“A first degree burn we call a kiss” was the answer from a spokesperson from a recent Tony Robbins motivational seminar, after the event reached the news due to the severe burns on people’s feet after a ‘motivational fire walk’ that is advertised to supposedly change people’s lives forever.
People are desperate to engineer changes to their lives as the constant pursuit of happiness has left many stuck in a life without a deeper purpose, and yet others are left struggling to achieve the very same futile purpose they started out to achieve – that albeit when reached – soon fades into purposelessness.
The world is full of promising healers, coachers, trainers, etc. who say they have found the ‘way to happiness’ but in truth, it is mainly about the way to capitalise, making big bucks off people who are desperately wanting change in their lives. From this place of desperation, people are willing to pay thousands of dollars to burn their feet (and other such bizarre practices) in the belief that this is bringing them the will to finally conquer life.
In 2007 I said yes to an invitation from my sisters after having observed some very profound changes in their lives. My older sister had changed from a spiritual new age fanatic who I could not keep a conversation with, or even share quality time with, into a true older sister who was now interested in people, building a connection with me, was very committed to life, earning money, and had a clear purpose in life.
My younger sister, with whom I shared years supporting to get her out of her depression, and who had chosen for the last years that alcohol was her best companion to get some fun out of life, suddenly stopped being depressed, stopped drinking and took an unprecedented pro-active attitude to life that was so surprising to me that I was curious enough to go to a Universal Medicine workshop with them, presented by a man called Serge Benhayon and held in Westbury in Somerset, England.
At that time I had a profound repulsion for anything related to new age, healing, holding hands, hugging and talking about problems, so I went there quite sceptical as, from my experience, there was either conventional medicine putting you on not always very efficient drugs, or all this alternative ‘bla-bla’ that from my point of view just served to make people feel better by sharing their misery.
However, what Serge Benhayon presented was nothing close to motivating, convincing, needing to conquer life, to beat life or manage it, but it was about living life from the truth of who we are.
Serge Benhayon simply presented that “everything is energy” and that “everything is because of energy” and that we can choose to live with the awareness of it or not. He also presented the difference between Soul and Spirit and how this impacts our daily living. He presented that we are not the result of evolution but the cause of evolution, and that we had decided to be less than who we truly are and that we are now evolving back to our true source.
I did not have to burn my feet by walking over hot coals, I did not have to hug strangers and share my misery, I did not get yelled at, have to repeat motivating mantras, follow some (or any) rules, do certain exercises or change my name.
I just was presented with the very liberating fact that I just had to be me. I realised that we don’t have to get anywhere, that we have already everything in us and that we just put so many layers on top of it that we don’t feel it.
But being me meant assuming responsibility… responsibility for my choices.
In 2009 I started to regularly attend Universal Medicine workshops twice a year when Serge Benhayon presented in the UK and I always felt deeply inspired as it was never self-centred and about me, but about my responsibility in life and how to clear my issues, and about how to live in full integrity.
The EPA (Esoteric Practitioners Association)* code of ethics by which trained Esoteric Practitioners work sets the standard for a practitioner’s commitment to a way of living and quality of being that is unheard of in the world today, and it has absolutely inspired me to live my life with the same level of integrity.
Contrary to anything presented today, the modalities of Universal Medicine are not self-serving!
So you cannot attend a Universal Medicine workshop and then find that you have the right tool, the manual or technique, for how to better your life. You are not solely there to learn skills and apply them, you are there to learn that life is about awareness and that all the tools are just there to support you to deepen your very own relationship with life. From this perspective you apply it to your daily life and truly live it, not as a dogma or a rule but as something that comes from your body, and your inner awareness that this is the way.
There is no end point to this growing awareness and therefore there is no ‘perfect’ technique to learn to get anywhere, only to understand that we are constantly evolving.
There is no manual, book, teaching or modality that can do all of this, or grow this awareness for you, and Universal Medicine does not make any false promises to solve it for you. Universal Medicine presents on the fact that everything is energy, that we are in the driver’s seat and that we have the power to choose the quality and awareness that we drive in.
