Coping with Life’s Curve Balls

Julia W. // April 28th, 2017

Julia Watson, Lightwork Meditation Teacher

I’m not a parent as I always thought I would be. At around 35 years old, I realized that in fact I might not have kids. I wasn’t in a relationship, and I was clear I didn’t want to raise kids solo, so I began to have to face the possibility that it might not happen.

Meditation helped me to navigate the immense sadness that arose. I realized that I had really bought into the idea that kids were the key to living a fulfilled life as a woman.  If I didn’t have kids, could I even call myself a woman? I was surprised at the intensity and longevity of my emotions about this issue.

But meditation helped me see that I am valid no matter what. Kids or no kids. It makes no difference. Now in my forties, I feel free of that sadness and fully embrace life without kids. Life is rich and full, and its joys are available to everyone.

Energy is Real

Julia T. // March 29th, 2017

Julia Thiessen

Learning Lightwork meditation has helped me understand how to manage my energy.

I can do a meditation to be more grounded. And I’ve learned that being grounded affects my perceptions and experiences of life. I feel safer. More present. I’m more effective in whatever I’m doing.

Now I know I can shift my energy by meditating. I’ve become much more conscious of my energy system, so I can assess what needs to happen for me to feel more at ease, more in flow. I can increase my flow of energy by doing a meditation.

Everything in the universe is made up of energy, so learning about how energy works is truly fascinating. It’s helped me understand myself and the world so much more deeply.

 

 

Why I Started Meditating

Denis P. // February 28th, 2017

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For many years I felt that something was missing in my life, and also that this wasn’t even really my life, but rather a movie I found myself in, with no control over the direction it was going. Then at one point, a thought popped up in my mind – there must be more to this.

That thought was present for a while, and then I met my partner who’d been doing Lightwork for a long time. I kept asking her about meditation. I had many questions, but was looking for the information from more of an intellectual point of view, so one day she told me, “You can find all the answers from within, and meditation will facilitate that.”

I took my first Lightwork class shortly after. She was right.

 

Finding Freedom

Darci R. // January 23rd, 2017

darci r walking

I used to think that freedom meant you could just fly where the wind takes you without a care in the world. I equated being free with not having any responsibilities.

I was under the impression that there was freedom and then there was reality. The two did not intermingle. Now, though meditation I have deepened my understanding of freedom and I recognize it as an internal state. It is not about external things.

Analytically I knew that even people in tough situations of abuse or poverty or war could be ‘free in their mind’. I’d heard stories of historical figures such as Gandhi or Mandela who overcame great oppression and maintained a level of freedom but I didn’t understand how this could apply to my own life.

Through meditation, I continue to learn what an internal state of freedom feels like. I experience deepening levels of freedom that come with self-responsibility and internal peace, all while living a seemingly normal day-to-day life.

I’ve learned I can choose freedom.

Why Take a Meditation Class?

Julia W. // December 28th, 2016

 

Julia W.I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone who just sat down, closed their eyes, silenced their thoughts and began a deep, ongoing, daily meditation practice without any hiccups.

Typically when people first start meditating they fall asleep, drift off in a daydream, or begin to think through their worries.

You would think just closing your eyes and sitting quietly is all there is to it. But the mind is a powerful thing and it doesn’t automatically support your intention to meditate. That’s why Lightwork offers specific techniques that help you get into the groove.

Getting guidance from a meditation teacher can help you move beyond the mind’s objections to the quiet calm just beyond.

Taking a class also helps you address another common challenge: creating time in your busy schedule. When you commit to a class, you have a dedicated time every week to meditate, get instruction and ask questions. Plus you get to share the experience with other students, which can be so helpful.

If you’d like to make space in your life for meditation, check out Lightwork’s upcoming class schedule.

 

 

Coping with Global Challenges

Jacqueline // November 21st, 2016

Hold The Light

 

 This post is based on a recent class taught by Scott Robinson

 

So we find ourselves in a time of great change. Perhaps great stress. Great intensity. But you need to know, the effects of the U.S. election do not need to determine how you feel inside. Or how your spiritual path unfolds.

