I write in relation to ’The Livingness Workshop – Stage 1’ facilitated by Serge Benhayon of Universal Medicine on 15 February 2015. This was my first experience seeing Serge live, albeit from a webcast to Sydney. Having undertaken some of my own research prior to attending, I was reasonably certain that this was going to be a special day.

Serge Benhayon opened the Livingness Workshop with an introduction and made a simple statement that this was our workshop – not his – and this was the theme throughout. The workshop had a base structure to it, however this organically evolved through the contributions of the students.

I was pleasantly surprised by the willingness of so many people to freely and openly contribute to the group discussions. There was a significant commonality among the group demonstrating a collective need to challenge the way we are living.

Serge noted that our lives are being restrained and often defined by our personal hurts and experiences. Serge at this time spoke about a way of living continuum; in one direction there was pure evil, in the opposite direction pure love, in the middle was ‘normal’ – with many incremental steps along the pathway. As we have all been hurt we typically develop protection mechanisms to try and prevent this from happening again, however this so-called protection or barrier prevents us from moving forward, and we get trapped around the so-called ‘normal’.

Have we, or are we, creating a self-perpetuating life cycle? Do we feel that we are less exposed, less vulnerable – more comfortable with being ‘normal’?

Serge noted that if five, ten or twenty people have hurt you there is no direct linkage to suggest that the remaining seven billion people in the world will. This really resonated with me as I realised that I am defining or projecting myself more by what others have done (or may do) to me and not by who I am or who I can be.

If I choose to move more to the pure love side with a resultant lowering of the barriers, accepting and releasing the hurts, this then will attract more love, more openness, and I will establish a better connection with myself and ultimately define a new life cycle – or will I in effect, simply be returning to the life that I should be living?

Time to take the first step …

In the week after The Livingness Workshop, I had several people share personal issues with me and I was able to use the example above. I could see a realisation in their eyes and a natural connection with this message.

Throughout the session Serge encouraged an open discussion. He took all questions, respectfully challenged assumptions and, threaded through his comments there was a deep wisdom that seemed innately familiar.

Upon reflection, Serge Benhayon’s message is not based on some ‘out there’ radical concepts, but on common sense – a commodity that appears none too common in the way we live our lives today.

I would like to thank Serge Benhayon of Universal Medicine for his part in delivering this enlightening experience, my fellow Universal Medicine students for their most generous contributions and openness, and my Universal Medicine practitioner, Donna Gianniotis who is such an inspiration.

By Matt Nolan

Further Reading:
The Livingness Workshops
We Are Not Our Hurts
Loving Daily Choices and Healing Hurts