653 thoughts on “Loving Daily Choices and Healing Hurts”

1. Nicole it was great to read this blog again especially these two statements. “I was creating the ills in my life, my relationships and in my body” and “my life was the way it was through my own choices”. It made me ponder on where I am situated in my life and the choices I make are the result of the way I am living. It’s kind of a perpetuating cycle and somewhere along the way we make a decision to break this cycle. Otherwise you might as well be that rodent that goes round and round in a wheel of going no where.

   Somewhere along our pathway, honesty and responsibility has to take precedence if we choose to make a difference to our own lives. And there are times letting go of control is not as much as it seems. It is far easier than being and staying in our own misery.

   I’m glad that I took the steps to changing my life. I thank God for Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine for presenting another way of living. It feels so much truer than my former ways and years, pretending that everything was ok when it was the opposite.

2. My life has changed since being inspired by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine and I love reading these blogs. Each are inspiring to read and, observing how it has helped another allows oneself to review where the hidden comforts are.

   These two statements caused an ouch within me, “I was creating the ills in my life, my relationships and in my body; my life was the way it was through my own choices”. They were a great reminder that I am what I am through my own creation through the choices I have made. And when I have reviewed this through a microscope, it feels a refinement is needed. Nothing arduous, just an observation to take stock and make a choice as to whether I continue my merry old way, or time for something new. Now that’s loving for yourself.

   1. Reading my own comment is a marker as to where I am in my life but also those around me. And since I wrote this comment, the refinement continues and there is more to let go of hurts and control.

      You get to love life from a different angle now and being super honest is the key of being held by my hurts and conditions.

3. I feel these are points we all, humanity, greatly need to be reminded of:

   * NO, life certainly was not meant to be this way – that is, with continuous drama and feeling unwell.

   * I was creating the ills in my life, my relationships and in my body.

   * My life was the way it was through my own choices.

   Bringing it right back to responsibility and of course choices and the choices we are constantly making.

   1. That’s a big word, responsibility. When we look around us and the world, responsibility isn’t high in many people’s awareness and think it’s some one else’s. It was an opinion I used to carry once upon a time. Till one day I had to look within my own life and I realised that something had to give, and that was me. My life took a turn a round when I became responsible for my own life instead of it being someone else’s responsibility.

      Live from responsibility and life is very much different then being ignorant of it.

4. You have given me a new word Nicole
   We all have the ‘non-supportive comforts’ of life that are our personally go to’s which as you say leave us then unchallenged which means that life is dull and something to be got through rather than something that we could actually enjoy. Imagine waking up with joy in our hearts every day that would bound to have an impact on everyone’s life.

5. Our choices, in how we react or take responsibility are key in determining the outcomes in life. When we react and go into a drama we distract ourselves from what is truly needed and the level of love and support that abounds to help us with each situation that arises. But as we learn to be and observe each situation then we learn to feel our way through each moment and bring more love. Thus the blessing in life is not what does to does not happen but rather in how we are with what does or does not happen.

6. Nicole I love how you have shared that life can indeed go from a series of dramas and problems to being simple and full and loving – perhaps not from one day to the next but with the consistency of building on a life that is steady and loving and giving oneself permission to let go of the drama knowing there is indeed a different way to be and live.

7. It is certainly an interesting moment when we realise that life does not need to be a big drama and that we do not have to play the drama queen.

8. It is important to heal our hurts, ‘The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.’

9. “My life was the way it was through my own choices” Understanding this we have the power to change and by reflection the power to change the world we live in.

10. So much of life is consumed by those things that distract us from our essences and most of these things I used to say I love doing but being in or returning to our essences changes things, as now I can still feel how I used to love lets say my beer but it now comes with an understand of the energy I had to be in to drink a toxic beverages and I am learning to hate that energy as part of my healing as it is not from my True-essence.

11. ‘When the comfort is exposed it can be raw, often painful… We tend to protect and justify it with a fight to the end’ – I can so relate to this. Comfort comes in various forms as long as it does not challenge or ask us to be more as long as it keeps us small and compacted and even struggle is preferred to expansion.The one that exposed recently for me was how I was using hurt and reaction to blind myself from what a situation was offering, which was basically exposing an ideal I had been holding, and it took me a little while to be humble and go ‘I get it.’

12. ‘The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.’ I’ve tried both ways of living – avoiding hurts and feeling them. The latter doesn’t exhaust me, but brings me great clarity and understanding of others and myself; I get to connect with the depth of love that’s within.

13. I came back to this blog because yesterday a group of us got to feel just how much we have changed over the years since attending the events of Universal Medicine it is actually quite incredible the changes and difference we can feel in ourselves and see in each other. Gone are the days of living in the disregard of the bad choices we were choosing that not only affected ourselves but everyone around us such as family, friends and work colleagues. Relearning how to take back self responsibility has been the key to this unfolding way of life.

14. I had no idea how dishonouring and self-abusive I was to myself and therefore all others in my life. This for example was never discussed at any time in all the years of psychotherapy. Yet when I started to attend the presentations and workshops of Serge Benhayon it was at the forefront of all that was shared.
    Learning to respect and honour myself has been a long hard road just because there was so much self -abuse to clear. As I worked on this I started to make loving choices that support me and everyone and everything around me. This is such a beautiful way to live as the responsibility and desire to live this way comes naturally.

15. Awesome Nicola.”My life being a blessing is a reflection of the daily choices that I have made. ”

    This take it back to the simple fact we make our life what it is.

16. Being honest with ourselves as to why we make the choices we do plus appreciating our willingness to be honest supports us to see all that we do and bring to everyday. Without appreciation we are at the mercy of seeing ourselves for being less, when there is nothing further from the truth.

    1. Being honest with ourselves is essential if we want to leave behind old harming behaviours, ‘I have chosen to start being honest about why I needed to eat particular foods: was I feeling tired and that is why I reached for something sweet or stimulating… or was I feeling down so chose to go shopping to make myself feel better? Being honest about what I was feeling I could begin to heal any hurts that I had buried by using life and all that life had to offer as a distraction from myself.’

17. It’s quite a pull up even though it’s written as an honest expression of your own experiences. There is so much on offer here, including those little crossroads we face multiple times every day, to be honest and stay with how we feel, or reach for unsupportive comforts like food and continue repeating the daily cycle with the same hurts lodged in our bodies. “I had to allow myself to feel the hurt and all that came with that in order to allow a full and true healing to occur….. The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.”

18. Whether or not we have appreciated what we have and how far we have come, life and everything that happens is to evolve us. We can either resist the learning on offer, placing huge pressure on our bodies as a result, or surrender to it, learn and grow- and learn to feel at ease with learning along the way.

    1. It’s the surrender that’s key isn’t it Bryony, and trusting whatever process we are in is there to evolve us.

19. You speak also for me when you say “I can see that my life is now amazing and I fully appreciate how supportive my daily choices are.”
    Simple how divinity is always there to make choices that help evolve us.

20. We are very poor at acknowledging the changes we make in our lives, as we grow up we tend to focus on all of the negative sides and the things that we’re not so good at. But as we grow from children to teenagers to adults and then into our elderly years, our life is full of lessons and beautiful moments. Moments which perhaps we don’t see because we are so wrapped up in the negativity and out of control thoughts.

21. ” Being honest about what I was feeling I could begin to heal any hurts that I had buried by using life and all that life had to offer as a distraction from myself.” When we start to observe and get honest with ourselves its amazing the amount of healing that can offer – a way back to love and truth.

22. “I was creating the ills in my life, my relationships and in my body.
    My life was the way it was through my own choices.”
    Once we can truly accept that we are responsible for not only the choices we make but the end result that we live with, then we will begin to make the necessary changes, many of which take us out of our comfort zone, a comfort we have created to not feel the responsibility we have to live our lives in a glorious way. I know for myself the more I build a true foundation, a foundation that confirms who I am, then I can begin to appreciate myself fully, not in a ra ra type of way, but a deep contentment that says this is me and this is what I bring to the world.

    1. Very true Alison. Taking responsibility for all the choices we make on a daily basis can make a huge difference to life – as we begin to live a more purpose-full life. And appreciation is key – without comparison with those who have walked a few steps ahead of us.

23. We seek comfort to cushion ourselves from the blows of the world not realising that the very comfort we seek to escape from it all is the very structure that imprisons us to such a degree we do not even know the fortress we have chosen.

    1. Liane what you have written is very true, for most of us we do not have any idea of the fortress we have chosen to live in as it was chosen lifetimes ago now we are so saturated by the comfort it has become a second skin. It is not until there is a calamity which rocks the foundations of the fortress do we have any notion of the prison we have imprisoned ourselves in.

    2. Well said Liane – we choose to enter the prison and hate how restricted we feel and dislike the fact that we have turned our back on true freedom, but over time we come to forget the freedom we could have and become more settled in the prison feeling it is not so bad after all. And then we start to defend the prison justifying that it is providing us with food and shelter etc. All this in a huge effort to deny our own power and responsibility that sits there waiting for us to simply return to claim it.

24. Really great to read this at this time for me. I’ve come to learn that so much in life has been set up to distract from how amazing we already are on the inside. And the fact that I am no longer wanting to keep myself distracted (not perfect) is worth celebrating.

25. “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.” This is a very beautiful and helpful reminder to not avoid what one truly feels in every moment.

26. Our life is the way it is due to our choices and coming to accept this is a huge step in taking responsibility for ourselves which supports us to make new and more supportive choices

    1. Absolutely Elizabeth, bringing back responsibility for our life and our choices is imperative, ‘Looking back on my past I could see and feel how much I lived in disregard, with no consideration for how my choices were affecting me, my body, my life or those who came into contact with me.’

       1. In contrast, when we make loving supportive choices we can turn our life around, ‘I can see that my life is now amazing and I fully appreciate how supportive my daily choices are.’

27. Sometimes we have to wait for our comfort to start to feel really uncomfortable before we can begin to make any true change.

    1. Only when we feel that tension is when we change. Also this is why we can’t make people change because they have to feel their behaviour for themselves for true lasting change without a mask of substitutes.

28. Loving choices begets a loving life.

29. Having the realisation that we are responsible for our ills is a hard pill to swallow but well worth taking under consideration, especially when we have been blaming others for aeons.

    1. Well said Julie, for it can seem easier to blame another and hence not take responsibility, but in fact in so doing we are denying our own power and playing the game of victim. It is interesting to feel how actually taking responsibility can transform our lives, and this is when we get to feel how capable and powerful we actually are. A true blessing when we embrace true responsibility.

30. Coming to understand how so many of the comforts in our lives are what is holding us back from living the amazing life we are here to live, can be rather confronting. People love their comforts, so much so that they will defend their right to hold on to them, sometimes in spite of an inner knowing that it’s time for them to go. The challenge is, is that they have become accepted as a normal in our lives, and what would life be, what would we be, without them?

    1. Thanks Ingrid for your comment, it’s amazing how I can read similar things but a certain person’s angle of expression allows me to really understand something. Your words helped me realise that comforts simply hold us back from living how amazing we are. When we are clutching onto the comforts they can feel like a life jacket preventing us from sinking but they are actually more like a straightjacket keeping us from moving and holding us in stagnation!

       1. I love how you have equated the holding onto our comforts to a ‘straight-jacket’, as they definitely feel like a form of imprisonment, a self-imposed imprisonment that often we seem to be unwilling to break free of. So, we keep on ‘clutching’ on to that which actually holds us back from living the wonderful life that we were born to live. Crazy, when you think of it!

31. I’ve noticed there are moments that I can really turn up my amazing levels – I was just pondering this morning that if it’s possible in these moments then it must actually always be possible. Could our amazing moments be our potentially next normal moments?

32. There is no limit to how amazing we are – a constant expansion is available and so much to appreciate. This applies to everyone equally from whatever point we start.

33. Appreciating how we come to realization is a beautiful insight to have, which your writing has shown so clearly for me to see and reflect on.

34. What a read, thank you Nicole, I can understand so much more about what you are sharing here now, and particularly felt how supportive this line was “Un-supportive comfort can be lots of things, for me; it is using things and being in a certain way that leaves me feeling unchallenged, or does not ask me to be all of myself.” Lots to ponder on, thank you.

35. This is my take away to be honest with myself and ask these same questions Nicole, thanks for writing them down.

    How much of me am I willing to…
    •connect to,
    •remain in connection with,
    •commit myself to, and
    •commit my way of living and daily choices to,
    … in order for me to be in a way that is of true service for humanity?
    It feels to me that to do this I need to deepen the love I hold myself in, then the rest is easy.
    This is a completely different perspective to the lie we have all fallen for which is to put others needs and wants before ourselves, it’s a lie because by putting others needs and wants before ourselves keeps us from developing any sort of self love for ourselves and if we cannot love ourselves in truth we cannot love another. I wonder if this is the reason we live in such a loveless society.

    1. Mary thank you for your comment, you make a great point about how the ideal of putting others and what has to be done before ourselves as a major contributing factor to our loveless way of life. I saw this play out in my own life and the positive changes people went through around me when I began living love for myself, this was because the energy of love was finally present. The state of being is what’s powerful, not the doing we all seem indoctrinated into, especially selfless doing for others to feel good or because it’s seen as good.

36. We can’t get anywhere with healing and dealing with what we’re holding onto, what we’ve allowed ourselves to be hurt by, unless we’re prepared to be honest. Courses, healing sessions etc, can be a great support, but only we can heal ourselves: it takes work: dedication and commitment to being constantly honest and to start to build a relationship with our body where we want to hear what it has to say, and to deal with it, instead of numbing or shutting it down.

37. Re-claiming ourselves is a moment by moment choice to align to our divine nature.

38. Such a transformative moment when we start to honour our bodies and choose this level of self-love over anything else. carrying multiple bags of groceries is a common one and I totally relate – saving time but at the expense of pain. It’s a very different experience when we finally choose to bring in more love, and then the overdoing it just fades away because we get rid of anything that lessens the level of love we can now connect too.

    1. It is transforming when we start to listen to and honour our bodies, choosing self-love and responsibility.

39. This is a brilliant blog so glad I found it to read, I feel that many of us have an expectation of how life should be and I feel that as we grow older and life doesn’t match those expectations we have placed on it we withdraw from it as a way of dealing with our disappointment. I don’t feel we are taught how to live in a more open way and to embrace what it brings to us to learn from. I know many people that want to have their life mapped out so they know where they are going and what they will be doing. Too me there seems no fun in this.

    1. I can relate to that getting older and feeling disappointed but that is when I am majorly choosing to check out into ideal and belief land instead of appreciation and love universe!

40. “Being honest about what I was feeling I could begin to heal any hurts that I had buried by using life and all that life had to offer as a distraction from myself.” A good point Nicole. Yet I know once I’m on a mission to eat a certain food I make the choice and don’t want to stop and feel what it is I am truly feeling, beyond the craving. Accepting where I am at and appreciating how far I have come is something I intend to do more of.

41. We can bless life only when we accept how blessing life is and when our body embraces a pattern of movements that is aligned to such an understanding.

42. ‘I had to allow myself to feel the hurt and all that came with that in order to allow a full and true healing to occur.’ Not shying away from what there is to feel is very poignant. Thank you.

    1. Yes and that includes allowing ourselves to feel the amazingness because some are much more comfortable with the hurts.

       1. Great point Nicola. Being stuck in old habits of contraction has a familiar comfortable – despite feeling very uncomfortable – ring about it.

       2. Yeah a lot of us are more at home with the hurts yet it is absolute stiflingly and constricting compared to what life is and how it can be when we feel how precious the divinity within is.

       3. You have to wonder why we would be more comfortable feeling awful than awesome!

43. A lack of appreciation leads to a ‘coasting along’ mentality that will eventually become the crushing force that caps us from going any further in our evolution.

44. I find it super important to keep challenging myself, otherwise I find it very easy to slip into just functioning in life and doing the bare minimum – not truly getting the most out of what’s on offer – but when I’m challenging myself it’s like I’m rediscovering what is possible and how limitless we really are.

    1. I like this Meg and are going to implement a challenge for myself this week.

    2. A simple yet healing way of offering more in our expression as the body supports us in our evolution.

45. Learning to revisit my relationship with responsibility – it is not an onerous or limiting burden but rather a joy and ever deepening understanding and appreciation of who we are and what we can bring to life.

46. It is a trick that our comforts are truly supportive, rather they hide and delay our choice and responsibility to live who we truly are.

47. Every word here invites me to appreciate my unfolding path, how my life has amazingly changed by being suported by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine but also to stay honest and looking at my non-supportive comforts that sometimes keep me less than who I truly am.

48. Nicole your sharing brings the key to evolve. Deep appreciation + full honesty. It’s a perfect balance that makes a lot of sense. Thank you

49. I can certainly find myself reacting to other’s reactions sometimes and this is me not accepting life and allowing others their own choices.

    1. Maybe there is also an element of not accepting a part of ourselves if we react for if we were fully at ease with the situation we wouldn’t need to react and could just see it as it is.

50. Appreciation and appreciating the steps of evolution one has already taken is the catalyst for further evolution.

51. It is now 12 years since I first met Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine and there are no words to describe the appreciation I have for the support I have gained, and is constantly there, from Serge and all associated with him as I appreciate how I and my life has changed beyond recognition from what it was before – I am so deeply blessed.

    1. This is very beautiful to read and feel. So true. Thank you Jonathan

    2. I completely agree Jonathan. It is strange to write something about which there are no words ❤

52. For sure there’s always the opportunity to open up to truly understanding more about ourselves and life and implement truly supportive changes in our way of living, and starting with appreciating who we are in our essence and then working back out from that to see where we may not be living true to that quality makes sense to me.

53. It is so true Sarah if we avoid feeling our hurts we must live with our hurts and it is this tension that leads to so many of the daily choices to dull our awareness.

54. We do so many things that feel comfortable in the sense that the feel familiar with them but that doesn’t mean they are truly supportive of our wellbeing and it is also interesting to observe that comfort is often not truly comfortable or it turns out not to be comfortable anymore.

55. This combination of loving daily choices and healing hurts is a beautiful recipe for our evolution.

    1. Absolutely Elaine, healing hurts for me has been one of the greatest things I have learnt from Serge Benhayon, top that with making loving choices and we certainly do have all the ingredients to truly evolve.

56. Your last 3 points are a great daily read. We have so much to appreciate and when we’re not taking a stop and ask why and what are we allowing in the way.

57. It does not make sense that “we often love our non-supportive comfort”, so much so that we make it our norm. But in my case, as in many people’s, these ways of being that do not support us in the least are the ways we preciously guard, and any challenges to them, and our comfort, are repelled as soon as they appear. An exhausting way to live, a way that simply keeps us away from a way of living that is truly supportive

58. “Yes, I was unwell, but so were a lot of other people; it appeared to be the way of life” – I can so relate to this. Funny how we normalize things yet they can never be neutralized and we just keep suffering.

59. Thank you Nicole this blog is perfect timing for me to read as I expose levels of comfort I have held tightly onto that are really holding me back in many ways.

60. Getting out of bed in the morning knowing that we are committed to making daily loving choices brings a great sense of responsibility and joy.

61. It is for us all to choose: do we want a life based on comfort that keeps us playing less than the everything we are? Or – do we want a life that harnesses this greatness so that all others know they are also of such truth and such beauty?

62. We can whinge about the imperfection of our lives as much as we want – but we all know in our hearts that we are totally accountable for every choice we have made that has led us to exactly where we are at. So when it comes down to it if we are honest we really can’t blame another for our woes.

63. It is awesome to read about how thinking we are doing something is not actually doing it.

64. It seems there are times when I need to have an issue to work on, thus avoiding the appreciation of the amazingness I am and allowing that to shine out.

