A practical guide to reaching higher levels of health, happiness and wellbeing

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Prologue

I walked slowly out of the hospital. I knew I had to leave, but each step became increasingly hard. If I leave, it will make it real, I thought, I don’t want it to be real. As I got closer to the doors I walked slower still. Suddenly a family friend rushed up to me, seemingly out of nowhere. "How is he? What room is he in?" he asked. I stared ahead, dazed and said, "He’s dead." It sounded brutal. I kept walking.

I wanted to go back in time. Could it have been less than an hour since I came through these same doors? Only this morning, my brother, my husband and I had driven from our nearby town. We were laughing and joking as we made our way to Intensive Care. Only this morning, I’d spoken to my father. He sounded great and I couldn’t wait to see him.

The doctors had said his heart attack of ten days before was massive, there had been some complications, but as each day went by, he was getting better; was even up and walking around. Today, we might hear when he was coming home.

We burst out of the lift, still smiling from the light banter. The first thing I saw was my mother. "Dad’s had a fall," she said. I was three weeks away from having my first baby and my mother was understating the obvious. My eyes moved over to the corridor, to find white coats everywhere desperately working on a man on the floor. As I looked closer I could see this man was my father. He’d had more than a fall. He’d come out to see whether we’d arrived and had another heart attack.

It will be okay, he won’t die, I told myself. In all of my twenty-five years, nothing bad had ever really happened to me, so why would it change now? If I just pray hard enough, I can prevent this from happening.

We all just stood there, waiting for him to respond. The white coats kept working frantically. But nothing. No response. They kept trying. Still nothing. You would think, at such a moment, with time seeming to standing still, that my bladder would also stop. But no, I was pregnant, and as much as I wanted to be pregnant, I didn't want to leave just to go to the bathroom. Damn it, I thought, I can’t hold on any longer. If I left now, it would be too late when I came back. If I stayed I could somehow control the outcome. I held on, and held on. My father wasn’t responding, but I couldn’t wait any longer and rushed off. I raced back but the white coats had stopped trying. It was over. Try harder! Keep trying! Don’t stop! I screamed. But no sound came from my mouth.

This was all surreal, like a dream and, surely, I would wake up and everything would be back to normal. This was too dramatic a change, in too short a space of time.This wasn’t in my life plan. If I could just push time back, I could get there earlier and save him from getting up to see if I had arrived yet. Then this wouldn’t have happened.

I felt numb. Funny, I thought, I didn’t think grief would feel this way. At the time I didn’t know that the pain would come later, more than I could ever imagine; more than I had ever experienced. At the time I also didn’t know that the greatest pain contains the greatest gifts, and as I walked through this pain, it would awaken me and change my life in ways I hadn’t thought possible.

Introduction

The Land of Nod

Many people live in the Land of Nod, a place of mediocrity and disconnection. In the Land of Nod life is lived on the surface. People in Nod search for happiness in places outside themselves—their job, relationship or material success. They get caught up in the chase, striving but never arriving. They live a life of distraction and busyness. Most people in Nod spend their time focusing on the future or still reacting to the past, and spend little time in the only moment where true, lasting happiness can be found, the present.

People in the Land of Nod are cut off from who they really are; we join those in the Land of Nod when we know ourselves as anything else but love and light. In the Land of Nod, we are far from awake.

I spent a large part of my life living in the Land of Nod; living life at the surface and not being willing—or even knowing how—to go deeper. I had a vague inner restlessness, but lacked the courage to get in touch with how I truly felt, to find out who I really was. Life in the Land of Nod seemed safe and comfortable. I felt protected by the life I had created for myself. I later realised this was an illusion.

What I know now, is that I was so entrenched in the Land of Nod I didn’t know what true happiness or inner peace was. Though, if at the time, you had asked me how life was, I probably would have said I was happy.

Escaping Nod

What does it take to escape from this land where mediocrity and disconnection reigns? For some, a number of traumas build up to a climax and suddenly they realise there has to be a better way of dealing with life. For others, an accumulation of minor life events rather than traumas, is the key. The discontentment or gnawing restlessness inside will not go away.

For me it was an unexpected event in my life that catapulted me out of the Land of Nod at such a speed that I was jolted awake. It had to do with my father. My father—a kind, generous man—was a confident soul who knew where he was going in life and, ultimately, set me on my spiritual path. He was a hardworking man passionate about his work, who valued family and community and worked hard to provide us with a secure and comfortable life.