If you choose to be conscious, you are in charge of your reality no matter what is going on around you. You can live in a state of brightness and freedom. But you have to choose it, otherwise you are at the mercy of external forces.

The Buddha lived during a period of intense political unrest and violence in India. Not only did he find his own personal transcendence during this time, but he created a practice that has helped countless others transcend; a practice that is still going strong 2000 years later.

Tibetan monks continued to choose consciousness and spiritual freedom even when Chinese invaders overwhelmed their country, killing untold numbers and destroying 6,000 monasteries.

And consider that Nelson Mandela emerged from 20 years of imprisonment and hard labour, a brighter, freer, more conscious being.

Human beings are powerful. You can create what you want to create. But a bright, conscious existence must be chosen. You won’t fall into it accidentally.

The great news is, the initial steps to taking charge of your reality are simple. As you go about your day-to-day existence, are you bringing light into the world? Or are you participating in darkness?

Participating in darkness can happen so easily. Like being competitive with a colleague at work. Taking out your frustrations on your spouse. Angry annoyance at someone on the bus. Judging someone who has a different view than you. Immersing yourself in news coverage that gets your blood boiling. Posting charged comments on social media.

If you are aware of some of your own dark behaviours right now, don’t freak out. Don’t judge yourself. Just start to make different choices.

Meditation really helps with this. It is a very real, very powerful way to bring lightness and consciousness into your life. It can help you through life’s ups and downs; even your darkest moments.

Now more than ever before, with so many global challenges facing us, it will be important for you – for everyone – to have a way to process stress and live in a state of light.

Whatever your way is, find it. Choose it.

 

 

What Meditation Feels Like

Julia W. // September 13th, 2016

Julia Watson, Lightwork Meditation Teacher

 

Meditation feels different on different days. Sometimes it is challenging to just sit still. Other days I just drop into it, a wonderful warmth spreads through my body and I have a deep-seated feeling of wellness. It feels wonderful. All my worries evaporate.

But I have learned not to be attached to any particular outcome or feeling when I meditate. It is a practice. Some days my mind settles easily and other days it does not. But I always appreciate the quiet time that I set aside for my meditation practice. It is a gift to myself.

 

Ahhh…Live Life With Less Stress

Julia T. // July 25th, 2016
Julia T., Lightwork Meditation Teacher

 

The great thing about meditation is that it is a proactive thing you can do when stress starts to creep in.

 

What was once just “stress” has become a chance for me to learn more about myself. Now when I feel stressed, I ask myself what is at the root cause, and I meditate to release it. It works!

 
Meditation has not erased stress from my life completely. Even on days when I have long meditations, occasionally I can still be found fretting over some tiny detail, and forgetting to stop and smell the roses. So although I can safely say I am not immune to stress, meditation has definitely decreased my daily stress dramatically.
 
Instead of feeling like a victim, I’m in charge.
 
 

Helping People Move Through Grief

Darci R. // June 15th, 2016

Darci Rosalie

As a nurse, helping patients through loss and grief is essential to my job. Becoming more neutral with the losses I’ve experienced in my own life has allowed me to assist others with theirs.

Meditation has allowed me to release my own grief in a simple and clean way, without drama. This has allowed me to grow; to evolve personally and professionally.

So I can really say my meditation practice helps me do my job effectively.

I can be there for others in their most challenging times. I can be more present and supportive because I’m not carrying the weight of my own losses around with me.

This is just one way meditation is a lifesaver.

 

Kicking the TV Habit

Denis P. // May 10th, 2016

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I grew up watching a lot of TV. I’d watch anything that was on – from the news and documentaries, to cartoons and movies. TV was the focal point of our family and we spent pretty much all of our time together just staring at the screen.

There was very little, if any, restriction from my parents on what I was allowed to watch or how much time I spent watching. They thought it was great I showed interest in world news and nature shows.

When I first started meditating, I still watched TV regularly. But then with time, the more I meditated, the more I realized that TV (and all other media) are just a distraction.

Meditation has helped me bring my focus back to what is really important: me.