65. I’m now at a point in my life where I have cleared so much past hurts and dramas that I can clearly observe where I’m now choosing to create dramas instead of appreciating that my life has none. It’s incredible to feel how much was created in the past that never had to be there. Life was always this amazing I just created many issues to avoid it’s grandness.

    1. I can second that one Kim, and have felt many times how when one of those self-created dramas or ‘issues’ was created, I would never be able to really get to the heart of the underlying energy that founded it. Why? Because it was never stored in my body in the first place because I was the one creating it to avoid the responsibility that comes with shining my light without hesitation no matter how it is received by others!

       1. So true Michael, I had a session the other day where the practitioner had a chuckle about me coming in every session to tell him how bad a person I was, only for him to discount every issue I brought forth. I had to chuckle also to see the absurdity in life and our creation of so many non existent issues.

66. Being honest with ourselves in complete appreciation with the absence of judgement. A recipe for a truly harmonious life.

67. We can also turn it around and simply choose to live in a way that is supportive of what we feel is is natural in the body. Although it might confront us with some ill patterns and behaviours we have built in our lives, but please be patient and in full understanding of why we may have chosen these and take responsibility to heal the hurts that are at the root of these ill choices.

68. I agree Elizabeth. I find when I am choosing to stay in my comfort zones, it actually doesn’t feel great because I start to feel a slight tension in my body and if I don’t make choices to be more loving and evolve, then this tension will simple build up.

69. I realised holding onto hurts can hugely affect my relationships and how I react or deal with certain situations and life. I notice at any time I have reacted to a situation or someone, it can often be linked back to an old hurt I have been carrying or my resistance to take responsibility.

70. A therein lays the reason why so many of us are sitting on a colossal sized mountain of hurts surrounded by a very large ‘DO NOT ENTER’ sign – we do not want to take responsibility for the hurt that we feel and therefore have the self-assumed right to blame others for the pain that we feel.

71. What a great blog Nicole, very exposing of our comforts and the many choices we chose to coaster along. I’m just going back for a re read…

72. When being unwell reaches the point of an epidemic, it is pretty hard to realize that you are not well.

73. “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it” – This is really interesting and quite different to what you might expect, but it makes sense that when we are offered an opportunity to learn, understand and grow from something like a mistake or hurt, we take steps away from ourselves in order to avoid this and get tolerant and distracted with something else. It’s the steps away from US that hurt.

74. No presentation can change our life for us-no matter how incredible and revolutionary it is. Changes only happen in our lives when we choose to change. Thanks for the reminder Nicole.

    1. Indeed Leonne, we all individually have to make the choice to make changes in our lives. There is no one who can or will do that for us, that is just impossible. So it actually all comes down to taking responsibility in our lives and to start to heal the hurts that keep us repeating the ill patterns we have created over and over again.

75. I was speaking about this with a friend today .. how we do not truly appreciate ourselves .. this is still very much work in progress for me!

76. The amazingness of how you can feel in the Before and After listening to presentations of the Ageless Wisdom by Serge Benhayon and joyfully committing to the truth of who you are is magic.

77. ‘… a drama or three every day just to keep you…’ away from who you actually are. When it is the dramas and stories of life that make us who we are we don´t get to feel much of ourselves, of who we are within without the world entering. Hence knowing the difference and keeping the inner as untouched as possible by the outer means to have the space to be and live who we are with full commitment to being in and with the world.

78. Beautiful blog of appreciation, offering moments to stop and take stock of all the loving choices we make, and how these choices provide the next movement towards living all of us.

79. We hold onto hurts, and do not go deeper by choice. Interestingly how much are we willing to open up and let go, claiming an amazing life with no hurts or issues? This is the real question

80. Honesty means we are prepared for whatever is in front of us to deal with, it means, in fact, we are less likely to get hurt yet there is a belief that we have to protect ourselves and often that involves lying both to ourselves and others. We live some illogical logic!

81. We all as humans have a ” great” hurt to feel and its an insidious hurt that started with a choice to not express our full and true self and every choice after that has been insidious in creating the ” great ” hurt. But the great hurt has no power, it’s the living of the “great” hurt that makes it hurt.

82. Yes, life is much bigger, much grander than I ever imagined and it is a great exercise to move within that grandness rather than carving out a small part instead.

    1. By only focusing on carving out that little ‘piece of the pie’ and making a comfortable and secure life for ourselves and maybe our family, we are limiting all the power and glory of our Universal connections that are there waiting for us to be impulsed by if we can let go of the control and let our bodies guide us.

83. Loving daily choices are what allow us to build a true foundation within ourselves. From there we can deliver all that is there for us to deliver.

84. Comfort is like a drug that we partake of to numb ourselves and distract from the restlessness and unsettlement of not being who we truly are, of not living to our potential.

    1. Yes, it is like alcohol, except that the hangover comes much later and is much more pernicious as we simply end up being less than we are.

       1. I had not really seen comfort as the googly it actually is but you have both made it very practical here and shown it for the horror it is. It keep us from ourselves, from the love we are, we are from and from living our potential therefore keeping everyone else from their potential as well. It only takes one reflection of NOT living in comfort for us to be shaken and start questioning…till we ask ourselves who is ready to take that step and lead the way regardless of being noticed or followed … are we?

85. I love this reminder Nicole to be aware of the need for us to make loving daily choices. I quite often sabotage myself with what I eat and by doing too much when my body has expressed this to me through how I feel.

86. Loving daily choices support us to build a true foundation of care.

87. I just moved into our new house today, it is absolutely epic but there was still a part of me going through and clocking all the things that I wanted to change, not that there is anything wrong with making improvements but I could feel that I was bringing more focus to what I wanted to change rather than the appreciation of how far I had come. Reading your blog this morning reminded me that I have literally transformed my life and I have everything and more than I ever thought possible, the house is a symbol of what I have built within myself, with my husband, my family and within the broader community.

    1. So beautiful Sarah. This focus on the thing that isn’t quite right is something I know well. I get the sense that it’s easier for us to find fault than it is to actually appreciate how incredible we are because ‘faults’ keep us stuck in the drama of life and appreciation creates space for more.

       1. Makes sense that I am always finding faults in everything then, for drama is my comfort, as much as it pains me to admit.

88. ‘Yes, I was unwell, but so were a lot of other people; it appeared to be the way of life’. The evil of comparison exposed in a single sentence.

89. Something as simple as making self-loving choices can and does change our lives beyond anything we could imagine, and the best part is it is simple, and it costs nothing. The fact that we do not have to struggle through life and walk in misery until the end of our days is free to us, and no amount of money can buy you this – so it does not matter how financially wealthy we are.

90. Thank you Nicole, reading your blog again today I realised how normal living from hurts can feel for me, it becomes a way of life and a “normal” especially if they begin at a young age. I have found that the reflections of Serge and Natalie Benhayon have inspired me to challenge what’s normal and continually let go of the hurts so I can experience more love and joy in my life. The comfort we choose is like a band aid for the hurts, we don’t deal with them and stay stagnant, but what’s behind the hurts is more love – living that is well worth the process to let them go.

91. Comfort is truly evil in the sense that we get comfortable living a certain way and whilst we are comfortable we don’t tend to question the harm being done…until the harm accumulates so much that the comfort is rocked or removed completely and then we may be prepared to see what has been accumulating over time but we were too comfortable beforehand so we just ignored it.

92. “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful” This is true even though a few years ago I would have had difficulty understanding this. As I have become more honest with myself and gained more clarity with a willingness to look at my hurts I have been able to feel what it does to my body along with the constant tension and irritation and discomfort that won’t go away. As soon as I allow myself to really feel the hurt and why I am hurt then it becomes easier to see it for what it is rather than using all my energy to avoid what in truth can not be avoided, possibly buried but our hurts surface time and time again until we are willing to look at them.

93. Beautifully said Linda, it all starts with self responsibility.

94. Great blog to stop and appreciate all that Universal Medicine has offered many. There are many of us who have made incredible change to our lives and up held them and offered them to all we meet. In appreciating this we see and feel how true change works in the world.

95. The teachings of the Way of the Livingness show us that we are responsible for our lives. There is great freedom in this and huge joy.

96. “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.” I agree there is no escaping that. Last night I had met someone new. It hurt our heavy they felt. I did not want to feel it. I could not look at them. I was bothered by if I did how much the hurt would show on my face to the point where if I did they would feel there’s, and I’m scared then to know what is possible from a hurt person – reaction, defence, denial and burying. This is better than not feeling it at all and, the reflection is how I have chosen to bury my hurts and how scared I am to feel how much I have sabotaged myself because of it.

97. We all have to take responsibility for how our life is, after all we are the creator of it through our many choices.

98. At any moment we have the choice, by virtue of the way we move, as to whether we make our life a blessing or a curse. The choice, as always is ours.

99. True change is something to behold. No fanfare, no trying, no wannabe grasping for a better life. Just true change that is you walking as you on earth.

100. A bit of an ouch reading this today and realising I have simply ‘shown up’ to a lot of very supportive presentations without fully incorporating what has been shared into my life. You remind me that we can have a truly amazing life if we choose it.

101. ‘My life was the way it was through my own choices’. When we can be this honest, our next steps are already showen of what to do next and through this honesty so much support becomes available.

102. It is only now looking back that I can see and feel how disregarding of myself and others I have been, ‘I could see and feel how much I lived in disregard, with no consideration for how my choices were affecting me, my body, my life or those who came into contact with me.’ With this awareness I have been making new choices that honour and respect myself and other people, bring back self responsibility.

103. You mention justifying your choices here and I am starting to see this more and more, the defending of the self-abuse we use to dull ourselves which in turn creates a complication. Bizarre.

104. The fact is the way our life currently is, is not the way we are designed to live. It only makes sense then, that there should be a tension and sadness to feel in everything. If we resist feeling this we get lost and separated from the truth of us. So I can only agree with what you show here Nicole, that the key to healing ourselves is to start with acknowledging the hurts we feel. Going off and doing things without dealing with this only leads to more difficulty.

105. Feeling the enormity of what we can bring and not appreciating this enough can easily create a freak out that tries to convince us that we are not this grand. When we truly appreciate and allow ourselves to feel and be honest, none of the dramas we choose to create can ever diminish how grand we are.

106. It’s an interesting realisation you had Nicole that you had set yourself a marker less than the amazingness you truly are, so then you could feel that life was better whilst staying comfortable. I can feel I have done that too. Thank you for sharing.

107. I have recently been reflecting on how powerful self appreciation is, not as a theory, but as something I decided to give a go. The results have been life changing. thanks for sharing how appreciation has impacted on your life Nicole.

108. Great article Nicole, full of wisdom. I agree, letting ourselves feel all there is to feel is key to letting go of that which we embrace to cushion and or protect us from what we feel. In other words, we are locked in a perpetual cycle of having struggled with what we feel, numbing ourselves to that, and continuing not to feel. At some point we need to break the chain and get raw and vulnerable.

109. We choose what makes up our life and so it follows that the outcome of these choices will be what we are living. For most of my life I believed that I did not have any control over what was happening ‘to’ me and that I was a victim of life. This blog Nicole shows that there are many areas that we can choose to look at and to change to re-connect back to our own inner heart, to empower ourselves, our body and stop living in the illusion that others or society knows what is best for us. When we choose energetic responsibility and energetic integrity in the many simple things such as food choices, exercise plans, holding true to the love we know we are etc, then not only does our world change but our reflection to others changes and allows the space for them to also start to claim themselves.

110. A great reminder that on any day our choices can make a huge difference.

111. We often compare how it used to be and how it is now and think we are doing great, but comparison is just that, measuring if there is more or less obvious abuse – abuse is abuse – and I feel that’s where I need to be more honest about the choices I am making.

112. Beautiful moment of appreciation that has me stopping and appreciating all that we bring when we chose a life of love and truth.

113. How much are we willing to commit is a great question, and what is actually possible if we do truly commit to every single moment and second of the day?

114. Food choices are a powerful marker of where we are with ourselves, others and God: they directly affect changes in mood, behaviour and feeling. We are responsible for the planet we live on in the tiniest of ways and have a larger responsibility to the all. It helps to know we’ re all energetically linked by particles: to pollute our own bodies and minds pollutes the whole planet.

115. ‘Looking back on my past I could see and feel how much I lived in disregard, with no consideration for how my choices were affecting me, my body, my life or those who came into contact with me.’ Great exposé our choices really do affect those that we have contact with and particularly those we connect on a more regular basis. It is because of this I have realised that my responsibility is not just to myself, but the rest of humanity and therefore every choice I make has to be a more loving one.

     1. So true, every choice comes with a consequence. It calls for responsibility on many levels. The abdication of this responsibility means we get arrogant with our choices and get them confused with free will – yes we have free will to choose but that choice always comes with a consequence. I wonder whether we just can’t cope with the fact that our choices have far deeper consequences than we want to accept and therefore we choose not to be aware so we don’t have to take that level of responsibility.

116. This is a great overview of the various stepping stones once we choose to take responsibility for our life and everything that happens in it. It also means that things don’t just happen to us but that were are the instigators of everything, so-called good or bad; and that is in itself a very empowering and potent motivation and change agent.

117. Appreciation is a language we can all speak and like a key to a long lost treasure chest it unlocks the Love in us. For it turns out that it is not a rare ‘nice-to-have’ or ‘the icing on the cake’ but an essential way for us to move, act and think. Let’s not wait till that raining day, or that eulogy we tearfully give – let’s live appreciation today and marvel at who we truly are and what we all bring. Thank you Nicole – I appreciate you reminding me.

118. Nicole it is amazing to hear the changes you have made. Serge Benhayon has been a beacon of light for many and will continue to be for many many years to come.
     In a world where we have lost our way there is a man who is reminding us all of the truth we hold in our inner hearts.

119. This morning I am feeling pretty raw, something has happened that has triggered some of this hurt feeling you describe Nicole. So it’s a beautiful reminder to read your words and remember that the biggest difficulty we face is caused by us running away. I am going to support myself this morning and just feel what is there and what is happening for me.

120. Recently I had a very tangible realisation that I am actually untouchable – nothing can ever touch me unless I allow it. It was very simple, and the difference between that, and allowing complications in my life, was stark – like black and white. I used to be ruled by my hurts, but now I can allow them to surface without the avoiding, obsessing and indulging that used to be my every day. Thank you Serge Benhayon for bringing the incredible teachings of the Ancient Wisdom and making sense of it in our every day life. I am learning to be greater Love all the time knowing its never stops. There is always more.

121. it is super inspiring to read of your absolute commitment to jump in, boots and all, into learning to uncover the truth of life… to be honest about how we are in the many ways that is not congruent with that truth. and as you have shared “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful. ” – therein lies the cause of so many complications we create in life just to avoid having to face what hurts, when in fact this just creates a thicker fog around us to not see that ‘hurt’ is not of us at all. freedom is being able to see the truth of us beyond the fog. So commitment to honesty and love are the first necessary steps.

122. This is an ongoing project if you like, an ongoing commitment or living way. It’s not that you never get to the end of it but the mere fact you think or perceive it ends is already blinding you to another part. Life isn’t what it seems, just a physical outplay of what is going on around you, there is an energetic part that accounts to life before the physical comes into play. So there is a life within a life, ever thought of someone and had them call or remember something and then notice it more or look for red cars and think you haven’t seen any for ages only to see so many. We see in life what we put into life and so hold life as just a physical thing and your view will narrow to that, open up to more and more of life being another way and that will also present itself to you through your eyes. Ever had the feeling of more, or life being about something bigger? It’s not chasing the physical things in life that fill this void but more the energetic part, the greater part of what is going on around you. Life and the awareness around life keeps growing or expanding and if we stop this expansion or growth then we allow something else to come in.

123. “I had to allow myself to feel the hurt and all that came with that in order to allow a full and true healing to occur.” This is why healing is not an easy process and why many people are not willing to go there. However, it is essential and the freedom and joy that comes with the healing out ways any pain one experiences and is beyond words.

124. Prior to meeting Serge Benhayon I believed I was living a very responsible and caring life, particularly in comparison to many others. However, what Serge presented, and never ceases to present, is a way of life and level of integrity that made me realise I was living in total judgmental and arrogant illusion. This was challenging to acknowledge and accept but by doing so my life has become simpler, less stressful and more honest and truthful.

125. Allowing ourselves to be who we are and not calibrating or measuring to fit how we think others want us to be is huge. When we stop calibrating and controlling, and drop our guard and allow ourselves to just be, it’s actually liberating and empowering for us and everyone around us.

126. There is no forced change in this either. No I must eat this way or I must do more of this for myself. It comes so naturally and gracefully through simple self honesty, without criticism and acknowledging the changes and enjoying the process along the way.

     1. Beautifully said Jennie, the choices simply become our next movement seeded forth from our previous loving choice.

127. Huge blog Nicole… I know exactly what you mean about those unsupportive comforts. They are not good for me but I hang on to them for dear life. Your blog allows me to feel where I am at with this … and yes it is uncomfortable 🙂

128. ‘Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am and to shine for all the world to see.’ Beautifully said Nicole, the world needs powerful reflections such as yours as too many have forgotten the truth of who they are and are living in a way that is not loving or supportive. Learning to live without comforts seems overwhelming at first but the more you let them go the lighter and grander life becomes.

129. When you reached out the words : expectations of how you want life to be.. It literally killed one of my big comforts, I could feel that for the first time I were more open considering my own image of “life” and how I want it to be.. I can feel from image I am holding the true reality away, which is very needed for me to see actually.. So what this blog learned me is now to discard the images and expectations I have about how life should look and move on from them – seeing reality in life and let life come to me in truth. I serve much better myself and others from that.

     1. So beautifully nominated Danna. This insight supports me to see that this pattern has been a comfort of mine also.

130. ‘The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it..’ This is true, we are so afraid of feeling what we feel, but it is the only way to actually free ourselves from the crutches of avoiding the hurt. Seem like all our habits, all our behaviours are used as an avoidance, so take away the avoidance, the habits then aren’t needed.

131. Thank you Nicole, this is fabulous. I haven’t really considered comfort in relation to burying and managing hurts, so your words have offered me a great insight.

132. Once we let go of the hurt there is more on offer in how we can build a life of consistency in our foundation. The choices keep bringing more clarity, simplicity and the wonderful teachings of how life can be lived through the teaching of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.

133. I recently had an experience that exposed the level of comfort I had been living in and choosing to ignore. What I learnt was that although it was painful to feel, the joy and expansion I felt after taking responsibility for my choice of comfort was incredible. It was far more painful to sit in comfort than it was to expose what I was turning a blind eye to.

     1. Thank you Kim, this is very inspiring ” It was far more painful to sit in comfort than it was to expose what I was turning a blind eye to.”

134. When we appreciate true and genuinely supportive changes that we’ve made in our life it helps to make them a stronger part of our foundation, from which to grow and develop even more love in the way that we live with everyone.

135. Our life is the living example of the choices we make and the most loving thing we can do for ourselves is to slowly, deeply, gently go deeper and expose the small detail that keeps us trapped in what is not true – thank you Nicole.

136. Dear Nicole, I love what you have written here and it felt like you were writing my experience as well. This line particularly – “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it”. I am going to take that with me and ponder it because there is such a belief that hurts hurt more when you feel them. This turns it on its head. It can be raw when you feel them, but it is usually momentary. Living with them can feel like a life sentence, hence the comfort.

137. This word comfort which you use is such a strange word because there is nothing truly comfortable about using that type of comfort to hold ourselves back, in fact it is an extremely uncomfortable and imprisoning form of numbing ourselves. Unimedpedia Comfort – http://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia/word-index/unimedpedia-comfort.html gives a great outline of the energetic meaning of comfort.