As a child I felt I didn’t know my father well; worked long hours in his business but when I was 16 that changed. The first time we all had breakfast together it seemed strange having him around in the morning, and I finally got to really know my father. He represented security to me. I remember always feeling safe when he was around. If Dad said something would be alright, I knew, without a doubt, that it would. With Dad around, it seemed that nothing harmful could touch me.

Until I was 25 my life was predictable and uneventful. My parents were happily married and I lived in a quiet, safe country town: went to one school all my life, left school and went to work in the local bank. After some time I was transferred to a nearby town, met my future husband, married, moved back to my home town and fell pregnant with my first child. A few weeks before the birth, life seemed perfect.

Then on Boxing Day 1990 my father had a heart attack. Strange as it may seem, I still thought my secure world was untouchable. I thought Dad’s condition was a minor glitch in my life plan. It might interfere with the relaxing family holiday I had planned to take with my parents leading up to the birth of my first child; at worst, it was annoyingly inconvenient.

I even thought it was good that my father had received a warning sign. After all, he didn’t handle stress that well, had high cholesterol and was a bit overweight. His timing was a bit off, but I was sure that if he made a few lifestyle changes everything would soon be back to normal; we might even still get away for our holiday break before the birth.

This was not to be. Ten days after his first heart attack, he suffered another in hospital and died. My perfect world was shattered. My secure life, with everything in place; where everything happened as I thought it was supposed to, came crumbling down. Suddenly, it felt as if there was no foundation.

I felt emptiness inside, a big hole, as if part of me had been ripped away. It was not only my father who died that day. That day also saw the death of everything I had believed to be true.

Out went beliefs I had taken on from other people, family beliefs, the faith of my upbringing. When I most needed my beliefs to give me comfort and strength, they dissolved because they had no substance. Why? Because they weren’t my truth but the truth of others. I was left empty and alone.

Rebuilding

I started over, building a belief system piece by piece, this time one that came from an inner knowing, that brings me strength, love, joy, hope, trust and peace. It was like filling in a jigsaw puzzle.

A very important book—James Redfield’s The Celestine Prophecy came to me at this time through a series of so-called coincidences and it was just right. It pulled together many of the abstract thoughts and concepts I had been contemplating and made sense of them. All of a sudden I wasn’t alone. I realised that other people had these thoughts and I started to attract these people into my life.

Step-by-step my inner guidance led me to books, teachers, life events and courses that allowed me to rebuild my belief system from the bottom up and from the inside out.

Today, I feel the foundations are strong. Now I have a belief system based on my truth, not other people’s. Now, when life throws things at me, my belief system stands up. It doesn’t fall down.

Through clearing my old beliefs I now realise that my father’s life and death has given me many important gifts and learning opportunities. I thank you, Dad, for this. You taught me honesty and integrity. You taught me the value of family, community and service. You taught me to aim high and think outside the square. You made me realise the importance of life balance. But your biggest gift to me was to give my soul a nudge; start it stirring inside me; wake it up from its sleep.

New Awareness

When you clear distortions and patterns from the past that cloud your vision, you make some astounding discoveries. Realising that "imperfection is perfection" has freed me to move forward in my life at a pace I never believed possible. After all these years I realise that I am free to be my true self. I don’t need to be the kind of "perfect" other people might expect me to be in order to be loved and accepted by them. I don’t need to worry about what anybody thinks. Phew! What a relief!

When I started writing The Clearing Generation four years ago, it was mainly about how to achieve balance and health on the physical level. Then, after writing for quite some time, I suddenly couldn’t go any further. I was disappointed. It had been my dream to write this book. I realised later that I had started to feel insecure about writing what was true for me and tried to make it into an academic work with academic citation. I was trying to get it "perfect" to avoid criticism. I now realise this is not my style. It is not who I am.

Three years after I began writing, I woke up in the early hours of the morning with the title of this book, the general content and an outline of chapters. I quickly got up and wrote it down. It was, coincidentally Boxing Day, the anniversary of my father’s heart attack.

My greatest wish at the present moment is to share what I have learned during my life’s journey through my own experiences, from working as a naturopath, from my patients, my study (formal and informal) and from the wonderful souls who have guided me along the way. In my job I have the privilege of being and sharing with people at a deeply personal level. These encounters enable me to experience the world through the eyes of others. This has added a great dimension to my learning and soul growth.

My aim in writing this book is to help you achieve balance and wellness in your body, mind and spirit. I want to share with you tools that I use in my clinic that have helped me, and others, to move closer to this goal. I want to share with you the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that I have put together, knowing it is continually evolving, an honest expression of my truth at this moment. My hope is that by sharing this, you may find that it contributes to you finding your own truth, inner peace and balance in body, mind and spirit.

