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I heard the story of this person… she was very unhappy… stressed, feeling depressed, anxious, angry, lonely, hopeless, struggling…just surviving…but then…

She had been told that life was a struggle and she had to work hard to earn money …that everything had to be earned…that nothing was free…nothing was given…that money did not grow on trees…so she was burning herself out.

She had been told she was lucky to have a job and she had better hold on tight to it, but she did not like it…actually she hated it…she was completely unfulfilled.

She was in a relationship where she was not happy. She did not feel loved and she was not treated properly; but she had been told she might not find another person…better that than being alone…but she was so unhappy…

She had been told she could not know what destiny would bring her…that she could not control the future…that she had to live the moment…so she was drinking too much, eating a lot, doing too much, she thought that that was the way to enjoy life. But she was feeling more and more off-centre and her life was more and more out of control…her health was getting poor, she had no energy and she was getting depressed because she could never achieve what she wanted…her dreams. She started to think that maybe she had no right to her dreams…maybe what she wanted was just not achievable.

She had been told life is hard, it is tough, and so she had to be tough, and she could not believe she would ever receive anything for free. She believed that if she did not achieve her goals it simply meant she had not worked hard enough…pro-noia was quite impossible to believe in…

She had been told to be wary of people…so she could not believe in goodness, she could not trust, and so she could not feel the warmth she desired.

She had been told she had to behave in a certain way to be accepted by society. She tried to do it but she felt so empty inside, as if she was betraying herself, trying to be someone she was not, missing out on the thrill of being herself. So she tried to stop conforming, but then she felt so different. Her self-esteem became very low, as people told her there was something wrong with being her… she was different… so she started becoming socially anxious…and she believed there was something wrong with being her…and she started beating herself up…

She had been told the past determines the future. She was born in a poor and dysfunctional family and she had emotional problems caused by this, and limiting beliefs. She so wanted to be free…to be well…but she had been told the only way to get free is to struggle, so she was struggling…but the more she struggled, the more she was kept back.

She was very beautiful, but she didn’t like herself; she actually hated herself and kept beating herself up.

She had extraordinary gifts, qualities and talents, but she couldn’t see them…she thought she was nobody…worthless.

She felt so powerless…with destiny out of control…

She felt so lonely and unloved…

And she was struggling to live…to survive…and the more she struggled, the more struggles she met, the more she became convinced that life really was a struggle.

But one day she heard a story…they told her there was an old man in town, extremely wealthy, very successful, in extraordinary health for his age (and he was 98) …and he was so happy, with such inner freedom, peace and love. He had been happy all his life and he had a wonderful life, he loved every bit of it. Everything was so easy, so effortless; he achieved everything he wanted…even much more he could have ever dreamt of… He was in town with his wife. They had been married for 75 years, true soul mates, and still so in love…

And as she heard this story something inside her made her think: ‘I must meet this man and ask him his secret.’

It was the call to fulfil her dreams, her call to freedom, her call to love, her call to happiness.

She had read that the man was going to give a talk that evening in the centre of town. When she arrived there, there were tens of thousands of people…all waiting…all wanting to know how he did it…how he managed to live such a life.

The curtains opened and he was sitting in the centre of the stage with his wife, smiling, so at peace, so happy.

And when a person asked him how he did it, which special qualities he had in order to live such an extraordinary life…he replied,’My dear, dear friend…it is not that I am particularly special…that I have special qualities or powers…the truth is that everyone without exception is very, very special, with extraordinary qualities and extraordinary powers. You just do not know it yet…’ and he added, ‘and the secret is to be, love and cherish yourself; it is to be your true essence. You are well-being and love and peace and energy and light and infinite and presence and life and infinite wisdom; it is to ask, because whatever you ask, you shall receive’; and he added, ‘you know, you can have and be and do anything, really anything, you want; you just need to choose what makes you most happy in your heart. It is very simple; and he added, ‘And my dear friend, there is something else that I must tell you; there is another thing you need to know: you are loved beyond measure for who you are, and you are beautiful.’

And while she was listening to the old man, she cried, because she understood the truth, and she felt liberated and totally empowered to achieve the desires of her heart. And so she started her journey…