138. It is great how you expose how we limit ourselves. The awesomeness of who we truly are and what is available for us is actually unfathomable. Suffice to know we are magnificent beyond words and the more we let go of all that we are not the more is revealed of who we truly are!

139. Changing how we feel is big business isn’t it. We eat, drink, take drugs and or medication, exercise, seek entertainment, seek recognition, even work to change how we feel – to name but a few ways we do so. Trying to feel better is a way of life it seems – but why? What is wrong with what we are feeling? What if our feelings are our portal to what is true? Maybe this is why we avoid them so much. Is life really about making ourselves feel better or more comfortable – or is their a deeper purpose? For me the latter is true – and our feelings are key to connecting with this purpose.

140. Awesome Nicole, I can so relate to the level of appreciation you now have. Our choice are what makes us, having appreciation for them when they are made of love is another beautiful choice worth confirming.

141. Nicole your blog has made me appreciate how different my life is compared to 10 years ago. Back then I was into the blame game, not truly wanting to look at how my daily choices were the things that actually contributed to much of my misery. These days I am curious about my behaviours instead of critical and therefore its easier to go a little deeper and get a better understanding of what is causing them. The next step is then to make different choices that then become a new habit. Its very empowering to have accepted that I can change my life by making new choices.

142. Honesty, willingness and commitment are words that come to me as I read your blog Nicole, bringing yourself out into the world is exposing and I am aware that I hold back in allowing myself to shine. Thank you for sharing your experience as it is so supportive as I begin to open up too.

143. It is beautiful how you start your blog with confirming the many great changes and choices you have made in your life. It seems there is no limit to what is available and to our expansion. It is very valuable to confirm and consolidate the steps we take so that they become a solid new platform from which to take our next steps. Of course all our steps are not really going anywhere other than returning to the awesomeness we already are – a discarding of all that we are not!

144. Love your blogs Nicole. At the end of the day we all come to a point of claiming whether we want our life governed by hurt or protection or do we want to claim ourselves and our lives in full by bringing our absolute fullness to it?

145. Self care, self appreciation and self awareness were not areas that were highlighted as I was growing up. Self care was basic hygiene; bathing, cleaning the teeth and brushing your hair but it was never emphasized that it is the way we approach these things that effects how we feel about ourselves. The idea that you could treat yourself with a tender loving touch, with a great respect and with an enormous appreciation was unheard of or at worst thought of as vain, self obsessed and /or up yourself! This way of thinking is so damaging as it compiles in the feeling of worthlessness and the low self esteem that plagues many. The presentations of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine have turned so many lives around by introducing the importance of loving and appreciating our selves. It makes so much sense that this seemingly simple suggestion could make such a difference to anyone who applies it to their life.

146. A very powerful blog Nicole – appreciation and self-honesty go hand-in-hand.

147. I love the choice you have made to commit to letting go of the comforts and distractions that support you to cruise through life unchallenged and unexposed… these things only deny you the beauty and power that comes from embracing and expressing the amazingness of you and stop the world from seeing what is possible to live.

148. What I am learning at the moment is how lovely it is to keep things simple and make life about choice and consistency and that our choice to bring more and more love into our livingness in every moment can be fun and oh so lovely. There is also no perfection too, yes we will slip up from time to time but that’s ok as it is the consistency to keep returning to our connection that will bring us home always.

149. Life presents with people always striving to be more, to be recognised or approved of when from the beginning of time we have always been enough just as we are. We are the end result of the choices we make. My observations of myself and others is that we don’t stop to appreciate fully all that we bring just by being here, walking, interacting and speaking when fully connected to our hearts. This is a beautiful blog which confirms our truth of what we bring and how important it is to stop and appreciate ourselves.

150. If you imagine your life as a film, what would it be like if the cameras stopped right now, and zoomed out and out gradually? I imagine we would start to see our life in the ‘scheme of things’. I feel it would be harder to moan, be heavy and serious, and encourage us all to deeply appreciate the small but infinitely important part we play in the all. The cool thing is as you show Nicole, that we can ‘zoom out’ this way ourselves when we remember to consider the bigger picture.

151. “Being honest about what I was feeling I could begin to heal any hurts that I had buried by using life and all that life had to offer as a distraction from myself.” . . . It is so interesting how we will do anything to avoid feeling and dealing with our hurts even to the extent that we will even hurt our self more.Crazy really.

152. ‘The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.’ What a great truth. Allowing ourselves to actually feel what is going on inside gives us integrity and then to be able to express those feelings can bring deep healing for ourselves and offers healing to others also.

153. It is incredibly supportive to ourselves and those around us when we take a moment to reflect and ask questions about the unloving, comforting choices we are making and when we do begin to ask sometimes with a level of consistency I have found it quite surprising that I knew the reason or the hurt that was buried in my body all along.

154. Beautiful Nicole, there is a part of us that see’s lifes events and tends to go ‘yes but…’ and pick a fault or see what you did as somehow wrong. What a difference when we are able to see the absolute beauty of how we come to be right here, right now in this very moment. Like a long running show we tend to get blase about the lead character as if they are worth less becuase they are always there. But it is simply not true and this screen star deserves all the Love and adoration and care in this world. We could even from time to time send ourselves fan mail. I can see thanks to your words, that when I appreciate myself this way its easy to look around and see life’s beauty in full and with the same kindness and wonder in my eyes.

155. A perfect blog to come back to this morning. I have been feeling the repercussion of my reactions to recent interactions I had with those around me, and so much has been coming up – my long held hurts coming up to the surface to remind me that they have not been healed, how I hold myself back from expressing freely, my resistance to truly surrender to my vulnerability and allow all feelings to be there etc. and going into a full circle – and your sharing simply reminds me that my utmost responsibility is to love me for what I truly am, and the key is in my everyday livingness. Thank you, Nicole.

156. Your level of self responsibility is inspiring and naturally of service to humanity Nicole!

157. This is great to note Nicole . . . “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful” . . . as it is so true.

158. Thanks Nicole for your insight into your healing process. I can also feel that there is a level of hurts I’ve already dealt with, but underneath those there are more quite painful hurts waiting to be healed. It would be possible after the first round of healing to feel “that’s it” but I’ve also found that a deeper level of honesty is required, and responsibility to keep feeling, exposing, and allowing myself to continue going into those painful dark places within. It’s worth it otherwise the hurts cause a myriad of unloving choices, and clearing them opens the way for deeper wisdom and understanding, and for more love and joy to be released.

159. “was I feeling tired and that is why I reached for something sweet or stimulating… or was I feeling down so chose to go shopping to make myself feel better?” This shows the depth we can go to in living our life by simply observing, through which we can see where we are at, what is working for us and what is not, and take our next step accordingly.

160. What an incredibly supportive blog for me at the moment, a true commitment to one’s self, and in this, a true commitment to humanity.

161. I am pondering on this question; ‘How much of me am I willing to…connect to,remain in connection with,commit myself to, and commit my way of living and daily choices to,… in order for me to be in a way that is of true service for humanity?’ I noticed the other day although my connection with myself is deepening that I still hold on hurts so easily and how often it can be my first to go to instead of going inwardly and feel my connection. Becoming aware of this opens me up to feel my fragility and sensitivity with no judgement whatsoever and no longer avoid the responsibility of living and reflecting this way of living, the Way of the Livingness. And like you say Nicole, there is so much to appreciate!

162. Appreciating how amazing we all are is for me key to grow and prosper in life as when I do not appreciate I fall back in a life of being hurt or lack of self worth, while when I appreciate myself for the amazing man I am, I can also appreciate the glory that all other people are and connect to that instead of that outer facade that they have built out of protection to not be hurt anymore by the world they are experiencing.

163. We are deep in illusion when we think we’re doing the work on ourselves but are actually just ticking the boxes and not really connecting at all, not going deeper and not dealing with our hurts. I’ve seen how I can make it all look good, but unless I’m making the consistent effort in every moment of every day to connect to my body and actually feel what is needed from there, I’m not dealing with anything and not moving forward.

164. ‘The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful’. What an incredible line to place on my wall, a reminder that it’s more painful to delay than it is to face things head on.

165. For the longest time I felt that holding onto hurts was the only way to live, and then being introduced to Universal Medicine I discovered that being open to feeling my hurts was the way to free myself from them. It comes from a connection with the body and again for another stretch of time I believed that my hurts could only be dealt with in a session or in a conversation with another or when alone and lying on the floor with my eyes closed. But I write this now as my experience of healing hurts as changed, it doesn’t matter what I am doing (because I can’t go an lie down and be alone at work) but by moving in connection with how I feel, even if it does feel painful, if I focus on the quality of how I walk, pick up objects etc. the hurt can start to lift and heal.

166. In summary the quality of life we have comes down to the lifestyle choices we make

167. Appreciation is like the water we give to a plant, it allows all the other parts to continue to grow.

168. “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.” This is so opposite to what I – and I’m sure many of us – were taught growing up.
     ‘Resistance is futile’ – a quote from somewhere….. Feeling what is there actually allows the hurt to dissolve, by surrendering to it, not trying to fight it. Also knowing that I am not the pain – but that all hurt and pain is there to teach me something. Will I learn the lesson? That is my question.

169. I can feel the enormity of actually truly committing to life. It is easy going to the courses and presentations at Universal Medicine but then just carrying on as normal. Making a commitment to self and to humanity requires us to deeply feel what is happening in our bodies and in our lives and to live in a more supported way. We need to feel and live life not just intellectualise it.

170. “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.” this is so true Nicole, and one of the reasons we create our “go to ” behaviours in life is to manage things so we don’t have to feel what’s there to be felt. However, the reality is we do this at the expense of the body as there is so much we can brush under the carpet before our bodies expose the disregard and unloving choices we have succumb to instead of allowing ourselves to feel, process and let go of old hurts from our bodies.

171. `thank you, Nicole, reading this blog already makes me feel more real and less comfortable. Comfort can be measured by the level of denseness(numbness, unable to clearly think at certain times, or situations). I can feel how much of this blog relates to how I have been living until now. How I have chosen and looked for that lower level in order to not feels hurts or resentments. I can feel how much this is actually a comfort itself, and how we can then look at every angle to fill the need up , to keep the comfort tight and feels that as less as possible. Thank you for the world to see, that comfort is not our way out of the mess we are in. Thank you for sharing and giving us awareness on this super important subject.

172. “I had to take responsibility for the way my life was. It took some time and a level of honesty from me in allowing myself to feel the devastation of what I had created.” I am going through this process as well, it’s such an essential understanding and sense of empowerment to come to this honesty and awareness. Through this I can then take responsibility to make new choices and work on building more love into my life.

173. “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.” This is a huge realization. Avoiding what is there to be felt does not work, I know as I too did it for years. It is so much easier when we just face what is before us, feel it and deal with it.

174. Thanks for your sharing Nicole. I am sitting with my non supportive choices at the moment and it does feel pretty awful. So me reading your blog now is very supportive and I have to say inspiring. Honesty about what I am choosing and then asking for support feels like very loving and nurturing options.

175. “My life was the way it was through my own choices.” There is no escaping the truth and the responsibility of this.

176. I found me myself re-reading your blog tonight Nicole and what comes to me as I read was how the choice to live from our soul is a forever unfolding experience with constant deliveries of understandings that take us further within, which brings a constant flow of sometimes subtle, sometimes more ‘in your face’ changes in our lives. One by one any comforts and cushions that we have propped ourselves up with get shown to us to be let go of and replaced with the steadiness of our true loving light.

177. Thank you for a great blog Nicole, this is the question “How much of me am I willing to connect to, remain in connection with, commit myself to, and commit my way of living and daily choices to, in order for me to be in a way that is of true service for humanity?” Am I willing to be honest about my hurts and open up to healing is also the question?

178. We are remarkably consistent at being inconsistent, but rarely are we consistent with being loving with ourselves and with others. Perhaps we could argue that to be abusive is part of human nature – until of course we look into the eyes of a newborn babe and we are left with no doubt as to our true nature. Thus why we are always enamoured with babies, and could not imagine doing them harm. And so, the true is, that to be abusive to self or others is not actually an inherent part of our nature – which begs the question then, if evil is not something innately within us, then where does it come from?

179. “Letting go of the non-supportive comforts of life that hold me back has been a test to my level of commitment to humanity” – this really speaks to me today as I feel the consequence of every choice I make which either supports or hinders my body’s availability and potential to be the vessel of light.

180. It is interesting to read this and see the pattern of staying ‘comfortable’ in life. As in truth it isn’t and there is so much to share and receive when we choose to heal our hurts. It needs commitment, but I can feel now that it is deeply needed and worth whatever it takes.

181. Your statement that “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it” truly resonates with me; it does hurt but we get so used to numbing and distracting ourselves away from it that we think it’s okay. We can even delude ourselves into thinking that it has gone away, but not so. In my experience the unresolved hurts inform our every move, action and thought – it is like a smell that one gets used to because it is all around, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there anymore.

182. ‘Letting go of the non-supportive comforts of life that hold me back has been a test to my level of commitment to humanity’ I very much relate to this Nicole and the phrase ‘non-supportive comforts’ resonated with me. It is important to have it stated again that the many so-called comforts we choose do not truly support our well-being at all. What we seek is a false and temporary sense of comfort that often leads down the slippery slope of addiction and denies us the opportunity to truly feel and clear our hurts.

183. “How much of me am I willing to connect to, remain in connection with, commit myself to, and commit my way of living and daily choices to, in order for me to be in a way that is of true service for humanity?” This is a great question to ask ourselves on a regular basis, or daily basis even.

184. Very beautiful to revisit this blog to be reminded to appreciate how far I have come too in my personal growth. It’s just amazing to feel how different and how much more loving what is now ‘normal’ for me is.

185. I know this one so well: “Yes, I was unwell, but so were a lot of other people; it appeared to be the way of life”. I can actually see now as I look back that I made being unwell a natural part of my life from a very early age; crazy but true, and a real ouch moment when I finally acknowledged it. And with this realisation I can also see how much of my precious life I let slip by as I was just too miserable to enjoy it. Today I embrace every moment of my life, and like you Nicole, I am committed to making “loving daily choices and healing hurts”.

186. The beauty of living my life in full is that it naturally presents to me hurts that I have held for many years of my life. Any moment this is presented to me is an opportunity to heal them, and in that it is my choice to heal or to not heal that hurt and when I choose for the latter that hurt will be presented to me at another moment in my life, with other words I am simply delaying the moment to return to who I am in full.

187. The results speak for themselves, there are endless examples of people who have turned their lives around because of the presentations, healing modalities and livingness techniques that Universal Medicine present

188. What occurred for you after your first esoteric healing session is profound and is a living testimony to how life changing Sacred Esoteric Healing is. There are now hundreds, if not thousands of people worldwide who are benefiting enormously from this modality, myself included.

189. Thank you Nicole, this is a universal piece of writing that I imagine many could relate to. I certainly can. Appreciation is certainly the key as it grows our worth so that we value ourselves and what we bring. This is a great way to clear the path of old hurts and step forward in the absolute glory of who we truly are.

190. Thank you Nicole for this sharing, great to re read often. I have the need to go deeper with my choices and look in the too hard basket! I know I need to be absolutely honest about where I’m at and like you say have no expectation of where I think I should be but appreciate each new choice I make that heals.

191. A beautiful and simple reminder Nicole of how our daily choices either lead us closer to love or further away from love – thank you.

192. This is huge, when we try and control what we feel we are harming our bodies, by letting go of the control and feeling what is there to be felt we are able to let go of the hurt and allow our body to feel the love that we truly are.

193. It takes quite a lot of honest scrutiny to bring this into a life. Each choice needs to be studied. What I am finding is that although this sounds painstaking, it is so necessary because each choice is profoundly affecting the way I am in my day. I need to honour myself right down to my smallest choices because the smallest choices are the foundation of my day.

194. Our daily choices either harm or heal us, in other words, our daily choices keep us stuck in the same old patterns of behavior or they support us to evolve. And we are all equal in the power we have to choose. One choice I have made is the choice to ‘ let go’, which has been a long process, as layer after layer of protection has been uncovered, but well worth it as I observe now how I want to let go, because it feels so true and so loving and very honoring of myself. As the old saying goes; out with the old and in with the new.

195. Thank you Nicole. Your sharing is always inspiring for me! I have been self nurturing on a deeper level most days but not always without a slipup or two.

196. Choosing different choices based on love and not on fear. Knowing that I am more not less. The honesty to ask myself – WHY and release. Aware of my excuses and my relief strategies. Nicole, thank you for sharing.

197. Beautiful to read Nicole, thank you, I am becoming much more aware of what I go into to avoid going deeper with what I am feeling, I have hidden so much in a dishonest way, not living the real me. Opening up to honesty can be raw and sensitive but when we do, the freedom and love we feel within our bodies makes it worth it.

198. Nicole you really reveal such an important key for us all in life and that is to appreciate, appreciate, appreciate ourselves. When we do this we confirm who we are and build on the already natural foundation we have. Thank you for reminding me to appreciate myself and not to judge, but to bring a real honesty to the way I have been living.

199. Being completely honest with ourselves is the best medicine we can give ourselves, because from this foundation, we can make lifestyle changes that we were always wishing to make, but couldn’t. This has been my own experience.

200. Nicole, this is a very excellent story to be reading at this time in my life. I am at this cross roads in my living too. I am ready to go deeper and honor myself with more honesty towards truth too. The crutch of comfort allows the blinkers of blindness, inhibiting our logic and clarity. Until the dysfunction reaches a point of being too much. And then it is time to reassess and let go and move on.

201. Thank you Nicole, this is the question I am asking myself at the moment. If I do really care and appreciate myself, why am I choosing to eat things or do things which demonstrate that I don’t? Do I really care? When I attempt to comfort myself with food, does it really work? The last weeks have shown me that after the initial few minutes of pleasure in the mouth and taste buds, I only feel worse in my belly, heavy and dull and spacey in my mood, and my being shortly after. And worst of all I am unable to connect to people truly. I also can’t feel myself or feel my loveliness and lightness or anything great about me. It doesn’t add up. Beginning to be able to feel that I am worth loving, and starting to confirm to myself that I am actually sensitive, tender, lovable is the beginning of appreciating who I am, so I need to start showing that to myself in the choices I make in my daily life.

202. Our biggest hurt is trying to protect ourselves from the hurts we feel. How you’ve exposed this and lovingly worked with it Nicole is nothing short of inspiration. Perfect read for me today.

     1. Our biggest hurt is trying to protect ourselves from the hurts we feel – yes it is Lucy, I know this only too well as I had many thick layers of protection around me for as long as I can remember, which actually did not protect me from life or from people. In fact all my protection kept me unable to connect with others, which was something I always deeply desired.

203. Thank you Nicole for this honest blog, reading out the part about my willingness to commit to serving humanity highlighted to me the fact that this has not been chosen as my way of life thus far. So then I ask why? Because from experience looking after my own has not brought with it any true quality in life but in fact the complete opposite, not being connected and shining has brought dampness and darkness into life. So then I ask – what does the flip side of this lack of commitment to serving humanity feel like? and already it feels different. From experience the more I commit the more the lack of commitment gets exposed and the most loving thing we can do is keep committing because over time the comfort does pass as in truth it never had any legs to stand on in the first place, only constantly requiring props to appear steady.

204. This is a great sharing Nicole. Those pockets of comfort that we hold onto thinking they’re serving us can end up being our very undoing. Far better to take responsibility and be prepared to look at the areas of hurt than to keep burying them, as the lessons only become harder the more we resist what it is that we need to see – speaking from experience!

