580 thoughts on “My Relationship with Work: Choosing to be All of Me”

1. When we live knowing who we are, we are inspired in all of life. When we operate in a reduced down state, nothing will ever make us feel great.

   1. Joseph Barker I agree with you when we live in a reduced state the energy that controls us will always have us feeling less. It wants to drag us down, so it has control over us. What I now understand is that you cannot fight this energy but surrender to knowing that we are much more than we can ever imagine, if we let go.

2. ” I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.” It shows that everything starts with how we are with ourselves. We can use these outside relationships to look back on how we are with ourself and change it.

   1. What is our relationship like with ourself? ‘the choice to be loving with myself, allowing myself to be me and in connection with my body, which makes all the difference.’

3. When we commit equally to all we do we find true purpose.

4. It is great when we are able to finally see this ‘I realise that I am responsible for everything which is happening in my life!’ then we can appreciate all the amazing things that are happening and also take responsibility and change anything that is not great, especially in relationships.

   1. It is vital to bring back self responsibility, and to look at our part in everything.

5. We want to cheat creation but we try so hard at getting a better deal out of it, asking it to reciprocate and reward us, then the question arises – who are we working for, ultimately?

6. Where I live, we have a system that does not support nor treat workers with due respect, and at the same time, we are witnessing the decline in the level of commitment in work places and the quality of services on offer is suffering big time. I wonder which came first. And while we are at it, there are people who end up working ridiculously long and hard hours until they literally drop dead. The current form of education and parenting does not prepare us for life. We are manufacturing generations of robots that would simply follow the order with no question, just willingly getting played by the drama of creation high and low, just to keep fueling this crazy circus to keep its loop going.

   1. Fumiyo you have summed up our lives very well, we have become robots and the highlight of our day is the dramas that play out. It’s incredible to imagine that we are Gods playing un Gods, it just doesn’t make any sense to me why we would do this, yet we do. It’s the worst addiction in the world.

7. Our relationship with work is a very interesting topic. For many, work is simply about security, it pays for our living, and some become very driven to be recognized and rewarded, and some feel resentful and hold themselves back from work. There’s hardly any joy in either camp. It’s no surprising how we have got a very warped idea about purpose in life and overall lack of commitment when we grow up thinking housework is a chore someone else should take care of and not our own responsibility, and develop an attitude that says work means doing something that we don’t like doing. And when we hold ourselves back from being engaged in life, we are eating ourselves up from inside. It is a dis-ease.

8. A true feeling of fullness does not come from us but from God flowing through us.

9. When we choose to live all of who we are then we actually employ the Heavens. When we are truly connected to ourselves then we become funnels for God, God can and does literally pour through us. But when we are not choosing to be all of who we truly are then the pearly gates are closed, access barred.

10. I always love to read this, thank you Janina, it’s very relevant for the whole world what you have shared. Work, study, and even work at home like chores, can be seen as that thing we have to get done so we can get it out of the way and go back to being ourselves. What you are sharing is that it’s not what’s going on in life (being at work or at home) that determines how we feel, but how we treat ourselves. “And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing.”.

    1. How we treat ourselves, and how we do what we do, are always important, ‘I am learning “to be me” also when I do things – not to go into function mode and to switch off my feelings, believing that’s the only way to do things.’

11. When we start loving ourselves more everything changes, including how we view work.

    1. Building a foundation of love for ourselves does change everything.

12. Working is such a great way to reflect the love we can all be, and as reflection is our greatest form of communication, then just being with people is so simple. It takes away any pressure or judgement, as all we have to do is simply be ourselves in connection to our essence.

    1. Even though work life and home life are different on the surface we can make it about one life, about living the same loving and soulful quality across all of life.

       1. Absolutely Melinda, this would be a magical way of existing that would continually be evolving for all those who choose to live a soulfully active life, and thus all our movement would be a reflection of our soul.

       2. Thanks for the reminder that it is about living one life, living in a loving and soulful quality across all of life.

13. No task is tedious, it is the way we are while doing the task, the way we move and the way we hold ourselves. If we are loving and tender, so will the task feel loving and tender, if we’re harsh and angry so will the task feel harsh and jagged.

    1. It is how we are as we do things, the way we move, being present, loving and tender, all make a big difference, ‘ I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing.’

14. The days when I come back from work and say I really enjoyed myself today are the days when I have been myself and felt the love that I am and shared that with everyone.

    1. We are here to be love, as we are love, ‘ I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.’

15. “My Relationship with Work: Choosing to be All of Me” – to result in truly loving our job or what we do for a living and where there is no hint of an imposter.

16. The entire experience, attitude and sentiment about our work or the jobs we do are based on how we are feeling in the body that comes from the way we are living our life and the quality of that particular livingness. So we could say there is nothing the matter with the job itself, only with ourselves and the way we live that matters and is the matter that we need to deal with first.

17. A lovely realisation that being joyful or not has nothing to do with work but how we are with ourselves. If we feel joyful we will be playful and joyful at work too, likewise if we are not feeling the joy, work becomes tedious and our days at work feel really long.

18. Choosing to be all of who we are at work is setting a standard that the way we work matters.

19. The quality in which we live and how we feel about ourselves is reflected all around us, especially at work because the more we are in our natural flow the easier work is.

20. Could you imagine workplaces around the world if more people had this realisation – “And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing.” It would shine pretty brightly and productivity would be through the roof.

    1. If we only knew just how much we were controlled by the thoughts we have which are not our thoughts at all, but are pouring through us by an unseen energy that is unseen because we have dropped our awareness to it. This unseen energy dictates to us how we are to be. If we really sat with this and unpicked the plot we would all realise just how much we are being played.

21. Our work life is just as important as our home life and we need to commit with equal integrity to both – maybe that is the vital ingredient we are not appreciating enough in the work life balance equation.

    1. So true Suse, work, family and relationships can be on an equal footing, so the foundation of each is connected as we move from one to the other.

22. I love how you realised that it’s about the connection that you nurture and commit to whilst at work (and in all areas of life) that makes the difference and not blaming work for how you feel.

23. If we are not truly happy with our life and conform, if we don’t care ourselves, if we blame others because things get wrong…how do we can work in a responsible way? what are we going to bring at work, at home, at school…? Maybe resentment, sadness, unwillingness…but surely not the best of us that is love.

24. Yesterday I realized that I love working because I love life and being me, it feels gorgeous, very tender and joyful. Embracing myself in every task makes my days very enjoyable and rich. Definitiely we are here to stay present in the world, bringing our all in everything we do.

25. Not just work but school or household chores too—we may check out and not be there when we are doing it then afterwards we feel we have wasted time on it and wanted more me time, but that does not help. Only bringing our presence to each moment would make a difference in how we feel, the choice is in commitment.

26. Commitment to life in full is truly amazing and joyful it is saying that every little bit of ourselves is so precious and worthy and I want to give it all my full attention.

    1. ‘every little bit of ourselves is so precious and worthy’ Very true Adele, and this is not defined by what we do, it is unconditional and forever.

27. When we commit to life in full, there is no part of the equation that can be dull for how can it be when it is our all in constant communication with the All it is a part of?

28. Once we begin to love ourselves, it is incredible as to what can happen.

29. We are being played if we think that work is something we ‘have to do’ rather than it being what it can be in truth and that is – an extension of who we are, applied in practice.

30. Thank you, Janina, a pot of gold for me as I am looking for a job at the moment – I feel the anticipation and the joy of being at work.

31. What becomes very clear when reading this is that it is not so much the relationship with work you worked on but the relationship with yourself. This shows that we can all have the power to bring change to our workplace and are not dependant on where we work and what we do.

32. ‘I love work because I have begun to love me’ … that changes everything in how we see things and the fact that really, it’s about how we are with us in each and every moment and each and every thing, connected to us, feeling how we are and being honest with it, without perfection and simply allowing ourselves to be us first in all we do. The secret to joy is living us.

33. Work can teach us so much about ourselves and how humanity feels about work. Things play out at work just as they do at home – which gives us plenty of opportunities to grow.

34. Well this statement – “And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself” – turns everything on its head. This is defintely not considered the norm in terms of how we think about our work. You are leading the way, keep shining in full and reflecting to others that there is another way to be in work.

35. When we commit to work, or whatever it is we’re doing, in full, we actually feel more energised instead of drained. The drained feeling comes from that lagging procrastination, which makes us feel tired. Amazing to experiment with because what we’re capable of is so much more than we can imagine.

    1. With respect to commitment to work, it is interesting to see what positions we choose to work in. Do we choose a position we can do easily, become old with and retire in, or do we chose positions that ask all of us, as well as to move on when we have reached the limits of the job?

36. Bringing our fullness to work we can only bring this fullness to all of Life and suddenly everything feels much more full. And we realize work is never separate from life, it’s all one thing.

37. We often go to work and bring all of our worries with us, the arguments at home, the financial insecurities and all the rest of it. As a society, we have forgotten the purpose of our work and that it is to serve the rest of our fellow citizens. Whether we are working as a receptionist, shop owner, CEO or cleaner – in our work place we are of service to the business and all people involved.

38. I’ve found that bringing an honest and committed commitment to work can change so much in how we feel about work.

39. Work is such a huge part of our lives. I spend more time with my work colleagues than my family! So it’s important to commit to work to ensure it is enjoyed. Without committing, it is hard to enjoy anything.

40. Working is such a huge part of our lives as it represents what we ‘give back’ and contribute to our communities and beyond. I can relate to feeling more whole, more alive and more purpose since working.

41. I love my job and it is great for me to see that I have never seen work as a duty and always enjoyed connecting with the people wherever I have worked but I can feel I can bring a much deeper quality and connection to what I do.

42. “…and even if people are behaving in a non-loving way I can accept it and to let them be and not react…” This is a golden nugget. How often do we want people to behave in a certain way and if they don’t we react, judge, and become emotional. This does nothing for anyone and most certainly doesn’t lead to feeling joyful.

    1. Yes! I can certainly relate to this one … having an investment or wanting others to be a certain way and if they are not like that, to either react or judge. I am learning more and more the key is to look and work on my own livingness and instead how I want to be.

43. I used to be not very committed to work, and life. NOW, work is my life I Love it. Everything I commit to do outside of work is to prepare myself to be all that I can be at work. I live to work, and love it so much that I do not have a break, most days I keep working. What is important while I work is to confirm the flow, the ease and joy in my relationships, how much I accomplish, my focus and how much fun I am and have. To consistently remain vital at work I appreciate the depth I offer in service to not only resolve their IT event but to inspire them to also feel joy while at work.

44. When we love our self we love everyone and everything as we realise that we are love and we stop desperately looking for someone else to love us as we are complete already.

    1. Yes and when we deeply love ourselves we also will not accept any form of abuse in our life.

45. Beautiful to read this again, this line stood out for me “it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing.” How true, it really highlights how our behaviours and daily choices either nurture or suppress our essence, and ability to shine and be all of ourselves.

46. There is no difference between work and life it is all the same day we either bring all of ourselves or not to whatever we do and wherever we go.

47. It would be a great thing if we were to check in with ourselves every few months or so to look at our relationship with work. Very rarely do we take a step back and appreciate what needs to be appreciated and also to address things that might be getting in the way of bringing our all to work.

48. That work takes away precious time from us is just a powerful image that is not true and that governs most of the people that work. The implications of this image is vast in terms of our movements in and out of work.

49. ‘ it is possible to be joyfully working – if I allow myself to be joyfully me.’ I love this. It’s true we really don’t have to let the misery of others get us down or even dull us one little bit, it is possible to stay true to ourselves and love them from that place however they want to behave.

50. Gorgeous blog Janina, I could feel your joy as I read it. Makes perfect sense that when we are fully present and with our self we can enjoy whatever we are doing. I know this works for me.

51. I remember at my first job we had really cheap coffee that tasted awful. I asked why the employees didn’t buy a better quality one and the answer from a colleague was that there was no way he would give the company any more than he absolutely had to.

52. ‘Now I know that if things don’t work – I am responsible for it’, so true. I have something in my life that is not working and yes I am responsible for creating it, it has taken a while but I finally get this – (because I was going into reaction with it). I am very clear now that I am not taking this old pattern into my future, and at the same time, re-imprinting it. Awareness is the name of the game!

53. “My Relationship with Work: Choosing to be All of Me” – choosing to be all of us really is what the real job at work is irrespective of the profession we’re in. When we are this [realness] first, what we then do springs vitality and enjoyment. The “furthering of the job.. even career” – is to hold on to this and to inspire [others] in a workplace that works the opposite.

    1. Yes, it is such a simple concept – be all of you at work (and everywhere) and life is so much more joyful.

54. ‘And that I actually love work, because I have begun to love me’. Everything changes when we bring love into the equation.

55. Love to read this blog today, and how honest you are in your sharing, and how easy it is to blame others, to then turn that around to; I am responsible for everything that happens in my life – is truly when transformation can happen.

56. ‘ I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.’

    This is so confirming to read as reflected on my day earlier and appreciated the possibility that being me was more than enough. When I drop my defences my love of people is there, everyone can relax and be open. I’m in a new job and don’t know all the technical details. There is a lot to learn. Prior to a meeting with managers, other professionals and a foster family I was a little nervous – I read what I could but I haven’t had time to know all the details of what the young person is entitled to. But I said to myself I couldn’t be expected to know it all and had accepted this and walked in appreciating that this was about being open and honest and sincere. Three years ago I would have been so stressed for not knowing it all and being the best! What was founded was a relationship I feel the family can call on and trust. The finer, technical details I will research diligently and provide but what’s lovely is confirming the healing in loving me because love is for and felt by everyone equally.

57. When we do what we do with love, we will love doing it.

58. The only thing that reduces our enjoyment of work is when we hold back all of who we are because when we are fully ourselves it does not matter what job we do.

59. It is so interesting and sad that we do not bring all of us to work, life, and our relationships. Often assuming roles and masks, presenting one aspect of ourselves to different situations. In reality we not only cheat others but ourselves as well.

    1. And if we are not bringing our all to work and life, are we really living to our fullest potential?

60. ‘I realise that I am responsible for everything which is happening in my life!’ How often do we try to play the blame game or’ justification’ – but it gets us nowhere, it is only a short relief.

61. I remember feeling so empowered and liberated when I stopped blaming the job for the way I was feeling about life. We don’t realise how much condition we cast upon ourselves not to feel and appreciate the grandness of who we truly are.

62. It is such a different approach to work and life to commit from your innermost versus performing a duty or responsibility by ticking a box in life.

63. So many of us see work as a ‘must do’ because we need money to live, pay the mortgage etc, but Janina makes the point very clearly that the more we love ourselves the more love and fun we find at work.

64. Its actually pretty challenging to realise that we are responsible for everything in our life. It can be a hard place to sit at times. The discomfort is ok though and its important not to react to it, because in not reacting we see the more of what is available to us. In reaction we tend to blame outside of ourselves. Its also not about us punishing ourselves either, for that is still us in reaction. This is where being super delicate with ourselves is key.

65. Our relationship with work is so huge, we are at work most of our lives after all. So imagine that most of us dislike or even loathe it and hold our breath from the time we walk in to the time we clock out at the end of the day. ‘I felt I just played a role in a movie I didn’t really want to be in’ so not just that you were performing, but also that you didn’t even want to be in that film. This creates so much tension in our bodies and we spend all our energy doing things we essentially loathe. The key is to be ourselves everywhere we are.

66. I love how making changes in your food choices and how you eat has made you feel that you can deal with things in life. We put a lot of energy into making life difficult and complicated, especially when there is a simplicity to our lives which is already there but which we bury under the ‘can’t deal with’ pile. The seemingly smallest of changes that support us to be ourselves more and more can inspire very big changes.

67. I used to blame so much, it is very powerful to stop blaming and instead take our responsibility for our part in all of this….

68. Thank you Janina for exposing the myth that work takes away time from us and us being with our selves. I too suffered the same beliefs, which thankfully have melted away during my studies with Universal Medicine and now I joyfully commit to work with all of me and love every minute of it. In fact I can now say hand on heart, it is an innate right and hence feel re-united not only with my gorgeous essence, but with my purpose in life too.

69. I find it interesting how clear and simple it can be to have fun and to enjoy ourselves at work. Even if the work itself is serious and demanding, we can still be ourselves, light and joyful. And I would call this a basic life skill that is yet to be shared and taught in school, but I am sure it would have such an incredible impact on our societies as a whole if this was a part of our education and schooling from young.

70. Lovely Janina – there is nothing so gorgeous as simply being all that we are.

71. Holding back who we are, the gorgeous sweetness of each step will always leave us feeling less. It’s our job in life to live our light everywhere, at the office, at home or the supermarket – it’s all the same. It’s our job to do the work and play 🙂 thank you Janina.

72. Like flavour and sweetness in our food we have a way of looking to work to spice up life. And when it doesn’t we either resign ourselves to a life of disappointment or try to find a greener patch. What you show us Janina so clearly is the joy we feel in life flows not from deeds or tasks or roles, but from us. The more we say yes to what is true the more we open up in what we do, and so vitality and good feeling come. What is the best job in the world? Anyone when you Love you.

73. “And, that I actually love work, because I have begun to love me”.. so true Janina, because we are the commander of everything in our life, and so if the quality of us as a commander or captain is either off or on, then so is work/career/our job too. Quality is inextricably linked to our livingness; it is our livingness.

74. Many of us blame or have blamed work at some point for stressing us out, but what you’ve presented here is that it is always a choice. There are always going to be deadlines to meet, things that we feel uncomfortable doing, but blaming or avoiding just doesn’t work.. eventually it catches up with us, and it feels harder to do than if we’d originally just surrendered to what is there to be done in front of us. And when we make life and work about people and connections, instead of purely about the task, it brings in a different quality that makes life and work more of a joy, and not the slog we can make it into.