For example: I chose to explore the benefits of a gluten and dairy free diet and it was quite astonishing how much healthier, lighter and more vital I felt. As time went on, feeling well with simple gluten and dairy free changes turned out to not work anymore and my body was asking for even more refinement. How did I come to this awareness? By being observant and applying self-love to my body – principles I learnt with Universal Medicine.
Suddenly I was bloated again, felt tired, and I was craving for sweet foods – now some fruit and not the usual ice cream, but nevertheless still craving sweet. So, what was going on then? Why was my energy low that I needed a pick-me-up? Was I looking for something to bring me excitement in my life, and if so, why wasn’t it already fulfilling enough?
You see, Serge Benhayon did not tell me ‘what’ to eat, he taught me how to listen to my own body, and with this I developed a relationship with my body and therefore with what suited me best to eat. I was not following a diet, as I did not try to achieve any goals like being healthy or slim, but held closely the importance to deepen my awareness and feel a certain quality in my body, in my daily life.
We are supposed to be the most evolved species on earth, but looking at current statistics we have to admit that we are killing ourselves by ignoring our bodies.
To make people walk over burning coals does not support them to build more awareness for their bodies: in fact, it has quite the opposite affect. Are we keen to celebrate a life-coach’s teachings that promote fire-walking, despite the risk of burning our feet, without reflecting upon whether those teachings are delivering the importance of taking responsibility for one’s life and choices?
Universal Medicine does not promise for people to become millionaires, resurrect them from the dead, become famous or make the best business ever, and nor does it offer the happy pill of spiritual enlightenment. Universal Medicine supports people to commit to daily life and has an impressive record of people who have lived for many years in depression, anxiousness, with chronic pain, in abusive relationships, struggling with substance abuse, unemployment, etc., who have transformed the mere existence of today’s ‘normalised’ silent suffering into fulfilling lives, fully engaged and committed to the communities in which they live, no matter what social and economic level they come from.
In the last 15 years Universal Medicine has presented more evidence of people living a healthier, more vital and joyful life than any modality, medicine, or lifestyle technique has ever achieved. And no fire-walk or burnt feet in sight!
Published with permission of my sisters.
* The EPA (Esoteric Practitioners Association) is the internal accreditation arm of Universal Medicine. It was instigated by Universal Medicine to monitor and accredit the modalities that were founded by Universal Medicine.
By Rachel Andras, MA Gender & Development, MA Social Education, Barcelona, Spain
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Rachel Andras is an entrepreneur, organizational change facilitator, youth and adult educator and writer, supporting people with body awareness and self-respect and confronts the many harmful ideals the media asserts about men and women.
Follow Rachel Andres on Twitter @r_randras |
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Serge Benhayon is a philosopher, teacher and author who regularly presents in the UK and Australia. You can learn more about Serge Benhayon at his personal website www.sergebenhayon.com
Follow Serge Benhayon on Twitter @SergeBenhayon or on Google+ +SergeBenhayon |
Related Reading:
Before and After
Everyday People in Livingness
Who is Serge Benhayon?
Universal Medicine, the EPA* and the esoteric modalities
The Truth about Universal Medicine 
Serge Benhayon just presents. It’s just for us to feel if what is presented is true or not, if the changes we experience in our life because of our choices, are healthy for us or not. Us and only us are responsible of our own choices. And yes, in my case Serge and all what Universal Medicine represents is and has ever been an inspiration that I appreciate dearly, because the changes that I’ve experienced after that have been always really supportive and beneficial for me. No fireworks needed. Simple, available and real as life itself.
There are so many pretenders out there, so when a genuine person comes along like Serge Benhayon, we are all so sceptical, for certain reasons and myself included. This blog was so awesome as it really covers in detail the difference between what is currently on offer by healers and life coaches in stark contrast to what Serge Benhayon presents. It is only a matter of time before people will know the truth and that is unless we begin to self reflect, we are our own worst enemy.