205. Self love is not the pie in the sky thing we have been sold and reading your blog I can see that self love results in a constantly evolving relationship with ourselves with no room for rose coloured glasses. If we don’t allow ourselves to feel what we are feeling what hope do we have of addressing our hurts and the consequences we experience as a result of our chosen blindness.

206. ‘Being honest about what I was feeling I could begin to heal any hurts that I had buried by using life and all that life had to offer as a distraction from myself.’ Thank you Nicole I can really relate to using life as a distraction and it has only been in committing to an ever deeper level of honesty that I have started to heal my hurts and commit to make daily choices that support me to shine in all my amazingness thanks to the super practical presentations by Serge Benhayon that build a loving body and support a return to our Soul.

207. “Choosing what I wanted to feel” is a trap that I have fallen into. I want to feel, yet I am cautious because I know how horrible some of the feeling is. This is a false premise because there is so much love and joy to be felt that I am missing out on because I am measuring how much I will feel. There is an element of trust that is essential. Feel everything. The enormous love and joy that is within us by far outstrips the horrible stuff. Trust that we are all this love and joy.

208. By using our dramas to create issues and complications that push and drive ourselves through our days you may think are keeping us on our toes so to speak but what they really do is leave us constantly wobbling and wavering and completely off balance.

209. Recently I have been refining my level of self care and what I noticed is that while some people are supportive, others react because the reflection is too confronting. Someone said something to me that I realised would have normally hurt me. It didn’t. It didn’t even touch the sides, and I so appreciate this. I saw it and felt it for what it was, someone exposed, lashing out. The lovely thing is that I didn’t think less of them, I appreciated where they were coming from and understood. In the past I would have been wary of that person but I am not, I allow them to have a new opportunity for a relationship every time I see them. This is a great moment for appreciation for myself and for Serge Benhayon, who’s unwavering example of consistent love shines above and beyond all the hurts I have ever carried.

210. So enjoyed reading your sharing again today Nicole. It is a gentle reminder for me to not kick off my shoes and jump on that familiar ‘comfortable’ sofa called delay and distraction. Honesty has to be top of the list and to look and feel if those daily lived choices are supportive or not. Avoiding truth just places another veil of illusion over those past hurts for us to deal with at another date. So time to get off that sofa and in your words Nicole “Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am and to shine for all the world to see”

211. I love what you say about honesty and comfort – not great bedfellows at all. In fact completely at odds. For me, the way to deal with my ‘unsupportive comforts’ is to really get to grips with where and why I’m being dishonest with myself – or let’s call it what it really is – where and why I’m lying to myself. Otherwise I can live in a perpetual state of comfortable delusion which is just a form of stagnation. Catching myself when I’m lying to myself may be raw at times and heavy going, but it brings a moment to really uncover what it is I’m trying to avoid – usually a hurt or fear – and then there’s an opportunity to make different, more supportive choices.

212. Awesome blog. It is great to acknowledge that we choose many forms and ways to dull ourselves so we don’t have to be who we are and being honest is the first step towards healing. Once we recognise why and what we do to sabotage how amazing we are we can then choose what to do next. Heal or continue to harm ourselves and others.

213. Thank you for this blog Nicole. Currently I am feeling how much I still control my life in order to not feel what ultimately I have chosen to experience. It sounds crazy that we would find comfort in living less and living in constant distraction and pain but that is only based on the image of comfort being a positive thing. Ultimately comfort is about numbing ourselves to not feel what is going on. Sitting here now I can sense there are two ways to go about this – react and carry on with the buzz and stimulation of pain OR appreciate that by having chosen to feel many choices over the last couple of years I have healed so much. Feeling is healing and this has consistently proven itself to be true.

214. A beautiful sharing and very inspiring Nicole… I love the honesty you bring – that it isn’t enough just to partake, to cruise along on a superficial level. To truly live and be in the world, we need to continually deepen our connection to ourselves, to be open and honest about our choices so we can truly heal all that gets in the way of us being who we innately are.

215. This is a huge step to really nail the things in your life that are there as comfort, to stop you from stepping up to truly amazing. I can feel my own resistance to this as I realise that I have used so many things to avoid feeling what is really going on. It is so beautiful the way things come up to be examined and so worthwhile to be really truthful about the ways we can just coast along.

216. “Being honest about what I was feeling I could begin to heal any hurts that I had buried by using life and all that life had to offer as a distraction from myself.” I have lived with such dishonesty in my life, ignoring what I was feeling so as to fit in with the picture I has about my life. Becoming honest and accepting what I am truly feeling , is a work that is ever deepening.

217. Great to come back to this blog, reminding me that self-love is an every day/moment choice with no plateau – as I became aware this morning how my choices in the last few days were going against the cycle of motion, asking me to go for more.

218. Have you ever had that feeling like your life is film? That in a way its quite surreal that you are actually here and with the different people you know. Yet each connection is perfectly arranged for the next part of the show to unfold. The way you describe your life today Nicole, re-affirms to me that this film, need not be a drama or a horror show but instead is actually guaranteed to be a true Love story when we choose the true script. So why not honour the glory of the plot and our capability to play a leading role?

219. ‘The hurt only hurts when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.’ This is crucial. I have found that if `I leave only a tiny smidgen of a hurt in my body it attracts another just the same. Releasing the hurts and surrendering to the love that we are is the only way we are able to experience the joy that is there to share.

220. The blame game shifts so quickly when we truly understand that our life is all based on the choices WE make.

     1. Yes this is so true and with undersanding we are more willing to take responsibility for our choices which leads to healing and not to blaming.

221. great blog Nicole, it is all about dealing with the hurts that are there, and not staying in the comfort of life.. there are so many ways to ignore what hurts us, but I feel it is much worth it to continue to deepen the relationship with myself, and connect deeper and deeper again and again. Appreciation has a big part to play in this.

222. Beautiful blog simply expressing what is possible. Our lives are the outcome of the choices we all make – powerful, expansive and amazing. It is time to claim the love we are for not only ourselves but all of Humanity.

     1. This is what I love about claiming the love we are because it is healing for us as well as others. It has a ripple effect that is simply magical.

223. This is such a beautiful claiming of all you choices, good or bad Nicole. Why don’t we do this everyday? I certainly don’t, but know how incredible I feel when I do. It seems it’s a daily rhythm that needs to be put in place and practiced with consistency, so one can feel the deep appreciation we should all be living everyday.

224. ‘Controlling the hurt so it did not sting too much’, with this line I could just feel how we control life to be just comfortable enough not to have to do anything about the small nibbles of pain. Which is crazy, we believe it’s a life that’s comfortable but it’s a life in pain.

225. It certainly does Linda, beautifully said.

226. Its true Nicole, attending and partaking in courses are great but actually living what you have learned and integrating that wisdom into your daily life is the true gold.

     1. Absolutely Suse, Living what we preach is the true alchemy in showing another the way forward.

227. “I have made loving choices that are supportive of me and everyone and everything around me”.
     Beautiful to read and to feel that you appreciate how far you have come Nicole, this is a lovely reflection.
     Your presentation is also a great reminder that we are the sum of our choices, choices we make moment to moment.

     1. Yes Shirl what Nicole has shared here is so simple but can be made hard by our resistance to let go of anything that isn’t not loving in us and how we express this to others.

228. Dealing with our hurts like you describe is something we have to face if we want to move forwards and live in service and in our full potential. What I notice is that when you express your hurts, just sharing it and feeling it, that this is the biggest part of the healing.

     1. Yes I agree, often by communicating to someone about my hurts and what is going on, allows me to feel and is extremely healing.

     2. It’s how we express it that also counts. Even if I just express it to myself, it’s still healing. There’s a huge difference between offloading our hurts, and allowing ourselves to gently feel them, without indulging in and perpetuating them.

229. A gorgeous reminder Nicole to know that our life is merely a reflection of our daily choices, if we are struggling with life perhaps it is time to look a little closer, if life feels amazing perhaps it is time to appreciate our choices. Whatever our situation it is important to know that life is a product of our choices and only we have the power to make true change that supports us to be all that we are in the world.

     1. This is sometimes difficult to accept I find – feeling that our life and what we experience on a daily basis is the result of our choices,… however learning to be honest about this and to take responsibility for my choices is by far one of the most supportive things I have ever done for myself and has been so worth it!

230. We think our life is good but the whole time there is an elephant in the room – the truth. Recently I have been realising as you say Nicole, that my life ‘quality’ has been all about how well I could distract myself from this pesky elephant. But now it is like my life and body is telling me – ‘no more running, you are worth so much more that what you are settling for’. Thank you for encouraging us all to see that this elephant is much friendlier than we think.

231. An awesome blog to re-visit and be inspired once again to know loving choices are available to us always. I know if I stop appreciating myself it is easier to fall for the comfort, if I do it often enough the comfort becomes very uncomfortable.

232. In appreciating ourselves and allowing appreciation to be a daily part of life, the wonderment of witnessing how far we have come, we are simply unable to stay comfortable in the same place, as appreciation and comfort simply do not mix! When we confirm ourselves, we are already stepping into the next cycle of living deeper, and the confirmation that comes back to us is the joy felt in the body. When we feel challenged, our bodies are imparting to us a message that there is something we are resisting, and it is great to be aware of that.

233. This blog feels very pertinent to me at the moment. I can feel the richness of appreciation, self-love and self-care that make up the enormity of who we are well before the tiny minuscule levels of hurt and pain that masquerade themselves as huge problems and issues in our lives. It is an indulgence to give our power to them as being bigger than who we are, and with loads of ever deepening self-love and care we can get to feel how false this really is.

234. Loving our daily choice, staying connected with ourselves, being committed and consciously presents, I find supports self appreciation, as our day feels complete and our body feels lighter.

235. Thank you Nicole for sharing. Every choice we make during the day will determine how our next day is. When we are feeling the hurt of something past, our choices are often made as a reflection to that hurt, and when this happens, we have to ask ourselves was that the most loving choice to have made for ourselves.

236. Thank you for sharing your journey Nicole. You speak of ” Loving daily choices and healing Hurts”, then go on to sharing what the results of this are in your life. Good reminder that we need to take responsibility for our daily choices , and by being consciously present in our bodies.

237. Thank you Nicole for sharing your story with us. I used to be in the belief that once a certain hurt was out in the open and dealt with then I would be cured, but it’s not like that because there is always a deepening relationship to be had with the body and the self appreciation. Yes, you do start to feel better and life starts to change, but there’s always more, and I would say that self appreciation is one of the most healing things we can do for ourselves and others.

238. Thank you Nicole for a blog that calls it how it is for most of us. No denying it is for me! No point beating myself up but as you say connect to the hurts and let them go gradually . Feeling and appreciating the self loving choices that I am making and don’t overlook my progress to this point.

239. In choosing to numb ourselves from the hurts we do not want to deal with, we to dull our ability to feel the gorgeousness, lightness and magnificence of our body and what it is connected with. We manipulate our ability to feel God. This has recently come into my awareness and I am now thinking twice before reaching for those unsupportive choices that have kept me blind to the magic we are living in and with.

240. As a friend recently told me that he stopped smoking at least through appreciating himself, I can relate to that as I now am experiencing that all my patterns of diminishing myself and getting consolidation or distraction afterwards are changing profoundly, as I have introduced self appreciation and self-loving choices. This was a long time a theory for me – I knew about the power of love for oneself, but I didn’t choose to really allow it to myself. Now, as I have done it, everything that was just a knowledge before, now unfolds in a beautiful way. It is like I previously had a bag of seeds just in my hand with the label “self-loving-choices” but now have brought them into soil and experience it all to to thrive and prosper.

241. ‘The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it’ – this is so true as I experienced this a few days ago. I have been avoiding and not wanting to accept that my cat is old and soon it will be time for her to pass over. I also became aware I was trying to get my family to care for her so I could avoid her death. The vets on the weekend diagnosed her with stage 3 kidney renal failure and all my avoidance and lack of responsibility crashed down on me like a tonne of bricks. I cried and I cried but I had this sense that I needed support and I needed to express how I felt. I did this and I got the most loving support from my family and friends. I even told my work colleges how I was feeling so they could understand and be aware of my deflated behaviour. By listening to my body and opening up to the love and support of others has been the biggest healing and it is allowing me to enjoy my precious time I have left with my cat.

242. Isn’t it amazing that your story Nicole, touched me so deeply and I was enjoying it that I sabotaged the connection by allowing my mind to distract me with thoughts. A lesson in comfort exposed as I read your blog.

243. Thanks for your amazing sharing Nicole. At the end of the day our daily choices determine, how truthful and healthy we are living. The more we make loving choices, life starts to unfold and everything will be provided by life. Wonderful.

244. It’s difficult and confronting to openly and honestly look at our behaviours and the way we seek comfort to avoid feeling the hurts but being prepared to do so opens up the path to healing. Thank you Nicole.

     1. Beautifully said Deborah. Confronting and being honest about our behaviours, is the hardest thing we have to do in life. How else can we explain the rise in illness and disease?

245. A very timely read as I have been avoiding feeling the deeper hurts that are surfacing and my comfort seeking behaviours have escalated … playing the self blame game is an excuse that doesn’t cut it anymore … so it’s time step by step, let myself feel. Thanks for this great reminder Nicole.

246. “I was creating the ills in my life, my relationships and in my body” – while this could be seen to be a damning indictment of how we choose to live, it is in fact enormously empowering. The drama, the ups and downs, the situations we choose to create all come from our own choices. So ultimately and daily we can make different choices, guided by a different source of energy that we want in our lives.

247. ‘I had chosen to set my marker lower so that I could choose to remain in and be surrounded by areas of comfort that would not expose my deeper hurts.’ It’s these deeper hurts that will always be our excuse to stop us from feeling, accepting and living the possibility of our full amazingness. So, it’s our choice – deal with the hurts or keep living a measured life.

248. Enjoyable read

249. Thanks For sharing Nicole. There is indeed so much more to life that what is the common norms, like you have described in our western world. We all crave love, we all crave to love ourself, and to be who we truly are. Why then is there a life that is so much of not that? Why do we make choices which hurt our bodies? Why do we not honour the innate sensitivity we are all born with? This is what I want to know.

250. Being Awesome is Ok

251. Sometimes the growth we experience in ourselves is so incremental that we don’t realise just how far we’ve come until we pause and do a stocktake. In that moment once we realise just how far that is I feel it’s important that we take the time to appreciate all our loving choices.

252. Hi Nicole, your blog is beautiful, so honest, and raises many interesting points about how we calibrate life to make sure we can be comfortable with managing the hurts we don’t want to face whilst ticking a box that we are doing great. Perhaps the message here is to never get comfortable with our level of amazingness because there is always more!

253. ‘Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am and to shine for all the world to see.’ This is so beautiful Nicole. Thank you for being willing to make loving choices and to truly heal the hurts.

254. “Being open to what is needed …” takes the complication and drama out of life. There is much to be appreciated when we find our way and can identify what is true and what is not thanks to Serge Benhayon.

255. Whilst reading your blog again Nicole I was struck by two things;
     1. Appreciation is a powerful tool to support us to become who we truly are.
     2. Being real and honest about our comforts and our hurts.
     The two go hand in hand as we slowly tip the balance to be who we truly are.

     1. I love this Shirl – the two do go hand in hand and wow it sure is life changing.

256. ‘I discovered that choosing what I wanted to feel, controlling the hurt so it did not sting too much, was not a supportive way to live life.’ This line stood out for me. It is not that I don’t like feeling, or don’t want to feel, it’s that I’ve spent my life trying to control what I feel so that I could control the hurt so as not to feel it. I love the honesty in this blog Nicole, and reading about the loving way in which you began to heal your hurts.

     1. Such a powerful sentence… one that I have lived, protecting my hurts and being unwilling to make the changes. Obviously this pattern of behaviour nothing changes! We have to turn to face them, to remind ourself that it is always, every day, a choice as to how we live, what we align to, and what we choose to have in our lives.

     2. Simone I do the same thing, I try and control situations to avoid feeling the hurts. It’s so exhausting and I create this hardness in my body thinking I’m protecting myself from the hurt but I’m not really. I’m just being a slave to the hurt as I’m never free of it until I give myself permission to be free from it and begin healing.

257. I agree it takes time for us to get to the point where we’re prepared to accept a level of honesty that means we are able to truly feel the level of devastation we have created. We can embark on some very elaborate and sophisticated ways of avoiding the issue but it has to be faced in the end. We are the makers of our own choices.

     1. So true Cathy, we are the markers of our own choices and it can be very challenging to feel the devastation we have created which is why we avoid it and choose comfort. Although of course the comfort feels very uncomfortable and in truth is often more painful than the hurt we are attempting to avoid. What a conundrum!

258. Although comfort has been my ‘go to’ response for anything in my life that doesn’t feel good, or I’m skirting responsibility for, I realize how actually UNcomfortable that choice is. As it keeps me in the illusion that all is OK, when in fact comfort is a poison for the body that keeps us stuck. Nicole, I love the inspiration I feel from your claiming of your life and your appreciation of the choices that make it so.

259. Another powerful sharing Nicole – thank you. I have been learning how honesty is the great dispeller of the hold that hurts have on us. As when we choose to be honest we are essentially choosing love, to be the love that we are. And all that is not of this love is exposed and pinpointed to a hurt that is not in fact true or real because we are more than our hurts. As our hurts come as a result of a choice we made to disconnect form the love we already are. And the beautiful thing is that we have the power to choose to return to and be this love at any moment, and appreciate how amazing we are when we do choose to be and live our love.

260. Appreciating your blog once again Nicole, and appreciating that I have a new marker for me how much more I appreciate myself since my last reading of it. Thanks again. 🙂

     1. Sweet – love it Jeanette.

     2. Likewise, I am re-reading the blog but this time with more appreciation for me, and am open to a lot more of what the blog has to offer.

261. Thanks for the reminder of the need to not only truly appreciate ourselves and our part in the big picture, but to be calling out areas of comfort that we hold on to so as to not expose all our hurts.

262. It can be easy to say something is a gift or is ‘big’, but it is a different thing to truly feel it. I love the sense you introduce here Nicole of viewing life in the big picture and appreciating our place in that. It’s so easy to get sucked into the small view of life, it feels like this can be part of the comfort you describe. The universe is always expanding and alive. If we see that we are an equal part of that then it only makes sense that this is true for us too.

     1. This is beautiful Joseph. If we are an equal part of the universe then what is it we hold onto that does not reflect this?

263. Yes Nicole, this is a great read for me this morning.
     I got to see as I was reading that I don’t waste so much money on clothes or other things I ‘think’ I need these days. They never feel right anyway and rarely worn without a vague feeling of regret, a reminder of the empty feeling that drove me to buy them. So it was like my drug to not feel what is waiting there to be felt and let go of. They call it impulse buying, to me it feels more like purchasing from a reaction, to bury my feelings, rather than a true impulse.
     Becoming more loving and understanding with myself rather than the old tired beat up has gone a long way to making this lovely change possible. It certainly didnt happen over night and the fact that I am, bit by bit, addressing hurts rather than suppressing them is something to truly appreciate. Thanks for the prompt to do so.

     .

264. Appreciation is a powerful tool to support to become who we truly are. To accept our choices and to feel what we bring is the most important thing there is. It is about embodying appreciation and boy oh boy I can slip out off it so easily to check out and not feel the love that I am. Appreciation gives a flow to life and a freedom in my body which makes my life simple and joyfull.

     1. This is such a supportive practical comment Annelies, very beautiful.

     2. Annelies there is so much to appreciate right here in your comment! I love this – “Appreciation gives a flow to life and a freedom in my body which makes my life simple and joyfull.” My body totally agrees!

