Pleasure & Abundance

pleasure-abundance

For a while there I was putting the cart before the horse.

The cart being money.

The horse being my natural connection to abundance.

I see so many people doing this, and in my experience it’s a real abundance killer.

I want to tell you about how that has really shifted for me this year and offer you some ways you can apply it to you, but first let me give you a little background…

I’m an experiential learner. Always have been.

Sometimes being an experiential learner means you need to walk into a few walls before you find the door…

Experiential Learning

NPA Popped out of me on Feb 5th 2007. I started teaching it to groups in 2009.

It took off like a rocket.

For two years it grew and grew.

By the end of 2010, I was more abundant than I had ever been on every level, including money.

Money, of course, was in the equation for consideration, but it certainly wasn’t front of mind.

I was having a blast and NPA and I were thriving.

Inevitably, when you grow, you hit an edge.

The Edge

Technically, I’d been self employed for many years. But as a 1:1 practitioner the mechanics of a business had been relatively simple, especially as I was, for the most part, under the wings of an international seminar company. I taught their work all over the world, to rooms filled with 100’s of people. My practice filled effortlessly.

The events marketing was handled for me. The business visioning, staff issues, infrastructure, systems, on-site logistics… all taken care of by the company.

Running my own seminar company, was new territory.

And as it grew, I hit challenges I had no idea what to do with. I’d grown enormously in the areas of emotional fluency, spirituality, facilitation skills, human understanding etc. But the skill of running a business was an unexplored area of myself.

I was very much at that beginner stage. I was a newbie, a stumbler, a mistake maker, a rabbit in the headlights at times.

The folk around me were selling the prescribed business mindset hard; the idea that “You need to focus on the bottom line… That’s if you want to have a ‘proper’ business and ‘take it seriously’. You need to grow, and plan and forecast.”

Spreadsheets, balance sheets, profit margins and pension provisioning, apparently were the order of the day…

Karmic Time in the Cycle of Frustration

wigglywormSomething in me, the unknowing self, saw the juicy wiggly worm and not the hook… I bit…

Things plateaued in 2011, and in 2012 took a dive.

My response?

Work harder.
Check the numbers.
Watch the balance sheet.
Mitigate the risks.

I did karmic time in the cycle of frustration…

I was frustrated because over the years I’d done a shit load of work on abundance issues – digging up the emotional dirt and getting to the root of it all – yada yada…

And of course, I was doing NPA on this and that when it was animated to do so. NPA had caused miracles in so many areas of my life, so c’mon – wtf?

Well I often teach that one way NPA works is to show you the next step… after all the Soul sometimes has an agreement that you’ll go slow and squeeze every evolutionary drop out of the experience.

But I was about to get an enormous ‘aha!’

An Enormous Aha

One of the core philosophical principals of Non-Personal Awareness is that all experience is relational.

What’s more, our current relating models suck.

NPA provides powerful new perspectives and ways to approach relationships which can radically shift your personal experience of them. Even as relationships change – be that a growing together or moving apart – you are empowered to experience your wholeness.

My epiphany hit me on a rainy June afternoon in 2014, on the towpath of the Grand Union canal, right behind Tescos in Leighton Buzzard. Proving that God does’t just show up in glamorous locations 😉

This is what hit me:

I was in a relationship with money.

And a shitty one at that.

I’d been looking entirely at myself… but what needed work was the relationship.

Then it came to me:

In NPA I had created amazing ways to work with relational energy.

What if I applied them to my relationship with money?

So that’s what I did, and I invited a small group of people to join me on a course that I called The August Abundance Assembly.

On the course we discovered our natural abundance, cleared our yucky projections around money, addressed the issues in our money marriage and re-kindled the spark we’d lost.

We each came away with 4 unique foundational keys to a stable and productive money marriage, and a clear connection to the essential purpose of our relationship with money this life time.

It was like a divining rod, a compass, a guiding light that could keep us connected to our natural abundance and help our money marriage stay healthy going forward.

Pleasure

Undergoing the course work myself, I discovered that the foundational key to my natural abundance was pleasure.

But I had grown up associating money with a LOT of pain.

Just to clarify something – what pleasure means to me, may be different to what it means to you. People on the course each went through a detailed process to find a ‘cookie cutter’ for their Natural Abundance. Like all cookie cutters, it’s a personal label which points to an energy, and it’s the energy that does the magic.

Once I put pleasure (my horse) in front of my cart (money) some foundational shifts began to occur.

• My relationship with money softened, I got clearer about what mattered to me.. what was MY natural way.
• It re-affirmed that I had what it took if I trusted my natural abundance.
• It sparked off that urge to grow and acknowledge how pleasure wanted to express itself.
• I discovered that my values in this matter were very different to my girlfriend and I realise now that this was a fundamental aspect of our parting.

Once she and I went our separate ways and I was out of the energy of that dynamic, I felt liberated to explore.

A Conscious Shift of Attention

This year I have very consciously put pleasure at the forefront of my decision making. Especially around my work.

As I pointed out in my blog on the 6 stages of the dark night of the soul, as you come out of it, there is a discovery stage. A stage where the best thing is to give yourself permission to run with the new and see what happens.

This process requires you to roll with the changes, and continually let go of the forms, structures and habits that were part of the old self. And over time, things clarify and solidify.

Get 1:1 support with Joel…

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Basically, I got off the work hard, money focus hamster wheel and just did what felt good.

Of course I made plans, but noticed that pleasure’s plan didn’t really pay much heed to them. The balance sheet that needed attention was the balance sheet of pleasure… and it needed some major income!

So I’ve given myself a LOT of pleasure this year.

And, you’ll likely not be surprised to hear, that money, clients and opportunities started coming out of nowhere. In fact this year I have been more financially abundant than I had been in any of the last five years.