75. Deepening within ourselves and allowing whatever needs to adjust to happen, is the key to a truly successful work life (and life in general).

76. Im pretty much sure a lot of people feel this way ‘Really, I believed that only when I was not at work I could be me, with me, and doing what I really wanted to do’ I know at one time in my life I felt this. Work felt so unenjoyable, like something I just had to get on and do. Amazing you have come to this ‘Now I know that if things don’t work – I am responsible for it.’ Super cool and great also to hear how you have turned so much around in your life to really enjoying the work that you do and making this as much as part of your life as everything else (i.e. not monotonous and something you just have to get on and do). When we want to we can find the joy in anything including our work 💕

77. Bringing simplicity to work and all aspects of life allows for our natural joy to arise as we align to the flow in life.

78. I love working and it is a major part of my life but this hasn’t always been the case. I studied for a long time partly to avoid getting into the workforce full-time, but this was silly as I only had to catch up in my commitment to work once I started full-time. Today work is amazing and I truly appreciate the support I offer others each day.

79. Yes Janina, I love to work too, since I have truly let myself feel how much I actually love people, there is a simplicity in work in general and how I work and be myself around others is a joy!

80. “And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing.” What a beaut realisation to have and an inspiring one for all of us to read.

81. Being responsible is being joyfull! That turns responsibility as most know it on its head!

82. My idea of ‘being all of me’ has been constantly changing. First of all, I thought it was about not hiding so much, telling people the truth about what I liked, not just trying to ‘fit in with the crowd’. Then a new idea came, of being at ease and relaxed in my own skin – there was nothing I needed to be stressed about it seemed. Then it came to me, that maybe it meant ‘being all of me’ literally and very physically – after all, was I walking and talking, living and moving with all of my cells? I’ve been running with this definition until today when I had a new realisation. Being ‘me’ is living in the knowing that I am a multi-dimensional being, a son of God who has lived on this earth many, many times, and who is one with everyone else? This is me, a grand human being. Thanks for the inspiration to walk with this light Janina.

83. ‘Since making changes within myself, I am more willing to work.’ There is a prevalent attitude that work somehow sucks. Are we going to subscribe to this demeaning way of looking at life or are we going to allow enjoyment to enter even the workplace? I have found that by taking more care of myself I am enjoying me more and everything I do so there is less delineation between work and play and the areas in my jobs that I used to shrink from I am beginning to embrace.

84. Where I am working most of the staff I feel do not like their job because I hear them complain about each other, the management and the clients. I love my job and have a purpose to going each day, but I feel most of the staff do not feel the same. Also, because of me holding the purpose I can observe all that is going on and not get involved or affected by it. I see the merry-go round they are choosing. Having purpose is key to life and makes your job loads of fun.

85. I think you nailed it with this line: “that I actually love work, because I have begun to love me”. If you love being who you are it doesn’t matter what you’re doing or where you’re doing it, it changes your whole approach to life because everything is enormously fun and feels amazing.

86. It’s amazing to see the workplace as full of opportunity and learning, rather than burdens and tasks which inevitably it becomes about. I have found it a challenge at first but by connecting to a greater sense of purpose in the job I do, there is a more open attitude towards having fun at work and not waiting for the clock to stike home time.

87. Janina what you described feels very similar to how I viewed work so at the end of the day I was left exhausted and just hating my job.

    Since attending Universal Medicine workshops my whole perspective on work environment has changed, I love going to work no matter how busy the ward is as long as I know who I am when I take myself to work. It has a ripple affect to others around me.

    At the end of the day it all comes down to responsibility and what part we are willing to play in everything we do.

    Great reflection.

88. This is the gem that makes all the difference with the relationship we have with work… “to be loving with myself, allowing myself to be me and in connection with my body, which makes all the difference…” That it is the relationship we have with ourselves first and foremost is what we take to work, to our colleagues, to customers.

89. What a profound and accurate sharing of how to be you.. And not allow the other moods to take over. Being you , preciously so without the need to change or be anything new. But to understand that we have developed ways by day by day choices to take steps away from who we are.. And that it is now taking those steps back too and being you. For there is no greater fullfillment.

90. A really delightful read. ‘ I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing. I realize more and more what depths of beauty I am – we all are – and just need to let it out.’ A great reminder for me today, thank you Janine.

    1. Yes and great at exposing how we tend to blame other things as the reason we cannot be all that we are .. like our job or our family etc when in truth it is us and only us that gets in the way of us being all that we truly are.

91. When we choose love in the way we are with ourselves then there is love in all we do.

    1. correct Mary love in a universal medicine that we should all invest in.

92. This is awesome Janina. It’s very powerful when we develop our relationship with our own quality and learn to move with it, as it doesn’t matter then whether we are at work or anywhere we bring that purpose and commitment to it and the result is always amazing!

93. It is so interesting how we can have these reoccurring patterns in our life that we sort of created and then start to repeat as a way of dealing with the intensity of life. You need to be quite honest to see it this way and not as something that happens to us.It is often that if we are not fully committed to work there can be a tendency to create issues at work in what ever way that gets us to not have to work. Then finding that being without work does not solves the discontentment in life and that it is indeed to do with the relationship we have with ourselves, if we don’t enjoy being with ourselves than it is more than logical that we don’t enjoy us in our job. It is through loving care for ourselves that we can built this joy with ourselves back into our lives.

94. The thing I was taught about work was that it has to be a job that is recognised as a ‘good’ job or a ‘real’ job like a carpenter, teacher, engineer etc… and while we need these important and skilful things, there are so many things which are also of service and don’t come under the category of work. My ideals about work have begun to turn in their head once I realised the value of true service to another and not simply working to make ends meet, which is important to and necessary.

95. This is such an important topic because so many people worldwide don’t enjoy going to work, which affects productivity and increases absenteeism. So many people believe as you did that work time is not great so more “me time” is needed, but the “me time” is simply managing the lack of connection we have to ourselves. It can help us feel better within the lack of connection we have to ourselves but it’s still not it. Being connected to ourselves across all aspects of life, work or home life etc, is what brings the true joy and supports a sense of purpose. The potential for what Universal Medicine can offer employers and employees worldwide is massive.

96. So much changes when we begin to build a loving relationship with ourselves – what a powerful movement to make and reflect to others the joy and simplicity this brings.

97. ‘…I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.’This is gorgeous!
    I too have blamed the business of being too busy to be connected with me. I am slowly undoing this belief by being me at work – so letting go of the stress, of the fear of getting it all wrong, of approval etc. I’m feeling the space that’s always there, supporting us. I’m allowing myself to be supported and letting go of doing it all myself – there’s an energetic flow to the universe that knows exactly what to do and perhaps I can step aside and just let it do what it does without me interfering! This is my little experiment at present. Stepping out of the way and seeing the magic unfold.

98. It is a true blessing to discover what is behind something that we consider part of how we are but that in truth not really is. Just a manifestation of choices we have made or not.

99. Being ourselves is a movement towards the divine interconnectivity of the all and shows the level of responsibility we are prepared to choose and continue to move with life or against its natural flow.

100. It is our responsibility to be all of ourselves with every thing we do, as it is the quality that we live and the choices we make that are reflected back in every single way.

101. When we bring us to whatever we do, all our doing can be joyful because we are just being who we are. I enjoyed reading this blog today Emily, thank you, I am off to work today realising that I hold back at times trying to fit in to the energy of the place instead of holding myself and shinning.

102. Awesome blog. Yes it is amazing how creative we can be in not being our true selves!!! I feel many people do what you described, go to work and then when leaving work want ‘me’ time, making the two separate. Through Universal Medicine I have come to realise nothing is separate and we bring us to all that we do .. this is very much still work in progress.

103. I find when we go into playing a role or we take on our jobs as who we are, we begin to identify with that position. It disconnects us from our true role which is to solely explore, play and nurture the soul within. When we do this we shut down the natural joy and flow of our essence and stifle that joy which sets our bodies into stagnation, unease and illness. Allowing ourselves to simply connect and be with our bodies that connection expands our natural flow and we see the world in a completely new way too. No job or role is greater than the connection to who we are, it is only our choice to move in this pattern that disconnects us from this. We can always make another choice to simply move in a new movement.

104. It is so simple when we realise that it’s not something outside of us – not our work, or relationships – that dictate how we feel, but how we respond or react to the thing outside of us. When we’re caught up in auto-pilot reactions it can feel like we don’t have a choice because the reactions happen so quickly, but the more we bring awareness to these reactions, the more we start to see them and understand that we always have a choice in how we want to respond.

105. Taking responsibility for the way we live and how we care for ourselves has a huge effect on our quality of productivity at work, as we approach it not as a means to survive and get by but as a way to express our true qualities for the good of all.

106. On the face of it, you could say this is just a simple blog about work. But what you offer Janina is simply huge. For how often do we sit back and point the finger at other people and situations, yet the truth of life really is every experience we attract is something we have called for. So when will we stop looking for a better day, and cease looking to shift the blame and realise everything comes back to us at the end of the day? It’s our true job after all to choose Love and truth.

107. I wonder what comes first – us deciding we don’t like our job; or not committing to it. I know from my experience, when I don’t commit to a job/project/study etc. it feels like I am wasting my time and myself, and it is such a horrible feeling – and if I am unwilling to take responsibility, I can just try blaming it all on the job/boss/colleague etc. but I cannot escape from the feeling that I am lying to myself.

108. The belief that work is not fun is massive but the thing we often forget in this consideration is that we are the ones we are most with at work so it is first about our relationship with ourselves in life we have to look at before pointing the finger at someone or something else… What if we all would find working a joy and would give our all? It would be a totally different situation.

109. Beautifull realisation: ‘And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining’. How many of us blame or have blamed our place of work as holding us back when actually it is the complete opposite in that it is us that hold ourselves back. I have experienced this. Years ago I was fed up where I was working and wanted to leave my job and spent every day looking at other jobs available … nothing changed. The only time it changed was when I changed, my attitude changed and I instead made a full commitment to be where I was working. As soon as I made this commitment my relationships at work changed, my relationship with myself changed, in fact, everything changed!!!!

110. Thank you Janina, I enjoyed reading your story and how you discovered your beliefs around work which prevented you committing to it and enjoying yourself at work. There is a really pervasive belief that work is horrible and therefore we live for the weekend where we can have “me time” which is leisure activities or partying – basically doing our own thing. We divide up life into good and bad sections and make it about the outer activity, not the innermost connection to ourselves which can be consistently lived through the whole of life. A great line: “And yes, it is possible to be joyfully working – if I allow myself to be joyfully me.”

111. “Even if things were running fine I found other things to complicate the situation…(really creative).” I call this ‘Drama’. We need to constantly check our addiction to it in our lives, when we think things are all too mundane.

112. What an inspirational blog, I can relate to parts where I want to get home so I can do what I want to be doing with my time rather than being fully engaged with where I am, and bringing all of me to the interaction, it is like a constant drain on me. Being joyful is not common and it is very much needed to be reflected to the world that being ourselves can bring the most enormous joy to the most simplest of tasks and most complex!

113. ‘I realise that I am responsible for everything which is happening in my life’ – wow, this feels like a quote of the day that will totally change our lives when we accept the truth of it and the empowerment and beautiful responsibility that it is.

114. “Since making changes within myself, I am more willing to work. And the more work I get offered, I don’t even have to look for it.” – Janina this is gorgeous and it shows the shift you made within yourself that allowed for things to then flow more rather than be stagnant and stuck. When things are not working for us, it is so important for us to be willing to be honest and look at what part we have played in it all.

115. It is funny how we can blame our miseries and problems on a little four letter word called WORK. But in fact work is the thing that is most likely to pull us out of problems, that supports our commitment to life, that develops our consistency as well as routine and asks us to care more deeply for ourselves, and guess what, we also earn some income from it! Work can actually be very empowering if we allow it to be that way. Of course we can get into the habit of badmouthing work, and saying it is the bane of our existence and the root cause of all our problems. But the reality is that we make work what it is – and hence if we struggle with work, it is time to look at how we go about it. Why do we drag our feet this morning to go to work – has there been an incident where we did not feel we expressed as we needed to? was the work not suitable for our body? was the team in discord? There is so much we can learn about ourselves by exploring this WORK word and how we go about it! Thanks Janina for highlighting this – I know this is super valuable for me to look at on those days when I am dragging my feet – because i know it is easy to blame work, but in reality is has nothing to do with work, and everything to do with how I am.

     1. Thank you Henrietta, this is an inspiring and supportive comment. Work is definitely a place to evolve and move past comfort zones, many things can happen that seem beyond our “control” in workplaces which can be confronting and ask us to go to places we would prefer to avoid. Work can also ask a lot of our body, but do we deepen our self care to meet the demands or allow ourselves to become depleted and blame work for how awful we feel?

116. Every moment we move is sharing our expression of who we are and that is a true service and an offer of our true qualities that therein lies within us all. Bringing our quality and essence to the world is a true gift and one that brings great joy to my heart and shows that on every level we are on this earth we are working to bring the divine to the all, whether that be brushing our teeth or waiting at the train station. Each one of these movements is an opportunity to work and bring the essence of god to the fore. Thank you Janina.

117. It is a big pill to swallow when we realise we are actually responsible for everything in our lives… But how empowering this can be!

     1. Yes. Once we get over the shock horror of being responsible for our lives, what emerges is an amazing sense of inspiration and empowerment… I am finding this to be an ongoing understanding and practice.

        1. Responsibility being a chore and a trial seems to be a falsity and a lie that the world would have us readily buy into.

        2. Thank you Matilda, that is exactly how it feels- the shock and horror of knowing that I am responsible for every aspect of my life and for all my choices.. that there is no one else to blame. Our choice to fight this reality and make our lives more complicated, or surrender to it, embrace and be inspired by the fact that we own or lives and how we live contributes to the all.

     2. It all depends on how we approach it.

118. ‘Through choosing to just be myself at work, I have realised how much fun it can be! And, that I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.’ What’s more, when we begin to love ourselves and actually love being ourselves, everything in our lives comes alive, not only work.

119. In any given moment, we can choose to complicate something or simplify it, the choice is always ours.

120. Janina, what you are sharing here is so simple and very beautiful, ‘Through choosing to just be myself at work, I have realised how much fun it can be! And, that I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.’ I also now enjoy working which previously I had not, the more I love and care for myself the more confident I am in myself and so the more confident I am at work, It feels very lovely to simply be myself at work rather than think that I have to work in the same way as others and that I have to try really hard.

121. It can be so easy to fall into the idea that it is our lack of free time due to work commitments that is the root cause of our discomfort, unease, unhappiness or discontent – if only I had more time off, more free time, more time to do the things i want to do or enjoy myself – right? What I have found is that there is actually something profoundly amazing loving the work you do and working hard – and often I find time off to be the most draining part when I use it as a switch off from life time. When I am resting or not working and it’s purposeful, it’s fine – It’s the times when I am consciously shutting or switching off that I can feel as a drain. It has totally turned the whole work/life balance on its head for me and I now love each aspect far more equally.

122. ‘I realise that I am responsible for everything which is happening in my life!’ This is a huge realisation…how much do we want to play victim and blame others for our problems, rather than seeing how we have contributed to our struggles in the first place. I love your last line….”And, that I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.” This is beautiful. You have shown what needs to be done to change the ‘victim’ mentality.

123. As I read your blog Janina I realised how wrong it is that we separate our lives into work, home and play (and self time) when it is really just one life.

124. It is a joy when we are being ourselves. We can be joyful wherever we go and with whatever we do by choosing to connect to our essence.

125. We spend so much of our lives at work – so why not enjoy it just as much as other parts of life? Essentially, we are still with ourselves, everything we do is with our body, and us so why do we separate aspects as being more enjoyable then the other?

126. It doesn’t make sense to separate work from ‘me’ time, as we are all ourselves all of the time anyway, and we have the choice in how we want to be and the attitude that we bring. If we are joyful within ourselves we will be joyful in any situation including work.

127. I find it fascinating that I have viewed my work life as separate from my home life and social life and that I had to have a work life so that I could have a home and social life. Whilst this is true to a point, the thing here is that I saw it all as separate, which is very clearly is not. One definitely affects the other and if something is going on at home for example, we really can’t leave it at the door when we go to work. Everything affects everything.

128. Janina, this is so true for me too, ‘For me to feel great, it is very important to eat in a very loving way and to choose carefully what to eat – as one of my ways of not dealing with what is going on is to eat foods that make me feel dull.’ I have become so aware recently that if I overeat or eat things which I don’t usually and that don’t suit my body then I can feel very flat and not my light, caring, loving self. It has become evident how I can use food to either support and nourish me or to be destructive and stop me shining. Great article, very confirming, thank you.

129. What I have found so beautiful lately is how everyday we can bring service and love to all that we do and that is done through our movements and the quality from these movements. Every step, breath or word spoken is a celebration of who we are and that is to be cherished not only at work for what we bring but in every aspect of our lives. There is much to appreciate from our relationship with ourselves and how we in turn move in every facet of our lives. Every aspect then is about bringing service to the all, that is pretty awesome.

130. Complication, drama and issues at work feel awful to be the instigator of and the receiver. I’ve experienced both like most. Just recently I was supported to see how I went into working from day one with a ‘have to’ mentality, as there was no option at the time to study…. instead of really choosing to. Just talking about all the different jobs and what I created in each one and the dynamics was such a healing. It’s amazing how different my commitment to work is now and how much more present I am with it.

131. When we connect with ourselves and then connect with our work role we start to see work in a completely different light. Work becomes about being with people, supporting people, connecting with people. It in fact becomes all about people and this changes everything.

