This podcast above starts with describing Pastor Kudlik’s personal journey of chasing happiness around the globe, travelling from one place to another, in vain.
Then it delves into discussing insecurity, anxiety and fear and how it led into an obsession with control.
Fear, though we do not notice it most of the time because we often see control as an empowered state of being, takes over our life and eventually, we find that it has taken over every aspect of our life. It is exhausting.
Unity suggests that surrendering is empowering, it is not giving-up, it is not an external submission to something.
God is an energy, a higher state of being. Meditation helps connecting with inner peace and the experience of loving of God, though it is not the only way to experience the Loving.
The podcast also talks about what Unity is; the founders and fundamental teaching; and the main teaching which is a deep acceptance of our unique individuality.
A great discussion on Unity and its teaching offered by Rev Kudlik.
In this podcast you will hear about what Unity is and isn’t, What is true sense of happiness, the importance of forgiveness and meditation in practical terms, and about the 5-step process from Bitterness to Wholeness. (the discussion was generated by AI in an amazingly professional manner, except that it assumed that I was a male person 🙂
0-1:30 What I have been busy with recently 1:30-2:50 Brave new world of specialisation 2:50-4:40 The process from a Unity stand point 4:40-5:15 What is the Cycle from Bitterness to Wholeness 5:15-5:30 1st step 5:30-6:45 2nd step 6:45- 8:20 3rd step 8:20-9:30 4th and 5th steps 9:30-10:10 in closing
On a personal note for the video It feels that I have arrived to the top of the mountain. Naturally it doesn’t mean that my journey has stopped. I continue on into the greater depth of Oneness. I suspect as we reach a certain station on our personal and spiritual journey, we stop and marvel. I have done the same. As I was taking in the view, I received an idea of a system that comprises my journey in stations. This is what this video is about. I detailed it below.
FROM BITTERNESS TO WHOLENESS
Our spiritual evolution is a cyclical process on an upward spiral. But for now it feels that I really understand the cycle of the journey I call from Bitterness to Wholeness. I look at it as a cycle because it is constantly swirling presence of energy. I walk this journey with consciousness awareness on a daily basis in a very practical way. In order to get here, however, I needed to discover the major elements that I call stations on this journey.
The stations are: 1. Self awareness 2. Forgiveness and letting go 3. Awareness of the greater picture (Acceptance) 4. Gratitude and Compassion 5. Wholeness and Oneness (Surrender)
Each element or station, as I discovered them in their depth, builds on each other that’s why I call this a cyclic process.
The Process
Probably self-awareness is or has been the major part of my journey because it comprises of a lot of different things. On one hand it is a discovery of our denials, bitterness, anger or our victimhood. It is also about breaking down the false self-image that we built to protect ourselves. It is also about our wishes and dreams. At the same time, it helps us discover our powers, strengths, and uniqueness. And finally, it is about looking at our journey so far – becoming aware of the glorious as well as the painful events in our lives; how we have integrated all that into our understanding of ourselves; and what conclusions we have drawn about ourselves as a result of these events. Though self-awareness is a great part of the journey, it’s only the beginning or the foundation of the greater journey.
The second station is forgiveness and letting go. This is probably the most challenging part of the cycle. We need to understand, however, that forgiveness and letting go opens the door to greater, deeper and more beautiful experiences . Through forgiveness and letting go, we, literally, embrace our Life with all its twists and turns in its entirety. Letting go often refers to letting go of false ideas, self images, and misunderstandings as well as false expectations. (NOTE: I have created a video on forgiveness, pls find the link further below.)
The next step of the cycle is actually the result of the previous two, which is awareness of the greater picture or of the greater journey, and an awareness of our greater-self. Meditation, contemplation, and connecting to the Divine Presence is a big part of this stage. This is the station where we start becoming aware of our spirit, our spiritual journey, our relationship with the Divine Presence or God. As we do that, we can start moving into the Loving with IT ALL, including ourselves. Loving is a sense of alignment and an awareness that we are part of ‘everything’ and ‘everything’ is the part of us. This alignment helps us accept all there is just as they are, knowing that all that is going on right now is part of a greater movement, and all is well. It is total surrender to Life as is gratitude. As a result of seeing the greater picture and becoming aware of our own indwelling Loving Spirit that is constantly connected to God’s Loving Presence, and being able to experience this loving presence more consciously we become grateful. Gratitude is a conscious action. We choose to see the good. We develop faith in the good in self, in others, and in the Universe. In our gratitude, we start seeing the puzzle pieces of our lives in greater depth and as part of a bigger picture with all its challenges and beauties. We willingly see how our life is built with precision, care and Loving. We also start to see how difficulties, challenges, drama, even devastation, overcoming, and triumphs, all add to the greater movement of Life itself for us all. In gratitude, we stop judging, blaming, shaming, and expecting: We arrive to a sense of peace. I see compassion as an accompaniment to Gratitude. As we are compassionate, we accept all there is, as it is. Compassion helps us be grateful.
As we practice all the above steps, we find ourselves surrendered to the Flow of Life. At this stage, we consciously align ourselves with the Loving Presence of God. As a result, we simply find ourselves in wholeness with ourselves, our lives and our (imperfect) world; and in Oneness with the Loving that is of God.
What is on offer?