Part of my ‘cacooning’, in a sense has been me taking ‘time off’ to do things that bring me pleasure. Letting myself off the hook of have-to’s that were fuelled by the mis-aligned money-focus lack.

But my decision to truly put pleasure, my natural abundance, at the forefront has been a liberation, a revelation and a real confirmation of the power of that course.

Powerful Contemplations For You

I hope that by you hearing about my experience, you’ve already had some insights.

And I thought I’d lay out some contemplations that will help you bring it back to your situation and begin the process of shifting you to a more wholesome state of abundance.

The act of contemplating the notion that you are in a relationship with money is a powerful thing, so I invite you to start there.

 

It’s also worth taking time to consider the ‘state’ of that relationship, and if it’s not fabulous, what is the impact of that on your life?

 

Ponder what a wholesome relationship with money might be like? And imagine if you had that wholesome relationship, what it might bring to your life? What it might bring to your experience of money and abundance?

Take a little while for these contemplations.  You’ll likely find, it’s a great investment of your time.

Some Specific Questions & A Request

I’ve laid out some specific questions that you can answer in the form of a survey.

To be completely transparent with you, after my experience of the power of the course this year, I’ve been thinking about running it again, with a few updates.

I created the survey because I want to get a sense of where you are and where you want to be in relation to money. And, if there’s a demand, I can create a course that delivers what really matters to you.

That being said, I wanted to do it in a way that gives you a real space for some self-inquiry on the topic. So by filling out the survey you will get some direct insight on YOUR relationship with money.

So, if you’re potentially interested in a course that gets you in touch with your natural abundance, dramatically improves your relationship with money, and gives you a powerful foundation for abundance going forward… or if you’d simply like to undergo the simple inquiry questions, you can click the link below and take the survey.

You’d also be doing me a favour – Just click the big blue button below 🙂

NPA Survey Button

One Final Thing

If you’re having a major aha like I did, and are looking back at what you’ve been doing in your money relationship with darkened eyes… please make some space for self forgiveness right now.

For me, in the time that the cart was before the horse, I actually did learn a lot. And not just in terms of spirituality or life lessons. I learned a huge amount on a practical business level – about marketing, online courses, Facebook advertising, project management, hiring people, firing people etc etc…

So give yourself a break and know that there will have been gains from what has been… and simply start from here…

And you can always do the survey: Just click here.

[JY-General-Bio]

What You Need To Know If You Are Sensitive To Criticism

What You Need To Know If You Are Sensitive To CriticismCriticism is a part of life, and yet so many people have a hard time receiving it and they often experience a lot of hurt in the process. Even if the critics intention is to be constructive, it can be experienced as painful.

I often say that awareness is a powerful thing, so I thought I’d bring some awareness to the topic, laying out why the sensitivity is there, and how NPA can change the experience completely in a healthy way.

Why Are People So Sensitive When It Comes To Criticism From Others?

You might be surprised to learn that the sensitivity actually comes from defence. Criticism threatens an identity, or sense of self and as we become more attached to an identity, it becomes rigid and brittle. If you imagine your skin became rigid and brittle and then someone came up and poked it – it might well split, and then OUCH!

Taking things personally is literally attaching to an identity – you say ‘that’s me that is’, or, equally as confining, ‘that’s NOT me’. For example, a 5 year old who’s told by his Dad: ‘You’re funny!’ may take that on as a fundamental character trait. Literally taking it as ‘Funny: that’s who I am’. Perhaps he grows up and builds an identity all around that idea, maybe even makes it a career! Then someone say’s ‘you’re not that funny’ and his brittle skin gets poked! Of course, different people respond differently in different situations, but he may lash out, or withdraw – either way he feels pain.

A Way To Stop Taking Things Personally

Essentially, The NPA Process allows people to stop taking things personally. Now, most of us realise that taking things personally is a painful thing but few have any idea HOW to NOT take things personally – so that’s pretty awesome by itself!

But what I have come to realise is that ‘taking things personally’ is threaded much more deeply and subtly through our human psyche and is the fundamental mechanism for creating our experiences – both wonderful and painful.

NPA has now had a huge impact on the lives of people from all over the world, from all walks of life and in a huge variety of situations. So, it turns out, that the NPA Process is an amazing tool for clearing painful experiences quickly AND allowing more expansive and joyful experiences into our lives.

Running with the brittle skin metaphor for a bit, you could say that NPA gives you healthy skin – supple yet strong, sensitive and able to feel a vast range of sensations, yet in no way tender and raw. Someone can ‘have a poke’, but it doesn’t hurt, there’s nothing to defend and it can be seen for what it is; just a perspective.

So, Should We Take NOTHING Personally?

NPA Skin Cream (It's a metaphor!)People are often surprised when I tell them that NPA does not subscribe to the idea that taking things personally is always bad. In fact it acknowledges that fundamentally it’s how we experience anything at all!

What causes us pain and suffering is that brittle-ness I spoke of earlier – that attachment to, and defence of, a transitory idea of who we are. NPA offers a ‘multiple perspective’ approach which I teach on the Saturday of The NPA Expansive Weekend and in NPA: The Bridge and this can bring a great deal of fluidity and relief to peoples sense of identity.

NPA is interested in helping people notice and shift those places where brittleness and therefore pain and suffering has come about from taking things personally, where either they are clinging to something that wants to pass, or resisting something that wants to come into their life.

A Note On Clarity & Action

People sometimes misinterpret this perspective and think that I am suggesting a path of passivity that a) never acknowledges that sometimes the critic is just being an arse, and b) doesn’t allow space for the criticised person to have a powerful response.

So here’s what I’ve noticed…

There isn’t one formula for a response that is appropriate in all situations. The reports I get, and my own experience tells me that NPA (and not taking things personally generally) brings a tremendous clarity and presence to the situation. From that clarity and presence strong affirmative action seems to arise naturally.