132. “I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.” And there it is – the absolute gold of this blog. We can keep on changing the external things in life – jobs, partners, homes, countries even, our hair, our clothes – and so the list goes on and on, but try as we might, we cannot change the simple fact that if we do not love ourselves we will never be at ease with life so we will always be looking to change something to make ourselves feel better.

133. I’ve realised just like you Janina how much fun work truly is when I choose to love me and reflect the joy to all I encounter on a working day but also that I truly love people. So work is no longer a burden and when it feels like that I am caught in time and or trying to be perfect and then the choice is there, to feel my body and what it does to my body and reconnect to what I know is true.

134. Janina, this is such a gorgeous article, I can very much relate to what you have shared, ‘Through choosing to just be myself at work, I have realised how much fun it can be! And, that I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.’ I feel the same, I now really enjoy my work most of the time, I notice that if I have overeaten then I feel tired and flat and not my joyful self and so do not enjoy work, but if I have not overeaten and have looked after myself – going to bed early and so I feel great, then work is great – very simple.

135. Being with ourselves is key… for there is an infinite joy in living our inner-most truth and knowing and this benefits everyone, in our homes, communities and in the workplace.

136. Indeed it is the beliefs about work that I have carried and the burdens I have made it that make it not a fun experience, so finifing another way to go to work is essential.

137. “But somehow I felt I just played a role in a movie I didn’t really want to be in”, I think if you interviewed people across the world, they would say the same. And it feels because we are doing just that, playing a role because we have forgotten how to be ourselves.

138. It is hard to enjoy and be purposeful at work when you have an underlying feeling that it’s not where you want to be or what you want to be doing. For many of us this is the norm, as we wish away our days, weeks and years longing for 5pm, Friday or our next holiday. This is also a big strain on the body, being at work for 7-10 hours a day and resenting it, wishing you were at home or doing something else. I am finding it doesn’t matter where I am or what I am doing, IT has to be about me being with and enjoying my body first and foremost. It is a trick we play on ourselves, that work is the problem, when really it is the way we are with ourselves.

139. If we enjoy being in our bodies and enjoy being ourselves work is amazing – work only stops being amazing when we stop enjoying who we are… It’s a simple mathematical equation.

     1. Or we can put it even simpler, work only stops being amazing when we stop being amazing 😉

140. This is showing there is another way to be in our bodies. And work can take up a lot of time, so being able to bring this into what we do means a huge change takes place. I love this sharing and how we can start to love what we do by loving who we are.

141. I am appreciating more and more how important being super present in the moment with your body is. If I am not in the present, even just for a smidgen of a moment, I am taken by the thoughts and they seem to dominate the activity I am doing. It is easier to cast judgement on myself, and easier to critisise the quality of the work I do. When I am totally there in the moment however and letting myself enjoy it, it is totally different as I can actually appreciate how the joy of being with me flows into all the work I do.

142. Thanks to Universal Medicine, I too have discovered that the way that I approach my work makes a huge difference. Work for me now is simply another great opportunity to express all the love that I am. This means that I have a responsibility to bring love to all aspects of my job, not just the parts that I feel are easy or more enjoyable. Everything matters, and nothing is more important than anything else, for example the way that I get ready for work in the morning is no less important than caring for a very ill patient. It is all one and the same.

     1. Yes I love that it is all one of the same. I love the evenness of it.

143. What a turn around! That’s amazing. So it is possible to enjoy work and not feel ripped off that you have to be there!
     Of course! It makes perfect sense, that the more love and appreciation we build for ourselves, the more we enjoy who we are in all that we do, because we also understand that we make the choice to work, so if we make choices that are supporting us, then how can we not be grateful and appreciative of that?

144. Self love comes back again and again in all parts of life, when we don’t we need the joy to come from outside of ourselves. But it can be in ever part of our life when we choose so and commit in full.

145. It is always our responsibility—every reflection in the world is telling us what our part in it is. I find that the joy that I feel, is a fullness or completeness to a moment when I take more responsibility to fulfill a simply natural part that I have ignored. This does not mean there is perfection but there is such joy in saying yes to expanding.

146. All of life activities could be seen in equal light and then the value is placed in what we bring to that – but we have felt hurt by things and hence create ‘good’ times and ‘less good’ times or ‘bad’ times to not feel an ounce of hurt, which work becomes a means of survival and time around that becomes a means to escape.

147. beautiful sharing. I really relate to what you have shared about feeling like working takes time away from us and we don’t feel like we have enough time for ourselves. At times I have managed to really enjoy work, and commit to a purpose even if it may seem small, and thank you for sharing how you did that.

148. Hello Janina and it’s great to read about how you use to see work and the reasons why you didn’t like it and now to this, “And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing.”. This brings in a responsibility to how we are which has very little with what the world is doing. Not that the world is perfect or not the way you describe it but it’s bringing it back to our part, what can we do to make a change. How can we be different or what choices can we make for ourselves that then support the world to be able to make the same change. We all know keep doing what we are doing and nothing will change well in fact things will possibly get quicker and quicker. We all need to stop and in that stop it will support things to slow down.

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150. Beautiful Janina, this is exactly what I was thinking about this morning. When we make work all about the ‘work’, we miss the real job we are here to do, to connect, to have fun, to be all of us and celebrate the truth. The truth is we are born to work every day in the responsible way you say, for enjoying life and ‘getting on with it’, earning money, relationships and building family. It’s all work and all play if we make Love our true way.

151. Building a relationship with our self, makes us aware of how much we actually love people. Work is connecting to people and letting love out and in.

152. It is great to get to a place and realise that it is always only ever about how we choose to be in a situation- this is the only thing we have control over.

153. To think, all of the issues, tensions, problems, dramas that we blame the world for are first within ourselves and how we are with ourselves. If we all delt with these issues in full, there would be far less of the problems we so quickly blame the world and ‘life’ for.

154. What would happen if we allowed ourselves to feel everything at work and know it is not about us personally.

     1. For example there can be a lot of jealousy in the workplace. But knowing this is another person’s own self fury at not making the same choices as the one they are jealous of. Would that then support us more of ourselves to be in work and not hold back, in fact turn on our light, so to speak, knowing we had a responsibility to not hold back. Knowing in fact how we are choosing to live and be is supporting another of the fact it could be a reflection of this for ourselves, in the sense that someone else making more self loving choices than you.

155. Hi Ray, for a long time I have changed jobs constantly and was not working, but at some point I had to realize that this is not the solution. But the fact is that I have to take responsibility for the way I choose to live and work and the quality I bring into everything. As you say, “In other words make the change inside and the outside will reflect this change to you.” Once I took responsibility my experience at work changed and I have started to love working, which I would have never imagined.

156. Hello Janina and you have learnt a lot about yourself and how you work. It’s interesting our perception of what is going on when things don’t feel that great. We often blame many other things before bringing it home to us and at times we never bring it home. Your relationship with work which was essentially your relationship with yourself has taken some interesting turns and it has been great to read about how you are now straightening things out. Your approach is the one that I find interesting, not changing jobs or not working but making the change yourself that then brought change to everything else. In other words make the change inside and the outside will reflect this change to you.

157. What you are sharing here is profound as it shows so clearly that it is never the outside that causes our problems and dislikes but that it has all to do with ourselves in every moment. And the more we are willing to take care of ourselves and look into what stands in the way to accept us and deeply love us the way we are, the more we will start enjoying life in every situation.

158. ‘I am learning “to be me” also when I do things – not to go into function mode and to switch off my feelings, believing that’s the only way to do things.’ I’ve noticed this in myself. I catch myself thinking right, got to do x and x and then I go hard and brace myself in doing the tasks. I’m staying in my body more when I am doing things – when once I was completely in my head. I’m noticing the ease at which things flow and even when they don’t I can choose to observe. It’s fun developing this way of being and letting go of my belief that, unless it’s super challenging and hard, it’s not worth as much. I’m starting to appreciate there is actually a grace that can grace work and life. Work does not have to be a chore for me to feel justified that what I do has merit!!

159. I love that you have begun to love you. Long may that love last and deepen into the universe.

160. We can indeed create so many dramas so as not to commit to life. I see myself creating drama around my work instead of simply getting on with it and trusting what unfolds.

161. “But I have since learnt that it is the choice to be loving with myself, allowing myself to be me and in connection with my body, which makes all the difference. I am learning “to be me” also when I do things – not to go into function mode and to switch off my feelings, believing that’s the only way to do things.” There is so much in this. We all too often wait till we get out of the public eye, behind closed doors to be ourselves. This is only half a life lived.

162. It is interesting how we place certain conditions on a job, for me it always was very important to be able to strongly identify with what I do and therefore choosing jobs that would give me recognition and the feeling that I have a purpose in life. When I was out of job last year for several months and could not find any work I realized how much I made my self-worth dependent on what I do and the recognition I get from the world and how false that foundation was.

163. “And yes, it is possible to be joyfully working – if I allow myself to be joyfully me.”
     I have spent my life thinking that this joy needs to be an elated feeling, compartmentalised, the highs that make the lows OK, yet what I have now come to know is that joy is consistency, a lived steadiness that allows for deep appreciation to flow.

164. It seems to me that there are two kinds of people – those who don’t like what they do and think that if they only could have a job they liked, then they would have fun OR those that love anything that they do and they bring the love of the work before it even begins! This is actually very exposing and shows that how much fun we have actually has very little to do with what we are doing and more to do with how we are with what we are doing!

165. Janina, thank you for bringing up a much needed conversation. So often we can find ourselves blaming work or the outside world for our feeling ‘miserable’ or unhappy in some way, yet the reality is that it is more about our perception and our attitude that really makes the difference.
     You have said the following: “And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining” – and this is GOLD, it is spot on! It is true that there are times when the circumstances can be very challenging for us to keep shining, but really this should not actually stop us. It is our choice to bring all of us out for all to enjoy.

166. Thank you Janina, you have shared some truly magic experiences with us. I can take much from this into my life right now. I have been pondering on the fact that I am very busy most days and not sharing enough time with myself doing what I would like to do. As you remind me I am responsible for making the decisions in my life so why not? I may need to look at my daily experiences differently!

167. After waking this morning, I have a new, deeper level of awareness and reading this blog has confirmed it within me. I have held a belief that the situation I had chosen was other people’s responsibility and that really I didn’t have a say about anything because I was a ‘woman’ and that I would ‘fall in’ with whatever was decided (to a degree!) but this is not true. I realise that it is my responsibility what I choose as my work, knowing that my decision is true for everyone when it comes from my soul.

168. “And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing.” – How empowering is this!

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170. ‘When I didn’t work, or only worked a little, I wasn’t joyful to be with me – I didn’t feel content within myself. I blamed work for this. But I have since learnt that it is the choice to be loving with myself, allowing myself to be me and in connection with my body, which makes all the difference.’

     Yes what a great learning Janina. It is us not fundamentally feeling the love within ourselves that makes life – whatever we are doing – joyful or not. The different situations we find ourselves in, particularly the less palatable ones, are great for exposing where we are truly at in terms of the amount of love, joy and appreciation we feel and embody for ourselves.

171. I really love how, when I stop blaming work for feeling challenged in some way and take responsibility for whatever it is that is going on, work is actually fun! The letting go of the doing and surrendering to me brings me to every moment. I allowing a trust and a honestly to develop which is lovely, though sometimes challenging if I go into judgement of myself, but then it’s an opportunity to reconnect to love again.

172. Whenever I look at why I am not enjoying work, or being a university student it always comes back to that I have some sort of expectation of myself. I am hoping for a certain result, I am not wanting to fail, make a mistake, be’ wrong’ or be criticised etc. Spending some time moving with these things shrinks us down, and doesn’t let us expand our thoughts and awareness into what we really could be living like.

173. Another amazing quote “And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing. I realize more and more what depths of beauty I am – we all are – and just need to let it out. It is actually simple.” I love what you have shared here Janina, it’s absolute truth, and is very inspiring!

174. Beautiful Janina, I have also believed work is responsible for me not being able to enjoy life. This is a great line “I have since learnt that it is the choice to be loving with myself, allowing myself to be me and in connection with my body, which makes all the difference.” Yes, instead of dividing up life and compartmentalising it, we can bring it back to the choice to be loving with ourselves, and enjoy who we are and what we have to bring in every moment.

175. What you share here Janina is wonderful as it is the unfoldment of our choices that inevitably change our lives in amazing ways. When we choose to live with responsibility in check a whole new world of learning and a new range of movements come into play. Thank you.

176. What a gorgeous blog – I can feel the joy and fullness of you as you write this Janina. This line really leapt out today – “And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing. I realize more and more what depths of beauty I am – we all are – and just need to let it out. It is actually simple.” Gosh, can you imagine if we all had those realisations???? The work place would never the the same again!

177. I don’t like not working, while I enjoy having a few days off occasionally, I do love working and going out and being with people, as challenging as that can be sometimes, I really love work and having a purpose. I notice on days where I don’t work I am yet to master holding this purpose and just allowing myself to be.

178. This makes so much sense, that depending on how we are at work will set the tone for how much we enjoy our work and how committed we are to it.

179. I can relate to always looking for my next break. Lunchtime; going home; the weekend; my annual holiday. I could not imagine that taking more care of myself would have resulted in such a huge attitude change to work, but that’s exactly what happened. From hating work and looking forward to retiring, I now love my job, and want to keep working. Your final sentence sums it up – ‘I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.’

180. Isn’t it a terrible state of affairs when we are actually pleased to have to stop working, because of the abuse we can feel that we have put ourselves through in carrying out that role. If we take responsibility for ourselves and truly for the role we would never allow that abuse to build up, and so no relief when it comes to an end.

181. ” I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.” Beautiful Janina. When we love ourselves everything we do can be joyful – what a great reflection for the world to see and be inspired by.

182. “It’s great to bring my joyful way to work and light up my workplace” what to me is already amazing as there is so much seriousness in the workplace nowadays, thus very needed.

183. Getting to a place where you recognise that it is not your work that stops you from shining but rather the way you are with yourself is a deeply empowering and profound realisation… and one that all will benefit from reading.

184. I love what you have described about your new developed sense of self and how this can be taken anywhere with you.

185. “I realise that I am responsible for everything, which is happening, in my life!” In the past this statement would have sent me running for the hills but the more I take responsibility for myself the more empowering it is to know that I am actually responsible for everything in my life.

186. Our relationship with self is key to all other relationships. It is through our solid foundation of self-love and nurturing we are able to bring all of us to the world. Our responsibility is to bring all of us and therefore to also be open to let go of any hurts that get in the way of us expressing all of us. Appreciation and understanding supports us to transform our lives.

187. ‘ And, that I actually love work, because I have begun to love me’. Says it all really, and just love the simple truth you present here Janine.

188. ‘I realise that I am responsible for everything which is happening in my life!’ This is the game changer, and is the key to transform our lives.

189. ‘ one of my ways of not dealing with what is going on is to eat foods that make me feel dull. I am learning that also the way I eat is as important as what I choose to eat’. So very true Janine, I have learned this too, and still have to be very aware of my old habit of eating fast, because I was always in a rush, rush, rush and never gave much thought to food – actually whatever was the quickest and easiest to make did it for me. The big difference today is now I cook everything from scratch without salt and without sugar!

190. Janina it’s so wonderful to read this. I used to use work in the same way that I used to use relationships – blame the job or relationship for my woes and hope that the perfect job or relationship came along so I could live contented, purposeful and full of love. But that’s all possible if I choose it whatever job I’m in or whether I’m single or not. And yes I may be impulsed to choose another path but not from a need. The work I need to put into my life is working on discarding all the debris I’ve collected that isn’t me and appreciating who I am and what I bring. Then I have the foundation of me I bring to whatever situation arises.

191. Ggreat article, I found it amazing and can relate to always trying to find something else to be the reason things don’t quite feel right; the job, the other person, the food…but really it is the choice I make.

192. I’ve just started back at work from vacation, actually coming back from the UK too from Retreat with Serge Benhayon, and I can’t tell you how many people have asked me ‘do you wish you were still on vacation?’ and ‘is it hard to be back?’. Many have the mentality that work is separate to pretty well everything else in our lives… work then you can play… work then you can go on holidays… work to get money, have security and buy all the things you desire. No wonder there are so many burnt out, depressed and stimulating substances are needed. It’s like we think we can be ourselves then once we walk through the door at work, presto ‘work self’ pops up and our true selves lies dormant until we are out the door and back in our cars! Crazy hey… and I’ve played that game most my life. The reality is though, that we are not really being ourselves when we are not at work… to even consider and be thinking that we can flick a switch and turn ourselves on and off. Your blog shows that responsibility is in our hands and that when we fully walk in that, we are also reminding others to do the same.

     1. A client gave me a beautiful feedback that she can feel how naturally I am myself at work and how much she can feel I love doing what I do. And this is true, worth appreciating and inspiring for other people to feel, that there is another way to be at work. And that is does not really matter if we are at work or at home. The same commitment and responsibility is asked of us in regards to connecting and communication with other people and to bring who we truly are and not a smaller or adjusted version of ourselves.

193. Work always offers such interesting and sometimes very exposing reflections. Be it through work colleagues, bosses, managers, staff and even the technology, machinery or whatever product we may be working with. Being in an office it’s great to see all the devices symbolically – like the internet being connection or phones being communication and if something is down or not working to relate it back to how you’ve been. I had this experience today, where the internet was saying ‘try reconnecting’ so I did… with the Gentle Breath Meditation and it seemed to fix itself! There is evolution everywhere, even at a desk job!

194. One word – Appreciation.
     When we start appreciating more of what we bring to any work we do, the purpose is revealed and our fullness can be expressed more. Improvement or professional growth really occurs when we appreciate who we are in what we have done. Goes for the rest of life really, work is just one facet of the whole, of one life.