        1. Thank you Aimee and Kate, when I re-read my own comment it is confirming to feel how the wisdom can come out when we allow the connection we have with God and to appreciate my connection and to not hold back what is in me (and all of us). A process of accepting my responsibility and deepening my commitment.

265. This line really stood out for me Nicole – ‘Letting go of the non-supportive comforts of life that hold me back has been a test to my level of commitment to humanity.’
     The bigger picture is exposed where each of our choices affects the all – this is my understanding of responsibility – making ripples of Love and not harm.

266. Great blog Nicole – calling out comfort and making time to be honest and see why that pattern is there sounds so healing.. like the true sort of healing that exposes it all in a rawness that feels so beautiful we can often wonder why we run from it. I have had sessions like this with Esoteric Practitioners where I get to deeply feel a hurt for what it is, name it and let it go. That raw feeling is so humbling and I feel so precious and honouring of myself that I can’t believe I can choose comfort over healing.

267. A very revealing blog Nicole, feeling our hurts isnt a pleasent process however its the only way to heal and establish a life of truth

     1. So true Joe. We have put the hurt in our body and we certainly don’t mind maintaining the hurt through alcohol, chocolate, tv and so on, but we don’t want to face our responsibility of dealing with them to get them out. We are looking for a quick fix whilst sitting in our comfort and this will never work.

268. A great blog Nicole and one that really spoke to me this morning. I know how easy it is to think we are meeting life’s challenges when in truth we are just coasting and not allowing ourselves to go to deeper levels of honesty with what is really gong on and how we really feel. How easy to eat foods that dull the discomfort making us think we are ok, or comfortable, when we have in truth doubled the level of internal discomfort – that will surface later – and then do we suppress it again or choose instead to lovingly hold ourselves and feel what is going on and begin to take true responsibility for our lives?

     1. Thank you elainearthey. Your comment supports me to really go there with myself to discover what ways I use to numb myself and what it is that I am still avoiding to feel. ‘How easy to eat foods that dull the discomfort making us think we are ok, or comfortable, when we have in truth doubled the level of internal discomfort – that will surface later – and then do we suppress it again or choose instead to lovingly hold ourselves and feel what is going on and begin to take true responsibility for our lives?’

269. Beautiful Nicole, it is wise to be very loving with yourself for the self-love and a healthy attitude is needed to heal any hurts we may carry.

270. I am learning to allow myself to just be with those times when true self appreciation of myself or another are being felt for longer as my mind can so easily take me into busyness to chop off any self appreciation being experienced and keeping it to a brief moment.

     1. Yes Julie. Staying present and truly feeling the moment for what it is…. supports us to expand.

271. Your blog Nicole encourages much reflection on the small pockets of life that can easily slip by unnoticed, small pockets that still hold things that have not been let go of. As I reflect, I am finding that looking back is also about seeing the beauty of the life lived so far and the offerings that have taken place in the sharing of relationships and challenges which encouraged opening up. The acknowledgement of the many ‘X’s along the way which have meant a change in direction – a change that is about choosing love of self. It can be hard letting go of the things that make you feel like you belong but in essence if it means overriding the love and nurturing that you are not living then that indicates the choice that needs to be made. I loved your comment – ‘Everything that I am and all that I have is a blessing’. Thanks Nicole

     1. I like this part Ch1956 ‘The acknowledgement of the many ‘X’s along the way which have meant a change in direction – a change that is about choosing love of self.’ This is all about truly appreciating our unfoldment. Stepping away from comfort and into love.

272. This blog is really a big inspiration for me. I tend to overeat to avoid my feelings for quite some time now, especially in the evening. And although I know it and I want to change it, I do it again and again. Letting go of having as much delicious food as I want feels really uncomfortable for me and I can immediately feel that if I do it, big hurts would come up to be faced and until now I was not really ready for that. But what I did was blame myself for overeating instead of appreciating myself for clearly seeing what is going on and what I do and nominate it, so that I can work on all of that and let go of the comfort in small steps. Blaming myself for not reaching my goals even leads to a stronger drive to eat. So it`s time now to stop all of that, to accept myself where I am at and to feel into the hurts underneath this big pattern in my life.

     1. Gorgeous Eva-Mariafoertsch. Yes the appreciating where we are at and the miracle of that and the next step unfolding without push is a gentler more supportive way.

        1. I’m finding this too… The self bashing about what we should / could have done I’ve found simply keeps me in this cycle. What I’m finding is that honesty, awareness, observing and taking responsibility is the most supportive way to get out of, and move beyond this cycle into one of acceptance, appreciation and self love.

     2. My shoulders dropped down from around my ears reading your comment evamariafoertsch, such an honouring way to be with yourself. Thanks for the reminder to be gentle with ourselves as we start to see things and behaviours for what they are. I’ve been feeling how simple it can be to make loving choices, like not overeating or even knowing when I don’t need to eat, going to sleep when I feel to etc. For me its watching the pictures that can creep in and make things more complicated than they need be.

273. “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.” You have allowed me to feel Nicole, the many ways I live to dull or diminish this pain, yet in this way continue it. Your commitment to truth is inspiring.

274. Well said Willen, simple but not always easy. Sometimes we can figure it out on our own and sometimes we need a bit of support from others. Either way, we need to be loving towards ourselves and be willing to dig deep and be super honest.

275. I like to expand on this Nicole; I have chosen being honest about why I needed to eat particular foods. How am I using food? To stimulate, to numb my feelings and the hurts, and to stay in comfort, hiding what is really going on. Do I want to face it or do I hide with sugary food and milk and coffee, pizza, cakes, fast foods because I don’t know how to deal with the hurt that comes with it when I look at the truth. My body is showing me that I have been the one creating this kind of devastating scenario of life. Honesty is the step to take, and willing to see the truth. I used to ignore what I was doing and checking out from my life because I was unhappy and blamed my partners for this and all the others. Therefore I numbed away the pain that I allowed for not making any changes and different choices. I used creative hobbies and food that were always a good way to hide and numb myself with. I am so thankful to myself that I have made my steps towards where I am now. This joy and pure love I can share with many people because I nurture it and make sure that it does not leave again, with daily loving choices.

     1. What I deeply feel in this moment is that really everything in our life – in every single second of our life – is just a choice. We always have different possibilities and all that we have to do is to choose. We don`t need any special abilities, worldly intelligence, talent or anything like that. All that makes me different from others are choices from what is available to me at the exactly same amount as to them. It makes absolutely no sense to glorify anyone because I can choose what he or she chose at any time. And appreciation is such a choice! As well as honestly looking at our ways to stay in comfort and to cut the energy behind it.

276. ‘Letting go of the non-supportive comforts of life that hold me back has been a test to my level of commitment to humanity.’ Commitment to life and humanity was something I recall feeling as a child, like many of us. But as we grow and allow life to bury us with its hurts and then choose to not arise from them, we develop into a state of being comfortable…. and unwell. Your experience here Nicole of your choice to heal is a lesson for humanity of how to step out from its woes to be all that we really truly are.

277. This is a blog which I will revisit due to its inspiring honesty and gentle reminders that there is so much more to life than how we have grown up believing it to be.

278. Years ago I did personal development courses but I didn’t seem to get anywhere in that I was still unsatisfied with myself and life. In fact things seemed to get progressively worse until I came across Serge Benhayon and Universal medicine. Like you Nicole I started to understand that I needed to deal with my hurts and make loving choices for myself to start to feel my true self again. Appreciating and honouring ourselves in the changes we make is a big part of accepting how amazing we are.

279. I’ve found the comfort is really not worth that momentary ‘high’ e.g. eating sugary food or eating too much, as I feel the ‘discomfort’ of these things later and its effects are longer-lasting, not to mention my issues I want to dull down are still there. It is really true that avoiding hurts is only putting something on hold that we will eventually have to deal with anyway. Sometimes the hurt/issue we want to avoid seems like a scarier monster than it actually is.

280. Great way to chose to live your life, I agree Nicole. I remember the same scenario, putting up with life and the issues I had with myself and other people, but it seamed to be just that way of life. Until I stepped out of this vicious cycle with more loving choices towards myself. I had found Universal Medicine with this step and have grown from there on with more awareness, my expression has increased in so many levels and the inner self worth has expanded in a huge way. The quality of my life is very different to what it was before, so much Joy and pure love is on a daily basis as a reflection of my choices I have made. Life is great. wonderful, divine magic and so much joy – and the best is I can share this with so many people, double double JOY!

281. This blog is really great and is waking me up about the comforts I still have and have kept in my life.. Like you shared with us Nicole, it actually hurts to continue the hurt and cover it up with comfort. I experience this and know this feeling from inside out. Still I ponder on the fact why we keep those comforts still.. What is so attractive about covering up this hurts??.. What I can feel in my body is that I actually have to admit then that I actually am connected to everyone, admitting that not dealing with my hurts affects everyone and that I actually do not enjoy staying in the hurt and covering it up with comfort. I have started to feel my old pains and I am willing and made a commitment to dig deep and actually heal them, to not let them sit there and put sand over it. I must say that I actually love to expose the comforts I am living – as this is opening me up for more love and space , brotherhood and unity.. I love to be in union with people again, slowly I am losing (letting go) of all the old ways in which I have been living as an individual and separating myself from people, now I find the freedom of love again..

282. “Letting go of the non-supportive comforts of life that hold me back has been a test to my level of commitment to humanity.” This was a big ouch for me. Thanks Nicole

283. “I was creating the ills in my life” powerful and true – I love the level of responsibility we have been given by what Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine present, I may not be living it in full everyday as yet, but none the less this is so empowering – who else has offered us that, what freedom – this is truly loving, knowing and accepting we have created the ills in our life, means we can uncreate them too.

284. It’s made me think about how I try to control life or situations to play it safe, which takes the joy away from life. If you are doing this then the day does not unfold. I instantly feel a connection to God when I don’t try.

     1. ‘ I instantly feel a connection to God when I don’t try.’ I love this comment gylrae. When we let go and don’t try, things just unfold and flow.

285. “and even lied to myself about how great I was doing.” I have to say this was an ouch to read. It goes both ways sometimes I avoid feeling where I am at, say I am exhausted or tired, and the reality of it and at other times I deliberately avoid seeing actually how amazing, powerful and loving I am and how far I have actually come and the amazing changes that are taking place. I set my bar low to stay in comfort.

     1. This feels very familiar to me. I too used to set my bar low, staying in comfort and contraction, instead of with high appreciation for how far I have come but this is not working anymore. Could deliberate checking out in life be the root cause for dementia? A sign of not wanting to be who we are and in this life? I choose to be my full divine being here on earth.

286. Yes, yes and yes to all you say. I am learning how powerful it is to appreciate ourselves in full and to keep confirming that. The scenery becomes so much clearer and better and we get to appreciate this ride called life even more from the bestest seat.

287. I am really feeling lately that appreciation is very necessary – acknowledging the road we have traveled and the loving choices we have made, but never settling for that, knowing there is always a deeper level we can go to, a more loving choice, more honesty, more willingness to feel everything. And to appreciate our commitment to ourselves and to humanity.

     1. Beautifully expressed Carmin. To continue to appreciate ourselves at every level we go to is a loving act in itself.

288. Certainly those hooks found in comfort keep us defending our ‘non supportive choices ‘that we don’t get to evolve and keep us playing small.’ I love the simplicity with which you deliver Nicole, it says it all and very exposing of the choices I make daily as I have a good laugh and move on.

     1. Exactly Yasmin, no more playing small!

289. I am beginning to really appreciate the little things, the way I breath, move, touch, speak, the stillness and the choices I now make which are making a huge difference to how I live in this life and how I live with the rest of humanity. What an amazing turnaround it has been and appreciation supports me to keep expanding in expressing all that I am.

     1. That feels so lovely Suzanne, to appreciate the little things that you mentioned, that build a quality that we then take to the world. Thank you for your blog Nicole, it is so healing to be appreciative of how far we have come from comfort to awareness.

290. “It is time to let go of comforts” This used to be a deal breaker with me, I can’t live without that or this but actually I can as they do not serve me or anyone else in any way shape or form to progress forward out into the world. Like coming out of hiding, let the world feel all of me and for me to appreciate all those self-loving choices and changes that I have allowed into my life. Food choices are a great example and the first place that I started to make those changes. Great blog Nicole and one that so inspires every time I read it – thank you.

291. Most of my living days have been in this racy doing mode trying to get everything done as quickly as I can especially when I am at work. I have come to realise this is so I don’t have to feel what is truly going on for me especially feeling the hurts so a cap is kept on them stopping them from surfacing. This has been a real comfort for me to be in this way of living but I was never fully satisfied or happy with life. I started to understand from attending presentations by Serge Benhayon that we need to deal with our hurts as these are poisons for our body and we need to reconnect back to our true selves where love and joy can be felt and life can be lived from this connection. So now I am more aware of when I am in the doing of things I know there is something I need to feel into and deal with.

292. I can confirm what you have said here Nicole as I too have had similar experiences. I found by feeling my hurts and dealing with them which is difficult to face at times but knowing I would be rid of them it opened me up to feeling more of me and my body. It is like your body opens up like a bud to a flower and can finally feel free and at ease to feel the wholeness and what is true to you so loving choices can be made on a daily basis. For once in my life I have been able to feel true love for myself and others. By me holding onto my hurts my body use to be in a state of constriction, tightness and tension. My sign now is if there is any reaction such as frustration, anger, annoyance, irritation to what someone has said or done I know there is a hurt that I need to feel and deal with. This would have to be one of the best experiences of my life so far to nominate and feel the hurt (poof it’s gone) which then allows me to open up to feeling more love, stillness and harmony in my life. What more would you want from life?

293. “My life was the way it was through my own choices.” Nicole this sentence is a stop dead in my tracks sentence, I agree with it but as soon as I disconnect from me I have every excuse and reason available to me without wanting to realise that effectively in these moments I am not agreeing to the truth of this. As you go on to write it does seem directly related to feeling and dealing with hurts (or not) and having a penchant for comfort. Thanks for a fantastic blog Nicole there is so much here that so many will be able to relate to- I have already gone back for a few reads.

294. Thank you for the inspiration you are Nicole “Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am, and to shine for all the world to see”. It made me feel my choice to calibrate to my family just recently, as if I need permission to shine and to appreciate myself. I realised I only need my own permission and stay connected where ever I am.

295. Nicole appreciation is still something that is a big thing for me therefore I love to read your blog full of appreciation. I was inspired to feel that your appreciation made you so sparkly and shiny and strong and that was so inviting to me that I chose to appreciate myself as well. Nicole thank you so much for being all of you . . .

     1. Yes she is so inspiring in her sparkling way. I love to read her blogs and can feel her appreciation in them, so inviting to appreciate myself as well.

296. Nicole reading this has brought me to a big STOP. Appreciation is something I still negate to bring to myself – it is something I tend to skirt over. How true your words are that this is about deeply bringing all of who we are to humanity. Powerful to feel and read.

297. Your sharing Nicole is super-power-full and packed with many gems to reflect upon. I especially love what you say about comfort – ‘it is time to let go of the comforts I have chosen to support me in coasting through life, unchallenged and unexposed, and that have kept me less than who I truly am. Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am and to shine for all the world to see.’ – Beautifully said and inspires me to look deeply into the comforts I am still choosing which keep me less.

     1. Well said Anna, yes the comfort is our greatest knock out, if we choose not to feel what is going on in our life and in our body. Then we are choosing with numbing substances like emotional music, religion, sport, tv, parties, fast food, alcohol, drugs…. comforting our life with and not to feel the hurts. I have still some of this comfort in my life but in refined levels. I am open to see this false game to be noticed now for what it is.

298. “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.” This line Nicole in your blog has reminded me of what I have been feeling over the past week, a deep hurt that has played out over and over again. I wasn’t enjoying the thought patterns that were associated with this hurt and it felt like the thought patterns were becoming more intense. Eventually, having put aside all efforts to stay in my mind (so as not to have to feel my hurt), I realised what I was doing and stopped and let myself feel what was there regardless of how awful it was. When I truly connected, I could feel that I had been resisting wanting to feel the hurt and of the pattern that I had been allowing in my life for a very long time. This awareness in itself has allowed the pattern to shift and I feel it no longer has a hold over me. So, as you say Nicole, not letting myself feel the hurt was more harmful than biting the bullet and going there and feeling it.

     1. Sounds like a good learning Donna. I learnt that when we don’t deal with something the first time round the issue just magnifies and very often comes round in different guises till we face our responsibility. Once that is done and felt, it no longer has a hold.

        1. Very true Lucy – it makes so much sense, to deal with issues right away. We shouldn’t wait, until the issue is getting bigger and bigger.

     2. Awesome realisation you’ve shared Donna, so honest and healing. To shift some of our old patterns and behaviors takes courage, honesty and willingness to acknowledge and disgard them. Holding onto our hurts, hurts us deeply and it can then also manifest to hurting others as we move and express from our hurts. Choosing to heal and disgard our hurts is a loving process for ourselves and others as it allows the flow of love in and out of our body.

299. It can be very exposing to acknowledge that we may be holding ourselves back by our attachment to non-supportive comforts. I love what you said at the beginning of the article “My life being a blessing is a reflection of the daily choices that I have made.”

300. Reading blogs like yours Nicole helps me see more clearly how convenient and harmful living a life in comparison can be. It seems to set a status quo where the barrier to true health and wellbeing continually get’s lowered. Comparison is a great way to keep ourselves as less. When we truly allow ourselves to shine and be the inspiration we are it shines a massive spotlight on what we define as “normal” and shows that the comfortable life we have settled for is full of a lot of unnecessary pain and hurt. When you realise all of the drama is unnecessary and are prepared to let go your attachment to it, life becomes simpler and simpler and in that there is an absolute feeling of pure joy!

301. I love what you have said about ‘comfort’ here Nicole. Though we openly refer to foods that make our bodies dull and heavy as ‘comfort food’ we don’t on the whole perceive these foods and other non-supportive comforts as holding us back. In fact, there is a perception that comfort food, tv, conversations with a friend purely to make you feel better, etc are good and good for us. . . but are they?

     If you need food that feels heavy in your body to take the edge off and create a feeling in your body, then how have you lived your day and how how have you been in your relationships? If you need to watch a ‘nice’ tv show that takes you away from your own reality for a time, why isn’t your own reality enough?

     I’m not insinuating that these things are ‘bad,’ only that they are, as Nicole says here, comforts. And if we need comforts, what is it we are seeking comfort from?

302. “Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am and to shine for all the world to see.” Gorgeous Nicole and perfect for me at this time. Its also my time to stand up and shine in all my glory too, no holds barred.

303. Nicole you have captured hurts and comfort beautifully. From my own experience hurts can stunt me so quickly if I don’t deal with them and as much as I try to ignore them, they do not go away. I love what you expressed in that they only hurt when we try to avoid feeling them – so true! Every time I have surrendered to my hurts and let go something beautiful happens… I become transparent, and fragile and the hurt is replaced by my own ability to be tender with myself. There is a feeling of acceptance and understanding that begins to grow within me about the hurt, but what I notice the most is how much more connected and acutely present I am with myself and others. The hurts don’t feel so big and eventually fall away as something very distant that no longer hurts; something that happened in another life. Life’s colours and nature looks brighter and everything is clearer. The healing ripples out and everyone is graced by the fact that I am deeply connected with myself… feeling delicate, loving and strong.

304. Thank you Nicole, I really loved you blog, it gave me much to ponder on. I can relate to your words “Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am, and to shine for all the world to see”.

