film world.  In 2012 he set up the collective Under One Sky to support the homeless and bring attention to the issue of homelessness. The ethos of Under One Sky is to offer genuine personal connection with those living on the streets.  Since its inception Under One Sky has supported 2,500 homeless people and the collective has grown to 400 volunteers.

A small percentage of the cost of your ticket tonight will be donated to Mikkel's organisation Under One Sky

Cancellation Policy

Full refund minus 10% (admin costs) up to midnight on Sunday 22 April after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

As we veer towards the end of January, we are sharing this post from our Skipton group Leader Gina Lazenby, written on Blue Monday earlier this month. Gina shares her thoughts, insights and key life events from the last few years.

 

Today is Blue Monday ....  apparently - the most depressing day of the year. Something to do with a tenuous formula for money spent at Christmas, the number of long dark days endured and returning to work in the new year. Are you feeling blue? 

 

Funnily enough, for the first time in what feels like many many months, I am feeling a bit perkier and upbeat. It is sunny here in Yorkshire and the days are getting slightly longer. But, I have to say, it has been a long haul getting here! 

 

Four years ago I made a decision to make a MAJOR life shift. In January 2014, and after almost a decade of significant overseas travel, with many many a long trip to Australia and California, I decided to have ONE home in the UK, and no longer flit from one to the other, moving stuff between my beloved Yorkshire hilltop retreat home and my city base of 25 years in London where I had held many wonderful community gatherings. Both so different.... but neither one being just the right place anymore. 

 

My stated quest was to start a new NEXT PHASE in my life and I knew that I needed a different container to support that. So, a decision was made to move out of both. 

 

It took two very long years and I finally moved out in November 2015. Many folks have been wondering what I've been up to since then. I have to say, life change does take time....it is more of a steady process of emergence and becoming, unlike a quick wardrobe makeover or a new outfit. And it took MUCH longer than I expected. It always does doesn't it?! 

	My indoor conservatory - the ornament shelf from London repurposed and now holding my collection of plants that I've grown from scratch. Very good feng shui - I have been growing like my plants !!

For the last two years, since leaving my beloved London house, I have been setting up new foundations for myself. I am not even crystal-clear about what happens next but as Kevin Costner famously said "if you build it they will come". 

So having set down temporary roots in Skipton town, a few minutes from the Healthy Home in the nearby hills, I ended up buying a small sweet house and what started as a bit of a makeover and a little extension ....  became a much bigger project that took well over a year and has only just been completed. 

Now that this new container is done, I am currently focusing on the details of creating order, one of life's essential support systems. Finding a place for everything and everything in its place. Oh the joy of being efficient and finding everything! 

One of the initiatives I did find some time for in my year-long construction project was to launch Conscious Cafe in Skipton. Judy Piatkus set this up in London six years ago and I went to many of her programs. She encouraged me to find my own community of kindred spirits wanting to have meaningful conversations and connection up here in the Dales. Tomorrow night will be our seventh event! 

 

We have had three café evenings at Hetties in Skipton talking about caring, career change and happiness, a Christmas supper evening at my Healthy Home in Skipton town taking time to review our past year, and then two Movie evenings watching documentaries "A Quest for Meaning" and Naomi Klein's "This Changes Everything". And tomorrow night, we are back at Hetties cafe starting the new year with a conversation about "Making a Fresh Start". It is a subject very close to my heart. If you are within driving distance then do join us. The next date for Conscious Café Skipton is February 12th.

My diary is quite spacious at the moment and I am relishing having a long breather away from the fray .... but I can feel momentum gathering in the ether (like the faint rumble of stampeding hooves in the far distance). Let's see how this coming year unfolds. 

I will be in San Francisco in February for Wisdom 2.0, again, a place where I truly find my tribe. It is my sixth time attending and I'm taking colleagues with me from London, Iceland, Germany and Sydney. Four of us have been working on a program leveraging the power and potency of reinvention. It is called "From Warrior to Warrior - How to Reinvent Yourself at Any Age and Take on the World". We are looking to arrange events and opportunities to speak while we are in San Francisco and California in February 20-28th. I am also hoping to have a chance to host a Women's Gathering there too. Do get in touch if you have suggestions. Thank you. Keep in touch via the  Worrier to Warrior Facebook page.

Much of my life force in 2016 (just before the building mayhem took over my life) went into producing a series of The Rise of the Feminine radio programmes. A new series will be back this year .... so many of the conversations that I had 18 months ago are just now gathering real interest. 

 

Finally, I want to share the news of my mentor, spiritual grandmother and friend Dadi Janki. She is 102 this month. Unbelievable, especially as she is still working (Head of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University).  Apparently she's just been to Southern India to open a new retreat centre and has been speaking to 500 people. We are expecting her in London in April...... so that is exciting.  And the community of women who we recognised in the 100 Women of Spirit initiative to honour Dadi's 100 years, continues to gather pace. We are creating an event on June 16th to support young women and share the wisdom of older women with Millennials  and vice versa! Let me know if you want an invite or know a young woman.

 

What are they all waiting for??!

ConsciousCafe has had a brilliant 2017.

In a year which has been fraught with unsettling challenges globally, it is clear that you want to come together and explore what is happening on the planet and in your own lives, with likeminded souls who are willing and happy to share different perspectives, personal experience and much wisdom.

During the year we launched several new groups and we now have 11 groups in total, 10 in different towns in the UK and 1 in Geneva. We will be launching more groups in 2018.

Our lovely conscious group leaders have given generously of their time and their energy to hold the space for all of you to meet.  Huge thank you to Anne, Charlie, Britt, Simon, Cora, Debbie, Grace, Alan, Karen, Gina and Judy for coming from your hearts and giving so much of yourselves. Huge thanks also to Kate Cowan of FoxbrandMarketing and to Joyce Deen for their help with marketing and admin.  ConsciousCafe would not exist without the generosity and commitment  of all of you to the idea of raising consciousness all around us through conversation and deep connection.

We have heard so many stories of how the impact of our meeting together at ConsciousCafe ripples out and affects many many others in ways we often cannot imagine.

We send a huge thank you to all of you who have come to our events and taken part in our conversations this year.  Truly ConsciousCafe is a magical space for so many of us and we feel very grateful that it exists in our lives.

Can you help?

We are looking for a lovely capable person to come from their heart and work alongside Judy in a voluntary capacity next year. Judy will continue to work with group leaders and would like to find someone to organise events in London. It’s a wonderful opportunity to help grow an organisation which is hugely valued by everyone who has the opportunity to connect with it.

If you are interested please write to info@consciouscafe.org enclosing your cv, listing your skills and telling us why you would be interested in working with ConsciousCafe.

We wish you all a fabulous break and much love in all your lives.  We look forward to continuing our work of raising consciousness and connectedness on the planet  with you in 2018.

Judy

ConsciousCafe Founder

An evening about Sensation - in the body.

Isabel Losada would like to talk to you about sex.  In an informative, funny, sometimes shocking, sometimes vulnerable entertainment - Isabel will dispel many myths.  She will tell us about a year where she decided to learn everything that she could about how to make sex into better sex in the contest of a long term and monogamous relationship.  An evening for both men and women - whether you have been married for 40 years or are happily single - brush off your inhibitions and be prepared for honestly and laughter.  Bring questions  - everything you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask.   

No clothes will be removed during this evening’s talk. 

A better sex life?  As The Guardian said of ’Sensation’ -  ‘What better investment could there be in a relationship?'

This event will be held at the Library Club in Central London and is also open to some of their members. 

Book early to reserve your place.

ISABEL LOSADA

Isabel Losada has most recently discussed her new book ‘Sensation: Adventures in Sex, Love and Laughter’ on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Woman’s Hour’ and at the Hay International book festival.  More information about Isabel and her other books can be found at www.isabellosada.com

Cancellation Policy

Full refund minus 10% up to 7 days beforehand (5th March) after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

In our fast-moving technological Age we are all bombarded with so much input that many of us regularly feel stressed and out of control as we try to process it all. What do we need to do in order to manage information overload effectively and enjoy a better quality of life?

In this thoughtful discussion we will be sharing our joint wisdom as we explore the topic together. Discover

• How to live more consciously and with greater awareness
• How to quiet your mind and centre yourself in the midst of chaos
• How to achieve more balance in your life
• Techniques that others are using to overcome overload

Please note that we are experimenting with a new format for this event.  We have reduced the price for the discussion which will now be from 6.30 to 8.30 and that will allow more time to go out together afterwards and continue the conversation in a café nearby.

We look forward to seeing you at this first ConsciousCafe event of 2018. Book your ticket now!

Cancellation Policy

Full refund minus 10% up to 72 hours beforehand (7th January) after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

The ConsciousCafe Skipton community at our first event in  June

I really enjoy attending ConsciousCafe events in London, often held in founder Judy Piatkus’ lovely north London home. Of course it’s just not possible to attend the full programme of events as I no longer live in London. And I’m sure I’m not the only who loves the Conscious Cafe experience of meaningful conversation and heartfelt connection. There are an increasing number of us who want to bring a taste of it to our home towns around the UK. It’s selfish really ….. We don’t now have to travel to London to get our uplifting fix!

And so it was in June this year that ConsciousCafe Skipton was born. Another selfish reason behind me starting it was to find and connect with a tribe of local people who are interested in what I am passionate about … like-minded souls who enjoy thoughtful conversations about how we want to live life, what our values are and what we can do to help create a better world for everyone.

The first meeting of the new ConsciousCafe community in Skipton was held in June 19th at our adopted home of Hettie’s Cafe at the top of the High Street. We opened the evening with a circle where everyone shared who they were and what had inspire them to attend.