Love and light

Janine

Characteristics of The Clearing Generation

Part One

Clearing—The Big Picture

Awakening The Story of Evolution

We began as a mineral.
We emerged into plant life,
and into the animal state, and then into being human,
and always we have forgotten our former states,
except in early spring when we slightly recall being green again.
That’s how a young person turns toward a teacher.
That’s how a baby leans toward the breast, without knowing the secret of its desire, yet turning instinctively.
Humankind is being led along an evolving course, through this migration of intelligences,
and though we seem to be sleeping,
there is an inner wakefulness that directs the dream,
and that will eventually startle us back
to the truth of who we are.

Rumi—Thirteenth century

We are living in exciting times. People are awakening; questioning why they are here on earth, and asking "Is there more?"

People are no longer satisfied to accept the status quo, to automatically follow into the occupation of their family, the belief systems of their ancestors.

People in the West have been sold the great dream that material success is the key to happiness and freedom; that owning a luxurious home, driving a new model car, and achieving success in our chosen profession, will bring us happiness.

Many people try desperately to attain this by working hard, or going into debt, or both (buying lottery tickets each week as added insurance). Some feel resentful that they haven’t been dealt as good a hand as others. Yet others have achieved the dream of material and career success but are disappointed to find the dream hasn’t delivered the happiness that was promised.

However, a growing number of people are awakening to the realisation that perhaps the dream isn’t going to bring the happiness and freedom they thought it would. It may bring another set of problems altogether, such as how to hang on to the dream and deal with the worry of losing the financial/career success that meant so much.

A growing number of people are starting to question what it is they want in their life.

Taking Action

Some study so they can change career and work in an area they are passionate about. Others throw in the job their family expected them to do, to follow their dream which is doing something completely different. Some trade lucrative salaries, stressful careers and busy lives, for a more simple lifestyle and existence, even if it means less money and fewer of the material trappings of the Western lifestyle. Others change their attitude, discovering the blessings that are here right now in the present, instead of focusing on all the things they want in the future.

More and more people are taking control of their own health rather than relying on traditional allopathic medicine. Many are considering natural alternatives to drugs and surgery, exploring organic food and herbal medicines to find ways to improve their vitality and prevent degenerative diseases

A growing number of people are getting in touch with their creative side; exploring painting, music, dancing, writing, gardening and cooking; doing self development courses, discovering different spiritual philosophies and learning how to meditate.

More and more people are asking the question, "Who am I?" without the label of profession, socioeconomic group, race, sex, partner, mother, father, son, daughter, current illness, committee member, and so on.

A restlessness prompts the question, "When all the labels are stripped away, who is left?"

Things are moving.

Yes, we are "waking up" in larger and larger numbers. We are at a point in our spiritual evolution where we each are ready to explore and delve into our own truth of who we are, and why we are here. In the past many have looked outside for these answers. Some have accepted myths as an explanation, some have looked to religion and leaders in the church, others to science. Quite often these external explanations are accepted without question, without going within and asking, "Is this my truth?"

Evolving

As human beings evolved, our past focus has been mainly on survival and becoming as comfortable as we can in this physical world. We have progressed from hunter-gatherer societies through to being able to pick up food, luxuries, almost any item we want, at the local supermarket. Primitive shelters have evolved into comfortable homes. Information has advanced from limited word of mouth, stories passed down, from the handwritten, through to virtually unlimited access to all kinds of information through television and the internet.

People in the West, particularly, have focused on increasing physical comfort through developing the material world. Largely these goals of previous generations have been achieved, with technology and scientific knowledge reaching greater and greater heights. As a result, many in the West no longer have to spend a large part of their time physically surviving.

Alert and focused on material comforts, mostly we have been spiritually asleep. Mostly we have been spiritually unconscious. But things are now changing and people are slowly awakening. There is a shift in focus as more and more people are becoming dissatisfied with a mainly physical existence. They are starting to realise that the meaning and happiness they once thought they would get when they achieved "this" or obtained "that" is superficial, fleeting and doesn’t last. They are searching for deeper meaning in their lives. They want more connection. They are ready to awaken and shift attention from mainly physical evolution to a more spiritual focus.

Emerging Patterns and Beliefs

As we have moved through time we have accumulated different patterns of behaviour and core beliefs that shape our view of the world. Up until now these patterns have been largely unconscious. We have been unaware of them and believed in the world as we have been taught to see it. However, we are living in changing times. As people awaken they become more and more conscious of these patterns, more and more aware of these core beliefs.

