by Jane Torvaney, Tayport, Fife, Scotland

Following the recent allegations about Serge Benhayon and how he has been portrayed in the media, I have been asking myself the following questions…

1. Has my life really changed since meeting Serge Benhayon and attending Universal Medicine workshops?

2. If so, what has changed for me?

3. What is it about Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine that has allowed any change to occur?

So, to answer these questions…

1. Has my life really changed since meeting Serge Benhayon and attending Universal Medicine workshops?

Yes, my life has changed – and infinitely for the better. Before meeting Serge everything on the outside looked sleek, ordered and smooth, yet on the inside, I felt a mess. I lived life feeling like a square peg in a round hole, using enormous amounts of energy just getting by. All the energy was put into keeping the façade of order on the outside, and yet the reality was the opposite – life was chaotic, stressful and disorganised. Needless to say, I was carrying all that disorder into my relationships too, putting oodles of energy into keeping the outside looking rosy while on the inside I was in turmoil and completely disconnected from those around me.

I had been looking for ages, without success, for something to help me. So when I first met Serge in 2006, when he came to Scotland, I remember feeling how extraordinarily ordinary it all was. There was no chanting or bell ringing, or feeling the need to ‘worship’ this man. All I felt, for the first time in decades, was that I could just be me. There was love and an ‘equalness’ between us, and it was simple and beautiful. It all felt very natural and just how it should be, and I left feeling simply me – something I had not felt in a long time. Not a blissed out, super-relaxed, ‘angels singing’ kind of state ­– just a practical, easy feeling of having been met and supported by someone who knew about love, who was living it, and who had inspired me to be the same.

Thus began the love affair with myself… and ever since that meeting I have been using the workshops and presentations as a way to help me let go of the destructive ways I had been living, and instead find ways to build something which cared for me and others so much more.

So, if my life has really changed for me…

2. What has changed for me?

Many things. For example:

• I feel that each day has an easier flow to it now; before it felt chaotic.
• I feel extremely healthy and energetic; before I felt constantly anxious, drained and exhausted.
• I laugh and giggle a lot more.
• I pay attention to how my body feels. Before, I would push myself hard just to get the job done, or to help another.
• I say no if I don’t want to do something (this has taken time – I hadn’t realised how much I like to please other people, but I am beginning to really enjoy saying no because it helps me!)
• My diet has changed and I am now enjoying food hugely!
• My relationships are easier, more rewarding and more enjoyable.
• I have lots of moments each day when I appreciate simple things around me.

So, given change has occurred…

3. What is it about Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine that has allowed these changes to occur?

My willingness to see that it was my responsibility to make changes in my life was the first step to making those changes.

By attending workshops and presentations I found lots of different ways to take care of myself deeply. It has not always been easy to change old ways of doing things, but it has been very worthwhile. Although there will be many who attend the classes using similar ways to take care of themselves, I feel my own ways are unique to me, and I find I am going through an interesting process of getting to know myself more and more as I try different things out.

Things are constantly changing and I am adding new ways to support me along the way, but for the moment, here are some of the things that have helped me so far:

• Going for a gentle walk each day and enjoying the feeling in my body as I do this.
• Being aware of my hands lots – e.g. feeling how gently I can use my fingers and hands to do things such as vacuuming, picking up the kettle or opening doors. I am having fun with this.
• Going to bed early.
• Being in a daily routine that suits me.
• Giving myself enough time to do things so I don’t rush.
• Giving people my complete attention when in conversation.
• Having my slippers at exactly the right spot so when I get out of bed in the morning I can just slip my feet into them.
• Constantly reviewing and, if necessary, changing my diet to suit how I feel.
• Always having flowers in my bedroom.

There are lots, lots more examples – these are just a few.

However I do, at the moment, regularly slip up. Sometimes I reach for a food that will comfort me whilst knowing my body will feel ‘yuck’ after eating it. Sometimes l rush at tasks to get them finished, or go into overdrive to try to get more than one thing done at a time, and I lose the consistency of my rhythm.

The wonderful thing when this happens is that I can instantly feel there is something not right; that I know there is a much better way for me to live and that I have numerous ways, both large and small, to bring myself back to be more caring and more loving. It is by being aware and being honest with myself at all times that I can still see it is my choices that really allow my life to flow easily… or not.

So UniMed taught me all about self-love, and from that I have developed how to care for myself in the way I live, with the food I eat, and how I interact with others. In caring for myself deeply I am finding my care for others and my connection to others has also deepened. I no longer see people as greater or lesser than me, but as equal. It feels like as I do this, I drop my guard and everyone gets to see who I am and what I am like. This then inspires others to do the same.

This feeling of equalness is at the heart of Serge’s teachings, and I can feel that equalness with Serge and his family when I attend workshops or listen to his presentations on audio. When a group of people come together in this equalness it is something to be celebrated.

If Serge Benhayon were a guru and I belonged to a cult, then surely I would be worshipping him – I certainly wouldn’t be feeling the sense of love or equalness that I do. I would feel separate, and deep down, if I were willing to admit it, I would feel disconnected to others around me. And yet all I feel is that we are all equal, and everything Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine do is to inspire, more and more, that equalness in us all.

So, a huge thank you to Serge. His love is a constant inspiration to me.