Why we all came together for ConsciousCafe here is a summary expressed by the group:

• Find and enjoy a support network of folks with similar views or values
• Curious to learn and open to new ideas
• Connect with interesting people
• Be part of a community, especially for those who have moved to the area recently
• Find a supportive learning community and be able to open up in a way that is not possible when only mixing with clients or children
• Interested in the subject presented that evening

CONNECTION   CURIOSITY   COMMUNITY   COMPANIONSHIP

As this first event  was called “Can we afford to care about people and be kind?”, Gina Lazenby opened up the evening with a short slide presentation about Caring Economics, based on the book by lawyer and activist Dr Riane Eisler. Riane has been listed as one of twenty of the world’s great peacemakers (along with Luther King and Ghandi) and her book ‘Caring Economics: The Real Wealth of Nations’ has been an inspiration to Gina and her work in writing about healthy living and also feminine values and leadership. Gina said Riane’s work brought together her two passions of caring for well-being through our homes and the contribution to society by women. Gina says, “The key premise of Riane’s work is that society measures and values the wrong things. It is time for us to put Caring and Care-giving into the spotlight as it underpins everything else in society.”

Riane points out that GDP measures everything except  the contribution made by community work and volunteering; stewardship of nature and the natural world; and the daily work of home-making and bringing up children. Without these free, unpaid, undocumented and undervalued activities the world would simply cease functioning. There is such a warped bias in our economic system that GDP actually increases when bad things happen … clearing up after an oil tanker disaster might decimate wildlife which has no economic value on a country’s balance sheet but it creates extra wealth through clean-up costs and legal action. We are simply measuring the wrong things. Anything that is not counted and measured is then not valued.

One of the key premises of Caring Economics is understanding how societies are shaped in one of two ways … either as Hierarchies with each level of an ascending pyramid held in place by fear and control. In this system, patriarchy rules and there is always one gender, ethnicity, nation, sexuality that has priority over another. In this worldview, any contribution provided by a lower value gender … women …  is seen as being of less value. That means the caring and care-giving work, undertaken by both men and women, which is seen as being feminine, has a lower economic value and less impact. At the other end of a continuum, collaboration thrives under the Partnership way where power is used to empower and support each other and not to hold people back by having power over someone else. Riane says that organisations, countries and societies are all, in some way, moving along the continuum towards partnership and away from hierarchical control. The whole planet is a work in progress on this score!

So, from this, with the understanding that caring and care-giving are not seen by society as having economic value, we can understand why jobs in this field attract such low pay and low prestige.  Our ConsciousCafe community broke out into discussion groups and covered questions around humanity’s self-interest, what younger people are looking for, what’s in the process of changing, who is responsible for change, rewarding kindness in business life, the degree to which people work hard, educating children to think differently ….. in fact a list of questions we could have spent a weekend debating. We created much food for thought!

The subject of the evening ‘caring and valuing care-giving’ attracted quite a few people to attend who actually work in the health and caring industries. We heard about the needs of patients & clients becoming ever greater and more complex in an ageing population. Although it was difficult to find resolutions and come up with answers, many people felt comforted just by being able to share their experience of the caring system and hearing each other’s stories meant that they felt validated. There was a consensus that important conversations needed to be had. By sharing different perspectives and opinions we all wake up and recognise that change will happen through a process and not by one single decision or action.

Summary:  Even though the subject is overwhelmingly complex and there was no greater clarity we did feel we had a greater understanding about the future and there was still a sense of hope that things will change, either because we are heading for breakdown and out of that total chaos, radical change will have to emerge … or because, the younger millennial generations prioritise much more compassionate values and so demonstrate that they could be behind the much-needed shift that their older superiors are not able to grasp.   This is a summary of some of the points that emerged in a topic that we all agreed was endless and stimulating when the community reconvened for a group sharing.

1. Change starts with us. To create the much-needed change in the world, we have to change ourselves in order to get the changes we want to see.
2. Self care is critical, putting ourselves last in service of our community, family or employment leads to burn-out and breakdown and ultimately serves nobody.
3. The power of leading by example. It might not look like we are making a big impact but everything we do counts and the most important thing we can each do is walk our talk and be conscious of the example we are setting. Change our behaviour, others take note.
4. A crisis in social care. Many attendees, men and women, were from the caring professions, at the sharp end of today’s underfunded and crumbling care system. Short term thinking is causing great harm and the system is beyond is fixing requiring systemic change.
5. Old Worldviews in charge. As the world changes, new thinking is needed and it was noted how many people in senior positions in the caring industry are older. Not all older people keep up to date and are flexible in their thinking. They lack the answers in this new connected world, one where younger people are much more fluent and comfortable with technology. As much as age carries wisdom which is important, we have to recognise that millennial have a different approach, different aspirations and new ways of thinking. Perhaps they have more answers.
6. Millennials’ values are different. The young age group from teens to those in their 20s are open, expressive, compassionate, collaborative … everything the system changes need are ways of being that are more natural to them. They are having an impact.  We have great faith in the younger generation.
7. Caring – the jobs people don’t want. So much has changed in caring that even though it is a people business, numbers are prioritised. Less time to spend with each client / patient can be distressing for both parties when an encounter is reduced to just a few minutes. Stress levels increase and the desire to be service to the world and care about people is severely diminished when the important work done has so little value and recognition. Many carers end up broken down and burned out. Collateral damage. People leave jobs/industry. Fewer applications to join.
8. Size brings anonymity. Globalisation and larger corporations can make interactions more faceless, less personal whereas interacting with smaller companies there is a greater chance they will be linked to smaller communities and be more accountable. The more we can create community, the more we can be self-regulating. Everybody knows you. You can more clearly see the impact of, and the outcome, of what you do ..good and bad.
9. Kindness pays off. always.
10. New solutions needed. Problems today in our healthcare and social services are so complex and seemingly unsolvable that we have to be prepared to think of the impossible!
11. Large companies have influence and resources. Should be encouraged to care and to give more and support community. Can more of their profits be re-invested
12. People should use their voices. Do we complain enough? give feedback.. point out what is wrong and unfair?
13. Do my best. So much to be done and what can I do in my little corner? I can do my best.

Some individual feedback about the first ConsciousCafe evening in Skipton:

“Great night, I really enjoyed myself.”

“The conversation flowed quickly and even though we did not know each other, it felt easy.”

“I have been suffering from career fatigue but I am feeling invigorated by tonight’s sharing and insights.”

“Really nice to have the opportunity to step back, get away from the detail and get a sense of the big picture.”

“I have been feeling angry but I recognise this can be good if I use it. I want to keep the fight going!”

“These conversations have confirmed that my life changes are putting me on the right path. I am inspired.”

“I feel really nourished by tonight.”

“A great place to have an honest conversation.”

Gina Lazenby

ConsciousCafe Skipton Leader

For nearly forty years Tamara has taken great pleasure in facilitating workshops and retreats, addressing a wide range of topics including: Symptoms,  Conflict Clarification, Council of All Beings, Co-Counselling Training, Group Dynamics, Dream Groups, Well-Being, Body, Relationships, Despair and Empowerment, Food, Money, Inner Child, Fear and Freedom, Creativity, Parenting, Aging and Illness, including some new and exciting themes coming up.  Participants on Tamara’s events often experience a deeper sense of connection, purpose, and peace, as well as coming out lighter and more connected in relationship to self, other, and the world.  Times of intensive work relieved with periods for solitude and silence. A supportive, challenging, and transformative process!

Cancellation Policy

Full refund minus 10% up to 72 hours beforehand (14th October) after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

ConsciousCafe founder Judy Piatkus was quoted in a recent piece published in The Guardian. Sales of mind, body and spirit books are booming this year.  Judy thinks this is a reflection of how society is changing.  She believes that people are  questioning how we live, what is working and what is not working. Younger people are growing up with a different set of values and this is reflected in the growth of sales in this area of the book market.

This is all good news for people who come to ConsciousCafe and want to explore all these new ideas with one another, helping each other to raise consciousness and awareness of change as we journey forward together.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jul/31/sales-of-mind-body-spirit-books-boom-in-uk-amid-mindfulness-mega-trend   

ConsciousCafe is here to stay. Its our 6^th Anniversary year and we have had amazing expansion in the last 12 months. New groups have opened in Canterbury, Dorchester, Geneva, Skipton and Bristol to add to the ones we already had in Oundle, New Forest, Bath and London. Now we are poised for more launches this autumn in Plymouth, Liverpool and SW London.

There was a lot to celebrate and our party was held in the main room with bar at The Lib-rary, a social club in St Martins Lane, near Charing Cross. There was a great atmosphere as people arrived and greeted old friends and were introduced to new people who they hadn’t met before.

True to ConsciousCafe style, we wanted to spend part of the evening in reflection. Thought-leader, author and international speaker Jude Jennison, who works with executive boards and leadership teams, is writing a book on coping with uncertainty and she presented us with several themes to reflect on in groups. What are the challenges of living and working with uncertainty? How do you remain grounded when you live with uncertainty? What strategies can you use to help?

Jude gave examples from her own life. It is important to be open to uncertainty as we never know what the future will hold for us. Six years ago she was afraid of horses. Now she partners with them daily and coaches teams of leaders to learn new skills. Horses give clear feedback and have no agenda and can therefore help people to gain more self-awareness and understanding as they see their own behaviour mirrored by the horses.

There was fantastic energy in the room as we shared our fears and our hopes. Uncertainly has always formed part of the human journey. It will always be with us. But it does seem magnified at the moment. Some people cope by enhancing their deep connections with the people they love; others want to spend more time in nature; some people turn to their spiritual practice. Gratitude also featured for when we appreciate all that we have been given, it can be easier to live in uncertain times.