This is not the powerless, angry action of someone who is in defence and feels like ‘the victim’, it’s the action of someone who knows who they are, supports their values and yet is open to self-evaluation. It’s the action of someone humble enough to know that they are not perfect and others may have a point, yet knows their boundaries and are willing to assert them. Walking away is definitely an option. Passionate discussion of different perspectives is definitely an option. This is a HEALTHY place to come from and time again I see NPA bringing clear and healthy action into peoples lives.

Criticism Aikido

If you’re someone who feels sensitive to criticism, then thank God you’re here. If EVER there was a tool for the job, NPA is it for you!

So here’s what I recommend. Get REALLY into NPA. Practice, Practice, Practice The NPA Process! Master it, play with it, just do it! Buy NPA: The Bridge and listen to it over and over. And/or come to a seminar, join the NPA Community!

Each time you do a process you’ll be loosening up your stuck identifications, letting go of some yukky stuff, or letting in some yummy stuff, but also training in the non-personal perspective – this is one of the fundamentals of letting the Non-Personal perspective come alive in you.

Having the non-personal perspective ‘alive’ in you brings an aikido like emotional and mental agility in difficult situations – like when criticism comes your way! Your brittle skin will be nourished, hydrated and re-conditioned with healthy, wholesome non-personal goodness. It’s a wonderful thing 🙂

[JY-General-Bio]

Healing Without The History

HealingWithoutTheHistory300x300In this Musing on NPA & Life, I’m going to let you know why the story that we need to re-write our personal history in order to heal isn’t necessarily true, and how NPA can help you find your natural path to healing; whatever that may be.

The Definitive Position

There are lots of ‘stories’ flying around in the world of human transformation, positive thinking and healing that are presented as ‘the definite position’. One of the reasons I sometimes refer to myself as a ’21st Century Heretic’ is that I like to examine this new doctrine, with an intention of promoting a perspective of unlimited possibility, co-creation and ongoing evolution.

Most of these ‘definitive positions’ are taken because of an experience of things working that way. So there IS an element of truth to them.

THE Way To Heal

Let’s take our topic-du-jour – healing. It would be true to say that many people have had tremendous success in healing by addressing their issues through following this idea:

“It took root as the result of something in my past, so if I can access whatever set things up this way and change the settings to something better, then I will heal”

The journey to your past can be fun. It can give the mind a recognisable, reason based and understandable story about what caused things to be as they are. It can also help relax the mind about the changes that are be-coming. It can be juicy and it scratches the itch of ‘why?’

This can be a great thing and certainly, in some cases, it’s A good way. But the leap from A WAY to THE WAY can be a trip to limitation and, perhaps even denial of an altogether simpler way.

Infinite Possibilities

The reality is that people all over the world are experiencing healing in a million different ways, with most of them not necessarily linking their healing to their past, or changing their thoughts, feelings or beliefs about their ‘history’ in any way.

I like to think that this demonstrates the kindness and flexibility of The Universe in how it answers our prayers – not just for healing, but for the journey of healing that will suit us best.

NPA is just a few simple words; six simple lines. Sometimes you don’t feel a thing. Sometimes you do.

It doesn’t lead you to some place ‘not here’ that you need to get to, in order to meet an idea of what it takes to heal. For example, you are not required to go to the past if that’s not where you’re hanging out naturally. You’re not required to determine ‘how that makes you feel’ if your natural expression is not emotional. You are not required to figure out what you would have to believe in order to feel this way if you ARE experiencing emotions! NPA simply meets you where you are.

LandingLights300x300NPA has shown me time and again that spontaneous healings can just sort of happen.

And what I have seen much more often with NPA is that it works with our humanity. It honours our longing for the story of our lives. It respects our minds’ childlike need for understanding and opens the way for the most appropriate mechanism to show itself.

You could say that NPA turns on the landing lights for your dreams and prayers. It makes the path that suits you best really clear, and facilitates a nice soft landing.

Life Has Space To Answer

That might be a spontaneous healing. Or it might be that you suddenly feel inspired to have a session in another healing modality – one that uses physical touch, or one that works with your thoughts or emotions – or perhaps even one that addresses the past!

Whatever it is, I often hear that the path is made clear, automatic even and that it runs smooth. Life has space to answer, and to answer in ways that work easily, naturally & sustainably for you.

With all these conflicting definitive positions flying around which tell you with conviction what is required for you to heal can get confusing. So, it’s a wonderful thing to have NPA as A way to help your most natural healing path show itself to you. :0)

[JY-General-Bio]

More Tweetables:

“NPA has shown me time & again that spontaneous healings can just sort of happen” via @JoelYoungNPA

“It’s a wonderful thing to have NPA as A way to help your most natural healing path show itself to you” via @JoelYoungNPA

The Cripple & The Chrysalis (A True Story)

The Cripple & The ChrysalisI recently had the privilege of witnessing an awesome moment in Nature and, as Nature often does, it blew me away.

It wasn’t just the pure aesthetic beauty; it wasn’t just the drama of an epic struggle; and it wasn’t just the bitter-sweet sadness inherent in the spectacle that moved me to share it.

There was also a Divine reflection, a lesson you might say, on our ideas around success and failure in transformation, and it was that that had me heading for my keyboard to share it here with you…

Inspiration On The Garden Pond

Emperor DragonlyIt’s not something you see everyday, and especially when you happen to have your camera in your hand! This Emperor Dragonfly shows some seriously impressive perseverance to emerge from it’s larval moult. The larva spends a couple of years under water, feeding, shedding it’s skin and growing before it crawls up out of the water. Clinging to a reed, it dries and undergoes it’s emergence as a stunningly beautiful and devastatingly effective airborne hunter.