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Scott Robinson

Scott Robinson is the founder and spiritual director of Lightwork Spiritual Development, based on Gambier Island, B.C. For more than 30 years, Scott’s spiritual evolution has been his life focus, along with helping others discover themselves as spiritual beings.

Even in earlier stages of his life Scott lived outside the confines of mainstream society as a hippie kid, musician, video artist, photographer, poet and world traveller. Spiritually aware from childhood, he could see energy, and he knew there was a bigger picture than the material pursuits of life.

His spiritual purpose took shape in his early twenties when he discovered a meditation style that was an immediate fit. He dove deeply into spiritual studies, deepening his clairvoyant abilities and learning the art of self-healing.

Scott is constantly pushing the boundaries of spiritual knowledge. Through teaching, writing and photography, he empowers others to become conscious, bright spiritual beings on the path to freedom.

Scott is also Chair of the Board, chief visionary, and manager of the Lightwork Ecovillage, the Gambier Island sacred site that is home to the Lightwork practice.

Alison Cretney

Alison has been practicing Lightwork meditation since 2007. As a certified Lightwork teacher, she offers classes suitable to first-time meditators or anyone who has practiced other meditation styles. You can attend her classes in beautiful Nelson, BC, or by phone or Skype.

Alison has found Lightwork's clarity, ease and potency to be transformative in all aspects of her life including parenting, work, relationships and stress.

She has a Masters in Strategic Leadership Toward Sustainability which she applies in collaborative projects seeking solutions for climate change.

Julia Watson

Julia offers meditation and consulting services for organizations and individuals.

She started her conscious spiritual journey in her mid-twenties but it wasn’t until she came across Lightwork in 2002 that she found a meditation practice that really worked for her.

Julia completed Lightwork’s seven levels of training in 2010. She has been joyfully teaching meditation classes and offering private energy readings since then.

She was previously the Program Director at Hollyhock (Canada’s leading educational retreat centre) and is now a self-employed bookkeeper.

Julia received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University in 1994. She received a permaculture design certificate in 2000.

Julia Thiessen

Julia started taking Lightwork classes by phone from Winnipeg in 2004. The classes rocked her world so thoroughly she moved to Vancouver to continue her meditation studies, eventually graduating from Lightwork's most advanced program, 'Level 7: The Apprenticeship' in 2012.

Her move to the West Coast allowed her to become involved in the Lightwork Ecovillage, where she continues to deepen her meditation practice and learn life lessons (like...you really can grow kale year round!).

Julia is a certified Lightwork Teacher. She offers Lightwork Level 1 and Level 2 classes for beginners, as well as private energy reading sessions.

She brings creativity to the Lightwork administration team, and manages two annual meditation retreats: the summer '9-Day Dharma Healing', and 'Winter Light Week'.

She has an intuitive and studied understanding of all things green, arising from her work in therapeutic gardening at BC Children's Hospital and other locations around Vancouver.

Cathy Belgrave

When Cathy signed up for her first Lightwork class, she entered brand new territory. Coming from a scientific background, meditation was well outside her normal repertoire but she felt compelled to try it.

Without even being able to describe how, she shifted perceptions in all parts of her life and began making decisions that decreased stress. Encouraged, she thought she would keep meditating until it no longer felt like a fit. That day never came. She’s now a committed Lightwork practitioner and teacher.

Cathy offers Lightwork Level 1, Level 2, private classes and energy reading-healings. She blends her passions for writing, teaching and meditation by offering creative writing workshops for children and adults.

Darci Rosalie

Darci discovered Lightwork meditation in her last month of nursing school. She realized she wanted a totally new way of coping with stress.

So she turned down a fancy job in California with a big signing bonus and season’s tickets to her favourite football team. Instead she registered for Lightwork's beginners class and never looked back.

Throughout her healing journey Darci has witnessed how meditation has the power to shift tough situations and heal what needs healing.

Her favorite thing about being a Lightwork teacher is the simplicity and presence of being in the moment. The big and small of the universe come into focus and make room for significant awareness and healing.

Darci graduated from the Lightwork Apprenticeship program in March 2014. She offers energy reading sessions and meditation classes in a loving, supportive environment.