The evening ended with more food and drink – we had an open bar which was included in the ticket price – so the drink kept flowing until the end of the evening when the tab ran out and it was time to leave the party. It gave us all a lovely feeling of abundance as we enjoyed the deep sense of connection with one another that ConsciousCafe offers.

Here’s to another year of success for ConsciousCafe as we all work together to raise awareness of the human need for love, connection and understanding both for ourselves and for our beautiful planet.

Judy Piatkus with grateful help from Dr Phyllis SantaMaria’s notes

3 July 2017

Led by Sarah Alexander

Labour MP Jo Cox left us with a pertinent message: “We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than the things that divide us.” But at this time of polarisation, fragmentation and division in society, this message seems a far cry from reality.
 
In our personal journey from emotional intelligence to spiritual intelligence, we come to the realisation that we share the same core essence. We recognise that we all have different bodies and personalities with a host of varied beliefs. And yet it is this commonality within that ultimately unites us.
 
In our discussion, we will be considering how we live this practically day-to-day and bring this shared unity into every aspect of our life experience.

After the discussion ends, join us for coffee, wine,snacks and great networking at a nearby cafe. Everyone pays for themselves.
 
……………………………..
 

Sarah Alexander

Sarah Alexander offers coaching and training for coaches, consultants and business professionals based on the principles set out in her book Spiritual Intelligence in Leadership. Sarah combines this mental tool kit with the latest neuroscience and practical strategies for success. She acts as a GPS for her clients: ensuring they remain on track to their chosen destination.
 
Sarah Alexander has had 16 years’ experience as a coach and trainer. Over that time, she has worked with entrepreneurs, sports professionals and performers on the international stage and leaders in multinational organisations in the UK, Europe and the Far East.
 
Sarah has written many articles for magazines and national newspapers including The Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail and Huffington Post. She has also spoken regularly on the radio. In The Daily Express she has been described as “the elegant, calm and collected guru of all things inner gleaming”. Sarah is the author of Spiritual Intelligence in Leadership and Spiritual Intelligence in Business.

Cancellation Policy

Full refund minus 10% up to 72 hours beforehand (16th September) after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

One of the saddest things about being human is that it takes the most painful events to awaken us to our humanity.
We can't appreciate our most joyful moments without having had great sadness to contrast them with.

On a global level there are times when the whole world suffers together and when everyone on the planet shares joy together. The consequences of climactic disasters, the sadness and pain of events such as 9/11 and 3/11, the Japanese Tsunami, and the horrendous unnecessary wars, started by those who are greedy for power and money, contrasts with the admiration we feel when we see remarkable feats of heroic endurance, explorers conquering new frontiers, tech inventors creating products which make our lives easier and scientists developing new cures which will enable us to live longer.

We experience this duality on a national level too. Remember the highs so many of us felt during the 2012 Olympics when the whole nation came together to celebrate our great sporting heroes and show London off to its best. Contrast that with the pain and sorrow of the last few days when only the hardest of hearts could fail to be unmoved by the recent unfolding tragic events.

In the past few days, arising from the Grenfell tragedy, we have witnessed the very best of human nature responding to greed, negligence and the most selfish, unheeding and uncaring human characteristics.

I understand that this is emotional duality which we are here to experience and which gives us the opportunity to learn our greatest lessons.

Unfolding events are bringing people together to fight for and demand a better, fairer world and technology makes it easier for us to join with others and respond as one in times of great crisis.

This week we are united in sadness as each one of us in our own personal way, honours the souls of those who died so the rest of us might learn from what they have gone through and do our best to try to be better human beings.

It was a beautiful English summer day when our eclectic ConsciousCafe group set off from Hampstead tube station for our first ‘Walk and Talk’ event on Hampstead Heath.

There’s something especially relaxing about meeting new people when you are out for a walk. Thoughtful enjoyable conversations were taking place between all of us and it didn’t feel as though we had only met each other just a short while before.

We wandered round the Kenwood grounds, admiring the lake and the views, before relaxing with a drink at the open-air café. It was such a fabulous day that most of us were not in the mood for exploring inside the house, preferring to save that pleasure for a second visit in a colder season.

Our route home took us past The Creamery, a small white building on a little hill near the main House which used to be the dairy for the estate. You can still see the equipment that was used at the time. The views from The Creamery of the fields, trees and estate are as natural now as they would have been two hundred years ago. No wonder it is such a popular location for film-makers of dramas, both historical and contemporary. Notting Hill had a scene shot here as did Belle and the new film, Hampstead, coming out soon, has some fantastic shots of the heath, Kenwood and surrounding area as it is based on a true story set in Hampstead.

We ended our visit with a look at Whitestone Pond, which some say is the highest point in London, before wending our way back down the hill towards Hampstead village. All of us agreed it had been an ideal day for the walk and we will have a lovely shared memory of the first ConsciousCafe event in nature.

Judy

A lively group of people gathered to enjoy a wide-ranging and thoughtful discussion on the topic of ‘What is Truth’?

While ConsciousCafe isn’t a physical space, this time we were meeting in a café/bar and so it was a fun ambience for a serious topic.

Our expert facilitator Caroline Shola Arewa led us in a meditation and then posed some questions to set us thinking. Everyone had some ideas to share and it soon became clear that ‘truth’ means many different things both to different people and at different times of our lives.

Strong themes that came through were the importance of recognising that people can experience the same event but their personal truth about the event will be different. Communication is very important in order to understand each others' different point of view of what their truth actually means to them.

Truth can also change with time. Many years later, with more age, wisdom and understanding what appeared to be true in the past can sometimes be seen in a different light. We realised also that much of what each one of us might regard as personal truth is sometimes more perception than actual truth.

The prime quality of truth is that it resonates inside, connects with your heart, feels good. Sometimes you have to dig deep to find the truth as it is buried under the clutter.

Some people are so sure of the rightness of their views that they become convinced they are true in spite of all evidence to the contrary. Others twist the facts to suit their own agenda. While these are much discussed topics at the present moment, we recognised that throughout history there have always been some human beings who have behaved in that way.

After exploring personal truths, Shola shared ideas about the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism and what truth meant for her personally. We explored some of the ancient wisdoms about Truth.

Finally we came to some conclusions. Several of us felt that as we have become older, we feel ‘we know nothing’. Others had recognised that as soon as they let go of having to be right and having a need to defend their opinions, life had become much easier, for, in truth, we all hold different opinions and ideas about the world which we regard as true. As soon as we can let go of our need to be right and tolerate and respect different points of view, the world will become a much more peaceful place.

Our 6th Birthday Party was a great success - scroll down to see some photos.

Our 6th Birthday Party will focus on the theme of Living and Working with Uncertainty.

Join us with our guest speaker, Jude Jennison, for an evening of fun, laughter and thought-provoking ideas and a discussion on the topic of Living and Working with Uncertainty

Living and Working with Uncertainty

The rapid advancement of technology has fuelled fast-paced change in business, creating a high performance culture that requires leaders to be resilient, agile and results-focused. The increased level of uncertainty and an ever-expanding workload create stress, overwhelm, fear and polarization, leading to disconnection. The world never stops and when people get caught in the same trap, they risk burning out.
 
We will discuss the challenges we face in the workplace and how we can create business results through the natural human characteristics of communication, connection, compassion and community.

Jude Jennison is a thought leader, international speaker, Horse Assisted Educator and author of the book Leadership Beyond Measure. She is co-founder of The Leadership Whisperers, a company inspiring people within some of the world’s leading organisations to create more human connection in a high-performance culture. She works with executive boards and senior leadership teams to develop embodied leadership skills to lead through uncertainty. Jude partners with horses who provide non-judgmental feedback, enabling clients to identify their leadership behaviours and transform themselves into courageous and hugely influential, non-verbal communicators.

Ticket price includes wine or soft drinks and food

Cancellation Policy

Full refund minus 10% up to 72 hours beforehand (30th June) after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

Join us for an enjoyable ‘Walk and Talk’ with ConsciousCafe across Hampstead Heath to visit Kenwood House

Hampstead Heath is a wild untamed 800 acres of natural wilderness in North London. We invite you to ‘walk and talk’ across the heath and enjoy its wild beauty. We will stop at Kenwood House, a famous stately home with spectacular grounds, for a cup of tea. Many famous films have had scenes filmed at Kenwood including Notting Hill and Belle. We will return to our starting point via a different route.

2.00pm: Meet at Hampstead tube (Northern line). We will walk to Kenwood which will take about an hour. We will stop for tea and there will be time for a quick visit to the house for anyone who wants to. We will then make our way back to Hampstead via the famous Whitestone Pond which some guidebooks say is the highest point in London.

Important note. The terrain is uneven and hilly in parts. You will need strong trainers or walking shoes and a bottle of water.

In the event of heavy rainfall anyone who wants to can meet at Hampstead tube at 2.30 and we will enjoy coffee and a discussion in one of Hampstead’s many attractive cafes.

This event is free, but please book to confirm you are coming so we know whether to wait for you.  

Be the Change You want to See in the World:  Changing the World or Changing Ourselves

A Discussion to be facilitated by Caroline Shola Arewa

We live on a beautiful planet. But as populations have grown and in our thirst for material growth, we have created many serious problems which urgently need resolution.  

The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.

We but mirror the world.  All the tendencies present in the world are to be found in the world of our body.  If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change.

Gandhi

How should each of us live in order to feel we are making a difference?  What do we need to do? These and many other interesting ideas will all be part of the evening's discussion.

Come and join this discussion as we explore the challenge of change.