The emergence normally takes 1-3 hours, but I watched this mighty individual birthing itself, against the odds, over a 48hr period.

The Cripple And The Chrysalis*

Herculean Emperor DragonlySo what could cause such a long emergence?

Well, unfortunately it’s wings were stuck and for a full day it hung from the husk of it’s exuvia (the hardened shell of the larva). In that day the body and the exposed wings become engorged, and by nightfall it had fallen still. I was pretty sure it was dead but to my great surprise and delight, the next day I came out to find it had managed to grasp another reed and is pulling with all it’s might.

Amazingly I am there at the moment it pulls itself free. There’s an audible snap as the restraining fibril breaks and the heroic Hawker scurries to the top of the reed.

Up to this point, having never seen this process before, I expect to see the wings open and expand. However I quickly realise that they have set, are crippled and will never serve as mechanisms of flight.

Emperor Dragonly with Crippled WingsPerhaps it’s my imagination, but I get the sense that it realises this too.

Nevertheless, it experienced several hours of life as a flightless Dragonfly. I like to think it surrendered, basked in the sunshine, took in the view and reflected on it’s time above the waterline. In any case, at some point it’s spirit left it’s body, which I found laying lifeless on a lilly pad later that evening.

Transformational Success & Failure?

In spite of it’s disability and short life this brave and determined individual was deeply admired and certainly left an impact.

Healthy Emperor DragonflyWho is to say what is success and what is failure? You never know who or what you are inspiring in anything you do – regardless of the outcome.

A short while after, a healthy brother flew in, so you & I can see the wings he imagined, to share his vision and know that life as it was imagined exists somewhere.

If you have ideas of success and failure in the realm of your transformation, I invite you to let them go and be present to the beauty and inspiration of what is.

Namaste ♥

*OK insect nerds (I include myself here), I know that Dragonflies don’t do chrysalis and I’m hoping your natural appreciation for beauty will enable you to forgive the poetic licence 😉

[JY-General-Bio]

Tweetables

“Who is to say what is success and what is failure?” via @JoelYoungNPA

“You never know who or what you are inspiring in anything you do – regardless of the outcome” via @JoelYoungNPA

“Know that life as you imagine it exists somewhere” via @JoelYoungNPA

“If you have ideas of success and failure in the realm of your transformation, let them go” via @JoelYoungNPA

“Let go and be present to the beauty and inspiration of what is” via @JoelYoungNPA

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Does Money Matter?

Does Money Matter?This post looks deeper at the thorny area of wealth, money and abundance. It hopes to help you hack through the prickly undergrowth and awaken the sleeping beauty within…

Inspiration

I’m always grateful for comments. I find they inspire me, and my responses are as much a discovery for me as I hope they are for the commenter! My recent postWant Wealth? Get Connected To What Truly Matterselicited a comment from Sara that held questions. As I commented back it took me deeper into the topic. I realised there was a LOT to say and that this response actually merited a post all it’s own. You could think of this post as a ‘Part 2’ and I strongly recommend you read the previous post as a ‘Part 1’ as it will give you a context for what comes below.

Sara’s Comment & Questions

“I’m confused. Are you talking about wealth as a connection to/with abundance or to/with monetary wealth? Both ‘matter’ for more or less everyone yet, as you clearly state, the lack of the later (money) might show us that we don’t value it as much as other aspects of our lives. How so? Given that the vast majority of people live such monetised lives, how come materialising monetary wealth is so darn difficult? Thanks for a thought/comment-provoking read.”

My Response

Hi Sara, Thanks so much for your comment and questions. I LOVE that you found it thought provoking and boy, is it easy to get confused on this one. I’ll give it a shot and answer your questions as best I can from my perspective…

Q: “Are you talking about wealth as a connection to/with abundance or to/with monetary wealth?”

I would say I am inviting people to investigate. Firstly their relationship between them, and then if their story meets the reality, which naturally leads to your second question…

Q: “Given that the vast majority of people live such monetised lives, how come materialising monetary wealth is so darn difficult?”

Monetary Wealth: Easy Peasy or Herculean Effort?

Here’s what I’ve noticed…

For some people, monetary wealth is easy peasy. It has nothing to do with ‘their work being their passion’, ‘them following their dream’ etc etc – it’s just that for them it shows up.

For others, they can do all the ‘right things’, follow their dream etc etc. but when they look at their balance sheet and tell themselves ‘I have to make money’ it all starts to feel like a total grind. Their Herculean efforts in pursuit of the money are largely ineffective. The fact is, when their focus shifts to the money, somewhere inside they die a little… OK, I’m being melodramatic here, but sometimes that’s how it feels, right?

So if you’re in situation 1, money truly matters to you! You love it without issue; without conflict. It’s not necessarily attached to a particular task, purpose or feeling (though it could be); it’s just the neutral truth. In NPA terms we would say that money is a primary active energy within your field of awareness. In simple terms, money truly matters to you so it materialises for you readily.

If you’re more in the realm of situation 2, the neutral truth is that, on balance, money doesn’t truly matter to you. Money is NOT a primary active energy within your field of awareness. Perhaps it’s secondary or tertiary, but it’s not the first point of materialisation and not directly connected to your natural stream of abundance.

But that switch of focus from what truly matters to you, to ‘money’ is where the suffering, stalling and struggle begins. It’s like driving a train alongside the railway track rather than on it; it’s highly inefficient, bumpy, fraught with danger and not very clever.

The difficulty for you in this case, is that the modern cultural mythology and the structures built around that, bathe you daily in the idea that money matters most, or at least more than it actually does to you. Your tendancy is probably to buy into that perspective, and disconnect from your local experience and perspective.

The challenge then is to buck the mythology and trust that money matters enough that it will materialise in support of what truly matters, where money is required to facilitate that.

