Geoff Dalglish, Odyssey’s pilgrim at large decides to raise his game and recreate himself anew. Again.
My life has often been about extreme adventures, whether summiting Kilimanjaro, driving blind in a terrifying whiteout in Antarctica, braving the world’s highest single-drop commercial abseil, or setting off on a 40,075 km walk to cover the equivalent of the circumference of the Earth. And yet, increasingly I realise that it is my journeys through inner landscapes that are the most inspiring and challenging and it is books and quotations that are often my compass, motivators and prized companions.
Perhaps none more so than the Conversations with God series by Neale Donald Walsch that electrified my deeper search for meaning some 25 years ago. And if there is one quotation that stands out above all others, it is probably: “The purpose of life is to recreate yourself anew in the next grandest version of the greatest vision you ever held about Who You Really Are.”
A year ago I paid a visit to the holistic health centre in the Eastern Cape that is an oasis of healing and rejuvenation and my go-to place to prepare myself for my next steps. It was my 12th pilgrimage to the St Francis Health Centre, overlooking the beautiful Kleinemonde Valley, near Port Alfred and my goal was to empty myself of all that didn’t serve me and embrace new ways of being.
The six-day detox served me magnificently. I shed 5kg, freed myself of pains in my body and excitedly started on a book entitled FREE, that is a memoir about embracing fear, confronting limiting beliefs and fully appreciating that life begins at the end of my comfort zone. And then Covid happened. Suddenly my beloved Findhorn community and Ecovillage in Scotland was in a lockdown devoid of the guests that are its lifeblood. I decided instead to write Love, Magic & Miracles as my thank you to the community that has been my physical and spiritual home for more a decade.
The book tells 21 stories of often radical transformation and will, hopefully, inspire new physical and online visitors and be a valuable fundraising tool. Now, with Findhorn’s first eBook successfully completed, I recently found myself back at St Francis reimagining my next steps and preparing to return to writing FREE, hopefully a year wiser and with fresh insights courtesy of the pandemic.
It feels like the most important thing I’ve ever taken on and, where I simply trusted my intuitions with my previous three books, this time I’m investing in a professional publishing package with Balboa Press, a division of Hay House, the New Thought and self-help traditional publisher founded in 1984 by author Louise Hay. In the same spirit that I’ve stayed at St Francis 13 times, aiming to be the best me I can be, I’m looking to learn from successful publishers and authors who are important role models.
I’ve just re-read I Can See Clearly Now by Wayne Dyer and I’m freshly inspired by his remarkable journey. And I’m realising that, although I’m a very experienced writer, I have so much to learn about book publishing. Enter into my life a wonderfully helpful book by Kelly Notaras entitled The Book You Were Born to Write. Wow, Kelly, it feels as though you are talking directly to me and answering questions I hadn’t even thought to ask. Reading it remains a work in progress. But an entirely enjoyable one. Reading Kelly’s book I do believe FREE is the book I’m born to write – no pressure here! And much to my delight, since my nourishing six-day stint at St Francis, I’ve begun discovering another exciting tool called PSYCH-K®.
I’ve seen it described as a user-friendly way to rewrite the software of your mind and change the printout of your life. What I have observed is that it is a simple and direct way to change self-limiting beliefs at the subconscious level of the mind, where nearly all human behaviour – both constructive and destructive – originates.
Talk about synchronicities. I was walking the dunes in one of my happy places in the Walker Bay Nature Reserve between Stanford and Gansbaai, when I bumped into Elma Rivera. She’s a former television journalist who now works as a business and ‘infinite possibilities’ coach. You guessed it: she’s also a PSYCH-K facilitator and the only trainer in Africa. I had three sessions with her, aimed at confronting some of my limiting beliefs, and was amazed at how swiftly lifelong programming can be rewritten, often in the space of minutes. I think we all know that our reality is created by our beliefs and these are often overweight items of baggage we’ve unknowingly been carrying around since childhood.
Studies in neuroscience indicate that at least 95 per cent of our consciousness is actually subconscious. It’s the subconscious mind that is the storehouse for our attitudes, values and beliefs. It is from our beliefs that we form perceptions about the world and ourselves – and from these perceptions we form behaviours. The system’s overall purpose is to accelerate individual and global evolution by aligning subconscious beliefs with conscious wisdom from the world’s great spiritual and intellectual traditions. It claims to make wisdom a self-fulfilling prophecy instead of a day-to-day struggle.
The promise is that the practical application of this wisdom in our personal and professional lives brings a deeper sense of peace and satisfaction, mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. To say I was intrigued is an understatement and, to learn more, I signed up for a three-day training led by Elma with a number of participants new to this way of transforming beliefs that limit into ones that support. And there were also trained practitioners wanting a refresher and an opportunity to practise a variety of ways to shift beliefs and behaviour.
This PSYCH-K® Basic Workshop is also an opportunity for those attending to start their own businesses, as they are then qualified facilitators, able to help both themselves and others. “I think the most important thing to consider is that the PSYCH-K workshop is not just another workshop where you learn a process or a tool,” Elma says. “PSYCH-K is a deep, wide and infinite possibility workshop that will firstly change your life (if you choose to) and it is truly a self-actualisation process. Assisting you to powerfully take charge of your life and manifest the life you want and deserve. “PSYCH-K® has confirmed for me, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we are co-creators of our lives, that we do not have to suffer any more and that change can happen sustainably in a very short time.
“We are light beings with an incredible journey on this earth. What we are experiencing worldwide is simply what we came here to experience. We have the power to change this world and we are already changing it. Heaven on earth is already a reality, we just can’t see it yet. “By using these tools everybody can move through this transformational process elegantly with gratitude and ease.
Change is the only reality and PSYCH-K® teaches us that change can be easy and fun,” she says. For me it was an intense and illuminating three days and I believe we all felt inspired and empowered afterwards. I now know how to self-test and have agreed to a 22-day challenge to put the techniques into daily practice. I write this on Day 2 and expect to report positive – and even transformational – results. Pandemic or not, 2021 is turning out to be a wonderful spiritual adventure that promises so much. I’m energised and excited!
Visit www.stfrancishealthcentre.co.za and Elma Rivera https://elmarivera.com/and https://psych-k.com
Elma Rivera is the only PSYCH-K trainer in Africa
A dozen participants joined the latest PSYCH-K facilitator training in Cape Town. They are (back from left) Geoff Dalglish, Rose Hay, Anita Maggott, William Langroudi, Gelda Walsh, Luciana Pierangeli, Simone Sittig and Ninon Swart, with (in front) facilitator Elma Rivera, Jean Mackenzie, Glenda van Blerk, Ruth Shaw and Jenny Kling.
Geoff Dalglish is a writer and spiritual and ecological activist dedicated to raising consciousness. He has walked more than 30 000km with climate change messages about treading more lightly and lovingly upon the Earth. He is an ambassador for the Findhorn spiritual community and ecovillage and is Odyssey’s ‘Pilgrim at Large’. To connect with Geoff email geoff.dalglish@gmail.com