Cancellation Policy

Full refund minus 10% up to 72 hours beforehand (7th May) after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

There were cheers and applause at the ConsciousCafe Geneva launch last night when I announced that the evening marked the first International ConsciousCafe.   What followed was a great night in the spirit of ConsciousCafe’s everywhere in the UK …  twenty-two likeminded people coming together to enjoy thoughtful discussion; deep connection with other people; and, from the happy atmosphere and immediate feedback, leaving energized and positive.  

We took as our theme ConsciousCafe’s aim to raise global consciousness one conversation at a time asking the question “what does this mean and how can conversation achieve it?”  It was apparently a good starter question and from the beginning everyone engaged in animated discussions.  We talked and shared at tables of four or five with people moving around after 20 minutes to make new connections and conversations.   We have a beautiful collection of illustrated table mats which reveal how broad and deep the discussions roamed.

This was an uplifting start to ConsciousCafe Geneva, proving that one can have profound discussions with new acquaintances in a very enjoyable and heartening way.  I particularly relished the fact that we were from a wide range of age groups and life experience.

The next ConsciousCafe Geneva will be Wednesday 26th April and personally, I can’t wait.

Debbie King, Geneva Organiser.

To be facilitated by Caroline Shola Arewa  

What does the word ‘truth’ mean to you? 

Can different people experience the same event with the same truth and if not, why not?
 
How can we verify historical truth?
 
How do we all manipulate the truth at different times and in different ways?  Why does it matter?
 
We will be considering these questions and many more.  Join us for a discussion of this topic which has never been more important than now.

Caroline Shola Arewa

Wellness Coach, humanistic psychologist and author Caroline Shola Arewa, has inspired people worldwide for thirty years with her pioneering and awarding winning work. She is the founder of Energy 4 Life Wellness Coaching  www.energy4lifecoach.com Where she Trains Wellness Coaches and offers people the opportunity to “get your Energy back and your Life on track’ using high energy and conscious living techniques.   

The price of the event includes a complimentary soft drink or coffee and light refreshments

After the discussion at 9.30 you are welcome to join us at nearby Carluccio in the Marriott Hotel Swiss Cottage, 5 mins walk away from the venue, to continue the conversation (everyone pays for themselves). Please email to let us know if you would like us to book a place for you on  info@consciouscafe.org 

To find out how to receive our Supporter Discount to this and all our events and what it means to be a ConsciousCafe Supporter, click here.

Cancellation Policy

Full refund minus 10% up to 72 hours beforehand (2nd April) after which we apologise, but cannot offer any refund due to room hire and administration costs.

ConsciousCafe’s London group were treated to a very inspiring evening at the end of January when Deborah Henley demonstrated how we can inspire ourselves and others by using our emotional intelligence and a variety of other techniques.

In a concise two hour presentation and interactive session Deborah offered so many inspiring ideas that soon all of us were firing on different cylinders. Each of us was invited to share a time when we had unexpectedly been inspired. Our combined experiences showed that a challenging event could often become the catalyst for a change in our lives that could inspire us to make our best decisions. I especially liked Margaret’s story of how she was inspired to change direction in her career when she found herself driving the wrong way round a one-way system.

Our emotional intelligence skills come into play when we consider ourselves in relation to others. We need to have an awareness of our own emotions and how we respond to different situations and we need the skills of self-managing our emotional state.

At the same time we need to be aware of other people’s emotions and to be able to tune into to how they are feeling or to what the atmosphere is in the culture we are working in e.g. if there are a lot of politics in a particular organisation. In relation to others our skills can be seen in the way we communicate our message, manage conflict and above all, in how we show up to inspire others with our presence.

Deborah shared a wide range of ideas and the group contributed thoughts and experiences. My favourite exercise was when we had the opportunity to imagine a future hypothetical personal dream had taken place. (Apparently this exercise is often used by hypnotherapists). I was inspired by a vision of the opening of a building, dedicated solely to ConsciousCafe where we could all meet up. I had a clear vision of what it would look like, how it would feel and how it would be used and I was able to communicate my enthusiasm and inspiration very easily to my partner. Now we just have to make it happen!

Many thanks once again to Deborah Henley for giving so generously of her time to present this event for us at ConsciousCafe. Deborah’s new website is under construction but you can find and follow her on @Deborahhenley

A shortened version of this blog was first posted on the site of Kindred Spirit magazine. Click to read or see below.

Written by guest writer, Maryon Stewart.

As I listen to news from around the world constantly filled with reports about people attacking others physically as well as verbally, it often seems surreal; even unbelievable. Open prejudice and violence, which causes injury and often death, are painful to witness for those of us who choose love over hate.

The majority of us – like myself - look on, horrified, from the sidelines, as events beyond our control make us feel powerless.

As a professional problem solver until recently, I found the powerlessness beyond frustrating because I couldn’t see a way for good to triumph over evil. I experienced huge relief when a feeling like a light went on in my head as I considered how different life on earth would be if we focus on that which is within our control. We should concentrate on mindfully loving more, hating less and doing random acts of kindness for each other because we can. Whilst that may seem a naïve concept, my attention remains with it. It made me wonder if the conscious ones amongst us could band together with love on the agenda, no matter what religion, and turn the tide on hate and fear.

I decided to discuss it with Judy Piatkus who several years ago set up a network, ConsciousCafe, which gives people the opportunity to engage in conscious conversations with likeminded others, to raise awareness of all that is meaningful in our lives.

Synchronistically, the very next day I received an invitation to a conference ConsciousCafe were holding in London on 27 November on the topic of Raising the Vibration of Love. It brought together leading-edge thinkers, opinion-makers, authors, therapists and respected senior executives to explore ways of reducing fear and increasing the expression of love in our lives with a common goal of making the world a better place. I bought a ticket in a heartbeat as it felt like a group I wanted to be part of.

The conference was opened by Elif Shafak, author of several non-fiction works and ‘mystical realism’ novels, whose bestseller Forty Rules of Love has sold a million copies and blew me away with joy when I first read it a few years ago. Elif highlighted the fact that knowledge and information are different from wisdom, which requires emotional intelligence. She emphasised that we should allow ourselves to be changed by love and that empathy is the key to positive change, promoting less violence.

On personal love Elif played with the idea that we may have unrealistic expectations that one person can fulfil all of our needs. Maybe validating our loved one for what he or she does bring to the relationship, and choosing wise friends to fulfil our other needs is the way forward for a successful loving relationship. Not surprisingly there were many questions after that which Elif responded to with great wisdom.

Elif’s thought-provoking words were followed by a panel discussion which focused on love in the workplace. Leading experts Oonagh Harpur, Norman Pickavance and Francis Briers, chaired by Judith Clegg reflected on how individuated many have become through technology. Yet through re-connectivity we can raise our consciousness and by doing so open ourselves up to empathy and learn more about meeting each other’s needs. The panel shared stories of initiatives connecting people worldwide and giving them a voice to generate ideas and collaborative action.

After a networking lunch I took part in a workshop facilitated by Dr Dina Glouberman on intimate relationships. Other people chose sessions about embodying love in everyday life or expressing love through art. These were followed by a World Café session where we moved from table to table, engaging with others at a very deep level as we considered how we could each and collectively raise the vibration of love in our own lives as well as in the world.

The day ended with a guided meditation from Tom Fortes Mayer accompanied by singing and music from Virginia Thorn who sounded like an angel.

I had arrived at the conference tired from a punishing week. I came away feeling energised and clear. I felt increased certainty about my own abilities and mindful of the positive outcomes resulting from likeminded group initiatives. I felt significantly increased optimism about the chance, if together we step up in the name of love, that we could ensure good will triumph over evil, enabling us to thrive together on our beautiful planet.

The power of the day was palpable. Apart from examining the power of raising the vibration of love, I made a number of connections with people I hope to collaborate with and learn from. I am already looking forward to my next encounter with ConsciousCafe.

Videos of Elif Shafak speaking at the ConsciousCafe Conference and of the business panel will be posted on Youtube and on the ConsciousCafe website shortly. Raising the Vibration of Love was ConsciousCafe’s first conference. www.consciouscafe.org

Maryon Stewart is a health expert, author and founder of the charity Angelus. Her new website www.maryonstewart.com launches this month

IGNITE YOUR SPARK

How to Inspire with Integrity

To be facilitated by Deborah Henley

Here is a unique opportunity to take part in a short interactive workshop for conscious leaders, facilitators, coaches, and everyone who wants to inspire others and make a difference in the world.

Leadership Inspiration is as much an art and a skill as it is a conscious practice. As leaders, the practice involves knowing ourselves and how we influence and impact others. 

Following our very powerful September event facilitated by Claudia Roth of Soul Luxury, when we explored the new way of doing business which is learning to ‘allow’, Claudia has shared this blog with us:

My reality was shaken when I was in Auroville in the south of India last November! For many years (even decades) I created this special self-image called Claudia Roth, a successful global business leader who much enjoyed a career in luxury hospitality. I was very proud of my self-image which I curated with passion and careful attention.

Something profound happened!

No doubt you’ve heard people saying, ‘This is who I am and I won’t change!’ Leaders who maintain this position are unconsciously admitting they can’t see beyond their self-image.

To be fixated by self-image means to be non-creative and, in essence, limited to a defined set of often rigid thought processes and beliefs; this has consequences for all aspects of life.

Without realising it, many of us have created identities – or self-images – of ourselves.

Perhaps you have an image of yourself as important, as a successful businessperson, as ambitious and competent, or as someone who has all the answers. This sort of identity, built up over years, governs your view of the world more than you realise.

Jim Morrison – lead singer of The Doors – said: “We're locked in an image, an act - and the sad thing is, people get so used to their image, they grow attached to their masks. They love their chains.”