305. It’s true, we can’t avoid the hurts forever by coasting along and being in the behaviours that keep us unaware. Eventually something will happen to show us how to grow and move on. We can choose to grow and discover how lovely being connected to the deep part of ourselves is. Nicole you have inspired me to feel deeper each moment and to challenge myself more.

306. I can relate to the unchallenged bit. It is very comfortable to be in a situation and/or with people who don’t challenge me. Then if I want, I can drop my responsibility level and go for comfort (food), holding back or similar thing, whenever it suits me. This ‘what suits me’ is something I am going to focus on the coming time. It is a big trick/illusion to think that when around ‘unchallenging’ people I can do as I want. It is like being alone in my room and do sneaky things because nobody sees it. I am ready for a deeper understanding and more truthful choices to show more in full who I am.

307. “it is using things and being in a certain way that leaves me feeling unchallenged, or does not ask me to be all of myself”. I can very much relate to this and how at times I chose to not be challenged and to take the easy comfortable road so to speak. For me dealing with the comforts of life, also the very subtle one, is an ongoing journey in life. With some comforts I can be very stubborn and arrogant….

308. Its true, in my experience trying to live in any form of comfort is so darned uncomfortable and empty feeling. Your writing reveals that very well, much appreciated.

309. Hi Nicole, you’re right about how comfort can come in many shapes and sizes and guises. Whilst I know I have let go of many comforts which did not support me, there are still more to go and some that I didn’t originally see as comforts! Thanks for this awesome blog, it also serves as a reminder to appreciate the supportive choices we do make.

     1. I would love someone to write more about Comfort as I feel there is so much more here to understand – in just how stunting the energy of comfort is and how deep it runs in us all. Thank you Nicole for exposing this.

        1. Perhaps we are not writing about comfort because of our comfort and it writing about this will expose a whole range of things in how we choose to live…not so comfortable.

        2. I really like what Jennifer has said in this comment below. I agree we don’t really write about or talk about comfort because it does require us to be more honest and committed.

        3. Me too Donna, let’s see blogs about comfort! When we get comfortable with a routine that works we stop asking if that routine still serves and supports us. Comfort can stop evolution on a grander scale. I see it as a huge subject.

310. Very inspirational Nicole, A truly appreciating piece of all that you have come to, and with that reminded me to look more deeply into the things that hold me in the comfort of being unchallenged by anything or anyone.

     1. Thank you Benkt, I can also relate to being in so much comfort and how debilitating it can be on the body. I often say that Comfort is the new Gluten – it stunts us, dulls us and keeps us numb; and while one is physical food and the other is energy I don’t think I am too far off the mark.

311. This sentences exposes a lot for me Nicole, “I had chosen to set my marker lower so that I could choose to remain in and be surrounded by areas of comfort that would not expose my deeper hurts. The hurts that stopped me from shining and being all that I truly am.” It is shocking to see how often I settle for less, I really deserve more than that. It all comes back to loving and honouring myself more in my absolute preciousness.

     1. I can relate to this too Judith, and you are right – it is shocking to feel that we allow ourselves to settle for less. I know I would not want that for others and yet for me it’s ok? Not really! Time to appreciate all that we are.

        1. Yes let’s appreciate us all for who we are, and have come to from far behind, out of the darkness into our light.

312. Your commitment to life and love is truly inspiring Nicole, the way you are choosing to live is a living demonstration of what is possible for us all.

313. Thank you Nicole for sharing how you have made changes to your life that have made a difference.

314. We said Nicole.
     Even though we train ourselves to not feel doesn’t mean the damage isn’t occurring. I can attest to that

     1. Brilliantly Said Luke! We can use many things to not feel, but we are always feeling and nothing can stop that. A simple truth is here revealed… we have not made life about feelings!!

        1. Agree Harry San, if we open ourselves to the possibility of our 6th sense, life my just make a little more sense.

        2. haha Love it Brother!

        3. So true Harry, it’s interesting how much we avoid feeling our hurts and our joy, this is driven by fear and protection.

     2. So true Luke just because you can’t or refuse to feel something does not mean damage isn’t occurring – you just have to look at the long term damage of the way we have lived and the lifestyle choices we have made and how these play out in our bodies as we age as evidence of this fact.

        1. indeed many of our tests, observations & research is only ever short-term. Quality long term research is few and far between. As the test of time reveals much isn’t it to the advantage of the liar to make time constrictions on their observations to make a convenient truth.

315. I also appreciated this line – The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful. I can relate to this, distracting myself in all sorts of ways not to feel deep hurts. I feared that the tumultuous emotions would overwhelm me if I allowed myself to go there and truly feel what was underlying them. But by understanding the hurts as just hurts, and not really part of who I fundamentally am, has allowed there to be more space between me and the hurts, so I can feel them without being attached to them or consumed by it all. This has been a huge shift for me in letting go of them, and allowing myself to feel it all – and realising as you say that avoiding it and not letting myself feel it all feels far more harmful and like a poison in my body.

316. Thanks Nicole for sharing how you’ve made simple changes to your life that have allowed you to let go of behaviours that don’t support you any longer and allow you to live more fully as you. Super inspiring. Amazing how much things can change when we’re consistent in these simple loving choices, and appreciative of each one too.

     1. And what I am learning more and more is that we can never ever underestimate the fact that the simplest of changes can have a profound ripple effect on our daily lives.

317. When we stop, feel and allow ourselves to be with the hurts that can be there, we have an opportunity to truly heal, evolve and connect more deeply with ourselves. Otherwise we can deceive ourselves on how well we are doing.

     1. I agree Thomas. And it’s not always easy to admit that we have reacted to something because of a hurt that we hold within us. But it’s true, our ability to heal and evolve is to connect more deeply with ourselves and to explore the hurt at its core. It doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with us, we all have hurts from the past, but it’s understanding that the hurt is there and dealing with it that stops us from burying more issues when reactions arise.

        1. Yes so true, Jo, we cannot be perfect in this process and the hurts are not us, but a creation from that which is not true and not love. Dealing with our issues and hurts are the best way to heal them.

     2. I agree Thomas, when you express that it is so easy to “deceive ourselves on how well we are doing.” I found it can be a little like having ‘blinders’ on – preventing us seeing the whole picture, and thus believing that all there is to see is what is directly in front of us.
        Someone might ask ‘what are blinders’ ? I remember as a child the old Clydesdale horse carting the milk cart would have ‘blinders’ on – leather patches either side of its’ eyes to prevent it from being distracted by anything else other than what was directly ahead in its’ vision as it plodded up the street before the dawn of a new day. I feel like life may have been a bit like that for me in the past, and that was before I met Serge Benhayon and began attending the Ageless Wisdom presentations at Universal Medicine – the blinders have definitely gone now, no room any longer to “deceive ourselves on how well we are doing.”

318. An inspirational blog Nicole. “Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am and to shine for all the world to see.” That resonated for me – claiming who I truly am and living and expressing that on a daily basis. Thanks Nicole

     1. This part is so powerful and inspiring. No more delaying but fully claiming who we are to shine our love in every step.

319. Self appreciation – ‘Why do I not do this every day, every second of my life?’ – a very good question. There is no doubt that when I stop to appreciate all that I am, I feel so much more balanced in the world. Thank you for inspiring me to take the time to do this every day, as a starting point.

     1. I think I could spend a lifetime simply learning how to appreciate myself and others such is the immensity of its power. Appreciation can set such a strong foundation of who we are that when hurts arise and are felt they can simply be dissolved by the great understanding that appreciation brings.

        1. Beautifully said Dean. I never fully understood the impact that having an appreciation of myself has not only on myself but those around me and the depths we can take appreciation to until I placed myself on a program of writing down a few things I appreciate about myself each day.

        2. That sounds like an incredible scientific experiment Deborah, as I am aware that appreciation has an incredibly healthy impact on the way we think, feel and relate.

        3. That is completely true Marika. There is so much more to grasp and understand about who we are and in appreciating ourselves that it is like a wonderful, beautiful romance just waiting to happen.

     2. I’ve noticed appreciating myself helps me to stand more solidly when issues come up in life and something I can do a lot more to support me in my day. This way, I am less likely to abuse my body e.g. overeating

     3. We are so trained to not appreciate ourselves at all, this is very sad. If I choose now to appreciate myself more, I know that this will be noticed and felt by people, so I am not holding back any longer appreciating myself.

        1. I fell for this training Monika when I was a child. Allowing it to be dumbed into me that self-appreciation was being full of yourself. Now I am un-training myself to allow full appreciation for who I am and others equally.

        2. It comes back to: how can we give what we do not appreciate within, and that is all the love that we are.

     4. Well said Alison, Nicole’s blog certainly shows the power of appreciating the choices we make and how they can build to make a way of living that is certainly very supportive.

     5. This blog is a timely reminder indeed of the power in appreciating ourselves. This is a gorgeous key to Brotherhood – when I appreciate and honour myself there is no way I could judge or be hard on another. The world is starving of true appreciation and for a few to really live it makes a huge difference.

        1. Spot on Rachael, ‘the world is starving for appreciation’ this is a major missing ingredient in the our evolution, and we should all be eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yum.

     6. This is a great reminder for me too Alison. It always feels amazing to take time in our day to appreciate ourselves which then naturally leads to appreciating others too. It just keeps on deepening the more we make these loving choices.

320. Nicole, I would say that all comfort is ‘non-supportive’. It’s amazing how we can be so attached to a situation even though it is not supportive and often downright destructive. I have recently gone through a separation from a long-term marriage and it is very clear to me now that I was caught in a comfort that was paralyzing, suffocating and unhealthy. I knew the relationship wasn’t working but was lured on by the hope it might improve and I did not value myself enough to speak up and express my hurt, so it was easier to ignore it rather than feel the depth of the hurt. It was actually a lot easier once there was honesty in the situation because then I knew I was feeling what I was feeling and I could allow the process of healing to occur.

321. Every single step can be appreciated, when I lose it, I can read it as the necessary correction, get help, have a good laugh and move on.

322. Once we deal with what is wrong in our life the big job is to more express what is right in our life. That then makes it easier to deal with the rest or remnants what still could be improved in our life.

323. Great re-read Nicole, It reminded me that I have had moments where I have felt how the way I was with myself at the weekend truly supported me at work on Monday morning with a report that I had to finish, but at the same time why don’t I choose that for myself everyday.

324. We have become experts at not feeling our hurts and it takes new levels of dedication and honesty to step out of comfort. I think Nicole would say it’s worth it.

325. Thank you Nicole for this sharing. I love how you describe the beauty of becoming aware of the bigger picture and that life is not about ones own comfort, but that there is so much more to life and that assuming this responsibility is super empowering.

326. Nicole thank you. All you have so openly and eloquently shared is a huge inspiration to me.

327. Thank you Nicole for this sharing – I am on a course at the moment with Universal Medicine – and we are being asked to look at just that – what are our comforts that we indulge in and hide in to keep us away from who we truly are? And boy is there a ton of defence there – a justification of why its OK to have things in my life that don’t support me. Your bog has given me a deeper understanding of this 🙂

328. Thank you Nicole, it is a great reminder of how important our choices are, and an opportunity to reflect back on the day on any choices that have not been the most supportive and to acknowledge and appreciate those choices that were loving and supportive too.

329. Thank you Nicole, this blog is full of wisdom and inspiration. It does seem that being honest about things is the key to any true healing.

330. Yes Gina, this is what I find so inspiring with Nicole’s way – honesty and willingness to look at old patterns and comforts, and the ability to appreciate how amazing we truly are.

331. What a beautiful and honest blog Nicole which I can relate to in so many ways. I am challenged right now about being super honest about choices and the devastation they have brought and can still bring, by keeping me capped from being the truly awesome being I am. But at the same time, it is oh so super important to appreciate how far we have come. Honesty and Appreciation. Thank you for explaining this in such a bridging and eloquent way.

332. Nicole I love the unfolding journey you describe which I also can relate to. I was a mess when I first met Serge Benhayon but at the time I thought I was doing Ok. I’m learning how uncomfortable ‘comfort’ really is slowly but surely.

333. ‘Yes, I was unwell, but so were a lot of other people; it appeared to be the way of life’ …the story of life Nicole. I know I often look at people and go , ‘well they’ are doing it so it must be okay’ an easy way to stay in comfort.

334. This is something that I really connect with “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful”. It is true that I too have been scared of being hurt and so have done what I can to not ‘feel’ and yet relearning to connect with that feeling, and what ever comes in my day has been the only way that I have learnt to heal what requires healing.

     1. I agree Samantha. It is very easy to dismiss or explain away feelings or even analyse and come up with answers but to truly feel and allow those feelings space without indulging allows us to make choices from a more honest place within ourselves.

335. It is a real change in perspective to move away from seeking comfort – I have realised how programmed I am to be safe and comfortable and how one dimensional and limiting that can be. Originally I though that challenging this paradigm was about pushing myself physically doing things like abseiling, white water rafting, cracking a wooden board with my hand etc. The biggest changes in my life has come from going to places within myself that make me want to run, asking questions of myself about responsibility and the quality of my relationship with myself and my friends and family, I didn’t need to do physical challenges to challenge myself, it is all there inside of me just waiting to unfold.

     1. You give a spot on description of what true challenges are: to go within. I too used to have the idea that challenges are into ‘doing’, making a stretch in the outside world. Thanks for pinpointing that it is the contrary. It is about daring to stay with an uncomfortable situation for myself like yesterday where I became annoyed and judgemental in a conversation with somebody and instead of pretending it did not happen, I nominated what I was doing. I felt very naked. The wonderful thing was that the other had felt it too and we ended up having a much more honest and open conversation. Now that was a challenge for me: being honest and feeling naked & vulnerable.

        1. Caroline i love what you have shared here there is so much just sitting there in our day to day interactions just waiting for us to attend to.

336. This line spoke to me this morning ‘Letting go of the non-supportive comforts of life that hold me back has been a test to my level of commitment to humanity’.

337. I am finding the only way to really expose my hurts is to live life. Otherwise I can create a comfortable safe bubble where only slight wobbles can reach me. Before I feel the hurt it feels huge and sometimes takes many times to actually go there. But I am finding more now, the loveliness of surrendering and being honest. It’s like I can give up the fight to be something I am not, which allows more space for the real me.

     1. Fiona – this is superb and so true to your essence to bring realness and practicality – namely, exposing hurts by living life, life beyond a created safe and comfortable bubble and taking a few goes sometimes to actually ‘go there’ when hurts arise, to surrender, feel the hurt and not fight to be something we are not – totally practical, real and relatable.

338. This was a really lovely sharing. Your commitment to living life free of what stands in the way of you being all of who you are is deeply inspiring. I agree our hurts will only stop us from shining if we avoid addressing them, though once addressed they dissolve like magic… however magic only happens outside of our comfort zone where we are challenged and exposed… but being all of who you are is definitely worth a little bit of uncomfortableness.

339. Thank you Nicole, I agree, what ever it takes, how much we commit and living in a divine place only comes through our continuing choice to stay connected to the love that we are.

340. This is an amazing invitation to shine and let go of a way of doing life that keep us less of what we truly are and keeps us looking for comfort to suffocate the tension of not choosing it. Thank you Nicole!

341. I’m in deep appreciation of your appreciation Nicole. How powerful we can be when we appreciate that every single part of life, is exactly where its meant to be.

342. One of the many gifts that Serge Benhayon presents to all who meet him is that life certainly isn’t meant to be the way it currently is. Really we all know this so its not hard to believe! Everywhere else we look, there are people struggling, relationships failing, illness, stress etc but Serge Benhayon lives and shares that this is not the way it has to be – it is the end result of making unloving choices and living in a way that is unnatural for us.

     1. Fiona I agree that life isn’t meant to be the way it currently is. Thank you Nicole for writing about how the choices we make determine the quality of life and the well- being in our body that we can enjoy. No-one before Serge Benhayon had shown me how to make more loving choices. Now I know there is another way.

     2. I agree Fiona, Serge Benhayon has shown that there is another way to live by making more self loving choices and learning the science of appreciation and how that allows me to live in the fullness that I am.

343. Not over doing it and honouring what we feel is the best way to go. Staying with ourselves at all times. It’s great to appreciate where we have come to, and truly bask in that glory 🙂

344. This is a very healthy mixture: being appreciative for my amazingness and honestly looking at the comfort zones of daily life. This keeps the process joyful and playful, instead of getting too serious and being hard on myself.

     1. Absolutely right- the true fun should never been missed in evolution 🙂

345. Thank you Nicole, a great awareness you’re sharing here. It is quite fascinating how many layers of ill perceived comfort there are to discard, when we’re ready to do so. And my body does show me it’s appreciation of these true choices to going deeper.

346. I love the simplicity with which you deliver Nicole, ” Non-supportive comfort” says it all and very exposing of the choices I make daily.

347. Your lines: “So For Me… it is time to let go of the comforts I have chosen to support me in coasting through life, unchallenged and unexposed, and that have kept me less than who I truly am. Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am and to shine for all the world to see.” Highlights perfectly what I am deepening within myself at the moment. Sometimes I do not like the challenges that I am now confronted with for but I can feel that with feeling all the little things I do to not feel uncomfortable for a little while, is actually very supportive to be more of who I am which is truly amazing and freeing.

348. Your words: “My life was the way it was through my own choices” – is the one line that I keep coming back to here Nicole because it reaches round to mark where we’re at in our life for important review. So important to be reminded of this and appreciate the beauty of acceptance – how far we have come, and our potential of where we are going, or returning to: the fullness of ourselves from our choices to love.

349. ‘The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.’ Yes Nicole we fool ourselves with this and then we play down, a play I have played a lot and there is still so much more to feel. This constant process of letting go is for all of us the way to go, to feel the amazingness of the love and light who we all are and truly understand and appreciate each other. Your blog is a great inspiration and reminder to our responsibility to shine!

350. Thank you Nicole for you very honest article. Really seeing the comforts that we have in our lives, feeling that they no longer serve and then building in new ways that are truly supportive is very courageous and brings much to appreciate. What you have shared is super inspiring and shows how we can each take the steps needed to not only bring more love into our lives but be the love that we truly are.

351. I went to a BBQ last night where I work and they had so kindly sourced some gluten and dairy free sausages for me. They were pork, which I haven’t eaten for a while but I had one and felt fine. Then there was the other one which I really did not feel to eat, I had had enough. I shared this feeling with someone but did not carry through and do something about it. I wondered if I could put it somewhere to take home but we were crowded in a shed because of the rain so I ate it. Afterwards I felt a bit heavy but OK. This morning my stomach is really complaining. This morning I realised how I had completely denied the feelings of my body and could so easily have asked to take the sausage home and sorted it somehow. A little thing but with big consequences including pain and discomfort in my abdomen this morning. I feel this is a loud message to me to not ever give up on myself and that expressing what is true is just the beginning, it is the actions of self love and love that follow that are key. The commitment and responsibility that is inherent in that.

352. Wow Nicole, having done courses, workshops, retreats and sessions abound it doesn’t help heal our hurts if we are not willing to be the love that can heal them. And if we want to get to the deeper ones we need to build that quality in order to go there. I know I have come across this concept in Serge Benhayon’s work before but how I understand it now from your blog makes it sink in more. It’s like wanting to drive to a place to see the scenery, but if we don’t stop at said place we miss it. Around and around again if we don’t slow down we’ll never get to see the site we wanted to see. Putting the breaks on helps us see more but until we actually drive in a way that supports that when we get there we’ll see all that we want to but will we ever see the full picture. This makes daily loving choices much more sense to me now. The hurt is with me everyday but if I don’t live in a way that allows me to see it then I keep avoiding it. And I have the experience that actually feeling our hurts is beneficial rather than something to fear because once it’s gone it’s gone! Thank you.