195. Working hard feels AMAZING, for me it is the absolute foundation that keeps me on the straight and narrow. I view work as part of my education from life – there’s so much to learn and grow from.

196. What an absolute joy Janina it is to read and feel how your connection to yourself opened up the foundation for all connections with such playfulness and fun. Thank you for sharing all of you with the world. Awesome.

197. “For me to feel great, it is very important to eat in a very loving way and to choose carefully what to eat – as one of my ways of not dealing with what is going on is to eat foods that make me feel dull. I am learning that also the way I eat is as important as what I choose to eat! ” I couldn’t agree more with this, what I have noticed a lot in work places over the years is the amount of sweet stuff people eat, often when they feel stressed, exhausted or overwhelmed but stuff going on in their life and work – I have done exactly the same myself, and the thing is they know this as they comment about it as well. What I have found with sugary food is that I eat them to override what I feel, makes me totally racy and takes me away from my body, and who I am. We can totally deal with everything we feel, we have so much support all around us to do this, it’s just a matter of re-learning to trust ourselves and our bodies again, as we did when we were a little child.

198. I can very much relate to this blog as this is a ill pattern I have played out as well. Not being fully committed to life, and always looking for the next job, as this one didn’t feel right for me, how awful is that, making it about self, rather than people, but it’s true. That was until I met Serge Benhayon and my life has turned round completely. I’m not perfect and I still have days where I react to things, and make it about work, but the truth is, as you share it’s all down to the choices I make, love or not love. When I choose love, days flow, I’m super joyful, productive, expressive and totally committed to my job, when I make unloving choices it changes instantly to being tired, exhausted and reacting to stuff.

199. Dear Janina, this is an awesome blog and one everyone who doesn’t like there job should read – it’s amazing how much we blame the things around us, like our jobs or the people we meet, when in truth it’s our own lack of responsibility for not choosing to love ourselves deeply and bringing this quality to all we do and meet.

200. It is great if we can build that confidence in ourselves and feel that freedom in our bodies wherever we are and whatever we do, the freedom to be fully ourselves and to enjoy life in full. And this is all a matter of choice, to commit to life or not. When we choose to deny our inner need to express ourselves in our work but prefer to only do that in our ‘free’ time, we are setting ourselves up into a situation where we are only expressing a part of us, neglecting all the other things that needs to be expressed and lived. When doing so we degrade ourselves and in fact do not commit to live our lives in full. To me work is essential in our development as a human being, as through work I can give expression to the love I have for all of humanity.

201. Janina, what an awesome realisation, “And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself.” How lucky that little girl is to have you as her carer, your playfullness is delightful and gives her permission to naturally find her own way with herself because you are doing so.

202. Dear Janina, thank you for sharing your growing awareness about working, and yourself in work. I can relate a lot to what you are saying, and see many people caught up in the same. We are masters at making life hard for ourselves; resenting and hating and blaming the job when we have one, and equally stress and resent and feel bad about ourselves when we don’t have a job. I now deeply appreciate having a job to go to, to learn more about myself and others, and to take part in life to the fullest, whatever my job may entail. Serge Benhayon and Natalie Benhayon have been very inspiring for me too to come to this level of awareness and appreciation, and working on deepening the love for myself and all within my work equally as within all of my life.

203. This is an awesome blog Janina – I love how you close it: “I actually love work, because I have begun to love me”; it makes so much sense. Being at work is a part of your life, so if there are things outside of work that aren’t ‘working’ for you, then being in work is going to be a struggle. But as you say, this can change not because of getting a new job, or changing careers even – but changing your relationship to yourself.

204. Janina, that you share here is huge. For many people, the perception that work is a chore and something that is stealing from their personal time is one that colours their entire working life. This perception alone ensures that the time spent at work isn’t joyful and that you don’t bring your all to your work.

     But what is it that we feel we are being ‘robbed’ of by needing to go to work? Time watching tv? Socialising? Pursuing hobbies? These are our entertainments, even distractions. Are they the parts of life where you are truly living and realising your potential or is work our work our opportunity to really get out there in life and live?

     1. As long as we perceive that we can not be who we are in a world which asked us to be different and fit in, we can believe that only at home or off work we are free to be who we are, but this does not work. Only when we choose in all areas of our life to be who we are we can embody and life it – in parts does not work.

205. When we come to realising that it is not what we do but the quality we bring to what we do, work is so much more interesting and joyful. I find that when I feel people living like this, I am inspired.

     1. Yes Amanda because they are real and simply themselves, that is a beauty in itself.

206. Agree entirely Brendan. How I am in a meeting, for example, is entirely dependant on the support that I have given myself beforehand.

     1. I agree Brendan and Otto when we go to work and react to colleagues then it has to do how we have been with ourselves in the morning or even the day before. So we cannot blame other people anymore but bring it back to how we are with ourselves, how we support ourselves to stay connected and observing.

        1. And imagine working in an office with just one person who lived like that – how quickly the ripples would run through the staff. The effect would be game-changing. An acceptance of that is when we start to see the greater responsibility – beyond just making our day run smoother.

     2. Once we start seeing that it is not only about us but everybody how we live and behave, life starts making sense and the joy begins 🙂

        1. If I keep my life small and about me and my inner circle then I might sometimes feel ‘happy’. But true joy only occurs when I open my eyes, heart and body to the whole.

207. Your blog makes me want to jump out of bed and head off to work!

208. Whatever we are doing and wherever we are is an opportunity to connect with others and share all the love that we are.

     1. I agree Mary and our work places are offering us great “opportunity to connect with others and share all the love that we are”.

        1. Work places are ‘the world.’ They are an opportunity to really sink your teeth into life though working with different people – some of whom may be different to those you would choose to mix with socially and constantly being brought new challenges and opportunities to develop skills. The workplace also brings life to you. Through customers, clients, emails, colleagues, etc you are constantly being exposed to aspects of life and the world that that you can bring something to or that can offer you opportunities for your own personal growth. In short, even when work isn’t easy, work is a gold mine for anyone who chooses to realise the opportunities their workplace offers to them.

        2. “In short, even when work isn’t easy,”..than we can learn the most, as challenging as it might be at times 🙂

209. Janina, I love your blog, I can relate very to much to what you have you written, this is gorgeous to read, ‘I feel full of me: I feel that it’s great to bring my joyful way to work and light up my workplace’, I can feel how more and more this is what I am doing, I feel joy-full at work and bring a playfulness, gentleness and lightness and the more I appreciate what I bring the more joyful I feel, the potential we have to ‘light up our workplace’ is huge, by being our naturally playful, joyful selves.

     1. Thank you for sharing R Wingrave, this is what we need to get out in the the world that there is a different way to live and work in – with joy and playfulness 🙂

210. How important is it that we see everything we do as equally important, there is no thing more important than another. The housework at home is as important as having an important job in a company. And how you treat your family is as important how you treat your staff. Everything is Everything and if we skip a moment thinking it is not important than we choose a lesser quality for the moments that follows after that. Ultimate responsibility.

211. Once we let go of the picture we have about life like i can only be me when i am at home we are able to start being ourselves wherever we are and we start enjoying whatever work we do and to connect with our colleges and clients.

212. Janina, I can relate to the feeling of doing a job because I have to, but not really wanting to be there. It used to be about getting to the end of the day, then getting to Friday, then getting to the holidays. I am still in the same job, but my attitude to life has changed. The start of it was about looking after myself, and has developed into having a relationship with myself and my body. This has had a knock on effect in me choosing to be fully engaged in what I am doing, and as a result, I too am enjoying work like never before.

     1. In the past i felt overwhelmed by feeling other people around me and what issues they bring because i did not have a strong connection to myself, my body and lack of conscious presence, lack of self worth and expression. As i have developed these qualities it supported me to learn that i can be me even when i am at work or in town or in cafe. I do not need to withdraw any longer at home and love the connection to other people.

213. Janina I can relate to the things you share, just being at work and ‘doing’ not really connecting, this sure can bring complications. There was a period when I was just caught in the motion of ‘doing’ at work and life just felt full of stress and tension, I would come home exhausted, tired and fed up. Now things are very different as I started to change my relationship with work. I now love my work and my interaction with people, now it’s not about the ‘doing’, but how I am with myself in what I do, the quality I bring with me to work. My relationships with staff and customers.

214. “Really, I believed that only when I was not at work I could be me, with me, and doing what I really wanted to do, not having to function in a certain way.” I bought into this belief as well Janina waiting for the day when I had enough money and could retire and spend my days doing what I wanted rather than what was expected of me. It’s one of the worst things society sells and we could ever buy into. I now understand the beauty of being with me in whatever I do so that there is always me in everything that I do.

     1. Yes Deborah, I remember dreaming about retiring, and looking forward to the day when I no longer had to work. I used to think all my problems would be solved if I didn’t have to work. Luckily I had an experience where I was able to be off work for over a year. I was even more unhappy, so I knew then it wasn’t about the job. One of the problems was putting on an act at work and so not being myself. A lot has changed since I have accepted me for who I am and not been afraid to be that person at work, or anywhere for that matter.

        1. I can appreciate how much I have changed from finding work a burden and something I don’t want to do really. Today i love to take more responsibility and see what difference my presence makes at my work places.

     2. This is important to nominate Deborah. I even chose at some point to move to Portugal as this is a country you don’t need much money and houses are cheep to buy so I don’t need working much and so on. I returned back after 6 months 🙂

215. I can relate to your blog in many ways Janina. I worked part-time for about 10 years as I felt I was missing out on my ‘me’ time and I wanted to pursue other hobbies as well and work didn’t allow me the time to do this. I went back to full-time work a few years ago and it has completely changed my life, I love my job more than ever and the more committed I become in the workplace the more this has supported me in all areas of my life. I have more energy and vitality than when I started my job over 25 years ago and it is because I enjoy the deeper level of commitment and responsibility to myself, to others and to my workplace.

     1. Anna I have had a similar experience, and what you share about being committed and responsible to yourself is key. When we can do that for ourselves, it is easy to commit and be responsible in all other areas of our lives.

        1. Reading your comment Anna I realized that I still have the image that to work full time means not having enough time for myself and this is not the truth. It only asks me to structure my time differently and to choose to be present with me wherever I go.

     2. Reading your comment Anna i realized that i still have the image that to work full time means not having enough time for myself and this is not the truth. It only ask me to structure my time differently and to choose to be present with me wherever i go.

216. Janina you make some great points here, the words that came to me so clearly were ‘responsibility’ and ‘presence’. When we work with responsibility to self and others we bring the presence of us to work and from there the joy of life and work is known. Such a simple and beautiful equation.

217. It is awesome to catch ourselves using food, eating when we are not that hungry, as this is a way to numb and distract ourselves from being more aware of something.

218. It is actually that simple Brendan and in fact the only responsibility we have in life is to live that quality of the light that resides in us all equally so.

     1. Gorgeous and so true Nico!

219. “I realize more and more what depths of beauty I am – we all are – and just need to let it out. It is actually simple.” To me that is key to truly loving ourselves that that what lives within cannot be contained but needs to be expressen in any way shape or form. To me we are simply designed to work as being a natural part of our lives in which we can contribute to society in sharing our unique expression of the love that we are in whatever we do for work. In fact it is all about being with ourselves in whatever we do, but it is essential that we share that among other as this is the only way in which we can grow out of the misery our societies are currently living.

220. There is always the choice to stop and have a look at your role in creating the drama or the conflict however small, a look, a word, an action that mildly irritates.

221. ‘I realise that I am responsible for everything which is happening in my life!’ This is so true Janina for every experience we have is derived directly from not only our choices but the level of quality and commitment we bring to all that we do.

     1. I agree Suse “every experience we have is derived directly from not only our choices but the level of quality and commitment we bring to all that we do.” And here comes a greater level of responsiblity to bring our full commitment to everything we do and every person we relate to equally.

222. IT is so True, the burden as work often is seen. Is what we create by not being in the joy of being connected while being at work. I am starting to realise this more and more, when I am connected with me work is incredibly fun. As that’s what being me is.

     1. Beautifully claimed Benkt!

223. Thanks for the reminder to be all of me at work Janine. I can feel in myself the way I look at work now as being in service rather than just a job I had to do. I am aware that I still tend to overeat at work to dull down what I am feeling at times.

     1. Overeating at work is a hugely familiar experience. I have found that by giving attention to my life outside of work, building on the foundations of my life outside of work, such as my sleeping and exercising rhythms, work is becoming less of place that I go to which feels uncomfortable, and more just anther part of the day, so the tension is fading and with this the food choices are changing.

224. Being joyful at work is something that I too have claimed within myself and felt, only the more I have developed a more self honouring and loving relationship with myself. The joy now comes from within, not looking for work to bring me joy or others external to me. Much more responsibility way to live.

225. “I have begun to love me.” everything changes when we begin to claim ourselves Janina, I loved reading your blog thank you for sharing how beautiful life can be once we start taking responsibility and bring our full selves.

226. It has been clear to me recently that I too am different in work than out and that I will act a certain way to be comfortable around the other people I work with, to fit in with them and try to avoid making them feel uncomfortable. The problem is that I then feel exhausted as I’m not living in harmony with my own body. Having started to develop consistency in being me all the time I have started to reverse this pattern.

     1. I have observed the same Michael that I still fit myself in at work also with the investment wanting something like more hours or permanent contract. Even I can feel that this is not necessary and for me it is about really confirming the beauty I bring in me being me. And I know this beauty but it is about not letting go of the knowing who I am and even allowing more to be seen and felt. And sometimes people need a while being around me but usually they don’t resist that long.
        And we all bring a beauty which is so needed in our world to be felt and seen.

        1. I feel that is a great point Janina ‘Even I can feel that this is not necessary and for me it is about really confirming the beauty I bring in me being me’ – highlighting that our purpose is to bring and express our true nature and qualities from within, to reflect to others what is also true in them.

     2. Yes, yes Michael. Can absolutely relate to your sharing. Any kind of extra drive or force or effort that is not in line with the truth of who we are, will exhaust us. The work place is an solute mecca for this kind thing. The best way to expose this is holidays. Why would you want a holiday from who you naturally are?

227. This is a great blog to read Janina. It is a tendency for many to place blame on something or someone if we are not feeling good or well, when in fact in any interaction we are the common factor in that exchange. It is fitting then to stop and check in with ourselves and take responsibility of our part of the interaction.

     1. True Johanne, blame is very subjective territory as sometimes it is far too easy to criticize others to avoid feeling our own lack.

        1. This is huge to understand Suse that blame is something we have created to not look at ourselves and what is going on. It is widespread in our society to make other people responsible for how we feel. And even i have changed a lot in my life i can feel there is still a part who wants to hold on in some areas where i avoid taking more responsiblity to find excuses. That i cant be myself because of this person or that situation. If we react to a person/situation than there is something to deal and heal within us.

        2. Great points Johanne, Suse and Janina, I can see how clearly I have used blame not to step up and be responsible in my life. It’s through creating this type of subterfuge we complicate things and make life about complication and blame rather than choosing to see our part. When you take your head out of the fog, life really does become much more simple and we can begin to deal with what we have not been wanting to feel. From there life becomes about living in the truth of who we really are.

     2. Yes Johanne, this line – But somehow I felt I just played a role in a movie I didn’t really want to be in – really stood out for me because I saw so clearly that many people would describe work like that for me as well. And how much we hold work to blame for not being happy in our lives. But it is one of the biggest tricks of them all. As Janina’s blog points out, we are completely responsible for our own lives.

     3. Well said Johanne, that’s such an awesome way to describe responsibility here; when we stop and look at what we are bringing to any situation we don’t like. That’s all we have the power to change at any rate, so it’s the only true place to start; ourselves.

228. Whenever I feel like what I am doing is not enough and I flip into getting too busy loosing my connection – I am constantly reminded to reconnect to my purpose and appreciate what it is that I bring.

     1. Great reminder Nicolesjardin, I still have a tendency to feel like I am still never doing enough, that energy that creeps in that says constantly ‘you need to do more’ and then getting too busy as a result. But it is good to reconnect to who I am, my connection to the divine, that there is so much to appreciate and be grateful for and celebrating all of who I am and what I bring.

     2. This is a good thing to catch yourself doing Nicole. Sometimes whole days can go by where I have been very focused on the doing but in disconnection to myself. Other days I can be equally busy, but when I remain connected, the day feels more joyful.

        1. We don’t have any of these feeling without choosing them it is always great to stop and ask myself why I might be choosing any one particular reaction.

     3. That connection is key in and looking for work I am finding currently on the hunt for a new job. Coming from a desparation for a new job to meet whatever pressure I have placed on myself leads to tension and from experience we can choose jobs that are not true or supportive for us. Connecting to my body and appreciating all that I naturally bring is making the process much smoother and relaxed. I am not jumping into any old job because its shiny, has perks or ticks the ‘ideal’ job box. I am worth accepting a job that feels true and if there is tension as Janina shared, its because I have wanted it to be tense rather than a smooth process. This is still a work in progress but it is certainly taking the stress out of what can be a nerve wracking situation to be in.

        1. With this approach to job-hunting, whichever establishment you choose, will be blessed by your wisdom and grace.

229. For many years I avoided to work in bigger companies and preferred to work in families or small places without many people. Since almost two years I work in a clinic and as I have developed more commitment to work and enjoy going to work I also started to connect more to my college and patients. And I love it! I love working in teams and bringing my part and responsibility to it, to support another. What a transformation!

230. I loved reconnecting to what you are offering here, Janina. Recently I started to see work as a platform for me to express myself through service in social interactivities, and the harm I bring to it when I hold back my light .

231. Life and work becomes joyful and starts making sense once we start shining our light and let others see and feel the love we all truly are.

     1. Yes Janina, and what I am finding is that the divide between work and the rest of my life is less defined. Some days I am simply enjoying being me, both in my free time and at work and there are no divides or seams between the two.