It is mindblowing the extremes people are willing to go in order to have an experience that will snap them out of their daily misery and complications of life but this is short lived as true change only comes from within and as Serge benahyon presents, it is thorough our constant commitment to live as who we truly are that we can bring back the joy into our bodies and our reconnection with the all.
The practical approach to life and understanding life as presented by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine makes sense and allows people to come back to a deep inner knowing and from there learn to live in a way that allows this out.
It’s amazing to see the amount of things out there that promise so many things, fix that pain, that simply support you to be you, the true you and from there whatever you do becomes an extension of that. In other words not making it about a particular topic or niche but supporting you to awake to what you already are and from there make your next step. At times we are so caught in fixing a part of ourselves we get blinded to everything else. It’s understandable when things are going wrong to attempt to make something right but it’s far better to support everything and from there the part that’s astray just becomes a greater picture. Universal Medicine has supported and continues to support many many people to do just that, truly support themselves and simply live from there.
The thing I’ve found and continue to find in being a student of Universal Medicine also myself, is that the deeper I go in re-establishing a lived relationship with the soul, the more purposeful I become in life – a purpose that is about all, and not self-serving in the slightest. The real and lived love, the joy and knowing and honouring of truth I now experience – are light years away from the struggle and seeking/yearning for connection I once knew for so very many years…
Such a breath of fresh and purposeful air in reading this Rachel, thank-you. I agree in full – no fire-walking, and no ‘rah-rah’ designed to hook you in and play upon one’s need to be more, achieve more, earn more and the rest…
Universal Medicine presents real life, lived from a foundation in the love of the soul, our innate and godly aspect, and nothing less. The soul harkens not for fame, grandiosity or any such desire – it simply is.
Thinking that walking on fire literally will fire you up and change your life forever is playing with fire irresponsibly – and when we play with fire irresponsibly and get burnt how can we possibly think that that burn will not be painful and that subsequent scarring both physically and emotionally will not occur.
It was interesting, physically the fire walk did not hurt, I would not have done it if it did, seeing lots of people do it with no pain was part of my motivation. So a fire walk that in theory should hurt, blister or burn your feet, but did not makes me wonder what donation must have been called in to stop the physical impact on our bodies.
People must be very desperate to allow themselves to be heightened into a frenzy and the pursuit of fire walking – there must be a thought that, if they can do something that hurts and is scary, then they can do anything, i.e. change their lives. Life doesn’t work like that though and nor does the human psyche.
Yes Gabriel, that was part of the impetus, that if you can walk on fire, then you can do anything. What a load of baloney! Nothing changed in my life through doing that crazy walk; it is only since attending workshops and presentations by Serge Benhayon that my life, how I live is so much more steady, evolving, full of love, responsibility; I am no longer searching for the elusive ‘something’, I have found the true me.
“I was not following a diet, as I did not try to achieve any goals like being healthy or slim, but held closely the importance to deepen my awareness and feel a certain quality in my body, in my daily life.” Such wisdom we all hold in our bodies. Time to listen.
Such a beautiful and inspiring blog to read Rachel, you have captured and conveyed the true essence and purpose of our lives; assuming responsibility for our choices and just being our true selves.
Thank you for sharing your experiences and your wisdom.
That’s just it, Universal Medicine does not offer any magic pill, but instead supports people to build their own relationship with their bodies and by doing so they then adjust and feel what support them. Simple, not magic and yet deeply profound – it asks people to see and feel that they have the choice in how they choose to live and that those choices impact them, and if they’re willing to look and see what works for them, and what doesn’t, they can choose differently; it brings people back to the awareness that they are the pilots in their own lives and celebrates that we have choice always in how we are with ourselves, our bodies and how we live.
When I tell people that I travel abroad to attend workshops and courses by Universal Medicine, they often ask ‘So, what do you get?’ – as in a qualification that I can attach to my name, a new skill, something that would aid me make money out of – like, otherwise they see no worth. It’s a bit of a strange one really because in that sense I get nothing, but I am actually getting everything – the key to everything and beyond what my mind can comprehend, and how I am experiencing life is far richer than it has ever been.