Some of these beliefs serve and honour us. Others are limiting and cause us unnecessary pain and suffering in our lives and the lives of others. For example, a core belief such as I am unworthy may lead to a life trying to earn peoples approval and trying to achieve, but no matter what is achieved, or what other people think, there is still an underlying feeling of lack of self worth. In contrast, a core belief of I am worthy leads to the person feeling self worth no matter what the external circumstances or personal opinions of others.

As we awaken, deep-seated patterns start to come to the surface; a bit like peeling an onion. Take one layer off and another layer is revealed for us to discover and observe. These patterns have been there but as we awaken we have the awareness to notice them and clear them. They emerge in our life through discomfort in the present moment. Circumstances in our lives that we may have before accepted and not thought about, become uncomfortable and intolerable as our spirit guides us forward.

We have reached a time in our evolution where more and more people are feeling drawn to clear the distortions and patterns they have accumulated from the past. What are these distortions and patterns? Some may say past lives, some may say karma, some may say generational patterns of behaviour that get passed down. For others it may be events that happened during their life. Whatever your beliefs, more and more people are being pushed by life circumstances and inner knowing to awaken and go within to clear out the accumulated patterning. More and more people are feeling drawn to go on a spiritual journey within. More and more people are feeling drawn to do what it takes to find new meaning in their lives.

These people, I believe, are "The Clearing Generation."

We are waking up. This accelerated in the 1960s with the shifting of traditional beliefs, the ripping off of clothes and rebellion through music. It has continued and is accelerating. People are shifting from accepting what they have been conditioned to believe from outside circumstances and influences, to going within and searching for their own truth. Religious beliefs and family traditions previously accepted without question, are being examined. This is alarming to the bulk of people who valued, above all else, the work ethic. They interpret the shift as society fragmenting and disintegrating. They find it hard to understand, and feel the world is rebelling. They judge those who are awakening and questioning their generation’s values, as being lazy, and fear where this may lead them.

A strong work ethic was something that, in the past, was admired by the masses. There was little time and little awareness for self exploration, for delving into feelings and exploring one’s own truth. When something went wrong the accepted behaviour was to push down feelings and "get on with it." People who held in their grief at a funeral, for example, were admired for their so-called strength. Children were encouraged to be seen and not heard. Control was exerted largely through fear or guilt. Certainly there was little avenue for expression of feelings, good or bad, or any recognition of a need to. People learned to suppress their feelings, and free thinking was discouraged.

This was for a purpose. The earlier generation’s purpose was to become comfortable in the physical world, to work hard and to value this above all else. Had large numbers of people devoted energy to processing feelings and emotions, and spending time on spiritual searches, the material world would not have developed to where it is today.

The Western world has become a place of unimaginable comforts. The basic things we take for granted like education, running water, access to fresh food, a roof over our head, are, for a large part of the world’s population, sadly lacking. However, there has been a cost to the Western world. So much energy and focus has gone into material success that emotional and spiritual evolution has been put aside to a great degree. This is reflected by the rising rates of depression and dissatisfaction. We have so much materially compared to the rest of the world, but many of us are so unhappy.

Why is this?

As a society we have reached a state of material affluence, but we are spiritually poor. By shifting our focus from the physical to the spiritual, we can start to find the meaning, peace and happiness we all want.

So how do we do this?

Clearing the Past

As each of us evolves, we accumulate emotional patterns of behaviour and core beliefs. These patterns and beliefs distort the way we view the world; imagine looking into a trick mirror that distorts your body shape and what you see is not reality. To move forward spiritually we have to clear these accumulated patterns and core beliefs. Then we may see what is real and what is not. We need to remove the distorted lenses through which we see life and replace them with lenses that help us to see more clearly. When we see more clearly, we are able to free ourselves from the pain and suffering of distorted perception and move towards peace and happiness.

We are The Clearing Generation, a growing group of people from all walks of life that have one thing in common—the desire to take awareness to the next level. A growing group of people that are examining each belief and value, one by one, and stripping away some of the traditional belief systems that are not working for us. When confronted by life circumstances such as a tragedy, life threatening illness, job retrenchment or just an unquenchable restlessness inside that needs to be stilled, we are no longer able to push it down and get on with it. Something inside us drives us to go deeper, to start unravelling those years and generational patterns of suppressed feelings, and to start getting in touch with our spiritual side that is yearning to experience inner peace.

The Clearing Generation is realising we now have choices. We can take control of our lives and create what we want. We are choosing to balance our lives and free up time to pursue creative interests, reflect on our purpose for being here, redefine who we are and where we are going.

Our purpose is to take evolution to yet another level.