232. This is something that I recently am connecting with on a whole new level Janina. I have been working in a very very busy and at times potentially very stressful job that seems to have been getting more and more intense recently. The thing I am finding supports me the most is to embrace being the Love I am even more as it has highlighted just how many small and subtle things may happen that I can easily take on

     1. When the going gets tough….ramp up the self-love! It is essential that commit to supporting ourselves amongst the intensity of a busy work-place. Because then we have the foundation to bring the everything that we are. And any job would be blessed to have the ALL of you Joshua.

233. The relationship you draw between loving yourself and loving work Janina is priceless in a time when so many people are unhappy or dissatisfied with their work situation.

234. Janina, your little aside comment that you were ‘really creative’ at devising complication is not unfamiliar to me either. In fact, when I am any less than myself it is a sure bet that complication won’t be far behind in any facet of my life.

235. We learn from early childhood how the working part of society is looking forward to the weekend, to the next vacation etc. What are we missing on? It shows that we as a society accept so much less than joy in our daily lives.

     1. I agree felixschumacher8. There is a a expression to wish another a beautiful rest of the evening to have a great time/party after you have worked in Germany “Schönen Feierabend”. That we deserve a reward after working. We spend a much larger part of our live working so how great to bring joy and us to work and equally everywhere else were we are and in what we do.

236. I realised as I was reading that although I go to work with the intention of remaining as connected to me as possible throughout the day, there is also an underlying sense that works gets in the way of me being ‘me’ and it will be easier once I leave work for the day. There are so many things happening constantly while I am at work that it’s hard to stay steady. However, I also realise that I use other distractions when I am at home to block my awareness of what it is like to be with and feel the grandeur of just being ‘me’ such as keeping busy with chores. All in all this clearly signals avoidance and deception on a massive scale, so thank you Janina for your blog which has resulted in this moment of heightened awareness.

237. How true, that once you realise that you can take yourself to work and be loving there as much as at home, you begin to see how fulfilling work can be, and how much fun you can have with others. I find I dread the weekends sometimes, crazy I know, but there’s so much time away from my place of work with teaching children that I actually feel I fret about how I am going to fill my days till the next week begins. It even shocks me to admit this.

238. Janina, you use so many great words to describe how I have felt about work at times too. Blaming work for our problems is a slippery path to go down as indeed work will always present challenges, injustices and the vast array of human emotions, behaviours and conditions, these colour the workplace so certainly a good way to avoid these is to avoid the workplace. I did this for many years through the work I chose to do. I also have also used my workplace circumstances to be an excuse rather than to step up and be more.

239. I remember when i applied for my job as a practitioner last year it felt so right to do this job and did not care about the money which was new for me. As i worked most of my life only because i had to work and needed to earn money to live. Once we start living in a way where we commit to live this is an amazing turn around.

240. Great point you bring in Deanne. Adding to this, looking back at my relationship to work and also income i can say the more i started to appreciate myself the more this was reflected in my wage and money problems i had most of my life disappeared.

241. There is also something to glean from your article Janina about your current choice of work after ten years at university and how you have not let this stop you going into a position that many would say you are ‘over qualified’ for. It is interesting how comparative to some other jobs significant social roles such as teaching, child care and nursing are valued as lesser in status and remuneration.

242. This article is a great complement to another article about how much benefit we get from work, when we understand this then how much we get paid is less likely to be the driving force behind why we work or choose the work we do http://www.unimedliving.com/work/why-do-we-work/the-purpose-of-work/work-is-medicine.html

243. Janina, this is such a wonderful blog and exposing of so many common but ill attitudes that are taken into the workplace, I know them for myself and the trouble it causes and I also know the trouble it causes when just about every staff member brings to a greater or lesser extent these same ill attitudes. Is it any wonder then that some workplaces end up being ruled with an iron fist?

244. So true, if the love for oneself is missing, the love will be missing in whatever he or she does. I agree with you Janina. So it is a reflection for us that how we feel about work (life), is actually a mirror of how we feel about ourselves.

245. I know I used to compartmentalise work and the time I had to do other things. It was like I felt work was interfering in the things I wanted to do. It is very liberating to be present and playful at work, considering it as part of the same rhythm and choice as the rest of my life, giving each moment of my life the same importance and the same opportunity to be present.

246. “It seems as if the love I am willing to give to myself equals that which I then share with others and how I lovingly go about my day.” This is my experience too Elaine.

247. “I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing.” A great realisation and opening to love and harmony and potential joy in all areas of our lives. It seems as if the love I am willing to give to myself equals that which I then share with others and how I lovingly go about my day.

248. Coming from a background that didn’t embrace work such as yourself Janina, I can appreciate the changes you have made to whole-heartedly bring you to your workplace. For me these days it is a joy and I have come to love not only the people I work with but the work itself, the rhythm and routine it provides and the opportunity to simply share me.

249. We need to take responsibility in all areas of our live. To be a successful business person but not able to keep a relationship. Or to be happily married but unemployed.. reflects that these are areas we need to looked at and developed. As you say Luke “everything is connected to Everything”.

250. When I separate my personal life and my professional life I can find work a burden. When I include my personal and professional life together into 1 life I have an ease with my life as I can no longer just brush it over and say it is work and nothing will change.

     1. What i realized is that i have developed in the last year a stronger commitment to work. Which is amazing, but when i don’t work i don’t hold the same commitment to myself or to my relationships or the task i have to do at home which is very harmful. Everything is equally important. If i give a massage to a client, drink a cup of tea on my own, hold my partners hand or clean the bath sink everything matters. Because the quality i do everything in effects everybody. Wow!

        1. Agree Janina, everything is connected to Everything… Nothing is nothing

251. Absolutely Gorgeous blog! I have learned so much from this. I know I have made complications in jobs as well because I didn’t like going to work because I thought I could only be me when I was at home. This caused a lot of stress and so I decided that I can be me even at work. I was surprised at how easy and fun it was, and I have started to enjoy working because I feel more confident being me. It has made me realise though how much everyone else is not being themselves, and we have jobs and systems where they are not based on us being who we are.

252. Why is it that we hold onto so many things that are not true ( beliefs) – that stop us from living a joyful life? Why would we do this in the first place? Is there some part of us that likes the struggle and the misery as it gives us some form of recognition?

     1. ” I didn’t feel content within myself. ” this is so true world over, no matter who you speak to we are all the same. When you talk to people, listen to people or read people’s writing – our woes and issues aren’t the real issue, what it comes down to is a discontentment within.

        1. So if it all comes from within, as you have shared Janina then we all have the power to change.

     2. Well said Gyl, we have the choice to choose joy or struggle. But it is a process we need to go through to strengthen our foundation and awareness so we are able to say no to struggle. I am confronted at the moment with areas I have neglected where I still have doors open for energy to enter which leads me to keep on struggling because I have not been willing to deal with them. Ouch!

253. Janina, what a lovely blog to read, how you found being joyful with yourself opened up other areas in your life. Every choice we make, has a direct effect on ourselves and others, and if others feel we are connected and expressing our truth, it invites them to have the same openness with us too. Fantastic that you are so much more connected with yourself and others.

254. Janina I love how you described the fun you had singing with the little girl you look after. I can tell you are enjoying your job and what you said at the end is very profound – ‘And, that I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.’

255. “When I didn’t work, or only worked a little, I wasn’t joyful to be with me – I didn’t feel content within myself.” This was my experience as well Janina. Not working is not all it’s cracked up to be. The key for me was looking at how I was and my attitude to work. Of course work felt like a chore when I was not looking after myself, not eating properly, drinking too much and not getting enough sleep. There were so many areas of my life where I was pushing and striving. As I started to commit to taking better care of myself, things started to change for me. My journey has brought me to this point where I enjoy my job and am not watching the clock all day, or praying for Friday.

     1. Amazing transformation Debra, thank you for sharing! What a blessing to be able to enjoy work as we spend most of our live working!

256. Yes Brendan being out there in the world of work gives us umpteen opportunities to interact with others, learn about ourselves and grow. I have found in the periods where I’ve not worked, I have felt flat and stagnant. Not a nice place to be.

257. I like you Janina couldnt stand work, I would pretty much just go through the motions to get paid. However since making positive changes in my livingness, work time has just become an extension to how I am in other aspects of my life and therfore I am far more content, relaxed and thoroughly enjoy being at work.

     1. I can so relate Joe, I have stopped compartmentalising work as something ‘different’ and instead see it as an opportunity to simply enjoy and to share and learn from others

258. Janina thank you for sharing your journey with us. Work can be extremely rewarding if we put our hearts into it and the rewards come with the satisfaction and joy from serving or contributing to the well being of not only others but ourselves and society. I know if we don’t put much effort or interest into what we are doing those rewards will not be there and life will be a drudgery. In the past I have had a few jobs that I didn’t enjoy but found if I made the effort to do the best I could and took pride in what I did it was always appreciated and satisfying for me as well.

259. By not working much and holding back to a large extend i avoided to get to know my own qualities and what i can bring. I have avoided my own amazingness! And it is amazing if i allow myself to communicate and not hold back and feel what i can bring to the world.

     1. I found this to be true too Janina, also when we get into a rut with our work it can also limit and prevent knowing our potential.

        1. Yes Deanne, or we bring in complications which stops our light shining and stops our expansion.

260. As i haven living for a long time with exhaustion and given up i worked for most of my life part time (if i was working at all).
     So i hold onto as a believe that i can’t handle having a full working week. What is needed now is to build a new rhythm with the knowing that i have enough energy. What is actually draining is not a full working day but going into function or using nervous energy as the fuel to get me going. Which is depleting the body.

261. I agree Amanda Woodmansey. In german language we often say when we talk about work: “I have to work tomorrow”, which implies this i a duty and not something i love doing. So i started already changing that phrase when i was talking about my work. Which brings a different quality in. Something i choose to do and enjoy doing because i bring me to work and connect to the people.

262. It’s funny how we seem to have a tradition of saying we don’t like work. When we ask a working person how their day has been they often reply with a countdown to finishing for the day or countdown to the weekend. This in itself is exhausting, living with a longing to be somewhere else is like living two days at a time.
     Approaching work with a vitality and a love of being where we are and meeting each person that we meet as our natural selves is a beautiful way to be. Living each moment in appreciation of what it brings is very joyful.

     1. Agree Amanda! Living one moment and longing for one to come or a day to come is exhausting. “living each moment in appreciation of what it brings is very joyful” I agree.

263. It’s interesting to see how quickly you can allow yourself to give up being you in the workplace. I’m in the first month of new role that, to date, is proving to be the most difficult. I’m noticing my desperation for sugar along to cope and also numb myself from what feels enormous. What I have to continue to nominate however, is that I am absorbing everyone around me’s drama. I’m absorbing the weight of the office and it’s causing my sugar cravings to be unusually high. All I can do is observe this behaviour of mine and then make a different choice. It is the weekend for me now, and I have the opportunity to prepare myself to stay with myself for the week ahead.

264. “I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing” this is so true Janina. We often look to change the outside – new job, new relationship, new car – rather than see the truth of the issue as you have highlighted here. I love that you are taking responsibility and bringing your nature joyful self to work now.

     1. Yes Lee Poole, it is amazing once we start taking responsibility to bring who we are to work and deepen our commitment to life!

265. “The things we do in our free time often are the things that harm us more then the actual work we do.” This is spot on Gail! Well said.

266. Yes I hear people blaming work for them being tired etc when it is actually all of their life they are getting exhausted from. We isolate our life into parts and think falsely that one part does not affect the other. The things we do in our free time often are the things that harm us more then the actual work we do.

267. Janina, it’s lovely to read that you have worked through issues which now allows you to be all of you at ‘work’ with your playfulness and lightness … the work of Serge Benhayon truly does bring life, light and miracles to us all.

     1. I deeply agree Marian Rudeforth “the work of Serge Benhayon truly does bring life, light and miracles to us all.”
        In my case from very given up and checked out to deepening my commitment to life. This is amazing transformation and a miracle indeed.

268. Janina I felt the joy and delight of you ‘at work’ with the young girl you were looking after and how playful you were with your work and letting go of the seriousness and the drive and need for recognition, how it cleared many illusions about work and what commitment to work truly means.

269. Life becomes very different when we take self responsibility for our choices and see that we were the major contributor to them or we allowed ourselves to be the receiver of a situation that we had a choice to be in or not.

270. I didn’t feel content within myself. I blamed work for this. Janina I would do this all the time and I would also blame others for things going wrong. I would also criticise others and have certain expectations of people as well. It was like everyone had to play to my tune otherwise I would get upset. Now I am connecting to myself more than ever before. I am embracing my life with more commitment and dedication to me and now I naturally want to commit to humanity. With this increasing love for myself I am recognising that I can take this love with me wherever I go including work. Now I enjoy work and if an error occurs I just simply fix it and move on and the people in my office are constant reminders of how I used to be at work and this enables me sometimes to reflect back and see how far I’ve come.

     1. Life is about responsibility and how we contribute our piece to the whole but when we make what we do a burden how can it not become joyless?

271. I find it very easy to blame work for how I feel at the end of the day compared to how I walk in. This is clearly the fault of no other but mine. I am learning to take responsibility for how I am at work and observe situations rather than get caught in the drama or perpetuate issues or gossip. I feel this is a big drainer for me, also I can become serious while trying hard to stay with myself, but this feel rigid and closed. I can be myself without trying and just open to the best of my ability so everyone can see the beauty of being instead of getting caught in the drive of doing.

     1. I agree Rachel. I still get caught at times wanting to blame this or that person or that is not possible to work here and there. But this is all not true. In the end it all comes back how much commitment to loving me and holding me where ever i am. Not absorbing or going into sympathy and than checking out. But stay present (without perfection) and knowing what i offer if i am there. Knowing that everybody is responsible for themselves and their life. No need to rescue but to reflect the beauty life can offer once we start living the love and joy that we are and to connect with others.

272. Loving the power of responsibility. This is such a huge step in life, as you’ve said Janina..
     ‘I realise that I am responsible for everything which is happening in my life!’
     Your blog is a beautiful testimony of what life can offer once we drop the blame game and start seeing ourselves as responsible. An ever deepening process of course.

     1. I agree Rachel it is indeed very self empowering once we understand we are not victims of circumstances for example at work or in our family. And if there are problems than because we have not taken responsibility of our life. This is huge indeed to understand.

     2. I love the depth of Janina’s honesty in her blog it shines as an inspiration to all.

273. Thanks Janina. I have also found, that the more I appreciate myself, the more I am able to bring myself to my job, and then the job doesn’t feel like such a chore anymore. It’s a pretty great thing when you are able to welcome Mondays and not live for Fridays.

274. Again, Janina, I love the lightness and joy and humor coming through your sharings! As you wrote you have decided to lighten up your workplace, the same quality is palpable through reading your article about work and the connection to loving yourself. I am learning, that work can become very easy and flowing, if I allow myself to be with me, instead of making plans how to handle everything. Bringing everything what I am to the work, often means more to let go of plans and beliefs and structures I have build up to be successful in any way shape or form. The best days (working as a self-employee) are these, when I trust – and nothing more. Than there comes a playfulness, curiosity and openness to what may happen. More like a journey, like being open to a blind-date with life, work and myself.

     1. I love this Stefanie, when we let go of these beliefs work can really flow.

        1. Yes, Chris, all these “have to do’s” based upon the inner striving and “not being enough” themes, are able to go and making room for the natural way to be open. Everything further on is amazingly provided in a dialogue.

275. Janina your blog speaks volumes. I can still find myself wishing I had more holiday than I have but what was I wanting to take a break from? If I’m honest it’s boils down to me wanting a break from being responsible. But this is crazy because being irresponsible equates to me not looking after myself, basically not being me. Why would I want a break from me? When I catch myself thinking of the lack of annual leave I know it’s an opportunity to come back to me and my presence and building that is what is required.
     .

276. “Doing” and ” function mode” is often seen in my work environment and I find myself caught up in this.

     “and even if people are behaving in a non-loving way I can accept it and to let them be and not react” so true. Reading this has been gold, it feels you are describing me and my feelings when I am at work. I AM responsible for only me when I am at work, a great share Janina

277. …”but in my experience work has greatly deepened my relationship with myself and those around me.”
     This is my experience too Brendan. And as I have a background of not working and looking for work or unemployed, today I realize how much I missed out to getting to know myself better and others through the context of work. In doing that I avoided to feel how amazing I actually am and to appreciate myself and the qualities I bring. Today I enjoy working with the challenges it brings and to them as an opportunity to grow.

278. Gorgeous sharing Janina thank you. Its interesting to notice the stigma associated with ‘work’. Although perhaps not so difficult to see where it derived from. When we choose not to truly be our natural selves with what they do and who we’re with, very quickly the workplace can present a very dull environment of long faces wishing they were somewhere else. To bring all of who we are with us wherever we are shifts the paradigm of work to not be a ‘have to’ place to be.

     1. Giselle I always felt that I was chained to my desk, the only time I could leave was for a toilet break. I always thought I had better things to do at home and that I was too busy for work. The fact is I had created a ‘have to’ place to be and it did feel like a prison but only because I created it. Now that I have started bringing me to work and being with me at work it is so enjoyable, I actually don’t look forward to the weekends now.

279. “something that took away time from me so that at the end of the working day, I felt to not have enough time left for me”. This is a big Ouch! as I recognise I do this. I was kidding myself thinking I was taking responsibility for my life but after reading this I see I haven’t been truly honest with myself. Thank-you Janine, for this wake-up call. I know I cannot change the time I have at work or home but I can choose to change the way I am and feel acceptance is a key part to this.