“The code of ethics by which trained Esoteric Practitioners work sets the standard for a practitioner’s commitment to a way of living and quality of being that is unheard of in the world today, and it has absolutely inspired me to live my life with the same level of integrity.” Isn’t it amazing that this code of ethics does care equally for the practitioner and client by standard it sets! This is true care.
It is shocking that a ‘first degree burn’ to the feet in these workshops are referred to as a ‘kiss’… what a manipulative way to coerce participants to accept something that under other circumstance would be considered abusive, if not sue-able.
‘But being me meant assuming responsibility… responsibility for my choices.’ After spending many years and time and money on every New Age book and course none of them ever presented anything on responsibility. It is beautiful to read of the steps you took to re-connect back to your true self Rachel with the common sense approach Serge Benhayon teaches and continually inspires and supports many to bring true healing to their lives.
That’s a really interesting point, no new age book or course presenting on responsibility, when this is a core movement in life that supports our true wellbeing and that of all around us. If we are not learning about responsibility then it must be about learning to escape and not deal with what is in our lives. We may replace things that are seemingly less harmful but really the same energy is unchanged. Looking within is the only place to begin and not trying to force change from the outside. I’ll be the first to say that responsibility is not an easy thing initially, but it does become more simple.
“I just was presented with the very liberating fact that I just had to be me.” Beautiful. To walk on fire burns our physical body but to walk with Fire in our inner-heart and our light burns bright for all to feel.
Great to see people like this sharing their lives and how they were to how they are now and the reasons for it. Changes made like this that continue to support others and everything around them are truly remarkable and we would all do well to sit up and take notice, I know I have. At some point we will look back at stories like this one and wonder why it wasn’t apart of mainstream, why we didn’t take more notice and follow this lead. I can’t see anything that wouldn’t have me listening to people like this.
What you present here Rachel is so down to earth and truly caring, no amount of spin can argue with the simplicity and realness of what you’ve shared.
What makes the presentations of Serge Benhayon different from New Age, and other forms of self-help/healing, courses is that what is presented is not to ‘fix’ you but instead to be a guide for you to take responsibility for your life and how you live. “You are not solely there to learn skills and apply them, you are there to learn that life is about awareness and that all the tools are just there to support you to deepen your very own relationship with life.” They are very empowering, if you choose to take responsibility for yourself.
If we were to raise children supporting them to be themselves and not seek outer forms of recognition through academic or financial success, sporting prowess etc we maybe wouldn’t have a world so seemingly driven by greed, self-interest at the expense of others, ruthless pursuit of power and domination, and the bizarre spectacle of whole nations brought to their knees by a sporting loss.
Having spent a lot of money attending these seminars with Anthony Robbins I can speak with authority when I say that there was nothing in these seminars that did anything for me, there was a lot of rah-rah and hyper talk and everyone was put in a very unreal heightened state to do the fire walk. I recall feeling it was pretty silly but went ahead anyway, I became so disconnected to my body so I had no feeling in my feet whatsoever. Did it change my life? Absolutely not, the only true and lasting change I have made in my life has been from Universal Medicine and what Serge Benhayon presents, he has supported me to make truly loving choices and to learn to be the ‘real’ me and to commit to my life in full and to feel the joy from choosing to live this way.
Yes, Anthony Robbins and other such presenters create the experience of dis-connection from ones body, an altered state of being. It may feel very expansive and liberating but is ultimately not sustainable in life because it is ‘an altered state’ – it is in fact escapism. With Serge Benhayon there is no escapism, instead he asks you ground yourself in reality, in fact is common sense.
I was once caught up with the idea of going to an Anthony Robbins event where they do the fire walk. I heard that other people had done it and not burnt themselves. In my mind this showed me they had overcome something in life, and that maybe if I too were able to do it, I would then be able to turn my life around. I certainly wanted change. Luckily I never did go, and looking back I wonder what would have possessed me to do such a crazy thing. What Serge Benhayon presents makes such simple sense. There is nowhere to get to, nothing to achieve, just an allowing of ourselves to be who we naturally already are. And all of this at our own pace, with no manual to follow, no judgement and definitely no fire walk.
