Private sessions with Diederik in Vancouver

From April 1-12 Diederik is available in Vancouver for private
therapeutic sessions. Call 604-221-2292

Workshop April 11 in Vancouver

On Forgiveness: What is forgiving, who am I forgiving, how can I forgive someone for being cruel or mean to me? From 10 AM to 5:30 PM at 4438 West 5th Avenue, Vancouver B.C.
Call Christie at 604-720-7093 or email at csdakin@shaw.ca.
Maximum 10 people. Cost $150.

Vancouver Photos

We are working on the new website for Choose Again in Vancouver and we need photos of the activities such as the workshop. Also, shots of the Vancouver skyline or bay would be appreciated. The photos need to be without copyright, you own preferably. Send them to sabalitoweb@gmail.com. Thanks.

Blame and innocence

The blameless cannot blame.Those who have accepted their innocence see nothing to forgive.

Seems a little circular, doesn’t it? This is how this might work for me: if I am innocent then everyone else must be innocent because we are One. That means that as long as I see anyone as guilty I still have forgiveness to do for myself. Projection is such an easy and appealing ego game. I am tired of playing. Love to One and all, Diederik

New photos in the slide show

I just added a lot of new photos out of Fahreen's collection to the slide show. See the bottom of the right sidebar. If you want to get bigger size images click on the slide show.
Peace,
Guus

Any wish

Any wish that stems from the ego is a wish for nothing,and to ask for it is not a request.It is merely a denial in the form of a request.

Any wish? Let me see how I can see this. If I ask for something, clearly that implies that I think I don’t have it. Now, if the Truth is Oneness, if the Truth is that ‘everything I see is the Self’ (Upanishad) than it is impossible for me not to have something. So when I ask for something I must first have denied the Truth of my Oneness. Having denied my True Identity, and substituted the shabby ego ‘personality’ I so deeply treasure, I now have to ask for literally everything or fight for it, or take it from someone else….. not so pretty now, is it? Meister Eckhart says so lovingly: “The prayer of the heart asks for nothing”. Love to One and all, Diederik

What is your intention?

Even your greatest enemy has more points of harmony than of disharmony. And so, as you are wanting to interact with a being that you are not getting along with, with a being that rings your warning bells continually, if you will intend to see that which you approve of, if you intend to see that which you like, then you will literally begin to solicit from that being, those things.

Are you understanding that in every relationship you have -- whenever you are having unpleasant experiences, you are attracting the unpleasant experience because that is where you are giving your attention?

Abraham Hicks


I have been reading a book lately by Abraham Hicks that addresses the power of intention, and I've had a lot of fun playing with the ideas. Following one of the book's suggestions, I have been setting an intention for each hour of my day, and I've been enjoying the results very much.

When I set the intention to experience the love that I am in each moment, I find myself reacting to people and situations in a gentle, accepting way. I am freed to look at events from a more creative perspective, and many new ideas come into my mind. I enjoy the flow of every moment.

When my intention is to move forward from a state of love, I am automatically releasing myself from any belief I might have in the power of fear, depression, anger or sadness. I find that by setting my intention hourly, I can easily re-set my course if I have drifted off purpose.

Your friend with a big intention and a happy heart,

Love,

Dawn

Barriers to love

You may believe that you judge your brothers by the messages they give you, but you have judged them by the message you give to them. Do not attribute your denial of joy to them, or you cannot see the spark in them that would bring joy to you. It is the denial of the spark that brings depression.

This is speaking about how we put up barriers to love. If I am angry with someone and send out an attack, I can't see or accept the possibility of a spark of love or understanding that may come from the other person. This spark of love could bring me joy but if I deny it then I will feel separate, alone and depressed. Forgiveness will help me see my way out of this situation. Love Christie

Finding Hope and Joy

"Don't make the same mistake as all those people who give up trying to change because they feel stuck in their habits. If you truly want to, and are willing to work hard enough, you can overcome them."

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov


A friend handed me a book the other day with the above passage in it. It was a welcome note of encouragement, as I had been feeling discouraged, and questioning the direction I was moving in in my life. My ego was also busy replaying many past events, and colouring them with a sense of failure and regret. As I read the passage, part of me felt that I simply could not try any harder to make changes in my life. The other part of me was greatly relieved to be reminded that I do not need to believe or feed, stories of discouragement and failure that the ego is always standing ready to whisper in my ear. I can always choose to see things from a different perspective.

This quote also reminded me that it is not about trying harder, which in my world is a victim position, but rather about doing whatever is needed to bring myself back to a state of peace. Trying is a practice that keeps the clouds of depression in place. What gently and completely dissipates them is to take a clear look at what I am mistakenly believing about myself and my world, and correcting those beliefs so that I can once again experience the love that I am.

Your friend with a peaceful heart.

Love,

Dawn

Value

All things you seek to make your value greater in your sight limit you further, hide your worth from you, and add another bar across the door that leads to true awareness of yourself.

My value is intrinsic, I must take it for granted,and spend my time sharing rather than trying to "improve".
Love, Elaine

Value and Worth

You did not establish your value and it needs no defense. Nothing can attack it nor prevail over it. It does not vary. It merely is.

