Being Your True Self

This is a really interesting topic for me.  We are members of a tribe in our natural state, and this does create a natural urge to fit in to our community, and within reason this is a healthy trait as being a loner is not a great place to be.

Probably a better question to ask yourself is the degree to which you lose your true self in the process and compromise your own realness and authenticity.  It is my belief that if this is too compromised (in order to fit in), then you will in fact achieve the opposite, as at an energetic level, people will be unable to connect at a humanistic level as you, in its extreme level, have become unhuman, an actor or a charade of sorts.

About Mark Taylor….

Being Your True Self

Ayahuasca Ceremony

Never being afraid to try new things, I went to an Ayshuasca Ceremony recently.  A friend of mine had participated in one when he was travelling in South America and recommeded it so when the opportunity came along I jumped at it.

You can find at all about it on the web, so I won’t go into detail here.  I found it a profound experience and did some great healing both on a physical and emotional level.

Physically, I can honestly say that I have a body free of pain after a lifetime of pain.  I don’t attribute all of this to the ceremony but it seemed to be the final piece of a large puzzle.

Similarly on an emotional healing level, I went very deep, very very deep and it was a supportive environment that allowed me to do this.

So good stuff.  On another note, I put in my application for Pathways to Manhood for October and looking forward to becoming a facilitator as well as doing my own initiation (the one I never had!)

About Mark Taylor….

Ayahuasca Ceremony

My personal development plans for 2011

Although I will be keeping myself open this year, I do have some things bumbling on the horizon which I will share with you as they come to fruition.

First up is a 8 day yoga retreat with Glenn Ceresosi a well respected Iyengar Teacher and I know him on a personal level.  Glenn is known for breaking through boundaries and after 5 or so years of yoga, I am looking forward to using this time to go much deeper.

Then in March I am off to Adelaide to do a shamanic, Peruvian Ayahuasca ceremony.  I have been fascinated by this since a friend came back from South America raving about it.  Through some connections I made last year, I have somehow come across a group that have invited me to join them.  Not for everyone, and I am sure some people will have alot of preconceived ideas as it does involve some mind altering concoction.  Nevertheless, I am sure you will be interested in what happens!

I have also committed in October to become a facilitator in the Pathways To Manhood program, something close to my heart.  It will be a 5 day program, which will be the first step to being able to help young men make the transition to manhood and also connect with their father on a more meaningful level.  If you haven’t read “manhood” by Steve Biddild then it comes highly recommended; it explains alot of how society has created the men of today ( and many of their issues!)

Finally, I will going back to Acting, joining “The Actors Pulse”, not that I have any illusions of live performances, more as a environment to continue to build on my ability to be aware of, connect ot and be able to express emotions.

I am sure there will be some other spontaneous stuff that happens and of course, everyday life provides plenty of opportunity to learn and grow!

.

About Mark Taylor….

My personal development plans for 2011

Peats Ridge Festival

I recently went to Peats Ridge Festival, which was great opportunity to try some new modalities in the personal development space.  The timetable was extensive with workshops all day long including all types of yoga, meditation, tantra, dance etc.  The “healing haven” program is below for you!  There was all another area for more dance orientated workshops which is below as well as a whole eco living suite of workshops.

So if you want to go on  a workshops frenzy there is a plenty of choice.

I particularly liked the kundalini dancing.  Not being a great natural dancer (especially sober!), loosing myself in the music at 10:30 in morning was liberating.  I seemed to be in a bit of a kundalini mode as I enjoyed the kundalini yoga too, and it was quite different to other forms of yoga I have done before with more of a focus on energy generation.

Laughter yoga didn’t do it for me.  The idea is that you do a number of forced exercises (i.e. pretend to be a lawnmower) until you eventually can laugh spontaneously which is a good for you.

Of course Peats ridge is not just about the workshops, so other aspects I really enjoyed included racing around the water pistol area (always good to act like a 5 year old.  Going mental in the sugar shack int he afternoon, a Xavier rudd type session in the chai tent, random drumming, a fantastic dance with young aboriginal kids; two cute gals singing open mic from a caravan and having the time of their lives  and best of all simply going with the flow, losing track of time and remembering spontaneity and lightness.

About Mark Taylor….

Peats Ridge Festival

Personal Development Forecast 2011

For those of you in the alternative / personal development scene, you may well know that 2012 is being voiced as the day of reckoning when there will be a seismic shift in consciousness.

I don’t have a strong opinion on that side of things, although I have noticed a continual but gradual increase in openness and acceptance of many streams of personal development.  I also sense an underlying but not necessarily conscious dissatisfaction with the way society is progressing and the ongoing breakdown of things that keep us grounded and essentially happy.
Having said that, I have yet to see much movement in the mainstream corporate / business / government environment; a few pockets here and there, but self interest, money making, and ego building are still the major drivers from what I observe!
For a 2012 type shift to occur it will take society leaders to embrace and drive the change, and it still feels a way off to me.
So, my forecast, is for more of the same with a incremental increase in importance v other more capitalist drivers…

About Mark Taylor….

Personal Development Forecast 2011