This too is what I love about Universal Medicine and its teachings, we are responsible for our own healing and thus with every presentation and course chosen to attend the ball is served right back into our court, for us to develop and deepen to the innate sounds of evolution calling from our own bodies.
Universal Medicine presents in such a way that teaches and empowers you to discern the teachers and teachings that it presents, and from there to embrace what is true for you.
If we ignore and disconnect from our bodies we are really disregarding ourselves, Serge Benhayon teaches us how to re-connect with our body and to honour and cherish it.
There is a great beauty in the simplicity of what Serge Benhayon presents and with that it is genuinely liberating as you say Rachel. There are no doctrines or teachings given that say you need to do this or that before you will be complete, or able to really commit to life; Serge starts by confirming how we are all already complete and amazing in our essence – what we need to develop is our connection with, and expression of, that essence consistently in our daily lives. And so we start from a point of already being whole rather than lacking something that we need to find from outside of us.
Brilliant Rachel, ‘I just was presented with the very liberating fact that I just had to be me. I realised that we don’t have to get anywhere, that we have already everything in us and that we just put so many layers on top of it that we don’t feel it.’ I love the simplicity of this, I spent many years attending new age courses, where I did change my name; attended strange rituals that didn’t make sense and was trying to be a certain way – it was never simply about me being me and knowing that I was already everything, the presentations by Universal Medicine are so simple and so refreshing and just make sense.
“In the last 15 years Universal Medicine has presented more evidence of people living a healthier, more vital and joyful life than any modality, medicine, or lifestyle technique has ever achieved.” This is so true. There is no pretence of waving a magic wand. What Serge Benhayon presents is pure common sense and practical, which reveals truth.
I loved this part ‘But being me meant assuming responsibility… responsibility for my choices.’ It really reminded me of all those times I hadn’t taken responsibility I was being someone I wasn’t, now I know differently and living and claiming myself means lovingly taking responsibility.
There is no need to jump up and down full of excitement like a crazy person or firewalk in order to know who you are like some renowned motivational speakers claim. Universal Medicine presents the simplicity of the ancient wisdom which is deeply known within all us, and offers us tools to reconnect and align to the quality of love within us equally.
For me it has always seemed crazy to consider hurting yourself an achievement yet in many ways I have been a part of that consciousness. There have been times where I have felt quite a sense of achievement when I’ve been really sick. (Crazy I know) Serge Benhayon presents the truth that wakes us up and shows us how we have been living in a kind of fog of irresponsibility. The amazing thing is that taking responsibility for my life has brought me so much joy and a real sense of myself and the quality I bring. Nothing I have lived before is better than that.
Rachel, great to re-read your article, this stood out for me this time, ‘I just was presented with the very liberating fact that I just had to be me. I realised that we don’t have to get anywhere, that we have already everything in us and that we just put so many layers on top of it that we don’t feel it.’ I love this, it is so simple and beautiful, before attending Universal Medicine events I was always trying to be a certain way, thinking that I was not enough as I was, I tried to be like other people; I changed my name; followed gurus – none of this worked, now more and more I am simply being me, this is so much easier and feels true.
So true Rachel, the track record for transformation in health and well-being in the students of Universal Medicine speaks for itself, and is well worth studying, the benefits to the health budget of a nation are enormous.
“I just was presented with the very liberating fact that I just had to be me.” totally agree Rachel. Learning that all we had to do was be ourselves, simple, and in this discovering just how much we have lost ourselves to the moulding of school, family, work and society. Learning to recognise and let go of self-limiting patterns, and beliefs, learning and understanding that all the wisdom we need is indeed within, has been the most deeply freeing experience, discarding layers of falseness and assumed identity – and all that work is just to bring me back to who I truly am, naturally so.
Such a powerful and inspirational story Rachel, thank you for sharing your experiences and your wisdom.