Holding onto this adopted identity is like wearing a professional mask; with it in place, either in business or in life, you are not allowing yourself to be truly authentic and importantly, you are limiting yourself to new awareness so as to evolve as a business leader and individual.

Is it possible to maintain a professional identity or self-image for years and not even be aware of it? Trust me, I speak from experience – I only realised that ‘the other’ persons were there (yes ... you read correctly .... we have not only one self image but several!) when I began to question why I thought and reacted in the ways that I did.

Indeed, it is only when we start exploring our genuine thoughts, reactions, emotions and ways of living that we can begin to live in the truest sense of ourselves. And if you have reaffirmed and energised a mask successfully for many years, it can be a painstaking process to dismantle it to discover who you really are!

So, why would you want to move beyond this learned identity – your cherished self-image – especially if it has been serving you well for many years as in my instance?

The more authentic you become, the more you step into your ‘space of greatness’. You no longer pretend to be somebody else, running on ‘patterns’ or be guided to uphold your self-images. Instead you connect to your inner wisdom, which then guides you throughout your life.

As you explore your self-image, you will start challenging certain beliefs and removing others that may be limiting you. You will find yourself wanting to know the world for what it actually is, rather than what you believe it to be. You will become curious again. Creativity and inspiration will flourish as a result, becoming assets both in your life and your business. Unimaginable opportunities are unfolding!

Embarking on this process isn’t easy. It won’t provide a quick fix to all of life’s challenges. But it is a powerful experience that will connect you to your truth and inner wisdom, where you will find contentment, joy and guidance, and your next level of personal and business success.

I will be returning to Auroville soon again .... The story continues.

Self-Image Assessment Exercises:

1.    Start off by naming the labels you give to yourself. For example, “I am a successful, highly in demand, creative and outspoken manager.” Write down your labels.

2.    Identify the labels you wish to dissolve and make a commitment to move closer to your ideal life situation.

3.    Create some time for reflection, to explore what lies behind the labels you identify.

4.    Pay attention to the story you create when you look in the mirror: do you create a negative or a positive self-image, or an over-inflated self-image guided by ego?

5.    Observe your opinions: what you say, how you say it, the likes and dislikes you use to reinforce your self-image. Do you judge fairly or based on pre-conceived ideas?

6.    Explore how tied you are to your memories: whether good or bad, acting in response to memories can lead to inauthentic results, from irrational fears to rose-tinted actions.

7.    Take time to assess how your story, opinions, actions and reactions would be if you created them anew based on what you actually see, think and feel.

Enjoy discovering yourself! Awareness creates choice.

A little about me: I am grateful to look back at a successful, global and hugely rewarding international career in the luxury hospitality & travel industry. I have learned what luxury is and what it is not. I understand service excellence, and I know what it is not! I have travelled the world in style and had many enjoyable moments of living a corporate career. 

Having now moved on from corporate life, my network describes me as a global pioneer in luxury and consciousness. People are seeking increased meaning and connection – in their lives and the brands they align with. But whether an individual or a company, true connection can only come from within: from an exploration of awareness and an unwavering commitment to authenticity and integrity.

I am the founder and Managing Director of Soul Luxury, a company operating globally that helps businesses understand these evolutionary shifts and create their own new currency of connection within themselves and with their clients. 

I write articles from time to time. There is no right or wrong, it is only a view. Up to now largely my silent view.

Claudia Roth

 Copyright © 2016 Soul Luxury.

HOW AUTHENTIC ARE YOU?

• What does it mean to be authentic?
• How does the modern-day workplace disconnect us from knowing our authentic self?
• How can we live authentically in a world where we often need to conform in order to belong?

We'll be discussing these questions and other aspects of authenticity.  Come and join in the discussion.

ConsciousCafe invites you to our special one day conference

ConsciousCafe is offering you one special and unique day to come from your heart and join together to help raise the vibration of love. To view the full programme, click here.

'Love is the strongest force the world possesses'

Gandhi

We are living through a massive period of awakening. This extraordinary transformation is generating huge challenges and amazing opportunities for everyone across the planet. ConsciousCafe believes it is time for each one of us to be pioneers. To work together to raise the vibration of love in ourselves so that we can share it in our world.  In our own small way, each of us is able to contribute to increasing peace, love and harmony on the planet.

How you will help to raise the vibration of love: (click here for the full programme)

• Listen to our dynamic speaker, Elif Shafak, Global TED speaker and Turkey’s foremost female novelist, who will share from the heart her thoughts on love and life
• Our panel of business experts, Oonagh Harpur, Francis Briers and Norman PIckavance, led by Judith Clegg - founder of LiveKind - will lead us in a Q and A session, as we share ideas about how we can raise the vibration of love in the workplace
• A choice of 3 short break-out groups. led by Francis Briers, Louis Parsons and Dina Glouberman, will give each of us the opportunity to be centred and present and explore how to cultivate a loving state through art, movement or relationships
• World Cafe, led by Caroline Pakel - creative facilitator, consultant and coach - will enable us to raise our group energy, enjoy collective, conscious conversations and explore thought-provoking questions about Love
• Our closing celebration of music and song with Tom Fortes Mayer and Virginia Thorn, will bring us altogether, as one group, in a joyful, uplifting experience
• Our co-comperes, Nick Williams and our own, Judy Piatkus, will be there throughout the day, introducing everyone and sharing their insights and any feedback they receive from you.

To view the programme in detail, click here

Introducing our inspirational experts and facilitators. 

Click on each photo for their biography or click here to read about them all.

Click on each photo to read more about each individual or

visit our Experts page to read about them all.

ConsciousCafe offers you the opportunity to spend one special day, with like-minded individuals, opening your heart and making our world a better place.

Details 

Registration and networking from 9am for 9.45 start. Close at 5.15

Your ticket includes refreshments and a light vegetarian lunch.

For further information or to specify dietary requirements please contact info@consciouscafe.org 

Limited number of concessions available.  Please contact judy@consciouscafe.org

Click here to book

To find out how to become a ConsciousCafe Supporter and receive our discounted rate at this event and all our other events click here

 Cancellation policy

Cancellation up to 20 November will receive a full refund less 10% admin costs or a full credit towards future ConsciousCafe events.  We regret we cannot offer a refund after that date but we will offer a credit of £50 towards future ConsciousCafe events from 21- 24 November.  From 25 – 27 November we regret we cannot offer a credit or a refund.

AN INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP FACILITATED by CLAUDIA ROTH

 For many years we have all been used to working in a certain way. But now the fast-changing world in which we live combined with a myriad of new technology is changing all that.

New rules for the way to work best are constantly being created and it is only the limitations of our mind-set that prevent us from moving as fast and as effectively as we would like.

Technology combined with rising consciousness offers modern different ways of thinking and being. One of the most important skills is to learn to create by having a sense of who we are in the world and what we want to achieve.  With clear focus and the ability to ‘allow’ for things to happen, we attract situations and circumstances which are more aligned to our purpose and who we are. 

Claudia Roth will share her experience of moving from a state of constantly ‘doing’ (a sign of success in the corporate world) to a new place of ‘allowing’ in the process, transforming her life professionally and personally to a new level of inner connectedness. During the evening you will learn, discuss and explore how to unlearn some of the habits you are so familiar with i.e. your success patterns and discover how to start creating a more smooth-flowing lifestyle in alignment with your purpose. You will gain awareness of how to become much more effective in allowing life to flow the way you want it to. Be warned … it is a journey of unlearning!

Claudia Roth Biography

An experienced, global senior corporate executive and former Vice President Europe, Middle East & Africa of The Leading Hotels of the World (the world’s largest hospitality organisation, representing over 375 of the finest hotels, resorts and spas such as The Ritz London, the Sandy Lane in Barbados … the best of the best), her sweet spot is using her mastery of business and awareness to inspire others to see the business world differently. Claudia enjoys a strong track record in managing and leading multi-cultural organizations and teams through growth and change.

Described as “a pioneer in luxury and consciousness” and a global citizen, she helps decision makers reach beyond their own boundaries and limitations to create a new paradigm of success. She believes in reconnecting employees to the business, to the brand and customers – by opening the door to greater awareness, expanding beyond perceived limitations, and exploring the possibilities and depths of success.

Smart companies have woken up to the fact that change has to come from within – and that nothing less than genuine awareness, personal integrity and emotional engagement will do in such a fast changing and transparent environment. She is the founder and Managing Director of Soul Luxury, an innovative client-experience company that unites the worlds of business and awareness.

Cancellation policy

If you cancel up to 72 hours before the event we can either refund your money, less 10% admin costs, or you can have a full credit for a future ConsciousCafe event to be used within two years.

Secrets to Becoming a Published Author

A ConsciousCafe workshop for prospective published authors

Are you an author? Would you like to become a published author? Should you offer your book to a traditional publisher or should you become a self-publisher? How do you promote and market your work?  What do you need to know about publishing and publicity?

All these and many other questions will be answered in our publishing workshop which will include:

• How to find the right publisher for your work
• How to build your marketing platform
• How to present your work to a publisher
• How to self-publish successfully
• How to promote your book
• And much, much more

Our speakers have a huge amount of knowledge and experience and they will be sharing the secrets behind their publishing success with you.

Free download of The Book You Were Born to Write by Nick Williams for every participant who attends the workshop

Nick Williams is an internationally renowned speaker, mentor and best-selling author of thirteen books including The Work We Were Born To Do. Four books have been with major publishers and nine have been a combination of self-publishing and working with small publishers. His books have been translated into seven languages. 