353. I love that, how you point out we keep ourselves unaware of the impact our daily choices have on our bodies. I used to live like that too and I was so sick from the daily onslaught I put my body through. Everything I ate, drank and didn’t say was filling my body with a poison it couldn’t handle. To actually really listen to my body and support it in every way, which I do now is something to deeply appreciate. The difference I feel in myself from stopping the complete disregard of what my body was telling me and listing in to every little thing is profound. My life is actually amazing, and it is time for me to start appreciating that in a big way – by not doing so it is just another way I keep myself less than I really am. Thanks Nicole.

354. The non-supportive comforts can be real hooks as our mind will tell us that they are okay and what we need but of course they are just dulling us and allowing us to protect our hurts rather than owning them . Identifying my non-supportive comforts is part of my ongoing learning about me and the choices I have made but appreciation of how far I have come is something I do daily. Thank you Nicole.

     1. I can relate to those hooks found in comfort that keep us defending our non-supporting choices so that we don’t get to evolve and keep us playing small. Once we commit to break those patterns we realise we are supported in every way possible to be who we are.

355. Beautifully expressed Nicole, definitely worth appreciating the changes you have made in your life. Your commitment to keep on making those loving supportive changes to develop a deeper connection to your love and what you reflect to all those you come in contact with, is an inspiring example for others to feel.

356. “I was measuring and controlling the pain and disappointment” was the stand out line for me on a re-read of your blog Nicole. Whilst I have ceased a lot of obvious forms of self medication like cigarettes and alcohol which made a huge difference to how I lived each day, we always seem to find another level of comfortableness where we have cunningly found a new form of self medication that we use to measure and control our existence. Appreciation as you say is key to taking the next step towards our known magnificence, expressed in all it’s glory!

357. I am re reading this blog this evening, as I can feel that at the moment something is right on the surface for me to feel and let go of, yet I know that I have also fallen back into old patterns and have moments in my day of feeling very unsure. This I am beginning to realise is a comfort that has held me back from dealing with what is presenting. Nominating the unsure as a comfort is very powerful and has immediately offered me the choice to surrender and to feel what is presenting.

     1. Awesome Leighstrack, just observing ourselves and being truly honest is half the healing already, and an opportunity to become more aware.

        1. and so simple when share in this way.

     2. Wonderful Leigh, feeling insecure is a comfort as well. I have been hiding behind insecurity for a long time and it’s a great way to not be all of you and show the world what you bring. The moment I feel insecure, I know now, thanks to Universal Medicine, that I am not present and connected with my body. Because when I am, everything is there that I need.

358. Thank you Nicole for this beautiful and inspiring article. So important to bring appreciation, understanding and acceptance to ourselves.

359. ‘Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am and to shine for all the world to see.’
     Nicole thank you so much for this sharing. It’s time for me to stand up also…. And the more I do the deeper my appreciation for all that I am develops.

360. I loved rereading this blog Nicole as you so truthfully said that when I feel the enormity of the choices I have made it can be difficult to comprehend. The beauty is when we let this go and the enormous healing that occurs allowing us to start and feel how amazing we ALL really are.

361. It’s great that you have made out the loving choices something that needs to be made daily, it’s not like we can make one loving choice, tick the box and that’s done for a few years – we really need to have a consistency with out loving choices and that will really provide outcomes.

     1. Yes consistency is key.

362. What a lovely sharing Nicole, talking about a subject that is all to often not ever considered. Self appreciation is sorely lacking in most peoples lives as to ask someone to list their good points, stops most people in their tracks, which is a real shame, that we have all of that awesomeness inside us and we don’t acknowledge it, appreciate it, or express it to others.

363. Nicole after reading your article I reflected on the fact that there is nothing in your article that says ‘look at me’ despite the fact that you are describing how amazing you are. I had no thoughts at all of ‘how can she blow her own trumpet like that ?’ I find that fascinating. Not only did I not have any of those thoughts or feelings but your article is like a breath of the freshest of airs, as well as inspiring and confirming. Thank you for sharing.

364. There is always more and as your blog highlights Nicole, appreciation is key to allowing the next expansion to occur and be accepted. It’s most certainly not about beating oneself up because we are not where we know we are heading but haven’t lived. This is what is so beautiful about what Serge Benhayon presents. Universal Medicine and the Way of the Livingness have provided me with the most amazing support I have ever come across in my life to date and for me to have found this work and to know it was absolute gold from the onset is most definitely appreciated!

365. Oh to have been taught from a very early age the consequences of our choices and how they impact, not only on us, but on all those around us; to have been taught to listen to our bodies and to treat them with respect and love; and to have been taught that being honest is the only way to be. I know that if I had been taught this all my life, my life would have been so very different. But one thing I have learned from the amazing presentations of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, is that it is never too late to make a different choice.

     1. This is so true Ingrid and even now we can watch the miracles that unfold with the simple choices to change.

     2. Absolutely Ingrid, it is never too late to change, or we are never too old to make a more loving and true choice about how we choose to live. And every loving choice builds on the last one, and paves the way for the next one to be even more loving and true, rather than playing ball with the illusion of comfort and the familiar.

     3. Yes Ingrid appreciating the small steps we make is so important. It may be a small change in the scheme of things but for me it is huge and my body thanks me for it and indeed it is never too late to embrace a loving choice.

366. Appreciating how far we have come is a wonderful way to support ourselves. A wonderful sharing Nicole. Thank you

     1. Very true Karen, there is so much to appreciate about the daily choices that we make and this allows us to accept ourselves more in the fullness that we are.

367. Nicole this is a great topic of discussion. I can feel that there is comfort embedded in every aspect of my life, even in the things I can’t stand, actually, especially in the things I can’t stand. For example, I put myself into a great deal of drive and rush myself which feels abusive and awful yet keeps me comfortable because it stops me from feeling anything. Your blog makes it clear that it is actually easy and simple to choose another way.

368. “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.” it is amazing how we live our lives in constant protection in order to avoid feeling our hurts, but in fact we are only creating more misery for ourselves and those around us.
     Allowing ourselves to surrender and feel what needs to come up is a way of letting go of whatever has been holding us back and helps to create more space for appreciation of the love that we are.

369. When I read this great blog Nicole, I am struck by the sense of allowing ourselves to know that there is ‘more’, i.e. that we are more. This is not in the sense that we need to make up for what’s lacking in our sense of self-worth – we don’t need to ‘be’ more. But rather, once we rediscover our connection to the richness within, we can’t help but feel that we ARE so much more than we’ve been as a rule led to believe. And we’ve hurt and denigrated ourselves beyond measure, in the neglect and forgetfulness of who we truly are.
     I am grateful to Serge Benhayon beyond measure, for being all that he is – that the flame of knowing in my heart that I am indeed so much more burns within me steadily now, never to be dimmed again.
     As your blog rightly describes, in such knowing, if we truly acknowledge it, we can’t not look after ourselves with absolute impeccability. The refinements and changes we go through – in diet, habits, letting the ‘comforts’ go… are all from this foundation, that we are indeed more.

370. The thing with comfort is that it is so comfortable that it is easy to overlook. Then you look around and everyone else is in the same comfort, so again it’s very easy to avoid. Then you meet people who have stripped away that comfort and you can’t help but notice. It makes you very uncomfortable. And there it is – the body knew all of this but the comfort finds a way to disguise it.

371. Thank you for sharing this truly inspiring blog Nicole. I’ve noticed for myself too how ‘easy’ it has been to hold off feeling all there is to feel by the convenient delay of ‘non-supportive comforts’. In exposing those for what they are I am now finding it is not so easy to reach for them. Each time I choose not to truly support myself I get another sip of my own magnificence. With no yucky aftertaste.

372. Ticking all the boxes can also become a comfort, we do all the things ‘right’, and forget that the momentum has changed into another, and if we hang on to the old, there is no evolvement. Interesting how our mind always wants to trick us…..

373. Thanks for pointing out Nicole that appreciation is what allows us to expand on what has already developed through making more loving choices for ourselves. There really is no boundary to how extraordinary our lives will be and how joy-full we naturally are.

374. As you say Nicole, it is the commitment that is the forge within which we can really transform, and the combination of commitment, and then the connection to the inner heart, is a truly profound union that enables healing on the deepest level.

375. Nicole, what you beautifully express here is how it is only us who can bring about true healing to ourselves. It is only when we look with loving honesty into the hurts that we hold and take responsibility for the choices that we have made that we heal. No one can do this for us, each and everyone of us can only do it for ourselves.

376. Awesome reminder for me Nicole. I definitely find it difficult to stay connected with myself every minute and every second of my day. I know what I have to change and it will take some time but I am not going to go into overwhelm but to do it a section at a time and keep it consistent and stay committed. I also have to start with appreciating where I am, how far I have come and to appreciate everything.

377. A truly honest article lovely to read.

378. The level of appreciation – yes I was pondering this too – “Why do I not do this every day, every second of my life” I have run out of excuses. Thank you Nicole – I am so inspired with your article.

379. Nicole I really connect to what you are saying concerning the choices we make each day about foods we eat, things we do and the comfort we seek. I often still over ride my bodies choices at times and live to regret it. I am more aware when I do this and of the results when I listen to my bodies choices, just how much more comfortable my body feels having been loved. Thank you for a great blog Nicole.

380. This is amazing to read Nicole, it exposes for me that I am still living in comfort, that I overeat and this keeps me lethargic and stops me from shining, a very powerful article, thank you.

381. I really appreciate the way you have analysed comfort Nicole, and how our choice to let go of these comforts which don’t support our well-being allows for honesty and harmony and self appreciation to be our new normal.

382. Wow. Stepping up from the level that we are at is something which we must do; as so clear in your blog.

383. The word ‘comfort’ has taken on a much deeper meaning for me. My shoes may be comfortable but does this mean I am less aware of how I am walking? My perception that my life is comfortable hides the complacency of how much more there is of me? I do not deliberately choose shoes that are uncomfortable or to make my life uncomfortable but when I can see that I am not feeling where and how I walk and how much more fulfilling my life is when I let go of the stagnation of comfort, I realize that comfort can hurt.

384. A beautiful expose on comfort Nicole, thank you for the inspiration of your lived experience. There is much power is our daily choices in fact I am finding them to be a form of medicine. When I make a true and loving choice for my body it is like every cell hums to the tune of vitality and wellness and confirms for me that medicine is so much more than going to the doctor, which is needed, but it is about the way we live in connection to our inner wisdom…the divine spark within.

385. It’s great that you make it clear that it’s the way of the livingness that is what has got you to where you are and it’s the way of the livingness that is really going to grow people. We say thank you to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine who introduced us to the way of the livingness but Serge cannot do it for us. We need to commit to the way of the livingness for our true lives to reveal themselves.

386. Same for me too Nicola, after attending courses by Serge Benhayon, I also quickly realised the following:
     •NO, life certainly was not meant to be this way – that is, with continuous drama and feeling unwell.
     •I was creating the ills in my life, my relationships and in my body.
     •My life was the way it was through my own choices.
     With this new awareness it was easier for me to make many new life style choices which means I now have a deeper respect for my body and how I treat it, and a deeper level of self care which has completely transformed my life.

387. This really exposes the subtle layers of recklessness that still underpin our lives – you describe them perfectly as ‘un-supportive comforts’ but knowing how truly magnificent we are perhaps I could go far to say as they are a form of self abuse, things that detract from the Love within us? I know when I feel the rawness of having to let something go the only thing that makes it possible is the knowing that the Love I feel within myself as an after result is worth it – essentially I am worth it and yes this is certainly worth appreciating everyday – thanks for reminding me.

388. ‘Letting go of the non-supportive comforts of life that hold me back has been a test to my level of commitment to humanity.’
     Thank you Nicole, this quote speaks of responsibility and the bigger picture. I am still holding onto food comforts (over eating) that leave me feeling heavy and vague. Your call for honesty in self-relationship is vital as well as appreciation for the steps and intentions I have already mastered in my journey. Still, I can go much deeper for myself and humanity.

389. What a great phrase ‘non-supportive comfort ‘ is for it exposes so beautifully how it keeps us in the same place – we stay in comfort, don’t deal with our hurts and ultimately don’t get to feel our grandness. Your lovely blog shows how possible it is through being honest and making supportive non-comfort choices you can live an amazing life! Thank you Nicole for such an inspirational blog

390. Thank you Nicole. It takes courage to expose yourself in a way that others and self can be challenged. It causes a great deal of discomfort to fool ourselves with our cover-ups, just as it is uncomfortable to expose ourselves, so, really it is a simple choice – uncover or cover-up. One is freeing; the other is contracting. I know which one I prefer!

391. This morning as I read your second sentence “I have not stopped to feel how far I have come with my personal growth and how I now feel my life is nothing short of absolutely amazing” I sat with this for a while and felt no neither have I lately. This is such a great reminder to just sit gently and reflect this and appreciate all of me. Thank you Nicole.

392. I too have come to see that it is all about the choices that I make each and every day. I find that I have to commit to myself every day which is great because it reinforces that I am worth committing to.

393. I like the depth of your blog- even the tiniest bit of comfort has to be removed – your article has made that very clear to me.

394. Just beautiful Nicole and so timely for me, as it feels it is time to really be with myself more, feel into each choice and open up to what I have to offer life.

395. Absolutely beautiful, thankyou Nicole. Wow, there were so many points I related to, particularly my willingness to commit to myself and the comfort of being accepted by others – a choice to my own detriment. I will be back again to re-read this very supportive blog.

396. Wow, “unsupportive comforts”, what a great way of putting it. I am finding more and more that my supposed comforts are generally very very uncomfortable!

397. Thank you Nicole, being in comfort is a big one for me and something which gets high-lighted more and more these days. It never fails to amaze me how strongly we can hold on to these, even when we know they are not supporting us to shine and actually giving us the opportunity to stop and feel why we choose them.

398. Thank you Nicole. Your last few points were very powerful and have also asked me to ponder on my appreciation and joy in being me. It is there for me to see and choose in every moment of my life and I choose to start now.

399. Dear Nicole, just recently I realised that I had not fully accepted that the life I have is a direct result of the choices I have made. This has been one of the most profound understandings that I have had about myself. For in living where I was not accepting responsibility for my choices, there was this constant comfort of it not being my fault, that it was because of another person or a situation that I was not living the life that I wanted to live. In taking responsibility of and for my life, many things have begun to change for me. The greatest of these being that if something in my life is not working or happening how I would like it to happen. I feel empowered to make different choices. Choices that are beginning to expose many more comforts, but choices that are now allowing me to live tenderly, loving myself and others. Choices that allow me to understand people and the reactions to life we all have. Choices that support me being myself as I negotiate my way through my life and the many and varied experiences that are ahead of me.

     1. Leigh I can really relate to your comment. Knowing the truth that I have a choice in how my life is and how I am responsible for the choices I have made and continue to make has been a complete game changer in my life. I spent many years playing small and blaming others. Knowing that in every moment I have a choice to support myself in my daily living has been hugely empowering. And knowing that I can choose differently has completely exposed the falseness of the victim mentality that I carried in my life.

400. Loved reading this Nicole. Especially the line “I had chosen to set my marker lower so that I could choose to remain in and be surrounded by areas of comfort that would not expose my deeper hurts. The hurts that stopped me from shining and being all that I truly am.” This is so revealing. I have realised I struggle so much to let go of harmful behaviours as I have used unsupportive comfort as a protection against feeling my own sensitivity and vulnerability. Your blog beautifully demonstrates that letting go of unsupportive comfort is the only true protection there is.

401. Yes we do go through the motions and actually do not participate in life. I see that all around me on a daily basis. Busy doing nothing. No purpose gently guiding us.

402. Thank you Nicole, it is incredible to feel how far we will go in order to protect the levels of comforts in life that just keep us ticking the boxes, and as you mentioned it is not easy to let go of them but the benefits are more like miracles when we choose to take responsibility of how we live and stop making everything about ourselves and more about true service to humanity.

403. Thank you Nicole for the gentle reflection on exposing the choices we all make to prevent exposing the hurts we hang onto and the comfort we desire to cap our return back to love. It seems very silly that we like to remain in a loving-less state and yet we all deeply crave more love in our lives.

404. Very inspiring, Nicole – taking responsibilty for one’s choices makes a huge difference to anyone’s life.

     1. hear hear!

405. “Yes, I was unwell, but so were a lot of other people; it appeared to be the way of life”. This is where we are as a Humanity – being unwell as a way of life. This is how we have allowed ourselves to live. Serge Benhayon is presenting another way, a way of wellness, vitality and health that is accessible to everyone and this is revolutionary.
     Thank you Nicole for a deep and honest reflection.

406. A blog so lovely in its honesty. Thank you Nicole for asking the questions that now have you living an amazing life. Truly inspirational.

407. Thank you Nicole for your clear and beauty-full article – so many little gems of truth to reflect and ponder on.

408. It stands out so clearly now that comfort is actually not self-honouring yet comfort at the time seems very self honouring and committed. The contradiction I now understand comes from not wanting to deepen our own self-appreciation and love.

     1. Wow Joshua! Thank you for the profound insight that makes beautiful and simple sense. I shall be aware of this today when I reach for comfort at work (peanut butter jar); take a moment to really appreciate who I am and allow an opportunity to deepen that love.

409. “Being honest about what I was feeling I could begin to heal any hurts that I had buried by using life and all that life had to offer as a distraction from myself” This stands out, especially “using all that life had to offer as a distraction”. This is definitely something for me to start being more honest with myself about why I choose certain comforts at any one time.

410. Nicole, reading your blog again exposed for me that all of my behavior is about protecting my hurts. I am inspired to do the same as you, to let them go, embrace life, and appreciate it.

411. I have just re-read this, Nicole. Wow, each time it makes me step back and look at my comforts, and at where I am not listening to my body and making choices for not just me, but for all. Such a timely reminder, really love this blog. Thank you.

412. “How much of me am I willing to…
     connect to,
     remain in connection with,
     commit myself to, and
     commit my way of living and daily choices to,
     … in order for me to be in a way that is of true service for humanity.” We always have a choice, sometimes it seems I have no choice. For instance when nervous energy is running through my body. I know I can choose to stop the thoughts that make me so nervous but to choose to be present and stay connected can seem to be very hard work and asks for true commitment to myself.

413. Beautiful Nicole, thank you dearly for allowing me to see the beauty that we can be, if we support ourselves in what we do, and love others in all that we are.

414. I love the term “non- supportive comforts” and know too well how we hold onto them. Recently I was lovingly challenged about my diet -I am eating all the “right” things but have created patterns around my eating which are comfortable for me rather than actually what my body may need at the time. For instance I was having a boiled egg most days for breakfast but was not connecting to my body about whether this was what it needed at that time-my mind told me that it was okay!
     In the last week I have really felt into what my body needs and my diet has been quite different! My routine was my non-supportive comfort -now I am making more loving choices.

     1. Well said Anne. It is ironic how ‘comfort’ is not joy or self-honour even though it seems so familiar and ‘safe’.

415. Thanks Nicole , so many great points, it’s definitely important to take note and be conscious of every little choice and where it leads me, either towards myself and connection or away and into denial especially when hurts are involved. Yet it makes no sense as they only get buried deeper to fester like a wound not treated and just covered up in comparison to being treated and allowed to air in the heal of the light.

416. So many great insights here Nicole, your post calls a stop or moment to appreciate the grandness of a life lived with the commitment and dedication to love.

417. Nicole this is an awesome blog. My whole body let out a huge sigh when I read it was time to let go. And all I can feel is the absolute love and joy of committing to a life of love and responsibility for all of humanity. What you have made so plain and clear to see, is the fact that it is our choices that in turn create our destiny.