Tiffany Robinson

Tiffany Robinson has 18 years of experience in the social services sector, a B.A. in psychology, and over 15 years experience developing and facilitating dynamic wellness programs for youth and adults. She is a full-time instructor of Lightwork’s Level 1 – 3 meditation courses and Teacher Training program, and has been studying meditation for over 15 years, completing Lightwork’s two-year meditation teacher training in 2012, and a three-year apprenticeship in 2015. She is also Lightwork's Director of Operations.

As the Wellness Programs Specialist for the Crisis Centre of B.C., Tiffany co-developed and facilitated hundreds of workshops, webinars and wellness programs designed to enhance well-being, resilience and mental health. Over 13 years, she championed the centre’s first mindfulness training programs and was instrumental in establishing key contracts to deliver large-scale mindfulness programs to 1,500+ employee organizations, such as the Vancouver School Board.

Tiffany lives at the Lightwork Ecovillage on Gambier Island, an off-grid permaculture farm-meets-meditation-centre set on 80 acres overlooking Howe Sound.

Jacqueline Voci

Jacqueline first learned to meditate as an antidote to stress and a crazy-busy lifestyle in the tech and PR industries. As she gradually made it part of her daily routine, an entirely new way of experiencing life emerged.

In March 2014, she completed Lightwork’s two-year meditation teacher program and began its most immersive course, a three-year apprenticeship to founder, Scott Robinson.

Jacqueline teaches Lightwork's beginner classes (Levels 1 & 2) and offers meditation workshops for companies and organizations. She has hosted workshops for the Dalai Lama Center for Peace & Education, UBC Faculty of Medicine, BC Cancer Research Centre and BCIT Student Association.

She is also a writer and communications consultant.

Elizabeth Stevenson

Elizabeth decided to give Lightwork a try in 2010, after observing a friend's Lightwork journey. Deciding it was a fit, she took classes from her hometown of Victoria by phone for six years. She then packed up and moved to Vancouver to continue her studies, completing Lightwork's Level 6 Teacher Training Program in 2017.

Meditation has helped Elizabeth let go of fears and embrace all aspects of herself. She's excited that teaching now gives her the chance to offer the Lightwork techniques to other people.

Prior to Lightwork, Elizabeth completed a B.A. in anthropology, and certifications in community counselling and permaculture. Music has always been an important part of her life. She enjoys singing opera and jazz, and offering vocal improv classes.

Leslie Dickout

Leslie took her first Lightwork meditation class by phone in 2012 while living in the busy city of New York. She was awestruck by the simplicity of the tools she learned, and how they helped her let go of old patterns. She knew she wanted to learn more.

Now settled in Vancouver and enjoying a much simpler life, Leslie offers Lightwork Level 1 and Level 2 classes, as well as private energy reading-healings. She completed the Level 7 Apprenticeship program at Lightwork in 2021.

She also works in communications at BC Recreation & Parks Association.

Zhenya Andriyash

Zhenya started taking Lightwork meditation classes in the fall of 2012 while living in New York City and working for a bank. Meditation was his way of dealing with stress-filled workplace and hectic city life.

While taking Lightwork's Next Step program, he moved to Vancouver to lead a quieter, healthier life with a focus on his spiritual development.

Zhenya completed the Apprenticeship program at Lightwork in 2021 and now he offers beginner Lightwork classes (Level 1 and 2), as well as reading-healing sessions.

Having a job in the tech sector, Zhenya finds his meditation practice to be essential for having wellness and balance in his life.

Bogdan Serban

Bogdan Serban is a certified Lightwork teacher and a soccer-playing dad of two boys.

He started studying Lightwork in 2015 after many years of interest in spirituality and energy work. He considers the Lightwork practice to be life-changing, improving his relationships at home and work, and instilling a deeper self-confidence. He uses the Lightwork techniques every day to support his parenting, marriage and work life.

Bogdan originally hails from the picturesque, mountainside city of Brasov, Romania. He’s lived in Vancouver since 2005 and works in the telecom sector. In his down time, you’ll usually find Bogdan hanging out with his family or on a soccer pitch.

Bogdan completed his Lightwork teaching certificate in 2020. He also holds a degree in business management.