The self inquiry suggested in the previous blog: Want Wealth? Get Connected To What Truly Matters (as I’m sure you’re aware) is a starting point.

Get Your Train Back On The Tracks

My invitation is to get your train back on the tracks, and here’s how:

STEP 1: Get real about what truly matters, discover the huge wealth of it that you already have and appreciate your natural abundance.

STEP 2: Come to peace with your relationship to monetary wealth as it truly is right now and understand where it sits in the landscape of who you experience yourself to be.

STEP 3: Allow these relationships to evolve in a way that keeps you as connected as possible to; your point of materialisation, your sense of abundance and any newly clarified intentions, in a sustainable way going forward.

Help!!

So now I’ve written all this, I realise two things.

Firstly, that a lot of people could probably use help with those three steps.

Secondly that I can’t fully claim to have it all down myself. BUT what I DO know, is what truly matters to me. And what matters to me is finding creative ways to help myself and others live a kinder, easier and more fulfilling life. I find this effortless and there’s a wealth of it in my life. Furthermore, I realise that NPA, it’s perspectives and the creative ways I’ve come to use it is a perfect vehicle through which these inquiries can be explored.

Wanna Take A Ride?Wanna Take A Ride?

With that in mind I’ve decided to create a month long experiential tele-seminar called The August Abundance Assembly and invite you to join me! That way, together we can travel through the 3 evolutionary steps to connected wealth alignment that I outlined above.

So, if you’re interested in getting back on the tracks of abundance that have been Gracefully laid out for you in this lifetime, and taking a joyful ride on the true-wealth train with me, then hop on over to this page where you can sign up for more info about The August Abundance Assembly, with me & Non-Personal Awareness – and be the first to know when the booking goes live!

[Ad-August-Abundance]

[JY-General-Bio]

Your Personal World Cup & How To Win It (no football required)

Your Personal World Cup & How To Win ItThe air is alive with World Cup fever this month. It’s something that comes around like clockwork, fills the participant nations with high emotion and has the potential to deliver the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

How, thought I, could I possibly relate this footie-phenomena to the joys of a non-personal perspective in a personal world?

Well, if you’ll pardon the pun, it turns out that it offers us a golden opportunity for self reflection and a shot at deeper freedom…

Identity Crisis

The other day I caught one of those ‘count down’ TV programmes, the World Cup Top 100 something-or-others, and what I noticed is that we hold distinct national ‘identities’, which directly relate to ‘what we are like’ in the World Cup.

For example – England are rubbish at penalties, Irish fans expect nothing but have the best time, Cameroon are likeable rogues, Germany are efficient and effective; always in contention etc etc.

It’s intriguing that the identification each nation has taken on in relation to their World Cup experience, seems to play itself out again and again. The thing is, the same mechanism is operating in our individual lives; we each have our own ‘World Cup’ event, we have assumed an identity in relation to it, and we play out this identification as our habituated track through the event. With a sigh we are left wondering why it happened pretty much the way it always does.

Of course, if you’re a Brazil, an Argentina or a Germany in relation to your personal World Cup, then chances are you feel pretty happy with how things pan out.

However if you’re an England and find yourself constantly disappointed and longing for the glory days; or if you’re a USA who’s only really interested when you’re winning and dismissive of the whole thing when you’re not; or if you’re a Scotland that ends up with the opportunity to play much less than you feel you deserve and often end up on the sidelines gaining hollow satisfaction from seeing your ‘only slightly more talented’ sibling country falling flat on their faces again… well then, perhaps, it’s time to break the pattern and have a different experience..?

The Road To Your World Cup Heaven

Your Personal World Cup NPA GraphicSo, here’s your chance for some self-inquiry. I could call it steps 1-4, but it’s oh-so-much more fun to continue the metaphor:

You’ve gotta be in it to win it, so firstly you’ll have to get through the qualifying stages. For that you’re going to need to ask yourself what your ‘World Cup’ situation is? Then to survive the group stages you’ll need to know who you are being in relation to that situation?

Next it’s knock-out time and it’ll take some fancy footwork to uncover which key aspects you’ll need to leverage, to bring more freedom and ease to the situation. Pull all of this off, and you’ll make The Final, where you can use a little NPA (the ‘Pele’ of tools for this kind of thing) and score the winning goal that can reset who you know yourself to be!

Defining Your ‘World Cup’ Situation

To help get you qualified for the main event, here’s some qualities that define the World Cup and which you can use metaphorically to look at the defining your personal World Cup event:

World Cup Aspects Defined:

  • It’s a sport, so there are winners and losers, with a series of events and a distinct outcome that defines that (add drama to taste)!
  • It is noteworthy on the ‘sporting’ calendar!
  • It happens regularly and repeatedly
  • There’s a heavy investment of National identity in it. Lots of fire, passion and potential misery! (even though it’s ‘only’ a sport)

So, to find the World Cup in your life, contemplate those aspects and ponder where this kind of pattern plays out in your life. If you want to sit back and be lead by the hand on this, skip to the bonus resources section and share the blog – then you’ll have access to a handy bendy audio that will help find your personal World Cup.

Who Are You In Relation To That Situation?

Once you’ve got a specific situation in mind it’s time to take an objective look at how it plays out. Imagine that it’s not you, not your family, not your life – just a TV drama. Ask yourself:

How does it usually play out?

  • What role does my character play throughout? (Think in terms of archetype, stereotypes or symbolically)
  • What role does my character end up in?
  • What judgements are my character making?
  • Is there a clear emotional pathway and/or a switch point? (eg. a give up point, an explosion point, an impatience-leads-to-carelessness point)

Just watch the movie and contemplate these questions, getting a general sense of the role you play and how that pattern shows up.