280. “I realise that I am responsible for everything which is happening in my life!” Attending presentations by Universal Medicine I too found this realisation was a big wake up call and I was able to look back at many events in my life and accept that the choices I had made were my responsibility and my choices were the cause of the effect that resulted – whether poor choices or great choices. It has certainly made me aware that every choice that I make in every moment has a effect on, not only me, but also on everyone and everything around me.

281. ” I felt that “all of me” was the very normal me in that moment, in honesty without a mask, truly expressing simply that.“ I love reading that line felixschumacher8. After our last skype session i could feel how inspiring you are for me because i can feel that you don’t wear a mask and honor the sensibility and tenderness you bring. This is challenging and equally inspiring for me as i am also very tender but still overplay it or numb myself…So it is to learn to appreciate myself deeper with the fragility and sensibility i bring and to hold myself as a precious gift for the world.

     1. Absolutely beautiful Janina. I love how everyone expresses differently and we can all offer a reflection and inspiration to each other. I love the appreciation that you have for the reflection that felixschumacher8 offers.

        1. It is beautiful once we allow ourselves to let go of our mask. Just experiencing in an amazing retreat with Chris James about the Healing Power of sound to surrender more to tenderness, to open up and let myself be seen in the depth of tenderness, fragility and beauty that i am. Wow!

        2. So true Lee. We all have our own unique flavour of expression which brings a depth, truth and clarity to the world around us and as a consequence brings it to life. To appreciate this fact you only have to see the phenomenal variety of different comments people have made on this blog site for despite none being the same they all are true.

282. To be all of me is something I haven’t fully understood. But I got a glimpse after a session with Michael Benhayon in the Universal Medicine Clinic. I felt that “all of me” was not a heightened blissful supreme state, that I one day could reach when I had worked on all my childhood hurts and mastered all my ill patterns. I felt that “all of me” was the very normal me in that moment, in honesty without a mask, truly expressing simply that.

     1. Beautiful express felixschumacher8 :”I felt that “all of me” was the very normal me in that moment, in honesty without a mask, truly expressing simply that”. It keeps it simple and doesn’t put a certain picture on how would it be to be “all of me”. For me “all of me” is also to be open to learn who i truly am and what qualities i am here to bring which i might not have lived before, because i hold myself back.

     2. Wow, beautiful to read your comment. I have long thought that being all of me meant indeed healing everything, doing this and that, and measuring up to something or somebody outside of myself. But it is actually (too) simple, like you say, just being me in this moment, without a mask, not having to do anything and to express what needs to be expressed in this very moment.

        1. Yes, Felix, Janina and Mariette, thats a great awareness, that “all of me” is not something I have to work hard for, somewhere in the future, but noch now…That it is more a deep acceptance and appreciation – instead of distracting from – what is already beautifully there. Connected with what I was, what I am and what I will be…

     3. Gosh, felixscumacher8, that ‘all of me is the very normal me in that moment’ puts it so clearly, and I see that I have had a tendency to judge ‘all of me in that moment’ against the ‘all of me’ I would like to be when all the hurts and ill patterns have been let go of. I feel liberated – I am all of me now! Thank you so much for your expressed wisdom.

     4. Interesting question you pose felixschumacher8, what does it mean to be all of me? For me, being all of me is not holding back my expression. I can feel at times when there is something I want to say or do and I hold that back in fear of the reaction or response I might get. So for me, being all of me, is expressing what I feel to be true and not holding back in fear of the reaction.

     5. That is very beautiful Felixschumacher8, I love the understanding of who you are and the acceptance of where you are at. This blog shows us simply that whereever we go and life, the amount of joy we life with ourselves influences all our areas in life (work, family, school etc. ). Like you said Janina, the more you are feeling and knowing who you are, letting yourself be everything you are – the more fun everything (also work) is.

        1. agreed Danna Elmalah. When work does no longer identify you, it is much more fun.

     6. Beautifully said felixschumacher8. Enlightenment is simply an illusion.

     7. Yes Felix this is beautiful. “I felt that “all of me” was the very normal me in that moment, in honesty without a mask, truly expressing simply that.” Yes when we simply allow our true selves to be seen and express from our full hearts without fear of judgement or reaction that is where true love lies.

     8. Felix this blows the lid on not being able to be ‘all of me’ now – this is definitely worth understanding.

283. ‘I felt I just played a role in a movie I didn’t really want to be in’. When I read this it makes me ponder on the fact that each of us has the ability to be living and playing multiple roles in life all at once – parent, partner, friend, work colleague to name a few. If we are indeed losing ourselves in these roles and in some ways just acting, how much of what we see in life around us is a show??

284. Yes, Roslyn Mahony, this is empowering to understand that we actually have a choice to make our work and all areas of our life filled with joy or misery.

285. Janina I love your sharing. The choice to Love ourselves and what we do certainly adds up to enjoying our days no matter what they bring. There are always some days that I dread where I may have what I consider not a minute to myself, but even those days looked at with loving eyes are amazing too. So much to learn in life and thanks to Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon I am learning to enjoy my life knowing its up to me to choose.

286. Thank you Janina for sharing about your relationship with work and the fact that ‘it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing’. Taking time to connect to me at work has transformed how I feel about my job but the fact that I still need to take these moments on a regular basis shows up how often I still get lost in the ‘doing’ of being ‘at work’ and the more that I don’t differentiate and just bring all of me to whatever I am doing at a particular time the more I am shining with the amazingness of me wherever I am.

     1. The more we accept, appreciate and confirm our own beauty and uniqueness the more we are able just to be ourselves wherever we are, at work or at home.

287. “Choosing to be All of Me” and express all of me. For me this is an unfolding way, I can always go deeper – deeper with myself and others. The journey never ends and I love to do this journey together will all of you.

     1. Yes, alexander1207 “choosing to be All of Me” is a forever deepening process and it is worth every step we take in accepting and expressing and our own divinity and who we truly are.

288. It is easy to blame work for what doesn’t feel right in our lives but, once we realise that our issues at work are reflecting how we live 24/7 then it changes everything.

289. I am also discovering that it is how I am with my work and not the work that determines how great I feel or not. I used to blame work for everything and then I wasn’t working and I had new stresses because there was never enough money or I was bored – so I would jump into another job, get disgruntled and move onto something else and this cycle continued for many years.
     Now I find that I am building a totally different relationship with work and can appreciate that it has a lot to teach us if we are willing to observe what is going on and why.

     1. Yes, I agree Julie if we change our perspective and see issues or situations at work as something where we can actually learn from and grow and actually asked to be more in our expression and the way we communicate and are with people. Amazing!

290. Janina you have raised such an important issue here for the majority of the world. Universal Medicine has supported me to understand and develop to bring me to ALL my jobs and chores – to see that life is everything – not the bits in between the jobs and chores which we see as just working to the reward of the holiday, or fun, or watching tv, going out for dinner. Bringing me and love to all, encompasses everything!

291. I have also had periods Janina where I have both been full-time employed and worked more than one job at a time and then had periods where I was not working as much – all very different circumstances and varying degrees of busyness but one common theme was how I felt about me. For years, I anguished over finding a true ‘balance’ but what I have come to realise now is that it is all about my relationship with self and if I am listening to and allowing how I feel about all that I do and all that I experience as the most important thing. We are not taught this in school, it is not passed on to us from our parents nor is it in the induction manual when we commence our working lives yet the most important tool for life, the ability to remain connected to how and what we feel, as opposed to what we do.

292. I can really feel your sweetness when I read this blog Janina. ” And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing.” This sentence alone inspires me to examine my relationship with myself and choose love at work, at home and everywhere.

293. I have fallen for that one too Janina, thinking that my work was the issue for me not feeling good about myself. However, when I landed my ‘dream job’ and I still didn’t feel great about myself, I really had to look at not what I was doing, but how I was with myself instead. It was deeply exposing. So now the focus for me is how I am in every job I do. To focus on my beingness, not on what I achieve.

294. Realising that we are responsible for everything that happens in our life is the real beginning or taking the steps back to soul.

     1. I agree Matthew how confronting this may be at times. But to know that we are responsible offers a new way to live our life, it gives us back the power we actually have. The power of our decisions.

295. I love how you have exposed that it is not our work that stops us from shining but the way we are with it and the more you connect to the beauty that lies within, the more joy you feel in yourself and therefore in anything you do.

296. Janina I loved what you have shared. I have also had a block around work and what has helped me (and is still very much work in progress) is to commit to doing whatever the tasks that need to be done, not just at work but in my day to day. How I feel with me at work impacts my time with clients, the quality of my work and my level of enjoyment. I have had the experience of doing the most simple and repetitive task, but not felt bored; I have just enjoyed the simplicity of it and being with me. I’ve found that when I get anxious and overwhelmed about all the jobs that need to be done at work or in my day-to-day, doing any work, paid or unpaid, feels like a chore.

297. This is awesome Janina. It really makes such a huge difference when we love ourselves more. It really magnifies into all areas of life including at work. I too used to find working a chore and would really hang out for the weekend. Now I love getting up and going to work with me. It’s so much more fun!

298. Reading this blog is perfect timing for me as I commit to being more loving with myself as I go about cleaning and caring for my home. I have found and still do find it easy to go into function and the ‘doing’ while going about the simple every day tasks but I absolutely agree with Janina ”And yes, it is possible to be joyfully working if I allow myself to be joyfully me” this is so beautiful… it comes down to my choice… to be with me in every thing I do or not – it’s that simple.

299. It’s beautiful to see how a shift in your love towards yourself has made such a change in the way you are with your work. Our love of self creates such a wonderful foundation, allowing us to bring all of us to whatever we do. Thank you for sharing your unfolding journey Janina, it’s very inspiring.

300. “I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.” Thank you Janina for describing your experience. Why indeed do we have different approaches for work, home or friends time? Don’t we carry our body around everywhere we go? Why not make it me time all day long by being loving and caring to ourselves wherever and with whomever we happen to be. We can move flawlessly between situations while maintaining our connection. This is certainly a work in progress for me.

301. I’m very inspired of your blog Janina, and by all the other comments. I’m still struggling at work and very often, I’m very exhausted. But I stop more often and ask myself, why have I lost myself in the doing again and slowly I can stay connected to myself better and better.

302. I can really relate to not feeling joyful at work and then blaming everyone, colleagues, the job, the executives, it wasn’t ever me that took responsibility for how i felt. Learning to take that responsibility 100%, developing a relationship with myself that ensures i ask the questions of myself, not allow chance to just happen. It is my responsibility as to what is happening in my life. This can be a big ouch, because it is so much easier to blame others. But being loving is a choice, to have a deeper connection with ourselves is a choice and one we have to make throughout each and everyday.

303. Coming back to this blog it highlights for me how I have had in the past this ‘work me’ and a ‘home me’ one works hard the other hardly works. However now I am learning that the ‘me’ doesn’t need to change depending on my location or current task and that quality of me just as me can be felt regardless of where me might be. How this happens is I pay attention and focus on my body, because that is after all the one thing that is with me wherever I go. As you write Janina our choices are our power to let ourselves get affected in certain ways depending on what we do or where we are or we can choose to focus on what is the constant in our lives.

304. I am responsible for everything which is happening in my life. Oh my gosh you stopped me right in my tracks with this sentence. You made me stop and realise that this is so true. I am so quick to blame someone or something and I even milk the ‘poor me’ for all that it is worth. Thank you Janina for your blog.

     1. We can never hold others responsible for the fall out of our own choices and this fact effectively retires any of the poor me syndrome that blame allows us to engage in.

305. Thanks for your sharing Janina. If we are connected to ourselves and are bringing all of us to whatever we are doing, then it’s possible to bring joy to (what appears to be) very mundane jobs.

306. My relationship with work is something that keeps popping up every now and then as an ‘issue’. I recently realised that a long held belief of ‘I am not good enough’ has often enough pushed me to be a pleaser accepting conditions that could be dishonouring of myself, and once I do that, that sets a standard – because they now know I would do it. I thought I naturally enjoyed working hard – but being a pleaser, there was expectations and needs that I wanted to be met, then there follows resentment when these are not met. So, building a steady connection with the love within me is a work in progress for me.

307. Since beginning to realise that the way I am effects everyone, work has taken on a whole new perspective I love working and being with others, a few years ago I couldn’t get further away and felt really disengaged. After being apart of Universal Medience there is absolutely no way I could return to the waywardness I felt.

308. Loving work, because you are loving you first – wow awesome Janina, and so completely true/a truth.

309. Starting to be myself at work and not play a role has been an amazing change. Suddenly work is not a task or a burden or something I hope will be over, but just a part of my day – and a very beautiful one, as I can connect with so many different people there.

     1. It is amazing once we stop playing a role and learn to be ourselves at work!

310. Janina, your blog offers so much, how work can be a playground for us to be us, but if we’re not there, then it’s so easy to blame it, when in fact, it’s us who abandoned us in the first place (the reason why not working doesn’t work either!). But as you’ve shown when we decide to occupy our lives, magic happens and of course work is not exempt, of course we’ll be there too, so all of a sudden, it’s no longer a chore, it’s a place to be us in life. I know this is how it’s been for me, I used to be someone who tolerated work as a means to an end, and now I enjoy being there, being me, and yes I can still have days when it’s difficult but now I trace it back and see I left me first and of course it doesn’t work then!!! So yes to being us in everything.

311. very sweet blog 🙂 ❤

312. Your words: “I am learning “to be me” also when I do things – not to go into function mode and to switch off my feelings, believing that’s the only way to do things.” stood out for me and describe very well what I am learning as well. I am realising that work is not just about doing the chores but that it is also about being me, expressing my qualities and myself in what I do. I also feel like people around me are asking for that, they do not want a robot just doing the chores, they want me! Thank you for sharing Janina.

     1. Yes Lieke it is so important to remind ourselves again and again that it is not about just getting things done but doing the chores with the quality we are bringing. Great example, nobody really wants a robot around them and to feel how much the qualities we are bringing are needed as a reflection.

313. Thank you Janina – so many gems in what you have discovered about yourself and your work relationship. I know my choices hold me back at work and if I continue to blame others I feel locked into patterns instead of taking responsibility for loving me and freeing what I think I am held in. I want to shine at work and have moments of doing so, but there is a commitment and a consistency in loving me first. Thank you for confirming this Janina.

314. Janina I feel many people can relate to feeling the obligation of having to go to work and that their life only happens when not at work.
     What you have discovered and changed with the support of Universal Medicine is absolute gold. Thank you.

315. A very powerful, simple and truth full line “I realise that I am responsible for everything which is happening in my life!”

316. So beautiful Janina, ‘I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.’ I feel the same, I used to see work as something I had to do and couldn’t wait to get home, but this has changed, I actually really enjoy work now and love working with people, I feel more energised when i’m working than when I have a day off work.

     1. Very inspiring to read Rebecca” I feel more energised when i’m working than when I have a day off work”-this is against the trend in our society as exhaustion is very widespread.

317. Joyful singing Janina I love your blog – what an inspiration to read about your changes and that all the joy I can feel in your blog is now for all people around you – wunderbar.

318. My relationship with me is in development, so I can really appreciate your journey and how you have achieved this and how much joy you get from bringing you to your workplace. Thank you Janina.

319. I absolutely love work. In fact I don’t really have a work not work concept – for me it is increasingly becoming me doing whatever I am doing or not doing without classification – just feeling whatever is required in any moment.

320. Janina, I so often go into function mode and switch off my feelings whilst at work too! I have this view that there are so many people and so much stuff going on around me that it’s a lot to take in. I think it’s too much and I don’t want to handle it or look at it all. Interesting to look at it… The way you are joyfully you with your work sounds amazing, who couldn’t have fun whilst with that?!

321. Wow Janina, I loved reading your blog. I can relate to everything you’ve shared. I definitely agree that I am responsible for my own life and choices. Blaming others when things don’t go my way never resolves anything. I am learning to be connected to myself with everything I do and to be consistent with being all the love that I am in every moment. Thank you for sharing your very inspiring blog.

322. This is a beautiful post Janina – thank you. I had always loved working but more so as form of recognition and acceptance. It was bringing me something that I needed, to feel fulfilled, and so I would push and drive myself to succeed. This led me to be so exhausted that I would often just ‘hang out’ for the weekend so I could check out and numb myself. I have since re-discovered that love that I am is within me, just by being me, that this is always with me. And so now I bring myself to work, my essence and now I truly love working without the drive, as I am with me. I find now that the weekends just come and am not exhausted, that it is simply another day and another opportunity to be with the joy of me in all that I do.

323. Thank you for your very honest blog, Janina. ‘I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing’. So true. We can be our own worst enemy for we already know exactly how to self sabotage very effectively. Instead of seeing my job as a lot of rules, processes and procedures, I now see it as an opportunity to be part of a team. Working together to help people stay at home and out of hospitals.

324. It is so very common to blame work for the experience we have while we are working. So it is great to read your comments: “Now I know that if things don’t work – I am responsible for it.” And “it is possible to be joyfully working – if I allow myself to be joyfully me.” A very refreshing and inspiring insight into our relationship to work.

325. I have experienced similar complications with jobs just because I didn’t want to be there and I was not committed to working… I saw putting effort into work as a waste of my time when it was not my business. However now that has totally changed and I have realised how much work is so supportive for everyday living. I commit to my job and this helps me commit in other areas of my life like home, relationships, study etc and it feels awesome to commit! Even though I don’t own the business I work for, I embrace it like I do. All it took was a dedicated choice and I work hard everyday

326. Working has always been used to define me – to make me who I am – this false way with life let alone work has proven to be a path of misery and pain. Feeling joy in myself, along with playfulness and love has supported me to see how work is just a part of our natural life and we all are so very good at it when we connect to the fact that we are made for working and supporting everyone.

327. A great offering Janina in how our work life, in fact all of our life, can be lived in a truly joyful way when we choose to be connected to ourselves and from there bring our natural way of being.