What you have expressed here is stunning and really resonates with me;
“Serge Benhayon did not tell me ‘what’ to eat, he taught me how to listen to my own body”.
I am not sure the people receiving the first degree burns or the nurses attending them would liken them to a “kiss”. I have participated in various seminars where you would go into a focused state to do something not normally possible like breaking a plank of wood with bare hands. In that moment it was a feeling of leaving my body. All the work I have done with Universal Medicine teaches the complete opposite, which is to be more connected and bring more presence to my body. If I leave or disconnect from myself then who or what is driving me?
What Serge Benhayon presents is absolute truth. We all know hearing (and feeling) the truth can be challenging at times to say the least but if where humanity is truly at is anything to go by, the truth is so desperately needed.
Thank god there is no fire walking – my feet wouldn’t like that! Instead what is presented by Universal Medicine is a way of living that is simple and supports building love and appreciation, not self punishment and a long slogging journey to get anywhere, for you are already everything
It seems a extreme thing to do to walk on hot coals for whatever reason is put forward, but we have many examples of people doing extreme things to themselves in the name of Spirituality and enlightenment – for instance there are people who put hooks into their skins and into their mouths whilst in a trance state. And we are supposed to be the intelligent species on the planet, and yet you don’t see animals doing anything like this.
‘…we are not the result of evolution but the cause of evolution…’ – what a statement. Where do you even start to fathom the meaning of this topsy-turvy presentation? I feel like simply letting it sink in and not start thinking about it: “Me, Us, the cause of evolution?!”
We are supposed to be the most evolved species on earth, yet our behaviours contradict that much of the time, and yes I agree, ‘ we are killing ourselves by ignoring our bodies.’
I totally agree Rachel one does not need to experience a fire walk to bring true change to their lives. I have attended those seminars with Tony Robbins and have done a fire walk and it left me with nothing but the feeling of emptiness and how silly I was to even consider that was ok or safe in anyway. We were put in such a hyped up state you felt totally out of your body and this was trying to teach us how much power we have and can do anything – but this felt totally false because I was only able to do that because I disconnected from my body, so what energy was running me? Meeting Serge Benhayon after this strange experience it was clear this man was the real deal and walked his talk, his presentations are loving and simple and support you to make changes in your life that truly work without the need for a fire walk or any rah rah at all.
There is nothing to dare, to prove or to strive for to bring some truly caring and loving changes to one´s life with Universal Medicine. Nothing to believe in, hope for or invest in. It is all very simple and relatable, always very real and connected to everyday life. With whatever aspect one might feel inspired through the presentations by Universal Medicine it is a matter of giving it a try and making one´s personal experiences so that one knows for themselves. We need to live what we consider to be true for ourselves and not adapt what is claimed to be true by another; in that sense Universal Medicine presents possibilities that come from lived experience and hence are shared for others to be inspired and find out for themselves.
What Universal Medicine presents is so simple. It can be too simple for some. Sometimes it’s easier to look for things that distract and ‘motivate’ rather than simply love ourselves in the way we deserve.
There is an enormous honesty and humbleness in what Serge Benhayon presents. He presents the facts as he has discovered by living it, and shows us as a true teacher the way back to who we truly are, without any claims, but with the utmost integrity of living 100% energetically responsible.
No fire walk needed! . . . but simply to connect with the divine fire we already have within. The fire that burns bright with the love that we are all made of and from, and so truly are.
I love the diet example, Rachel as it really shows that true health and wellbeing is about continually feeling into our bodies for what is needed rather than following a particular diet or program. I am continually evolving my diet and often find what I ate a month ago is no longer sitting well in my body and so I make the changes that feel supportive for me.
My explorations into the New Age, into Spiritualism, into Religions and even Academia, nothing came close to the level of congruence, of wisdom and insight that I have encountered through the presentations and teachings of Serge Benhayon. The teachings are only offering possibilities – and it is up to the individual to try for themselves, or not, and to accept or reject based on their own experience. It is expanding the understanding of, and exercising of, Free Will all the way.