A Couple Of Examples

Here’s a couple of examples to give you the idea…

The Children’s Clear Up Challenge

Tidy Up BattleYour ‘World Cup’ event might be asking your kids to tidy their rooms? You notice you leave the asking for as long as possible – perhaps its a 4 week cycle. You seem uncharacteristically het up about it and the kids throw all kind of strops. You want to be ‘strong Mum/Dad’ but the tears and tantrums always seem to take the juice from the legs. You hit the crossbar, miss the goal – it never quite seems to go the way you want it. When it comes to this – you just seem to play out the role of the ‘ineffective parent’, and you feel disproportionately crushed.

The Financial Ex-Factor

The Financial Ex FactorIt’s that time again when you need to ask your ex-husband for more money for the kids. It’s always more of a drama than other conversations you have with him. You find yourself getting nervous before you call him, distrustful thoughts enter your mind, then angry thoughts – you know you play your best game when you’re centred, but you can’t help feeling meek. You fight the feeling and get angry with yourself – you know you’ve a perfect right to ask. Then you call. Sometimes he’s just fine and agrees and what a huge relief. But sometimes there’s a slight hesitation from him, a hint of resistance and you explode – you accuse him of sleight of hand with the finances, you’ve slipped into the role of ‘hysterical ex-wife’, a ‘victim’ –  it’s an own goal – you’re devastated and bewildered… you don’t even think that stuff… ouch.

And fella’s on the other side of this one – you know there’s equally complex emotions and identities at play here for you too! ♥

Shifting Identities with NPA

NPA is awesome for shifting identities. The NPA vernacular for them is ‘cookie cutters’ and they come in all shapes and sizes. Simply having an awareness of what you’re up to and the roles you fall into in your personal World Cup is an empowering thing and awareness alone for sure can get things moving. However, super charging with non-personal awareness has a way of releasing these traditionally sticky identities at the speed of light!

So now you’ve got the situation nicely defined, you can apply some NPA, and here’s some simple ways to do that:

4 Steps For Experienced NPA-ers:

1) Use a spew from the set up questions and contemplations in section 1 (the qualifying stage) to get a situational cookie cutter. Self elicit in your preferred way and choose the most animated cookie cutter.
2) Ask yourself: In relation to [Situational CC], who or what are you being?
3) Spew and elicit the most animated cookie cutter(s)
4) Run those cookie cutters through the NPA Process.

Simple Instructions For Newbies & Beginner NPA-ers:

Simply share this article via the bonus box and you will get access to a 6 min video that will take you through how to do the process. There will also be an outline of the NPA Process words themselves. There’s a ‘gap’ in the process where you insert the cookie cutter you are using.

If you’re a newbie simply use whatever role or roles you came up with that you play as your ‘cookie cutter’.

So in the examples I gave above, the cookie cutter to use for The Children’s Clear Up Challenge would be [ineffective parent]. And for The Financial Ex-Factor, there are two: [hysterical ex-wife] & [victim], requiring two processes. Obviously, it’s going to be whatever role you are seeing yourself in, not the examples. Just put that in the process, say the 6 lines, including those words out loud and see what happens.

If you want to understand all those ‘Experienced NPA-ers’ terms and do really graceful NPA, you’ll need to get some training via our comprehensive audio programme NPA: The Bridge or by attending an Event. You can also get direct assistance from me, and make a huge difference in your life HERE.

Bonus Resources For Sharing

I’d love you to share this article on your social networks, and doing so will give you instant access to the NPA Basic Training video, The NPA Process words AND a guided elicitation to help you through steps 1 & 2 described above.

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Artist credit: World Cup Selfie by Emma Allen – http://www.emmaallen.org/gallery/

Tweetables:

We hold distinct national ‘identities’, which directly relate to ‘what we are like’ in the World Cup. via @JoelYoungNPA

It’s intriguing that the identification that nations take on in relation to the World Cup, play themselves out repeatedly. via @JoelYoungNPA

In our individual lives; we each have our own ‘World Cup’ event. via @JoelYoungNPA

NPA is The ‘Pele’ of transformational tools :0)  via @JoelYoungNPA

Score the winning goal that can reset who you know yourself to be! via @JoelYoungNPA

NPA is awesome for shifting identities. via @JoelYoungNPA

Having an awareness of what you’re up to and the roles you fall into is an empowering thing. via @JoelYoungNPA

Non-personal awareness has a way of releasing these traditionally sticky identities at the speed of light! via @JoelYoungNPA

Trust that you can work with whatever situation is showing up. via @JoelYoungNPA

 

The Surprising Secret Ingredient That Consistently Facilitates Healing

The Surprising Secret IngredientNPA embraces and expresses one of my favourite paradoxes in the realm of healing, transformation, consciousness and love.

In this Musing on NPA & Life I want to lay it out for you, and give you an insight into, what I have come to understand is, THE biggest gift you can bring to any healing or facilitation situation.

“I’m Very Grateful”

This week I received an email from a client who wanted to express the gratitude she felt for the sessions we have been having, and offer a testimonial to share with others what she felt she experienced with me and how it has helped her.

The clue to the ‘secret ingredient’ is in here, so have a read and I’ll break it down for you after…

“Working with Joel I have been surprised by, and so appreciated, the tender compassion and acceptance that he has brought to each session. He offered a genuine loving space with no judgement; even of feelings I had previously felt sooo ashamed of.

In the past I have experienced a certain level of acceptance with facilitators but when change hasn’t come or stuckness has shown up, the focus on ‘moving on’ or changing has taken over.

Joel’s approach has the flavour of open-handed compassion and shows a level of acceptance which feels as if it comes very naturally from him. For me though, it was a very new experience and I feel that those qualities have been key to me moving on as I have.  Those more tender/”dark”/”stuck” feelings, having been offered all the time and space they needed to feel safe and relax, let down their defences and change of their own accord.