He has been invited to work with such diverse household names such as IKEA, BT, BBC, Merrill Lynch, The Met Police, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and a number of NHS trusts, as well as leadership organisations like The Institute of Leadership. He is regularly invited to speak at national and international conferences, and has been involved in around 2,000 media features.

He has spent over 20 years as a coach, adviser, friend, mentor, spiritual advisor and encourager to leaders and emergent leaders in the areas of business, the media and entertainment, the law, personal and spiritual growth, academia and retail. 

www.iamnickwilliams.com

Chantal Cooke is an award winning journalist and broadcaster – turned PR guru.

Chantal worked as a journalist / presenter for over 25 years, reporting from all over the world including Bosnia and Northern Ireland and has written many travel articles.

In 2002 she set up the UK’s first ethical radio station; PASSION for the PLANET and attracted an audience of over 100k. In 2010 Chantal founded a boutique PR agency specialising in small businesses (Panpathic) and authors (The Book Booster). Chantal’s focus is helping authors attract the attention of journalists and new readers.

Chantal is author of “The Authority Guide to Marketing Your Business Book” and “PR Demystified – how to get free publicity by giving journalists what they really need”

Chantal is an experienced presenter and regularly delivers training at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Council.

Twitter: @ChantalCooke / @TheBookBooster

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chantalcooke

Judy Piatkus, entrepreneur and publishing expert,  founded Piatkus Books from her bedroom and grew it to become one of the most successful independent UK publishing companies.  She has published every kind of general non-fiction including biography, memoir, history, food and drink (including 14 titles by Mary Berry) and humour.  Piatkus Books was especially credited for being a pioneer in the areas of business, self-help, personal development and mind, body and spirit. Judy is also an expert in publishing commercial fiction and brought many novels by internationally renowned authors to the UK.  Judy successfully sold the company to Little Brown who continue to publish under the Piatkus imprint. She continues to be a publishing consultant. 

Cancellation policy

If you cancel up to 72 hours before the event we can either refund your money, less 10% admin costs, or you can have a full credit for a future ConsciousCafe event to be used within two years.

To be Human is to be Musical

… or more accurately, to be human is to BE music – the steady rhythm of our hearts, the melody of the rise and fall of our breath, the counterpoint of our many interactions…

Come and join us at ConsciousCafe Oundle and let Eleanor Gibson help you connect with the music inside.

Life Music

Lifemusic connects us to the life within us, to each other and to the flow of time. We have no choice but to be in the moment. Making, receiving and responding to sounds, embraced and supported by the flow of the music.

Lifemusic has four guiding principles:

• Everyone is musical
• Every sound is important
• There are no wrong notes
• Making music is an act of trust

No musical experience or training is needed. We use ‘instant access’ instruments that are easy and intuitive to play – or you can bring your own instrument along. Simple musical ideas act as a starting point for improvisation and the music has a life of its own.

In the words of one practitioner:

‘Just one of the many things I love about Lifemusic is its spontaneity, unpredictability, kaleidoscope of surprises, the way it moves me (emotionally and physically), thrills me and provides the brushes and paintpots which create pictures 'in and out of my imagination'.’

Eleanor Gibson

Eleanor has been facilitating music sessions with children and with adults in a variety of settings for nearly 30 years. Her approach is fundamentally person centred and always seeks to encourage and support each person’s ‘inner music’. She qualified as a Lifemusic practitioner in December 2014 and was delighted to find a method which validates and supports her approach and which makes music making accessible to absolutely everybody.

Find out more about Lifemusic here: http://lifemusicmethod.blogspot.co.uk/p/welcome-to-lifemusic.html

Last Saturday 19 of us met with three facilitators for our ConsciousCafe Street Wisdom experience.

Street Wisdom is the brainchild of David Pearl who believes that many of the answers to questions and problems that challenge us in our lives can be found in the streets around us, if we would only take the time to look.

We divided into three groups and each of us went to a different part of Camden Market. It was still fairly quiet, early in the morning and easy to absorb all the amazing sights and sounds as the many stallholders set out their wares and the food vendors prepared their meals. Each facilitator sent their group members on four ten-minute short walks with a specific issue to observe and think about during that time. These exercises put us in an altered state in that we all became very relaxed. Then we were left with time to wander round the market and observe what answers to our questions would come up for us.

After 50 minutes or so we all met in a nearby bar and again, in our groups, shared our experiences.

The answer to my own question had come very fast and kept being reinforced as I wandered round the market. One woman had a question regarding her relationship and she spotted a sign that made it very clear that the decision she wanted to make was the right one. Another participant was clarifying ideas about where to live and the Street Wisdom Experience opened her mind to new possibilities. Everyone in all the groups had gained from the wisdom of the streets.

Many years ago I read Living Magically by Gill Edwards, her first book, which introduced me to the concept of metaphysics and how helpful signs are all around us if we allow ourselves to be sufficiently aware to take the time to see. Street Wisdom also works in the same way reminding us that our knowingness operates on so many different levels. I like the idea that I could repeat my Street Wisdom experience any time I want to when I have another important question that needs an answer.

ConsciousCafe will be happy to offer another Street Wisdom experience in due course if anyone was unable to take part in this one. Just let us know at judy@consciouscafe.co.org and when we have enough people we will set it up.

Meanwhile, to find out more here is David Pearl, who founded Street Wisdom and was one of our facilitators, talking about it in a TED speech

JP

May 2016

An experiential evening to be facilitated by Kenny Mammarella D’Cruz

Emotional mastery is the key to leading a happy and successful life.

But how do you achieve emotional mastery? How do you learn to accept yourself, warts and all, understand what triggers different aspects of your behaviour and know what leads to certain outcomes which may not be the ones you want? How do you get to appreciate all the different parts of you?

In this interactive workshop, leading coach and behavioural expert Kenny Mammerella D’Cruz will help you get to know the different parts of your personality so that you can understand yourself better and know how to control the parts of you which may be leading you away from the future you really want.

Kenny will also focus on your Inner Critic. This is the part of you that often gives both you and other people who you come into contact with a hard time. Kenny will show you a simple exercise that will offer you great insights into your behaviour so that you can let go of habits you don’t want or need and focus on achieving your dreams and desires.

If you want an experiential workshop that offers you unexpected insights and the opportunity to discuss, explore and value your inner self, then this is the space for you.

Kenny Mammerella D’Cruz is a personal development consultant, a leading UK coach and a top facilitator of experiential groups, for both men and women. His varied career has taken him all over the world and his work has been featured in many media outlets including Newsweek magazine who called him ‘Man Whisperer’ and on Channel 4.

Cancellation policy

If you cancel up to 72 hours before the event we can either refund your money, less 10% admin costs, or you can have a full credit for a future ConsciousCafe event to be used within two years.

Mark Ballabon presented unique and thought-provoking ideas  at our ConsciousCafe event this week, Discover Your True Relationship with Yourself.

Mark has immersed himself in all aspects of self-development over many years and approaches life from the vantage point of a mystic. He left us all with 7 tips for leading a more conscious life. Here they are, as understood by myself:
(more…)

Our ConsciousCafe website marks a lovely milestone for all of us. It is five years since I sent out the first invitations inviting a group of friends and colleagues to come and join together for an evening of discussion on the topic of consciousness. 25 likeminded people – teachers, authors, healers, professional people, all of whom had been on a long journey of personal and spiritual development - gathered together, made new connections and expanded their own consciousness while exploring ideas with each other, creating wonderful new energy at the same time.

Since then ConsciousCafe has run more than 75 discussion groups and workshops and a retreat as well. A few hundred people have attended our events – all of them hearing about what ConsciousCafe offers by word-of-mouth as we have only begun to advertise our events publicly in the last few months.

Our passion is for community, connection and exploration – all in an atmosphere of lightheartedness. We have never taken ourselves too seriously. As a result, many wonderful friendships have been formed and fabulous connections made.

As one member has said ‘its so good to walk into a room and meet so many people who immediately understand where you are coming from and what you are saying’.

Now we are spreading our wings. We invite you to join us on this journey as all of us contribute what we can to creating a better world by raising consciousness about who we are and how we live, one conversation at a time.

We have some fabulous events lined up for the next few months and more will be added very soon. Book now and take advantage of our Earlybird discounts. Last year we had three events which sold out completely and while we usually have space at the last moment, some of the venues we use are strict about numbers.

Thank you to everyone who has been on the journey so far and especially to all our Supporters who come to our events and who have contributed financially to help us build this site and to the ConsciousCafe volunteer group who offer so much of their time to helping build the network. Last but not least massive thanks are due to Gary of Studio74 Creative Design for being so easy to work with, Kate Cowan of Fox Brand Marketing for her constant inspiration and to Joyce Deen who works tirelessly behind the scenes keeping the show on the road. We love all of you and we look forward to seeing you at ConsciousCafe soon.

Judy

ConsciousCafe Founder

Learn how to access the urban environment and find fresh answers to personal or work-related questions with Street Wisdom: a powerful, three-hour guided experience that uses the streets as an invisible university. This inspirational tool has been adopted by corporations, coaches and social groups across the globe - with profound results.

*This special event is held by ConsciousCafe and Streetwisdom and will be led by the inventor of Street Wisdom, David Pearl. A £5 donation will be collected on the day from attendees and will go towards the work of Street Wisdom and Conscious Cafe.*

What is it? At the centre of Street Wisdom lies the idea that every moment is extraordinary and every street is full of inspiration - that there’s no such thing as an ordinary street, just ordinary thinking. Few of us give ourselves time or permission to really focus on the world around us but the urban landscape is full of signs and signals that we normally ignore, rich stimulus that can help us learn something new.