In Unity we talk about ‘raising our level of consciousness from the material world to the immaterial in a way that it effects our physical journey in a positive and practical way’. Under the brand of Spirit’nArt, I offer classes, workshops, individual discussions (mentoring sessions) that will support you the walk the cycles of the upward journey at your own pace in your own time with your own level of awareness using art as a tool.
You will always be safe with me. I will push you but I will also hold you.
All the classes, workshops and discussions I offer are practical with a lot of takeaways that you can integrate into your daily life. To make the journey more joyous, I use fun artsy tools!
My greatest wish for you is that you can walk your journey called Life with greater awareness of your own unique beauty, and a deeper sense of knowing of the Divine Presence that watches over you at every step of your journey, so you can experience more loving, happiness, contentedness, joy, and much more smiles.
Self-awareness is KEY to spiritual development and Self-Love
We all see the world through a filter that was mostly created in our childhood until about the age of 7. We created this filter as part of our self-protection. Most of us are not aware of this ‘mask’ or layer of personality because we often believe that this is who we are. Except that this is not true.
Who we are in our essence, this beautiful unique being, is often hidden behind the ‘mask’. Becoming aware of the different facets of the ‘mask’ or Ego can help us heal the wounds that created the ‘mask’ in the first place and recover our true identity.
In this podcast I talk about the different levels of self-awareness and how to go about gaining correct self-awareness. I also mention different ways to approach becoming aware of mask and limitations. I talk about the Enneagram system.
– sorry about the quality of the podcast, the filtering process diminished the quality 🙁 –
Recently I was asked why I approach spirituality from a coaching point of view. The answer is simple: You cannot know God until you know yourself. Coaching and personal development workshops/seminars are great tools to become aware of ourselves: who we are and who we are not. They are extremely important to differentiate!
Below is a blogpost I posted on another site of mine back in February. It is about the importance of self-awareness or the knowing of self in God.
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Be a more effective leader by understanding the three horizons of self-awareness.
The stories we make up Stories are the foundation for how we make sense of the world. We could call these judgments or beliefs as well. Imagine that you get cut off by a car on the highway. In an instant, you might feel a flash of anger. Now imagine that you pull up next to the car and notice that the situation is different from what you expected. Maybe the driver is a teenager, obviously flustered and trying to concentrate. Maybe the driver is older but in the backseat is someone who, it appears, is injured. In either case, your stories about the situation would be updated in an instant.
For better and worse, our stories form the basis for how we make sense of the world. They are our thoughts, and they help us explain how the world is, how someone else is and how we ourselves are.
To get greater self-awareness around our stories, I find it’s best to simply start writing them down. Going back to a dedicated journal or notebook, start to articulate all the stories you’re making up, trying to get curious about how true they are. In the example, one story could have been, “This person is selfish,” and another could have been, “I feel angry because I’ve been disrespected.”
Source article:How to Develop Self-Awareness and Become a More Conscious and Effective LeaderSource (click)
The above, once again, reminded me of the importance of developing self-awareness. Self-awareness, however, is not only important for CEOs so they become more efficient, everyone can greatly benefit from understanding who they are and what they truly want in their lives.
Self-awareness is a skill to be learnt. As children we are discouraged to observe ourselves and know ourselves. Instead we learn to defend our wounded parts with a false-self called the Ego.
I have been walking the journey of self-awareness and God-awareness for quite some time now. Over 20 years. I started my enquiry when I went to university, asking myself the question: Who am I? At that time, I thought that psychology held the answers to all my questions. Later, I attended various personal development and self-help courses to move from learning to applying. These seminars – Insight Seminars – helped me move beyond a mental understanding of myself and start healing and experimenting with newly discovered parts of me. Finally, I found a spiritual path – actually it is a combination of many paths – that supports me to connect with my higher-aspects, the Divinity in me that allows me to move beyond the mind and the physical. It helps me express and live a part of me that is part of ALL, that allows me to be in contact with the Divine presence, an energy field that encompasses it all. It makes me feel powerful and limitless.
Coaching assisted me to bring all this together. I keep on ‘working with myself’ as I call it on all levels, so I can keep on clearing up the clutter that hinders me from experiencing and expressing my Divinity whose source is God.
“Examine yourself & understand who you are… Whoever does not know self, does not know anything. But, whoever knows self, has acquired the knowledge of the universe.” Jesus, Book of Thomas (Gnostic Gospels)
“Knowing others is intelligence, knowing yourself is true wisdom.” Lao-Tzu
There are many useful tools that can support us to regain connection with ourselves. My coaching sessions and courses that are infused with spirituality based on Unity ideas, will take you on an artistic, creative and fun adventure within. At the end, you will arrive to a place of clarity and self-acceptance.
At the heart of Rumi’s teachings is the concept of divine love and the unity of all existence. He speaks of a boundless, unconditional love that connects every soul to the divine source. Rumi’s poetry often emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, compassion, and the pursuit of inner harmony as essential steps on the path to spiritual enlightenment.
Self-Discovery Through Reflection
Rumi’s verses invite readers to embark on a journey within, urging them to reflect on their thoughts, emotions, and actions. He emphasizes the significance of self-awareness, encouraging individuals to question their beliefs and explore the depths of their souls. Through introspection, Rumi teaches that one can unravel the layers of ego and discover the true essence of their being.