Here I am a few months later finding myself in a more peaceful and happy place! Feeling more able to deal with life, with more space and compassion now coming from within me! yeah!! I’m very grateful.”

Jane Griffin, Leicester, UK

The Secret Ingredient

So what was Jane experiencing ‘coming naturally from me’? She states; compassion, acceptance, genuine loving space, no judgement. These are qualities which naturally arise from the secret ingredient but are not the secret ingredient itself.

The thing I love most about NPA; the thing that practising it has trained into me, into my approach to working with clients and into my life in general is it’s agenda-less-ness. OK, so that’s not, strictly speaking, a real word but it points to the fact that NPA, in it’s pure form, comes with no agenda. And having NO agenda IS the secret ingredient.

And there-in lies the paradox, and the challenge for many a would-be power-user of NPA, and many a fine transformational practitioner. The question goes: “Surely if someone is paying me money to get some kind of outcome or result – shouldn’t I be doing everything in my power to get them there? Or at least to help them get themselves there!!??”

The trouble is, all that “I, me, them, their, there” stuff is based on personal power. Personal power requires a person. Persons come with an agenda. Agenda’s come with timelines, outcomes, comparisons, judgements, intentions… that leads to right ways and wrong ways both overt and covert… that leads to dogma and dogma leads to blindness… I think you get the idea.

NPA invites you to:

  • Express yourself in your natural way.
  • To say a few simple lines.
  • To notice what happens (if anything).

That’s it. No agenda.

So How Does That Consistently Facilitate Healing?

Let’s break it down

The Problem with AgendasThe problem with agendas – even ones with positive intent, even subtle energetic easily self-deniable ones – is that they apply pressure towards the intended outcome or route. Pressure tends to invoke resistance, resistance leads to persistence and before you know it you’re in a world of friction and potential stuckness. That can lead to further pressure in support of the agenda and so begins an un-helpful loop.

Jane illustrates it when she says, “In the past I have experienced a certain level of acceptance with facilitators” – in other words, there was an agenda with the facilitator, and she goes on to say how the agenda kicks up a gear, “but when change hasn’t come or stuckness has shown up, the focus on ‘moving on’ or changing has taken over.”

As you train more in the art of using NPA, you’ll begin to appreciate the importance and power of it’s agenda-less-ness. The power in NPA is NON-personal; as you get out of the way (drop the agenda) things begin to resolve all by themselves… in wonderful, effortless and sometimes miraculous ways.

Working agenda-less-ly with Jane meant that we met in a state of mutual, gentle discovery. It was like watching a flower blossom… and how personally are you involved in that process?

As Jane put it, “Those more tender/”dark”/”stuck” feelings, having been offered all the time and space they needed to feel safe and relax, let down their defences and change of their own accord.”

They (the feelings) let down their defences and changed of their own accord… And THAT is how having no agenda consistently facilitates healing, transformation, evolutions in consciousness and love.

Let It Come Alive

I have found that people who bathe themselves in the non-personal perspective at The NPA Expansive Weekend and beyond, find that it naturally comes alive in them, and with that dogma’s and agenda’s fall away. They still, of course, are available to passing intentions, outcome notions and the like, but rather than wearing them as uniform, they are passing fancy dress outfits that serve to raise a smile, warm the heart, lift a weight, disarm or arm; they come, and are used when useful and kind, and are discarded effortlessly as the truth of the moment dictates.

In the end it comes down to this, “Less ‘you-who-knows’ and more ‘Life-will-show’, invites the magic moment”

[JY-General-Bio]

 Tweetables:

“Having NO agenda IS the secret ingredient” via @JoelYoungNPA 

“Dogma leads to blindness” via @JoelYoungNPA 

“NPA invites you to express yourself in your natural way” via @JoelYoungNPA 

“The problem with agendas is that they apply pressure towards the intended outcome or route” via @JoelYoungNPA

“As YOU get out of the way, things begin to resolve all by themselves” via @JoelYoungNPA

“We met in a state of mutual, gentle discovery. It was like watching a flower blossom…” via @JoelYoungNPA

“Having no agenda consistently facilitates healing, transformation, evolutions in consciousness and love” via @JoelYoungNPA

“Less ‘you-who-knows’ and more ‘Life-will-show’, invites the magic moment” via @JoelYoungNPA

Want Wealth? Get Connected To What Truly Matters

Want Wealth? Get Connected To What Truly MattersIf you want to be and feel wealthy, start getting really honest with yourself about what truly matters.

Matter

Matter. It’s a word that speaks to the formation of the Universe. Quantum forces pulling energy waves into states of tension that give rise to apparent solidity. Energy in tension. I’m sure the phonic simile isn’t lost on you…

This is how your personal reality comes into being and what truly matters becomes more apparent in your field of experience. If you want to know what truly matters, look around your life and notice what there’s already an abundance of…

This is not about positive and negative – discovering what truly matters requires a neutrality of mind, an ability to simply notice.

This sober inquiry will help you land where you are and clear the hallucinogenic fog of positive or negative biased thinking. It has the potential to drop you into truly aligned clarity with an awareness of the intrinsic abundance of your existence.

Connected

The point of this sober alignment, is it gets you CONNECTED to what MATTERS – positive or negative as it may seem right now. It’s the difference between having your fingers on the stuff of life and the ability to move it, as distinct from just running your fingers through empty space. Basically, when you’re connected to what matters, you begin to have a much greater impact when intentions arise.

So, does your story of wealth match the reality of your wealth?

If your story of wealth is that it’s all about large amounts of money, and you have very little, then the fact is that money doesn’t truly matter to you. Once you notice what there IS a wealth of, and therefore what matters to you, you’ll automatically begin to feel the power and flow of your innately creative and abundant self – even if it’s subtle, and even if what matters seems a bit rubbish at first.