There are few lines I could read that would offer me greater peace ……. IF I allowed the Truth of what is contained in those few lines to be True for me. Now, that is where the trouble starts. My ego, that wonderful little 4 year old that runs around in my mind having tantrums and anxiety attacks, still insists that IT establishes my worth. I have listened to that 4 year old for 62 years now and I know it is lying, and still …… what if it isn’t? Can I really trust the Truth in me is Love and Oneness? Do I have a real choice? Love to One and all, Diederik

A testimonial from Fahreen - tears of depression to tears of joy

Farheen thought she came to the Choose Again center in Costa Rica to help heal her niece. What she discovered was that only by healing her own mind could she truly be of help. And so the journey of looking into her painful past began. What she found was the source of her depression, deep grief, anxiety, blame and guilt resulted from her interpretations of life-altering events. Her sister’s death when Farheen was 13 years old was one such event. Farheen promised her sister that she would raise her niece as her own child and assumed this awesome responsibility in a spirit of ‘grief, sacrifice and guilt’. Her niece, now 16, started going ‘off the rails’. Drugs, missing school and authority battles ensued.When Farheen brought her niece to Choose Again the idea was to get her fixed. Here is Farheen’s report on her experience at the center:

Well this trip has come and gone. It was a fantastic experience, one that I will soon not forget. Although I feel some sadness I feel overwhelmed with love and joy and such gratitude I don't know what to say further. Everything certainly does happen for a reason this I'm sure. It makes me want to cry, the experience I've been blessed to have not only experienced but am experiencing and will continue to. I will definitely come back to this beautiful country to its beautiful people. A country where the landscape is so pristine and so untouched it takes me back a few thousand years to what it must have looked like. A beauty so immense that only God could have been the Creator; everything working in pure harmony. Everything is perfect, from the tall lush green windblown trees to the constant hum of insects, the wind that flows through the trees with such grace and power; the fresh pure air, and of course the mystique. The people; with their beautiful smiles, eyes that speak louder than their words ever could, their pure outpouring of love.

Its funny how life works, travelling to Costa Rica, finding myself. I dreamt this. I wanted this. I've always wanted to do something fulfilling that gave back in some sort of way. Look how it slapped me in the face. In order to know you are doing God's work I need to understand that I have to find in myself, what I want to give others. I got healed and have been given the opportunity to help heal others. I cry every time I think about it. But my God it is not tears of sadness, or regret or despair as it almost always has been, I'm crying because I am so happy. Who woulda thought?

I was hesitant, to say the least, at first but the longer and harder I listened I realized that what I was learning was not a religion, nor was it claimed to be, but the basic fundamentals of any peaceful religion. Does my religion not teach love, truth and peace? It’s the core. I've maintained and strengthened my stance on my religion immensely. I will continue to go to circles in Vancouver. It's so much more powerful verbalizing your triggers and beliefs and forgiving them than it is quietly doing them in your head. It is very powerful to be able to do them on your own, but you just need to mix it up a bit and when someone else tells you how it is, it's somehow stronger.

I feel so empowered, so invincible. I am the truth. And the truth is this: Everything about me is love, if I can fully love myself than love for other will come naturally. I am innocent, nothing that has ever happened, happened because of me. It happened yes, but it happened for my healing and my growth. I am not my story; I am the one writing it. Therefore, I will not be a victim for I have the power to place values upon such things, such circumstances, such situations. I am worth it, because my worth has been established by God. Not my mother, not my father, not my brother, not culture, not society, but God. And God Supersedes all else. If I can be at peace and harmony, and love, free of judgement at all times than I am with God, as close as I can be in this life.

I understand that this will not be easy, I will be tested and triggered to let my ego sneak its way through but I am trusting of my will power. I've the taste of true freedom and love and light and I will not let it diminish.

What I realized with Z is this; I spoiled the heck out of her. Not just that but we were actually feeding off of each other to validate our beliefs. What would happen is one of us would trigger the other without even realizing and then say "see I am guilty", or whatever you made up. I needed her to fail so that my beliefs of guilt, of being a terrible person, of not being good enough, of being a failure, of being guilty of being alive would come up. These were such familiar feelings I didn't know how to live without it, and the same with him. We tend to go through life and actively, without realizing, find relationships, situations and circumstances that will validate our negative beliefs about ourselves. Z and I now have a holy relationship; one that is a healing relationship and that is true love.

For me, one of the biggest learning was forgiveness. Forgiveness does not mean one must condone another’s actions. It means to forgive yourself for letting yourself believe that anyone outside of you could ever hurt you, and that those negative beliefs are true. No one can hurt me; they only can if I choose to let them. Only after I've forgiven myself am I going to be able to see that the person who I perceived to have done some unjust to me had their own beliefs and is tied up in them and has acted in accordance to it. You just have to be willing to let your feelings go, all the false beliefs that you've held about yourself, the story you've created about yourself, none of it is true, you've made it all up. Have an open mind, dive in and take a look. It's an unbelievable feeling to be able to let everything go and know it all happened as it should have. It's all perfect.

Love,
Farheen