328. I truly appreciate the depth of your honesty Janina. Reading your blog, I can’t help but feel the joy of truly ‘letting you out’ and ‘allowing others in’ to your delicacy and depth of love and care – a joy that just feels it’s awakening here, but that is ready to embrace in full, and never look back.
     We so readily withdraw from the world (including working life), don’t we… for all its apparent harshness and lack of meaningful connection with people… I’ve certainly done my (large) share of this. And yet, what if it is WE who can make the difference? We who, in choosing to love, can potentially be the one to open the doors in others, rather than us waiting for the door to be first opened to us, before we shine, before we let them in…
     I so look forward to hearing about more of what develops for you.

     1. Gorgeous Victoria – your words have filled my chest with warmth and my face with a smile. Letting me out and letting others in feels so natural yet distant at times during my working day. This is something grand to awaken to and be aware of each day. Thank you.

        1. Awesome Rachael. What enormous EFFORT we put into holding the doors closed, i.e. effectively holding back our love. And how amazing it is, when we start to let it out and others in – phew… Just getting a taste of this, and there is so much more to come. 🙂

     2. Victoria, I love what you’ve shared, and I can see those doors you talk of, and how when we choose love, others can see that they can too as they have a live example there as a reference. And that’s what life is about showing our love and light in all we do; it really doesn’t matter what we do, today it could be working with computers, 300 years ago we could have been a blacksmith, very different tasks, yet at the end of the day we are there to be with and meet people, to show that we can be us no matter what we do, and that the quality can stay the same, the love is always there – what a gift.

        1. Beautifully said Monica. For far too long, I know I have awaited the love to be shown to me ‘first’, before really opening the doors (which are now feeling like enormous ‘gates’!). Bringing awareness of this to my every day, is well, everything… How else can others know and feel that it can be safe to open up, if we who have consciously chosen to connect to what this does truly mean, for all, hold back…

        2. Victoria, thank you what a clarion call, ‘if those of us who’ve consciously chosen to connect hold back’ … indeed if we do, what are we saying and how can we choose something if we don’t choose to live it for all.

329. Janina I could relate to being in a movie and not really wanting to be there, the older I got the more it became not just about work but about life. Realising that it is about how I am in life and at work and that blaming others or situations is not supportive to myself or anyone else has been a big turn around in everything I do. I am re-finding the playfulness and joy that I lost when I stopped enjoying being me.

     1. Yes Alison to bring that playfulness and joy in all areas of our lives this is what I am learning to bring to my partner, to work, to the projects I am involved in-not matter what task or situation. It is not to fall into doing, but to learn to enjoy and be me whilst doing what ever is needed ….

330. Yes, everything I do seems better when I am connected with myself.

331. Janina the commitment to working can be a big one for all of us. I can relate to labelling it as a ‘chore’ or something you just do to get to the weekend. I had a period of not working after a very long period of employment and for me neither were ‘it’. Working and then not working after a while gave me the same feeling. The only thing that changed for me and as you say is the way I took myself to work. I changed how I was and then working was different. I really enjoy working because it’s nothing different to what I do at home, the activities may look different but more and more they are feeling the same. I also love how you have highlighted the responsibility we have to everything and I get this even with writing this comment. Thank you.

     1. Yes, this is so true. How empty work can be without us in it; as is life empty without us in it. I really felt how the commitment you made to start being yourself – in all things – Janina is what changed everything around you – at work and in life.

     2. Ray what you have presented here makes so much sense – all activities are essentially the same – it is how we are, how we are being in the world that makes these activities flow and easy or get stuck and feel hard and difficult.

     3. So true Raymond, I had associated work with getting run down, exhausted and sick every time, then would need to take a break and launch back in. It never occurred to me that work could be any other way. But I discovered that I was running life the same – both working and not working – only one was more intense. I was still getting run down and sick through the way I approached life and how I was looking after, or should I say, not looking after myself. Underneath all this was a fundamental disinterest in engaging in a world that did not seem ok, but now I understand that what matters is what I bring to life. Now I approach life with a far greater sense of responsibility and commitment, and the changes to my life, health, work and those around me is amazing. Not only that, it is actually a lot of fun.

     4. ‘Neither were it’. Because it, is us, not it.

332. Janina you offer some great insights into our relationship with work and ultimately ourselves. I found it interesting and timely to reflect on how we so often view work as a duty, a chore, something we have to do to put a roof over our head. It seems less and less we hear about people who love their job. I’ve recently changed jobs after 7 years, which also happens to be how long I’ve been attending Universal Medicine events, and while i most days I enjoyed work I’ve realised that it had become a bit of chore but it had also become a comfort – somewhere I could go nearly every day and get the job done without too much effort. I hardly ever took all of me to work. At the same time I have been developing a deeper relationship with myself based on the teachings of Universal Medicine, so I am more self-loving and willing to take responsibility for my choices. I was quite shocked and scared when I found out my contract wouldn’t be renewed – there goes my comfort and my income!!! Interestingly many opportunities presented themselves outside of work that required me to bring 100% commitment and 100% of myself and I loved it. I realised then that in work I still had not ever fully valued and appreciated what I can bring, I was holding back – playing the old ‘I’m not good enough’ game, that was my comfort zone. I have now started two part-time jobs and I am loving them. I make sure I am 100% present at work, and that I am connected to who I am and I am expressing and sharing openly all that I bring to a project. I can honestly say it is a joy to go to work.

     1. Awesome Michelle to hear that somebody is joyfully going to work-this is huge and so important for people to hear that this is actually possible and in writing that I feel the joy and expansion-thats the way to I want to live and be.

333. Work as a reflection of how we are with ourselves, beautiful. We can feel great and shine all day, regardless of where we are.

334. I just loved reading this today. It is so true what you are saying here. And being playful is also so important. Today I went out with a friend early in the morning and there were so many rabbits scurrying around and hopping about it just made me laugh and brought to my notice how a particular situation at work had left me feeling rather serious – and my concern over this had led me to stay up late and hence be headachey and serious in the morning. Great reminder to take extra loving care with myself now and especially when I go to bed tonight.

335. Awesome revelations here Janina, it is funny how we create patterns whether it be in relationships or how we work. It is not until we stop and realise how we are the ones that are creating the problems, and once we take responsibility we are able to get to the root of why we are creating it and then we can truly heal.

336. A very inspiring and affirming article thank you Janina. I see how I go into a role of how i think I should be at when I’m working, and should relate to my client, in a way that is expected of me. This idea and belief of how I should be is completely fabricated by myself and not based on reality. Furthermore it’s very exhausting to hold back who I really am and play this lesser version of me everyday at work. Rather than bringing the tender sensitive, loving, caring man that I am to all that I do.

     1. I agree TM it is important to discover how many roles we are playing especially at work and much healing you bring to your workplace once you offer a true refection and truly meet your clients in simply being yourself as the “tender sensitive, loving, caring man”. Awesome!

337. Such a lovely and inspiring start to the morning before heading-out to work. Thank you.

338. That’s true commitment to life, Janina! I love your reminder to shine my light no matter what’s around me. That it is all about acceptance and being love.

339. The very word work conjures up many ideas and beliefs about what work is meant to be. I also felt for a long time I could not be me at work as people were paying me to work and it is almost as if I gave up the right to express or be any of me at work. Boy am I glad I have let that idea go, work is so much more fun, productive and enjoyable with out that idea.

340. Beautiful to read, that you reclaimed your love and joy in life, so that you can enjoy all of you in everything that you do- no matter what .

341. It’s great what this blog is revealing. There are too many people in this world that do see working as a nuisance and they want to be doing what they like and have their hobbies as their full time job. What I have also noticed is that the ‘self-love’ we have learnt about through Universal Medicine, does involve the food we eat, how we sleep and having nurturing moments for ourselves like having a bath, going for a walk, cooking a nice meal etc etc. BUT commitment to work is a crucial part of SELF-LOVE. If we don’t commit to our work but have ‘loving’ moments with ourselves and when we get home we are not actually truly loving ourselves, for if we were and if it was true, we would commit to our working life in full. It’s great that you have realised that loving your work – is loving you.

     1. Beautiful expressed Ariel …”BUT commitment to work is a crucial part of SELF-LOVE”. This what we need to understand that we do need to commit to all aspect of our life. And eventually let go of the distinction that this is free time and this is work time and just to see it as playground to be joy-fully me.

342. Beautiful sharing Janina. Amazing how your resistance to work was a resistance to yourself and how everything changed when you fell in love with yourself!!!

343. Thank you Janina, I can feel the way you have claimed a natural joyfulness independent of the woe being done and it is inspiring to read how things changed for you.

344. This was beautiful to read Janina and how true if you love yourself then you feel the love and joy in all you do. I use to see work as a doing and getting paid for what I do – no love in that. For me now it is about connecting with everyone I come into contact with and being more open and loving. (This is a work in progress) This brings joy to the work place.

     1. I agree Anne, it is awesome if we let people at work in and connect to them in a loving and open way. Then we can start to be who we are and the joy being at work begins….

345. I can relate to much of what you have written about Janina, it is some time since I have worked in an office but I remember feeling it was a bind, that it was something we had to endure as part of life and never for one moment that it was about how l was with me that mattered. Thank you for this gem.

346. Work is so often seen as something you do outside of yourself, the private life and the holidays are the real life! While most of the time is spent at the working place, it seems a funny perception. We work so we can go on holidays or buy a new car etc.
     What a different life if we would integrate all of us everywhere!

     1. Yes Simone I deeply agree “What a different life if we would integrate all of us everywhere!” a life worth living!

347. “I always had resistance to work; I saw it as a duty, something that took away time from me so that in the end of a working day I felt to not have time left for me.” – I can relate to what you say here Janina, but this is changing as I make different choices to take care of myself and am so much more content so work doesn’t feel like such a chore.

348. When we choose to live in a loving way, all our experiences, whether they be at work or recreational can be an awesome opportunity to express love and joy.

349. What a beautiful expression Janina!

350. It was really interesting reading your blog Janina. I can relate to so much you talk about. It is a great support as I am now looking for a job. I feel I can make a whole new imprint in working. Thank you.

351. Hi Janina, it’s so true what you say here. I really enjoy working, and I don’t have what people might say is a ‘dream job’ or something like that – I work in an office doing a job that some people might not find so interesting. I enjoy it because of the way I feel first, and then enjoy connecting with people in the office, on the phone, outside the office, on my lunch break – everywhere! My working life and outside/home life is not separate from each other – because I’m always with me! (couldn’t get rid of me if I tried 😉 )

     1. Awesome Melissa! Thank you for sharing you 🙂

352. I recognise a lot in this article, I have floated around from job to job for many years and I have also had many many times not working, and I can say for sure it was not a joyful time. There was no purpose in my life not working and I now realise that any job can be fun, its all about what I am willing to bring to it. If there are issues now I now want to resolve them in the job, not run away to the next project but look at how I am and what I can bring that is different.

353. Awesome change around. Diet for me is a big thing too… I usually love work, but I know when I have days that I don’t feel like being there I haven’t taken care of myself.

     1. Yes, Emily I know these days too…and it underlines how important it is to take responsibility for myself and the quality I bring to everything and everywhere.

354. I totally agree Brendan, and I would add to that.. “the more loving I am with myself, the more I enjoy work – and everything else I do and everyone else I am with.” You’re right, this is very simple maths.

355. I know that for most of my working life it had been about getting through the day as quick as possible, funny really as you cant escape time!! Until I was inspired to make the day, about more than money.

356. You have made a great turn around concerning work, from absolutely trying to avoid work to love your work. The key is that you started to make more loving choices and as such love and accept yourself in a deeper way. I realize when I am truly caring and nurturing myself, I enjoy work a lot. Awesome sharing, Janina.

357. Thanks Janina so true, what a difference it makes when you perform something with all of you

358. Thank you for this article Janina.

     ‘I feel that it’s great to bring my joyful way to work and light up my workplace.’

     I feel that bringing my joyful way to work is very powerful.

     Not only do I get to just be myself, but my colleagues, through inspiration, have an opportunity to also feel that they can bring this quality to work also. It’s catchy and makes working a pleasure. Because in truth, no matter where we are, it’s all about our true connection with other people.

359. A very observant post. Upon reflection I can see that I have often not been me at work and that the days I most enjoyed were in fact the days I did choose to be me. Simple really.

360. I love the step you made towards taking full responsibility for yourself at work. I find myself still stuck in the blame game and not wanting to fully see my part in the office and not choosing to consistently bring all of me to it. It’s easy to blame the outside but it doesn’t heal or expose what is hurting on the inside. It’s my job to be with that and take responsibility for how I am with myself, others and my work. Great blog, thank you.

361. Thank you Janina – as you say in your blog we tend to make life into parts – the work part, the home part, the family part etc. Its very easy to act differently in the parts where as what you present here is that you now connect to who you truly are and then this is what you take to all areas of your life – no more parts!

362. Yes Janina Koch. After finding Serge Benhayon and reclaiming my life back, I went from not working to working very hard, however I was feeling so tired at the end of the day. I then ate food to numb and fill me back up. Even though I was working very hard and performing amazingly at my job, I was trying to make up for how much I had not been in the work force and now trying to be recognised for doing an amazing job, leaving me drained and empty at the end of each day.
     Focusing now on just being me is my work, and the opportunity and learning that this brings each day is the job I have. It does not matter what you do, it’s how you do it – work is now so enjoyable and a pleasure to perform.

     1. Thanks for sharing your experience Rik, of being in the workforce and trying to ‘make up’ for not being in the workforce. It makes so much sense that if we are working for recognition we will be drained and empty at the end of the day, and not enjoy what we do very much. And I love how you say “It does not matter what you do, it’s how you do it”

363. The first paid job outside the family business coincided with a relationship breakup that really hurt me hard. Could not enjoy it even if it was a dream position. AS I walked forward I learned to load me with work and to feel what normally would be considered as normal free time (weekends for example) with work (writing academic stuff). That was my moment of joy (now I know how much I enjoyed evading me from the world through work).
     In the last few years I was able to realise that I could still use my professional abilities but in a way that does not drive me away from the world but towards it.

364. It is great to come back to this blog Janina, after some months. It still makes me smile. The feeling you have at the end with the ‘ri ri ri’, is a lot of fun and is very warming to read. My job attitude has changed a lot since I last read your words. Today I can say that for me, most days I like singing ‘ri ri ri’ too! I feel I have left behind a belief that work had to be serious somehow. Now I am giving myself full permission to have fun.

365. Thanks Janina, it is so true that how we are with work (anything for that matter) is based so much on how we are with ourselves.

366. This has got me thinking about my attitude to work and my work colleagues attitudes.

     There’s soooo many people (most?!) who see work, ” … as a duty, something that took away time from me so that in the end of a working day I felt to not have time left for me …” and “only when I was not at work I could be me, with me, and doing what I really wanted to do …”.

     Most of my work colleagues can’t wait to finish their shift each day and rush out the door feeling mightily relieved. How can people spend so many hours of their lives feeling this way, what a waste of energy and life … we compensate by various distractions and vices, usually at the expense of the body.

     And yet it’s not actually anything to do with the job, it’s totally one’s attitude and approach to it – ” … I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself …”

     Thank you for the discussion and ponderings … ongoing!

367. I have learned that although I have spent most of my life hoping or expecting that various things from outside of me would make me feel good. In all of this time at best, if that did happen the feeling would never last and I would be disappointed, and at worst it would not happen and I would get resentful. Your last sentence beautifully captures the essence of what I have learned – that I am responsible for my life and what I put out is what I will experience. This is also my experience of work now : “Through choosing to just be myself at work, I have realised how much fun it can be! And, that I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.”

368. I used to complain about my job being too easy and boring. Then I started to focus on being more present in the day. The whole thing changed enormously and now I love my job!

369. I love what you share here Janina. Yes work can be a whole different experience when we bring all of who we are to it.

370. I love the last line of your blog, it say’s it all. Love ourselves and we will love the all.

371. It is amazing to feel how it is our responsibility to be all of who we are in all situations. If we are true to ourselves we can be joyful in almost anything – if we are not true to ourselves we will struggle to find joy in anything.

     1. Thank you Lee what you say is so important.

372. This blog leaves me with a really tender feeling and I sense that this is your Livingness, Janina. The joy that I feel here is about knowing, that this transformation has taken place for many many students of Universal Medicine, like myself, too. What a blessing for planet Earth to have so many joyful healthy carers for society.

     1. Very beautiful and gorgeous to read it said this way Felix.

373. I just came back to your beautiful blog again. To feel what your loving choices have brought to your life ist so beautiful. For me it is still amazing to feel to what depth it is how I am with myself that forms the basis of how I experience the world to be with and for me.

374. “Through choosing to just be myself at work, I have realised how much fun it can be! And that I actually love work, because I have begun to love me”. How lovely to feel the lightness in you. What you express is so true, as I find work just flows the more present and loving I am with myself. It seems so strange that we feel we can’t be ourselves at work (like putting our life on hold) when it is such an integral part of our lives.

375. I’m eager to get to work Janina and embrace the day. I may not be with myself all day long, but the more blogs I read the more I’m able to be with me, to truly express.

376. Lovely sharing, I can completely relate to the work situation where you feel work is taking time out of your day. Then I realised that everything is my expression and then I began to have fun.

377. I loved the way you expressed the belief that you couldn’t be you at work, that is was only during the time away from work that you could be yourself. It is like we hide ourselves, holding back our true expression. I remember first feeling this way at high school.
     Thanks for sharing this blog, very relatable.

378. Bringing me to work is very challenging for fear of the reaction if “me” needs to speak up for herself and disagree with someone/something. Taking responsibility for my actions has been a big one too – not just staying comfortable in my role, where I could be proactive in learning more rather than relying on others for the answers. There is a lot to learn from our work place – we spend a lot of time there which gives us that opportunity to reflect at the end of each day how we have been with ourselves.