Our Own and the Next Generation

As we grow up, we learn attitudes, behaviours, responses and beliefs from our parents (who learned them from their parents). We repeat generational patterns. So, as we clear generational patterns we also, in many cases, clear them for our children. We break the mould. As our awareness grows, so does theirs.

We respond differently from how our parents might have responded to life events. Children of The Clearing Generation are not going to have to do as much clearing work as their parents had to.

I believe that as their level of awareness grows, their generation is prepared for a different purpose. I believe that purpose will be to merge understandings about science and achievement of material comforts with evolving spiritual consciousness. It will, I envisage, be the children of The Clearing Generation, who find solutions to the many problems plaguing the world. They will find a way to feed the world, heal the environment, resolve conflict between nations in peaceful ways that honour all involved. We are The Clearing Generation and our purpose is to clear the way for the next generation to evolve and take us, and world consciousness, to its next level of awareness.

Achieving this involves finding balance in our lifestyle, becoming conscious of the environmental costs of material success, becoming conscious that accumulating more possessions doesn’t bring us happiness, becoming conscious of humanity in general, and our contribution and purpose in this. Achieving this involves clearing away our previous conditioning. Achieving this involves letting go of other people’s values and expectations, and exploring and finding our own truth.

The purpose of this book is to give you a practical way of doing exactly that. This book is about giving you a number of easy-to-use tools you can keep in your tool kit to pull out and use when you need them. This book is about giving you a method to clear feelings or beliefs that no longer serve you, so you can move along your spiritual path and discover who you are, and, if you haven’t done so already, what your purpose is.

This book is not about telling you what you should think, but giving you the tools so you can connect to your own inner wisdom. All you need to know, your every truth, all your answers to every question you could possibly dream up, is within you. Once you learn to access, and listen to, your own inner wisdom, your life will move forward in ways you may not have believed possible.

Discovering Your Truth

There is a difference between a belief based on other people’s values and opinions and a belief based on your own inner knowing. As we evolve and grow, we examine different beliefs that have been largely unconscious and based on childhood conditioning. We start to sort through these beliefs, and to recognise which beliefs are fear-based and no longer serve us. Fear based beliefs are those that limit us in what we do and who we think we are; examples would be I am not good enough, smart enough or wealthy enough. As we grow in awareness, old fear-based beliefs get replaced with new beliefs, ones based on knowing.

A knowing is a truth that comes from a place deep within, a place of love, peace and joy. A knowing is something that from the very essence of your soul you recognise to be true. A belief based on knowing is not an intellectual concept, or something unconsciously learnt, it is something you are consciously aware of, it is experiential and is born from wisdom. There is no need to justify or explain your belief to others, it just is.

You still listen and value other people’s ideas but start to take responsibility for your own spiritual path and allow yourself to be guided by going deep inside to that quiet place of innate wisdom. Here you learn to connect and take on those things that resonate with your soul, and to differentiate and put the rest aside.

What I am sharing with you is my truth, my knowing. Methods and philosophies that help me to be the best I can be in my life. I want to share with you the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that I have put together, knowing it is continually evolving, an honest expression of my truth at this moment.

My truth has been inspired by many great teachers and guided by my spirit’s inner knowing. I respect all spiritual philosophies whether or not they are different to mine. Your truth and knowing may be similar, different, or perhaps you are searching and have lost touch with your soul. You may be in a different spiritual place with a different level of awareness. That doesn’t make your philosophy greater or lesser than mine or anybody else’s. There is no right or wrong philosophy, just people in different spiritual places, with different levels of awareness, expressing their truth in different ways.

At the essence of all the main religions is great wisdom and truth. However as we grow in awareness, the rules, regulations and patriarchal organisation of some traditional religions that, for some, bring comfort and structure, may be constricting for others.

Instead of connecting us with our inner truth and encouraging us to take responsibility for our own inner journey, we may end up being cut off from our inner source by relying on someone else’s interpretation of scriptures, or holy book.

There is a big difference between allowing books, people and events to guide us, and handing over responsibility to others, not thinking and feeling for ourselves. I don’t believe there is only one right way to spiritual truth. In fact, it is precisely that attitude that resulted in many wars throughout history and is still the cause of much conflict today.

We have a direct line to spiritual truth. We don’t need an interpreter. There are many paths to the one destination and if we trust, listen, flow with life and allow ourselves to be guided, we will find the way that resonates and speaks to us. Rejoice and embrace who you are and where you are. Enjoy every part of the journey of life. I encourage you to trust, go within and connect with your own truth and wisdom.

The Clearing Generation is awakening, searching for deeper meaning.

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