Materialise

NPA offers a very simple way to notice those points of connection and in NPA we call them ‘Cookie Cutters’. I often say that I have developed highly sensitive Cookie Cutter ears. In other words I’ve got extremely good at noticing where people are connected to what matters to them. So each process begins with being connected to what truly matters. It’s one of the reasons an NPA session with me and The NPA Process can be so impactful, even if there’s just a few processes in the time we have together.

If you want to manifest the stuff you say you want – if you want to ‘materialise‘ it – then at some point you’ll need to connect to (and start moving in) the stream of matter as it relates to you now.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and please like & share with your friends ♥

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Joel Young on Soul To Profit Radio with Jaden Sterling

Joel Young on Soul To Profit Radio with Jaden SterlingI was delighted to be invited onto Jaden Sterling’s much loved ‘Soul to Profit’ radio show back in October 2013, and hope you enjoy it here!

Simply use the embedded player below to listen to the show ♥

 

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Great Questions To Ask Yourself When The Turkey Burns

Of course, as a positive thinker, I’m aware that you’re going to be cosmically ordering the perfect Christmas – more than likely online.

You know the perfect Christmas I’m talking about right..?  The one that goes according to your plans…?

Well, just in case the cosmos has an ‘Amazon on a bad day’ moment; the stuffing hits the proverbial fan and – in spite of your many years of meditation -  you slip out of ‘enlightened mode’ for a split second…

I thought I’d offer you some questions you can ask yourself to help you set the baubles straight on your aura… 😉

TOP TIP: While these questions are focused on resolving potential Turkey drama, they can also be powerful allies in all manor of Christmas Crises…

Question 1: What would Jesus do?

This would be my first response – it is Christmas after all! I actually don’t think there’s ever a time where channelling a bit of The Divine Christ Consciousness won’t perk you up.

Of course if you’ve “so done the Judeo Christian thing” then feel free to channel your latest fave Divine Being – I’m sure they’ll have a wise word or two on your blackened fowl.

Question 2: What was the intended consequence of  serving perfect turkey and how else might I still experience that?

If you’re the practical or creative sort, this is the question for you!

I’m a great believer in the adage that an intention doesn’t put all it’s eggs in one basket. There’s going to be another way to make ’em smile with merry cheer – if that was your intention.

Like an eager understudy the alternative means to your end is right there in the wings; waiting for the signal that it’s going to have it’s moment.  It’s as keen to be seen as you are to see it and when you completely let go of your idea of how it should be, the understudy will make it’s entrance on the fleet foot of inspiration.

Go Eckhart Tolle On It's AssQuestion 3: What if this is what perfection looks like?

For all you hard core awakened Souls: sometimes you just gotta go Eckhart Tolle, on it’s ass!

The eternal bliss of embracing ‘The Power of Now’ will surely help you see the innate perfection of the moment…

Here’s your quick guide:

Don your best tank top, take a few minutes in silence, empty your mind and breeeaaathe… Look your ‘Pain Body’ in the eye and give it your best Beavis & Butthead chuckle. Let that joker know that you see through the its game and that IT is the only thing that won’t end up being fed this Christmas.

Bliss, peace and enlightenment is assured… namaste

Question 4: How would Billy Connolly tell this story?

OK, so let’s not get too fixated on Billy. If you haven’t heard of him, google him (he’s a British comedian) and consider it a pre-emptive self-preservation manoeuvre. And, if Billy’s not your scene…? C’mon, really? Well you can use your favourite comedian…

As Al Murray, The Pub Landlord (another Brit comedian) says, “The point is this…” – Looking at the funny side can be the best balm when you’ve burnt your bird.

Get Set For A Christmas without Taking Things Personally…

NPA Basic Training - Start Here“This video programme gives you the core training for The NPA Process so you can start taking yourself from triggered states and stress to centred-ness and peace in as little as 45 seconds…”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Question 5: Is it time I went vegetarian?

Sometimes when shit happens, it’s a sign.

OK, so it might not be the veggie thing, but whatever’s come unplanned may be giving you a signal? Perhaps there’s something better than what you expected on it’s way right now? You just have to have the eyes to see it, and an open heart to let it in (everybody say ‘Awww’)

Not the quickest of fixes this one, but good for the Soul.

Question 6: What am I experiencing that I would like to allow to pass?

Did you see what I did there?

Yes, that’s Q1 from The NPA Process – and if you’ve done any NPA then this question will put you into unfettered express mode – or as I like to call it – a spew.

A spew without judgement or holding back, by itself, can be a great relief and instantly avoid PTPS (positive thinking pressure syndrome)! PLUS you get to find a cookie cutter, NPA it, stop taking it personally and (with a smile) stumble forward gracefully in whatever wholesome way works best for you!

Now, if you don’t know your spew from your cookie cutter or what the NPA I’m talking about…

a) You lucky thing, you – you’ve just happened across the simplest way I know to stop taking things personally! The NPA Process has been described as a ’45 Second Miracle’ which can help you let go of the ‘yucky stuff’ and let in the ‘yummy stuff’ of life. It’s transforming lives in over 18 countries as people realise that using this practice sets them free from the fear and effect of other peoples opinions, negative criticism and projections. It’s helping people totally shift their sense of self at the highest level and in the everyday world of 21st century human experience – bringing lightness, laughter and ease to both the mundane and major challenges of life.

b) With a little basic training you can get up and running with the practice fast, and start feeling the release and peace around your burning issues (that so many people report) in short order. There’s definitely an ‘art’ to getting the most from it and accessing the deepest transformations it brings over time… so…

c) You better buy yourself THIS for Christmas… And remember: NPA (and what it gives you) is for life, not just for Christmas! 😉

In any case, DO have a lovely Christmas – whatever happens!

 

 

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