     1. Christine I really liked your comment re how we can reflect on how we’ve been with ourselves at work, at the end of a day. It feels great to set aside some time to reflect.

        I’m noticing the moments where I abandon myself to seek approval and either retrospectively am being more accepting and tender with myself. I’m also noticing and celebrating the moments when I come back to me and appreciate what i bring. I’m noticing where I’m harsh on myself and use this awareness to be more loving and accepting.

379. I used to think work was a drag and looked forward to my days off. That is no longer my normal, as I enjoy what I do, and don’t make work different than any other thing that I do in my life and in my days. What a waste of 35 hours per week, if I were to treat them any less than the rest of the amazing hours in my week.

     1. Great point Rosie! Makes so much sense. Every moment is as meaning and important as the next.

     2. Beautiful Rosie, why should we have a work and a not work mode in our daily rhythms compared to being myself in all that I do. When I claim to be my full self in whatever situation, work on non work, I do honour the unique expression I can bring to the world and I do provide society the reflection of living another way, a way based on developing oneself to be at the true service of society.

     3. Yes I too used to think work was a drag but not anymore. Work is just another space for us to be all that we are and to share it with everyone around us. I love my work so much more now that I am being more of myself.

     4. Great comment Rosie. Very true, what an awesome way to be? To fully connect to work and make it no different to any other day in our life, of being joyful, bringing commitment and love to everything that we do.

380. Thank you Janina.
     I love how you shared, ‘And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing.
     I completely relate to feeling completely different about work. Today I love work and feel the joy that I bring to my work place. This has all come about from the teachings and presentations from Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine about connecting and being self caring and self nurturing in life- this has automatically linked to greater self-worth.

381. I really enjoyed this article because it makes so much sense to me. When we don’t connect or meet people our days are empty and dull. What a great environment to spread our love and light (into the workplace) and offer our colleagues a healing.

382. This is a great reminder for me Janina as I used to feel about work as you used to. Now I feel that work is just a part of my day and an opportunity to reflect who I am to others. It can be hard at times as stereotypically it is ingrained in us to view work as something we have to do and as a burden. What a great opportunity to change that!

     1. I agree Anne and if we let go of the concept this is “work” this is “free time” than it helps to be ourselves where ever we are and to learn to treat everybody equally loving not matter if it is my best friend or my boss.

383. Thank you Janina. I have felt the same: going to work, playing a role then coming home exhausted, resenting work because there is so little time left for me! It has taken a while to realise that there is indeed time for me, all day, every day. All I have to do is be me and bring me to every thing that I do.

     1. Beautiful realization Janne:
        “It has taken a while to realise that there is indeed time for me, all day, every day. All I have to do is be me and bring me to every thing that I do.”
        What I have discovered to allow myself constantly to surrender into my body, this helps to stay connected during long (working) days and gives me a feeling of yes there is me-time/quality and this can be everywhere not matter what I do or where I am.

384. Thanks Janina – your story is very relatable for me and from what I have read above from the feedback, I am not alone. I love my job but have found I still come home exhausted and dissatisfied somehow. I am working on being more connected to how I am with myself at work – stopping to check with myself that I am being open with others, moving with gentleness and noticing when I need to re-balance functionality and ‘doing’ with supporting myself with moment to moment precious care.

385. Thank you Janina for exposing how I too blame work for not making me joy-ful. How lost was I, wanting the ‘outside’ to fulfill the ‘inside’ when true joy can only come from me and flow out.

386. Thank you Janina for this wonderful and truly inspiring blog :o)

387. This is the perfect blog for me to read right now too. I have been in the same job for 15 years…..correction I have been taking my body to the same job for 15 years and feeling the same level of resentment for …hmm..15 years.
     What I have been asking myself in recent weeks is why? Why so much resentment?
     The truth is I love what I do and I get to be with people and offer them love and tenderness in a stressful setting. What could be more beautiful than that?
     So I am feeling how I hold my body, and feeling how I hold back saying things, and feeling when I get tired, and when I get anxious – just watching myself and being attentive to what I need in those moments.
     The shifts are already profound.

388. So many people feel the same as you used to Janina about work interferring with their life. Everyday I have people say to me that their life would be much better if they did not need to work. I used to feel like that, that somehow if I had the perfect job or did not need to work then all would be great.

     Since attending the courses at Universal Medicine my whole attitude to work has changed. I absolutely love going to work now because I can feel how lovely it is to be with myself while I work. I no longer have the separation of being at work and then being away from work, it is all the same. It’s all about just being true to myself in everything that I do.

389. Hello Missspringclean, great name!
     Yes appreciation and acceptance of our selves is most important and something we need to focus on again and again. Then we can bring this quality into the work we do.
     I have worked cleaning houses for family for several years and it is such an important work to do and much needed!!

390. Janina, It amazing how we pick the perfect blog to read.
     I hadn’t been working much in the last 7 years, but in that time I always felt like I should be doing more.Not feeling joyfull with myself. not just allowing myself to just be.
     I can now feel how because of this I was in a drive all the time. Never content weather working or not working. Feeling that I was not enough.
     Thank you for taking the time to express.

391. Thank you for uncovering the illusion of work. I too have been caught in the idea of working ‘taking time away from me’ and that I’m loving a double life from how I am with myself at home to what I become at work. This is still very much a work in progress for me and your sharing has certainly supported that learning. Why can’t I be as loving as I am at home at work? I can!

     1. Great Rache!
        I even realised that when I am not loving at work I am also not really loving at home and the other way around. Before I thought it was the case but now I observe if I check out at work it has a huge effect when I come home the way I am with myself and my partner. If I choose to be love at work I come home with this quality to meet my partner. Everything matters.

392. Thank you Janina, this is a lovely reminder that work need not be a chore when we simply choose for it to become an extension of who we are and therefore a part of our daily expression. And what makes work most worth while is the interaction with others that it brings.

393. Janina i write down lines from blogs that resonate with me. I wrote from your story ‘i still choose unloving ways that stop me from being amazing’ because that spoke volumes to me. Thank you x

394. “And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing.”

     It’s amazing how much power we give to the outside world as the reason why we feel so badly, however your gorgeous blog, and for me particularly the quote above, really brings it back to the reality of a foundation of loving choices. Your quote also highlighted for me that we are all already amazing inside, so if I’m not feeling that, I might need to get out of my own way!

     1. Yes, Melinda lets shine your light!

395. Thanks Janina for that very real example of how most of us feel about work. I’m in the process of looking for new work at the moment and I’m dreading it. I realise how much pressure I put on myself when I feel like I need to prove myself. I know there is another way to approach it and I’m working on that. Your blog has further enforced the fact that there is another way.

     1. Yes, Elodie- there is another way and it is also about trusting in Gods Plan and we will be supported to get new work offered or feel impulses were to go next without getting into searching desperate for new work. Not making it only about i have to work and earn money, but the see work in a wider picture. How important it is to bring me to work and reflect a different way. This means i hold myself with appreciation and acceptance, than there is no need to prove myself. And to let go of perfection and allowing to make mistakes-than we can drop the pressure and we joyfully can be.

396. Wonderful what you wrote. I remember that when I went to one of the first workshops, somebody asked how to cope with work. Serge Benhayon said Bring you to the work. I could feel immediately that this was the key. Since then I have, just like you, in my own way started doing that. It is actually not a doing. It’s far simpler being me than doing me, when I look at it now. It has been a journey and still is to bring me in full to wherever I go and whomever I am with.

     1. Thank you Caroline, beautyful sharing. If we let go of the concept this is leisure/off work time and this is work time and meet everyone with the same love and openness, then we can let ourselves even more just be: everywhere with everyone.

397. Thanks Janina, your blog confirms how much everyone benefits around us when we are being our true selves.

398. “And I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing. I realize more and more what depths of beauty I am – we all are – and just need to let it out. It is actually simple” I agree Janina we can make life so complex instead of accepting the simplicity of life and us in life. Great how you discovered that you can shine everywhere.

399. Beautiful Janina, I can hear you singing as you go down the street. When we bring the joy of who we are, basically us, into everything we do it changes things, and those things we may have perceived as a chore no longer are, they just become another way to express us.
     I’m learning to apply this more at work, it’s still the place where I can get lost and stressed and yet more and more I catch myself when that happens and stop and ask what’s going on?

400. What a beautiful way to present how work can be so joyful and our contribution to it. I love the way you explain that we are responsible for everything that we do and the responsibility we have in every single part of our life and the ripple effect. Thank you Janina.

401. I as well have had many jobs and have struggled with having to go to work to do the right thing and to be the man to provide. I love working now and I love meeting new people. To be of service, to be myself, is the best way to spend my days.

402. This is such a powerful statement Janina – “I actually love work, because I have begun to love me”. It is so needed for everyone to hear, because many people don’t enjoy themselves at work, and blame it on ‘having a desk job’ or being ‘too busy’ or not having enough time etc. but while these things have an impact, to what degree and what that impact is (whether it has a positive or negative effect on our self-image) is based on whether we enjoy being with ourselves – then it doesn’t matter so much WHAT we do, more about HOW we are when we are doing it. Amazing

     1. I love this Jane: “I have a choice in the way I am in the world”, brilliant point.

403. I was feeling tired and like I don’t want to go to work today. Reading your blog has inspired me to approach work with a different attitude and to take responsibility for how I feel and not blame going to work for how I feel. Thanks Janina.

404. Great blog Janina, I agree with you: ‘I realise that I am responsible for everything which is happening in my life!’. In every aspect of our life we are responsible for what we create. So we can’t blame work, colleagues or the weather for how we feel. Freeing and exposing at the same time.

405. Thank you Janine,
     What an incredible way to see work – as a supportive part of your life and not a chore.
     This line makes so much sense;
     ‘.. I have realised that it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing.’
     As you commit to yourself – everything steps up! Another confirmation that everything is connected

406. The number of times I have blamed work for being miserable…… The misery was inside me all along. Your honest article Janina is very healing thank you. What I discovered attending the workshops and courses with Universal Medicine is that it is down to us and nothing is imposed on us – we choose it. Simple.

     1. This is great Jane, I can feel this need to be brought to the companies: to look at our relationship to work and “why we have fallen out of love with work”-amazing! That there is another way how I can be with myself and be at work equally. We spend most our time at work, how important is it to make our working life something we all enjoy. And we all play a part in this.

407. Janina this is so true. I know that if I am not enjoying work it’s got nothing to do with work but with me. I am currently doing a job I used to think I’d find boring because it is very straight forward but I really enjoy it. I used to get bored very quickly but that was just because I switched off from connecting with myself and called it boredom. Now I deal with things that are bothering me more often I enjoy work because I enjoy being with me. If I am not enjoying work then I know there’s something there niggling me that I need to look at and let go of, I do still try and bury stuff but I know doing so means I will not enjoy my day full stop.

     1. Often there are ideals and beliefs we hold about certain work which also stops us from enjoying us doing them. So great Karin, that you saw through finding certain jobs boring because you actually missed yourself.

408. Gorgeous Janina, so inspiring to read, ‘Through choosing to just be myself at work, I have realised how much fun it can be! And, that I actually love work, because I have begun to love me.’ I am also finding this to be true for me with work, the more I love me and feel my tenderness and beauty the more simple and enjoyable my work is.

409. An inspiring blog and great reminder.

410. I love your blog, Janina, and the bit about the food you eat at work is so true. For the past 6+ weeks, I’ve chosen to bring in food for lunch that my husband and I cook at home. I have not missed a day, and I feel steadier and more attentive to what’s going on around me at work than when I ate healthy foods from restaurants.

411. I love how you bring your joyful way to work and light up the workplace, that feels great.

412. Beautifully inspiring blog Janina. I can completely relate to when you share ” I am learning “to be me” also when I do things – not to go into function mode and to switch off my feelings, believing that’s the only way to do things.” I have been working on this for the last several months, and how much of a difference it has made in my life, it has allowed me to be this reflection for others.

     1. Yes Amita, to go into function mode doesn’t work anymore, it is painful to feel in my body because i miss me.

413. Simply Wow. This blog is a brilliant reminder that it is me that chooses to be busy, stressed or miserable etc and NOT the job doing that to me. The more I choose to love me the more I can be me regardless of where I am, at work or home. Recently I have questioned how I go to work – do I work just to get in over and done with and paid at the end or do I go to choose to love myself in different situations and with/around others? Knowing that in this way I can support myself in far greater ways then just financially.

     1. Thank you for sharing!

     2. Leigh, that is simply lovely, thank you for sharing your way.

414. Someone once said to me ‘We go to work, we hang our soul up on a peg when we arrive and we collect it on the way out when we leave later that day.’ Your blog presents a much healthier alternative – the choice to take yourself with you, to be all of you at work rather than the person you think they expect you to be or you expect yourself to be. You’ve raised a question for me. If you don’t take yourself to work, then just who are you taking and where do You go meanwhile?!

415. Thanks Janina. A reminder to stay light and have fun at work. I have a tendency at times to be serious and intense at work and in those moments it would be great to remember to lighten up and be play-full, you have inspired me to do this more. The people I support appreciate being sung to.

     1. Mmmm, thanks Janina, a great reminder again to stay light at work.

416. Beautiful blog Janina – I find that when I am myself at work I appreciate what I do a lot more than when I’m distracted or not completely with it; and what I do is in essence help humanity by being love with every single person that walks in the door, and every single thing that I do!

417. Very inspiring blog Janina. It is amazing how much difference we can make in people’s lives if we connect to ourselves. Thank you

418. What a joy it is when we realise that it is how we are that determines how we experience life – whether it be depression, sadness etc or full of joy, it is our choice, our responsibility. This is an inspiring blog demonstrating this. Thank you Janina

419. It’s very interesting to read so clearly that difference that comes with commitment – to yourself, to life and to work. I can feel quite clearly from your blog Janina, that it has been a complete game changer!

420. Thank you for sharing Janina. I have struggled for many years and had many jobs to find one that I thought I would enjoy, only to find it a struggle and very disappointing. What I realised is that I was expecting work to be a certain way and ended up blaming work, instead of looking at how I was within the workplace. It’s lovely to read your experience of work.

     1. It is so true Julie, that we have a lot expectation and if they are not fulfilled we react , get frustrated.
        Instead learning to be myself at work and to let unfold what i need to learn in this particular workplace to be more of me and to allow other to be were there are-not wanting to change them or help them.

421. It’s funny what we load different words with. How we automatically assume work is pressure, a race against the clock, that Monday morning feeling, or can’t wait until Friday, etc. It’s a word and something that we do, so of course if we bring ourselves fully to everything which we do, we can only be rewarded in turn.

422. Great blog Janina, thank your sharing this. I can relate to what you said about the feeling of only being able to be yourself when you are at home and ‘free’ to do whatever you want. I am not working at the moment, I am studying full time, but whenever I get a new job I will take stock of your blog!

423. Thank you Janina for your inspirational words. They arrive as I’m endeavouring to be more of me at work and not react to situations that arise there. A great reminder of how I am with me as a reflection in my day.

424. Janina, I just love this blog! As you say, it is so simple. What I have found is that feeling all of me can be such a subtle feeling, so delicate, that I can almost miss feeling it at times when I take ‘moments’ through the day. But, if I commit to it, it is so rich and beautiful, and so playful! Thank you for your really wonderful words.

425. “Now, as I have discovered more of my loving, tender essence, I have experienced that it is possible to go to work connected to me, and in knowing I can be there and not lose me in this I have a new commitment to being at work!”

     Janina, thank you for sharing your awesome revelations. It is ironic how we try so hard to find the one job we really want to spend our life doing, then don’t enjoy it, when actually we could choose any work and love doing it.

     1. Doug, you have profoundly captured what our relationship to work tends to be: we try hard to find the one job we really want be doing and then don’t enjoy it, while we could actually enjoy any work we choose – simply because of the joy we bring to it!

     2. I really felt the truth in ‘we could choose any work and love doing it’. Yes, it really is that simple, is it not.

     3. So agree Doug, and in the discontentment we are always looking for the elusive better job.
        All we have to do is love who we are as we do whatever we do.

     4. Yes so true, it is not what we do but the way we choose do it that makes the difference.

426. Janina, what a beautyful article, I love how you speak of realising that “…it is not my work which stops me from shining, but the way I am with myself and how I still choose unloving ways to stop me from being amazing. I realize more and more what depths of beauty I am – we all are – and just need to let it out. It is actually simple.”

     I can feel the love and joy you have in your work from your writing.

     And you have it in a nut shell… the unloving ways we choose to stop us from being amazing.
     The choice then is to choose the loving ways and build a new foundation with them step by step, to feel the “depths of beauty ” that we are. Thank you

427. How awesome to read how loving yourself has flowed into your life at work, Janina, and that even if people are behaving in a non-loving way you can accept it and to let them be and not react. Great inspiration for everyone to allow themselves to be joyful in everything they do.

428. Hi Janina, over here on the other side of the world I received your blog at the same time I was just thinking about how I need to find a way to remain me no matter what else is going on around me – especially with the mothers and children I work with. I often find it challenging so thanks for your inspiring words

429. This was a really good reminder for me to look at how I am being at work, home or anywhere and am I being all of me, all of the time? I know there are times when I too dull myself with food, work or at home in front of the TV. So it is a daily ritual of reflecting on my day, being honest and making more and more choices that build love in my body.

430. Very inspirational Janina. It is amazing we think it is work we dislike, when we are actually disliking the way in which we live with ourselves. Once we bring changes to support how we live with ourselves we actually become aware of how much we love work. Janina I have also been one to blame, when all I had to do was to start to love and treasure myself, which is much more enjoyable than the blame game.

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