Street Wisdom takes place in three parts. First, our street guides help you tune up your senses so you can pick up far richer information from the environment that you would normally. Then you’re off on a journey by yourself – your street quest – where you ask a question and see what answers present themselves. You don’t have to go far but it’s amazing what you can learn. In the final 60 minute session everyone gathers together to share what happened and, more often than not, their wonder at how magical an ordinary street can become when you’re really aware of those hidden messages, chance meetings and unexpected discoveries.

In just three hours of walking and wandering, participants have resolved problems that have dogged them for years, found new business ideas, changed careers, discovered new directions, and learned how to deal differently with life and love. 

Invented by creative maestro David Pearl in 2013 and developed with the help of business beatnik and fellow author Chris Baréz-Brown, Street Wisdom is an experimental idea that has rapidly grown into a global movement. Our mission is to make every street in every city a free source of inspiration for everyone, every single day.

Who is it for? It is relevant for anyone struggling with the day-to-day personal stuff, tackling a challenge in the workplace, figuring out what's next, or seeking a creative breakthrough. Once experienced, it can be easily replicated on a personal basis, or taken into the workplace and used to inspire teams and colleagues.

What do you bring? An open mind, good walking shoes and clothes for all weather. A question you'd like answered: not too big ('What is the meaning of life?'), not too small ('What shall I have for lunch?') but somewhere in the middle - a burning issue to which you'd like fresh answers.

Please watch this short film about Street Wisdom and reserve your place so we can keep you updated – if you are unable to come at the last minute, please contact us so we may give someone else the chance to take part.

Find out more at: www.streetwisdom.org

ConsciousCafe introduces Leadership with Horses, an opportunity to experience the value of embodied learning with horses.

 Why Horses?

 Research shows that in the presence of horses, we align the head, heart and gut. We become more authentic and gain more clarity. Horses mirror your non-verbal communication so you quickly identify the impact of your leadership, have chance to recalibrate in the moment and find new ways of working. Leadership with Horses harnesses this profound way of learning to create fast results that are repeatable back in work and life situations.

Personal Leadership

Experience how horses mirror your non-verbal communication and provide feedback on your strengths and areas to improve your leadership

3 positions of leadership

Learn a simple leadership model and work with the horses to identify how you lead naturally and where you can expand your range

Team dynamics

Discover how teams work effectively together, what causes them to be derailed and how to apply it to your own team. The learning is equally applicable to family and life situations as well as work

What you can expect

• 10-12 people will have the unique opportunity to work hands on with the horses
• A combination of personal leadership and teamwork in action
• An interactive evening where the audience also engage by providing feedback and learn through observation

The Leadership Whisperers help senior leaders develop embodied leadership skills that have a profound impact on teams. Through live events and workshops, we partner with horses who provide non-judgmental feedback, enabling clients to identify their leadership impact and transform themselves into courageous and hugely influential, non-verbal communicators.

We combine Jude’s 16 years senior leadership and business experience with Emma’s 16 years HR experience to map the learning back to practical work and life situations.

Book now to take advantage of our Earlybird price of £25.00, or £20.00 if you are a ConsciousCafe Supporter.

Click here to buy Jude's new book, Leadership Beyond Measure.

“Your relationships with others are all determined by the one you have developed with yourself. But what is the true state of that relationship? How accurate is your view of yourself?

For example, what relationship have you consciously developed between your spirit and your soul, your mind and your brain, your feelings and your body? And what impression does this make on others?”

Teacher, speaker and acclaimed author Mark Ballabon returns to ConsciousCafe with this powerful interactive event 'Discover your true relationship with yourself'. As always, he will offer us original insights and dynamic exercises to inspire a higher level of wisdom and freedom in this most important of our relationships… which influences every aspect of how we live our lives.

PRICE

£15.00  All bookings made online before 14/4/16
£20.00  On the door
£12.00  ConsciousCafe Supporters for all bookings made online before 14/4/16

Book Now on Eventbrite

Sara Troy of Positive Living interviews our own Judy Piatkus about ConsciousCafe, how it started and where it's going, Judy's worldview and also a segment on self-publishing versus traditional publishing towards the end.   (more…)

Does the word conscious make you switch on or turn off?

Last night I went to an interactive discussion around Conscious Leadership with a group of 30 other people who were invited through ConsciousCafe, a select group run by entrepreneur, motivational speaker and founder of publishing company Piatkus Books, Judy Piatkus.  For some time now, Judy has been keen to explore the group's thoughts, feelings and bias towards the use of the term 'conscious leader'.

What I particularly liked about the evening was that the facilitator Judy had (well) chosen, Charlie Efford, didn’t at any point seek to influence or tell us what he thought conscious leadership actually meant, which to me was a good example of conscious leadership in action.  (more…)

An interactive event to be facilitated by Andrew Isaac Thornton & Eudora Ralph Pascall of Heart in Business Limited  

Andrew Isaac Thornton and Eudora Ralph Pascall are the Founders of Heart in Business Limited, an organisation that inspires and supports companies to focus on people and the planet, trusting that profit will follow.  They will facilitate an interactive event where we will have the opportunity to hear about the ideas behind Heart in Business.  We will then explore how we might introduce these new ways of thinking into our own world of work, in order to achieve much greater success and all-round rewards for everyone involved.

Event includes food and drink.

Book now on Eventbrite

By Joseph Jaworski, with an introduction by Peter Senge. 

A review by Caroline Pakel

This is a book that has been mentioned to me, on many occasions, by close friends and colleagues. And for years, I believed that “I didn’t need to read it”. I was so wrong. A copy of it happened to be on one of my friend’s shelves during a brief visit to Holland this summer. I picked it up and browsed through it. A number of words immediately caught my eye – one of those was “dialogue”, as Jaworski had the immense privilege of meeting and chatting with the physicist, David Bohm, one afternoon in London and I am particularly interested in ‘dialogue’. Almost immediately I found myself reading large sections of it. I bought a copy on my return home and now consider it to be one of the best books I have ever read about surrendering to life and learning to respond to what it needs from us, rather than egoistically believing that we can plan, control and manipulate it to our advantage.

The charm of Jaworski’s story is that it is his own, personal story. He was a successful North American lawyer from a famous family of lawyers, and the promise of a successful life ahead of him - until the day his wife suddenly asked him for a divorce. He was in his early 40’s. His world crashed around him and he was faced with having to construct a new one. Within that process, he found himself again, and re-discovered ways to connect with his intuition and the natural flow of life.

Many good things happened to him personally and professionally from then on.

His life is particularly interesting if you are interested in the subject of leadership. As a result of a series of very interesting events and encounters – what some might describe as “coincidences” - , Jaworski found himself “called” to fund the American Leadership Forum. He was then headhunted to lead the now very famous scenario building team at Shell headquarters in the UK.

This book offers some great tips on how to be, learn, intuit and change, and work in partnership with life – not against it, or in spite of it... One tip that will remain with me is to nurture the courage to act on what we sense. In particular, to reach out to people we meet and immediately “know” from the moment we first see them – without knowing why or how. That is how Jaworski met his second wife – in an airport, of all places - and many other key figures on his journey. We often allow our mind to hold us back, out of fear, or out of respect to social norms. Jaworski’s life story shows that life can be more rewarding when we trust and follow our inner knowing and allow ourselves to connect with others, only because we sense we need to – not because we need something specific from them - ; thus, we are able to allow life to unfold according to its natural, benevolent flow.

The moral of the story? Good things happen when we listen to our inner voice or follow our intuition – when we are connected to it...

Review by Caroline Pakel, from to the heart, a creative problem solving agency facilitating understanding and change for groups and individuals. www.totheheart.com

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Do you remember learning to ride a bike?

I do. Mark Rogers from no. 25 taught me in our street, in front of all the neighbours. I remember the moment of panic as I suddenly realised that I was riding on my own, without stabilisers or Mark holding on to the back of my seat. I wobbled and nearly fell, not because I didn’t have the balance or skill, but because every thought in my panicked head began: ‘am I?’

• Am I going to fall and hurt myself?
• Am I going to humiliate myself?
• Am I going to get in trouble?
• Am I going to die?
• Am I safe?

The moment I became secure was the moment I learned to say “I am!”

• I am safe.
• I am doing it ‘automatically‘.
• I am riding my bike!
• I am flying!!
• I am loving it…

Do you remember when you first learned to swim without water wings in the deep end of the swimming pool? Alan, my ex-flatmate / ex-business partner taught me. I remember swimming beyond the shallow end, realizing that the water below me was far deeper than the length of my legs. I could have felt panic. I could have felt terror. When I disengaged from it and thought about it, I felt fear. But when I engaged with my stroke, breathing into the present moment, I allowed it to carry me. I felt myself float and I swam with the calm and joy of a Buddhist dolphin.

This article is about two states which I call ‘am I?’ and “I am”. The two perspectives on life that we can take in our every moment, either consciously or unconsciously. I hope it will help you to recognise which state you are in at any given moment. I’d like to share a few tricks on how to change state from ‘am I?’ into one of “I am”. Here’s a run-down:

‘Am I?’ is driven by an external sense of self. The feeling that who we are is determined by others, as we hand our power over to them. Often it arises from our dated doubts and fears, paranoia and projected fantasy expectations. It leaves us in a constant state of doing – reacting, spinning plates and putting on a good show, troubleshooting life as we attract trouble to shoot.

‘Am I?’ attracts repetitive unhelpful patterns and same old unsatisfactory outcomes. It’s a life lived in survival mode. It’s a life lived in fear and panic, dodging judgement and abandonment. ‘Am I?’ has us shallow breathing, power-thinking, panic-reacting, second-guessing, uptight, on our guard, ready to fight, flight or freeze.

This self-preservation instinct has, no doubt, helped billions of people survive life-threatening situations, but how do we let our inner protectors know that the war is over – that it’s safe now? Once we progress beyond living in survival mode, our old protective shields can turn into tight little cages that restrict our lives from growing. Such control leaves little, if any room for who I am to take root and flower.

In my 25 years of work in this arena, the most frequent concern I have heard from men is a lack of control. I have met men who would rather kill themselves than be out of control. Men come to me running from the two big male fears: humiliation and abandonment. They all come in wanting something, and rather than getting that thing, they make their hero’s journey from‘am I?’ to “I am”, and along the way, they make authentic space for themselves.

If ‘am I?’ is external, “I am” comes from an internal sense of self. It is conscious. It is authentic. It brings out the best of who we are in the present moment. It’s aware of our baggage, but it doesn’t let it run the show. It attracts calm, certainty, safety and the right people. It allows things to flow efficiently, where meeting our own needs comes first, enabling us to extend ourselves to others. It is a very comfortable and powerful place of being.

I am is awash with endorphins, the substance our bodies create that produces a feeling of wellbeing. Similar to how we feel after exercise, in love, at orgasm, or a relief from pain. Safe and able to take part in life, sharing, receiving and growing.

If you are anything like me, you have probably felt moments of terror when asked to take the spotlight, a platform, on a stage. By coming from I am, I have found a way to take these opportunities and enjoy giving them my best shot, rather than fearing every step. I have learned to focus on an outcome beyond my edge. Then the journey brings me alive. Am I? would take me back to the troubled child who fluffed his lines and had the school laughing. I am takes care of that frightened child and brings him on stage with me, showing him how wonderful the view is from here as we unlearn the past together in a breath.

My trusty shields protected me from public humiliation for all those years, but also kept me from realising my potential as I blocked life’s opportunities. That shield is no longer running the show. My long-suppressed inner showman now relishes the endless possibilities of authentic, playful presentations that bring praise, celebration, self-acceptance, self-nurture and invitations for more. Beyond this, he’s up for fun, risks and even trusting Channel 4’s ‘Cutting Edge’ as my shadow is paraded for all and sundry! This is now my norm and the fear of criticism, humiliation, rejection, abandonment and abuse – from myself or others – can be the fuel that drives me forward. What a relief!

As soon as I catch myself lost in my headspace, I move from Am I? to I am in just one breath. As I inhale I fill my lungs with air and I fill my heart with the contentment ofbe~ing, thinking ‘thank you for reminding me who I used to be’. As I exhale, I let go of the stressful demands that my inner am I? is trying to foist upon me and with a quiet mind I engage with what’s in front of me. I take part in life.

I often had inner dialogues with my thoughts and emotions running constantly in the background. Times and places that I had not quite let go of, that I survived, but that I still carried around. I put those things to paper and disassociated from them, so I can look at them from the outside rather than believing that this was who I am. I am who I am right here and right now.

If the ‘am I?’ to “I am” breath doesn’t cut it, there may be a depressed ‘pause button’ that keeps you stuck somewhere in the past. As you breathe into the feeling, let yourself follow it to its source. It is likely to take you back to a specific scene, incident, or time in your life that will likely reveal itself, ready for acceptance and reconsolidation info a life beyond old limitations. Clearing up what’s in the shadow makes space for more in the light of daily life.

My wife once said to me “all this talk of alcoholism, drug addiction, sex and love addiction, workaholism, I don’t buy it! I think it’s all addiction to thoughts and emotions!” Spot on! She reminded me that I am not my thoughts. I am not my emotions. I am not my history. I am a free spirit, on an earthly adventure, creating my reality as I straddle my cycles of life, swimming high on the crest of a wave with quiet confidence, natural courage and on purpose. I am.

article first appeared here: http://www.kennydcruz.com/how-to-be-free/

Abundance is a very popular word right now. Sometimes it almost seems as though the word “abundance” is a socially acceptable way of saying "lots of money!" Although an increase in material wealth may be a goal for many, the true meaning of abundance goes beyond  just simply having or acquiring more money. It's more all-encompassing and bigger than that. Abundance is a feeling. It's something that is already there that just needs to be tapped into. Abundance is gratitude and seeing the richness in every moment. Abundance is love. More and more, people are realizing that abundance is a choice. Take a look at some of these great quotes on abundance, to explore its true meaning and feel free to share what abundance means to you in the comments below.

1. Abundance is about being rich, with or without money. —Suze Orman
2. Abundance is not a number or acquisition. It is the simple recognition of enoughness. —Alan Cohen
3. Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into. —Wayne Dyer
4. All misfortune is but a stepping stone to fortune. —Henry David Thoreau
5. All that is mine by Divine Right is now released and reaches me in great avalanches of abundance, under grace in miraculous ways. —Florence Scovel Shinn
6. Always leave enough time in your life to do something that makes you happy, satisfied, even joyous. That has more of an effect on economic well—being than any other single factor. —Paul Hawken
7. Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. —Lao Tzu
8. Being broke is a temporary situation. Being poor is a state of mind. —Mike Todd
9. Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend...when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present——love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure——the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth. —Sarah Ban Breathnach
10. Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life. —Wayne Dyer
11. Do what you love and the money will follow. —Marsha Sinetar
12. Enthusiasm is the yeast that raises the dough. —Paul J. Meyer
13. Every person is a golden link in the chain of my good. —Florence Scovel Shinn
14. Expect your every need to be met, expect the answer to every problem, expect abundance on every level, expect to grow spiritually. —Eileen Caddy
15. He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much.—Elbert Hubbard
16. I am one with the Power that created me. I am totally open and receptive to the abundant flow of prosperity that the Universe offers. All my needs and desires are met before I even ask. I am Divinely guided and protected, and I make choices that are beneficial for me. I rejoice in other’s successes, knowing there is plenty for us all. —Louise Hay
17. I am wealth. I am abundance. I am joy. —David Cameron Gikandi
18. If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough. —Oprah Winfrey
19. If you want love and abundance in your life, give it away. —Mark Twain
20. If you want money, ask for advice; if you want advice, ask for money. —Peter Hero
21. I have the greatest of all riches: that of not desiring them. —Eleonora Duse
22. Infinite Spirit, open the way for my great abundance. I am an irresistible magnet for all that belongs to me by Divine Right. —Florence Scovel Shinn
23. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has. —Henry Ward Beecher
24. Money is not the root of all evil…ignorance is the root of all evil. People do cruel and foolish things for money because they feel oppressed by a sense of lack. If people knew their power to generate wealth, they would never fight or hurt each other over money. —Alan Cohen
25. Money is power, freedom, a cushion, the root of all evil, the sum of blessings. —Carl Sandburg
26. Money will come when you are doing the right thing. —Mike Phillips
27. My good now flows to me in a steady, unbroken, ever—increasing stream of success, happiness and abundance. —Florence Scovel Shinn
28. Talent is always conscious of its own abundance and does not object to sharing. —Alexander Solzhenitsyn
29. The cause of poverty is not scarcity. It is fear and small thinking. —Alan Cohen
30. The finest gift you can give anyone is encouragement. Yet, almost no one gets the encouragement they need to grow into their full potential. If everyone received the encouragement they need to grow, the genius in most everyone would blossom and the world would produce abundance beyond our wildest dreams. —Sidney Madwed
31. The heart that gives, gathers. —Marianne Moor
32. The highest reward for one's toil is not what one gets for it, but what one becomes by it. —John Ruskin
33. The journey to financial freedom starts the MINUTE you decide you were destined for prosperity, not scarcity—— for abundance, not lack. Isn't there a part of you that has always known that? Can you see yourself living a bounteous life—— a life of more than enough? It only takes one minute to decide. Decide now. —Mark Victor Hansen
34. The measure of your life will not be in what you accumulate, but in what you give away. —Wayne Dyer
35. The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never have otherwise occurred…unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
36. The real source of wealth and capital in this new era is not material things…it is the human mind, the human spirit, the human imagination, and our faith in the future. —Steve Forbes
37. There are many aspects to success; material wealth is only one component. ...But success also includes good health, energy and enthusiasm for life, fulfilling relationships, creative freedom, emotional and psychological stability, a sense of well—being, and peace of mind.” —Deepak Chopra
38. The test of our progress is not whether we add to the abundance of those who have much. It is whether we provide enough to those who have little. —Franklin D. Roosevelt
39. The universe will reward you for taking risks on its behalf. —Shakti Gawain
40. The world is full of abundance and opportunity, but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank car…a teaspoon instead of a steam shovel.
41. They expect little and as a result they get little. —Ben Sweetland
42. When people ask us how long does it take for something to manifest, we say, It takes as long as it takes you to release the resistance. Could be 30 years, could be 40 years, could be 50 years, could be a week. Could be tomorrow afternoon. —Abraham-Hicks
43. When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears. —Anthony Robbins
44. When you undervalue who you are, the world will undervalue what you do and vice versa. —Suze Orman
45. Why are you so enchanted by this world, when a mine of gold lies within you? —Rumi
46. You are, at this moment, standing right in the middle of your own 'acres of diamonds.' —Earl Nightingale
47. You do not need to be affected by the economy or man—made conditions. You can create your own personal economic environment of prosperity. If you are willing to listen to and take action on your inner guidance, you will do well no matter what the economy around you is doing. —Sanaya Roman
48. You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might also pray in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance. —Khalil Gibran
49. Your fortune is not something to find but to unfold.—Eric Butterworth
50. Your most precious, valued possessions and your greatest powers are invisible and intangible. No one can take them. You, and you alone, can give them. You will receive abundance for your giving. —W. Clement Stone

original article appears here: http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/50-quotes-abundance