418. Thank you Nicole, this is a pleasant reminder of how powerful an Sacred Esoteric Healing session is.

419. Thanks Nicole a great blog, like a forever opening expanding flower with a deepening level of fragrance we are evolving back to God, to enter into this expansion consciously is to be a forever student.

420. ‘We tend to protect and justify it with a fight to the end. We want to hold onto this type of comfort in any way we can, even if it is only by a thread.’ I can relate so much to this Nicole. My default has been to protect and justify things that do not truly support me. It was only when I asked myself why on earth I would want to do this as it did not make sense to me, could I start to get honest and let myself feel the hurts under it.

421. I loved re-reading your blog Nicole, reminding me to see how far I have come and to honour this but to always be aware there is always more to unfold. Letting go of the comforts, the indulgences and the hurts is on-going as I find all the little areas that I thought were just part of my life were there to keep myself hidden and away from humanity. This is the line that I claim for myself, and feels really powerful, “So For Me… it is time to let go of the comforts I have chosen to support me in coasting through life, unchallenged and unexposed, and that have kept me less than who I truly am. Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am and to shine for all the world to see.”

422. A beautiful and honest sharing Nicole, I can really feel the loving choices you have made and how this supports you and others around you as they get to feel this quality as well.

     “Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am and to shine for all the world to see.” – yes absolutely!

423. Great Nicole that you took the time to stop and to feel how far you have come. Appreciation for our loving choices and confirming these choices is what is needed. And for me it feels very supportive to value my presence, that it is not about the doing but doing it with me in it.

424. I love how you open this blog – how often do we stop and really take stock of everything we feel and everything in our lives, how far we’ve come and how truly blessed we are. Much food for thought – thank you.

425. Well written Nicole, I can really relate to “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it” sometimes I spend days tying myself up in knots avoiding my feelings. When I eventually face my hurts head on with honesty they clear quickly.

426. Yes I feel that too Nicole “Time for me to stand up claimed in Love and Light”
     and tune into radio gorgeous on a very regular basis.

427. Reading this blog today one line that stood out for me was, “Letting go of the non-supportive comforts of life that hold me back has been a test to my level of commitment to humanity.” I feel that my commitment level is being tested right now as I begin to let go of some more behaviours and food choices that no longer serve or support me. I feel a strength of purpose in this blog that is hugely supportive of this process. Thank you Nicole.

428. A very relevant blog for everyone I feel. The comforts can be just a simple delay and distraction of feeling all there is to feel. Feeling the hurts can be unspeakably difficult at times, but through dealing with them, the distraction of having ‘fun’ in avoidance,then becomes an everyday expression of amazing joy for others.

429. I re -read this article to be reminded of my pitfalls! Thank you Nicole for exposing “comfort” for what it is: a way to avoid the painful truth AND the full loving truth of who we are!

     …but “comfort” comes with suffering, so it is a trick I will NOT keep falling for!

430. You have brought much clarity to the fact that there is nothing that is so small or insignificant that we can sweep it under the carpet.
     We always have a choice about how we treat these bodies of ours. From reverence and the deepest of care we become something far greater than we can imagine in the struggle of constant dullness, pain and coping. Having witnessed your evolution Nicole, my own, and those of so many others you have presented a truth that lives and breathes.

431. Nicole, choices, choices, choices: are so important as you have honestly shared. The great thing I find about making unsupportive choices, is that I still get an opportunity to make another choice and chose differently!

     1. Lovely comment – that’s a great way to look at our not so good choices 🙂

432. Nicole what a great article this is…
     ‘Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am and to shine for all the world to see.’
     I have also committed to exposing the comforts and standing up to be seen and felt as the gorgeous woman I am. This is the difference between just existing and truly living.

433. Love your blog Nicole. It is great to stop and appreciate how far we’ve come and confirm those loving and supportive choices we make, something I’m learning. Comfort is so tricky, for me it’s when I start to justify things I know don’t work, and when there’s choices and ways of being I’m living I don’t want to look at, then I deeply reach for my comfort vices – I’m starting to get more honest and aware, but still find them very challenging. Your blog reminded me to appreciate and accept my choices and be ready to go deeper as I feel to, to give myself a break, to be spacious.

434. There is so much we choose not to be aware of because it requires an honesty that we are abusing ourselves. That, in fact, much as we are not helped by outside influences, ultimately it is us who chooses to eat, go or do anything. Being that aware requires a level of love for self that I feel challenges our long held notion of self-worth. I would not have even known this was not normal had I not felt it from my own body and heard Serge Benhayon explain it to me. It changed the trajectory for my life. You have now brought another aspect to me Nicole Serafin, thank you and very timely.

435. Brilliant article Nicole. I agree that trying to avoid feeling the hurt is far more devastating than actually feeling the hurt itself, and bringing the understanding of what it is all really about. Thanks for sharing.

436. Amazing article Nicole I shall keep coming back to this as it highlights so much of how I have been with myself in the past. Living in comfort and feeling perhaps I had done enough!

437. I just love reading your blogs Nicole. There’s a lesson in every paragraph.

438. “We tend to protect and justify it with a fight to the end. We want to hold onto this type of comfort in any way we can, even if it is only by a thread.” This reminded me of my path to giving up coffee & chocolate. When I began to be honest, I could feel how racy they made me & how they affected my sleep, so at first I stopped ingesting them after 4pm. At some stage I realised that they will still affecting my sleep, so I made sure that I had my coffee & chocolate before 12pm & then 10am. I then had to cut down the amount I had before 10am & finally admitted that they were definitely not required, wanted or in anyway helpful to my body, so finally quit completely. I did hang onto them, and the comfort they brought, by a thread to the bitter end.

439. I totally relate to what you say about clinging onto those comforts even if just by a thread. This is a habit of mine, for example I may know that eating a particular thing may make me feel awful, and I will almost completely cut it out, but allow myself a very small amount, or to have it very occasionally. This really doesn’t work, because until I say no, it seems to have some control over me, and the small can become larger, and the occasional more frequent. As you say I am clinging onto comfort by a thread, albeit a very thin thread, but because I am still clinging, because I still allow myself to have that alternative source of ‘pleasure’, that distraction which leads me away from and not to truth, that comfort still stops me connecting in a more deep way, and exposing what needs to be exposed. It really doesn’t matter so much how much of the food I actually eat, it is the fact that I still allow it to be a possibility for me, and haven’t said an absolute No to eating it that gives it power, and allows it to be that comfort which holds me back.

440. Love this Nicole, I very much relate. The teachings from Serge and Universal Medicine and the modalities themselves have never claimed to be the answer but rather an inspiration to support a way for us to be with ourselves that in the end is the answer we are all looking for. We cannot escape our choices – they can be what keeps us stuck and comfortable or they can be what evolves us building a true way forward, for ourselves and all others.

     1. I love what you are saying here Sara ” The teachings from Serge and Universal Medicine and the modalities themselves have never claimed to be the answer but rather an inspiration”. The inspiration to evolve and “build a true way forward”.

441. Love your blog Nicole, it was like reading my life, how I have let hurts run the show and not allowed myself to really feel them because it would reveal the choices I have made. Choosing to stay in the comfort of not going deeper meant that nothing really changed.
     What you have expressed here Nicole is something I am becoming more aware of everyday as I choose to go deeper with how I live my life.

     How much of me am I willing to…

     connect to,
     remain in connection with,
     commit myself to, and
     commit my way of living and daily choices to,
     … in order for me to be in a way that is of true service for humanity?

442. Pingback: Loving Daily Choices and Healing Hurts |

443. I have been surprised to find this in myself as well…a dependency on using ‘…non-supportive comfort, in whatever form I can get.’ This has kept be down, kept me small and prevented me from healing my hurts or knowing myself.

     I now understand fully that this is exactly why getting “exposed”-by-the-truth is and that this exposure, of our untrue ways, is required in order to get free of all that we use which keep us from living who we are in full!

444. For a long time I was in denial that I had any hurts at all. Like you said Nicole, I feel that a crucial part of getting to know ourselves and going deeper is about being with whatever you are feeling and accepting it, but also keeping in sight that those hurts do not have to identify us. We are so much more.

445. These are great questions to ask:
     “How much of me am I willing to…
     connect to,
     remain in connection with,
     commit myself to, and
     commit my way of living and daily choices to,
     … in order for me to be in a way that is of true service for humanity?

     I am learning that if we are not prepared to be honest with the answers, even choices we think we are making that seem ok can just become ways of managing ourselves through life rather than stopping, feeling and healing the hurts as they arise along side stepping out and fulfilling our purpose and role in life. In applying honesty I have found the loving choices I make then support me each day and become a more natural way of living.

446. “when the comfort is exposed it can be raw, often painful… “. Yes, Nicole, I can really relate to this right now.

447. This is an inspiring read and particularly this line “Letting go of the non-supportive comforts of life that hold me back has been a test to my level of commitment to humanity” Thank you, Nicole, and absolutely agree with “Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am and to shine for all the world to see.”

448. I can definitely relate with what you share here in this great blog. Very inspiring.

449. “….how I now feel my life is nothing short of absolutely amazing. ” Statements like these are far from being the norm in this world in which we live. So thank you for your inspiration Nicole.

450. Hi Nicole, I can really relate to this article. I have made so many changes and my life is actually very wonderful, but there is still this dialog in my head telling me it is not enough, I have not done enough, I am not enough. Which is crazy when I consider all the gentle and supportive choices I make each day – and perhaps take for granted. Thank you Nicole, your article has been very inspiring.

451. I can relate to what you say here Nicole when you say that a comfortable life is the opposite to committing to humanity. We all like to complain that things are not right and there is great suffering and troubles in the world but are we prepared to let go of our little cushioned life and really commit to making a difference?

452. Hi Nicole, I can really relate to the attending and partaking in Universal Medicine courses and sessions, but not being willing to go deeper. I found it easy to coast along because my life was so much better, especially in comparison to people around me. However, I am now feeling the urge to go deeper, to not let those buried hurts stay buried, and to expose them and not live with the protective behaviours I developed to not deal with them. I know they are not part of who I am, and that those behaviours are not supportive to me, my body and to others…

453. So great to re-visit this Nicole. Super inspiring.

454. Yes I can certainly relate to trying to avoid feeling all there is to be felt as being way more harmful than just feeling what is there to be felt. So inspiring to read. Thank you

455. “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.”
     I agree with you here, Nicole and for me this is still work in progress, deepening every time. I love how you take responsibility for your choices and kept looking and go deeper to discard the levels of comfort you lived in. And great to take stock where you are now. Thanks for your sharing.

456. “Looking back on my past I could see and feel how much I lived in disregard, with no consideration for how my choices were affecting me, my body, my life or those who came into contact with me”. I can so relate to your words, Nicole. Making new and different choices these days has had a massive impact, not only on myself but on those around me. “Time for me to (also) stand up, claimed in the love and the light I am in” Yes, and to appreciate myself and others equally.

     1. SueQ, I have been down the same road as you in the past. It’s great when we can appreciate ourselves and the quality we have inside our body.

457. This blog makes a lot of sense. If I am repeating a behaviour that keeps me less than who I truly am (example: looking in the mirror with self-loathing thoughts every day) then that is a fact that I am resisting being me.

458. I just loved reading this, Nicole. What you present here is a way of being totally supportive towards your body. And that it is not about self – but for everyone.

     I can certainly relate to resisting, not wanting to commit or let go of my comforts, and I can still feel ‘layers of resistance’ come up – when I am asked to be more.
     Reading your story allows me to be more honest with where I am at and what I let hold me back. It is an amazing reflection.

459. This is a fantastic reminder Nicole to not only appreciate how far we have come in making more loving choices for ourselves, but to not get complacent and comfortable with our lives in a way that we are not looking to dive deeper into what is there to see- whether that be hidden family issues suppressed or even simply the lack of appreciation that you speak of here, Nicole. I have many times asked myself why I had eaten certain foods that made me feel heavy and dull (my weakness has been with nuts) and inevitably it was because there was something coming to the surface of my consciousness to be dealt with that I did not want to look at. The thing is, those issues don’t ever go away, and the more we bury them with food, entertainment, over-work, etc. the more exacerbated the problems seem to manifest themselves later on. Like a volcano erupting all at once, instead of a trickle of lava. Much easier to allow them to come up, deal with them with honesty and gentleness, and move on without remorse or guilt.

     1. well said Michael, in the past I have often ‘made a mountain out of a molehill!” when it doesn’t need to be bigger than it is, actually our issues are quite small, it’s how we deal with them them that makes a difference. Honesty and gentleness with myself is the way I have found to let them go.

460. Gorgeous Nicole, ‘Time for me to stand up, claimed in the love and light that I am and to shine for all the world to see.’ deeply inspiring to read.

     1. Such a gorgeous comment that says it all as far as I am concerned. A truly inspiring blog. I saw so much of my journey in it and know at the end of the day it depends on my commitment to me.

461. I love how you refer to the enormity of the life and love you live, it feels amazing to read and although the result is enormous I often feel it’s the tiny little details and “things” that make up that enormity.

     1. I agree Phill, it’s the little details that make up the enormity of life, and tuning into Radio Gorgeous is such a simple step and such a great habit to develop.

462. It’s great to read your article Nicole, ‘The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.’ This is a good reminder for me, thank you.

     1. “Radio gorgeous”. I love that Ariana. My internal radio was tuned to the self critical station for so long that the change of station required some dedication. The dial can slip back every now and again, especially if I fall into the un-supportive comfort that makes me inattentive to the fine details of life. So I re-attune myself to the radio gorgeous. A simple choice really.

463. Thank you Nicole, for being so open and your warm hearted blog. Universal Medicine is a great healer that has taught me so much about appreciation and letting go of old patterns.

464. Hi Nicole, thank you for the opportunity to stop and appreciate how far I have come and the more loving choices I make on a daily basis.

465. A great blog. Felt very clear and flowed beautifully. I really connected to how much you are appreciating yourself and committed to being yourself. Inspiring. Thank you.

466. Really inspiring to read Nicole what a beautiful journey and one for us all to truly appreciate, simply love ourselves too and enjoy being part of Universal Medicine and all it brings to us.

467. I had an experience of how powerful our choices can be the other day. I had a situation at work where I am given reports and then I compile my own reports to a strict deadline, which are waiting to be received in Japan. Some of my colleagues were so late with their reports that I would only get 20 minutes to do what I have to do and send them off – not enough time. I was getting very anxious about this situation and despite many requests from me and my manager for their reports to be on my desk Monday morning, they never were.
     So, after attending an Esoteric Women’s Developers Group in London, I choose to not get anxious about the reports being on my desk or the deadline. When I walked in that Monday one of my colleagues had come in early to do her reports and the other two I helped. My reports were sent off 45 minutes before my deadline and the stress levels dropped within the office.
     Ever since then the reports are on time and the atmosphere is calmer.

468. This is a fabulous statement of reclaiming oneself, Nicole, and I am in total agreement with you. Thank you for presenting this so clearly. It is so empowering to appreciate ourselves for how far we have come.

469. I love this blog as there are so many levels to it. I relate to what you say about setting markers. In the past I too have have fallen for this and then I reach what I think is ‘it’ and I am ‘there’ without realising where I am is just the beginning…and there is more or I have found another cunning plan to avoid feeling and dealing with my hurts. I am learning to appreciate the changes I have made as well as being willing to keep moving onwards.

470. It is so important for me to stop and breath and appreciate myself. This is a moment for me to check in. Thank you Universal Medicine for empowering me to change my life.

471. Each time I read your blog Nicole, it opens up to me a new realisation of how my life has changed and is changing all the time. Today what jumped out at me was ‘In many forms and vices, no-one is exempt from having non-supportive comfort in their life, big, small, obvious or subtle, and when the comfort is exposed it can be raw, often painful…’ and sometimes I can hang onto this pain for a little while as it has been a familiar path.
     As I connect more deeply to God I am building a foundation of love in my life and this allows me to open up to feeling the pain and healing pain in a way that supports me to further unfold. I find this truly amazing – that by making loving daily choices the hurts are healed and we can then choose to let go.

472. Serge Benhayon has been a huge inspiration for me too to take responsibility for the choices I have made and do make, showing that it doesn’t need to be a solemn affair to take self-responsibility!

473. Thank you again Nichole, for your beautiful blog and which has allowed me to connect to appreciating how far I have come. This morning I have been correcting some work that required my re-appraisal and this was taking me back to ‘beating myself up’. I was so amazingly supported with my reappraisal and now connecting to your blog I am focussed on how far I have come and not where I wandered astray. It feels like some of us have a propensity to disregard ourselves in so many ways, and it is only when we connect and gain clarity that we can begin the process of coming back to a way that is self-loving and honouring.

474. Hi Nicole it is a pleasure to have come across your blog again and had a chance to re-read it. It is so easy to look at where I am now and the changes I have made as being normal, nothing special and by doing so not appreciate it was Universal Medicine that re-awakened this awareness in me and gave me the opportunity to make these choices. Without the inspiration from Universal Medicine I would be a complete and utter mess, well I was before hand so add 11 years and it is possible I may not even be alive given my total utter lack of regard for my body, my undeniable recklessness and uncontrollable tendencies.

475. On my re-read of this blog it feels like I am reading an account of my life right now. I have made huge improvements in my health over the years of attending universal medicine presentations and practitioners but how I live every single day is the true mark of my well-being. And if that marker does not feel right then I need to honestly assess how I am living and what marker I have set for myself. I am love, have all my choices in the day been to support this marker? and if not, then what choices am I making that do not support me?

     1. Thank you Leigh for that reminder to ‘honestly assess how I am living’, as I am realising that I can easily allow myself to be tricked into avoiding the truth of what I need to hear.

476. Thanks Nicole. It is quite shocking isn’t it how hard it is to be honest with ourselves! However it does get easier with practice especially as our commitment to life grows. I have now found that it has become like second nature to nominate things when I start to feel I am in reaction to something. When I do I am left feeling so much clearer and can deal easily with the underlying issue – more often than not it is an exposure to a loveless momentum I have been living and in this awareness all it takes is a simple choice to redress the balance.

     1. That is so beautiful Michelle – I can so relate to ‘how hard it is to be honest with ourselves’. It feels as though we have been so dishonest for so very long that we have disconnected from the truth of anything and find it difficult to recognise truth when it is in front of our noses. It is amazing to begin the process of honesty with ourselves as the awareness and acceptance allows us to build a deeper and fuller picture of who we are and in the process let go of what we are not. I am appreciating this in myself at the moment.

477. Very revealing article. I definitely winced at the mention of setting markers, or targets, low to ensure that I can stay in the comfort zone while convincing myself that I am doing OK. Time to take the lid off and go wherever my way of living lovingly with myself takes me.

478. Hi Nicole I loved reading your blog – non-supportive comfort as I am discovering is huge in my life. For me not speaking up and holding back has been my biggest form of comfort but just recently, I have been breaking that pattern and find that life is getting easier every time I do this. Dare I say, I actually enjoy it. Thank you for sharing – lots to ponder on here.

     1. Yes Julie, I too have held on to non-supportive comfort in life, and for me it was a way to reward myself for a life where I was not feeling fulfilled. I so agree that once we begin to break the old patterns life does become fulfilling and purposeful.

479. Nicole I enjoyed reading this blog. It really struck me when you said ‘everything that I am and all that I have is a blessing.’ It made me think ‘wow,’ imagine living life feeling that way. It has made me reflect on my life and how I choose to live. Thanks you for sharing your inspiring journey.

480. Thank you Nicole – very inspiring to read.

481. You have clearly exposed here a trick I too have played with myself, setting the bar so low that not everything has to be revealed, just that that you are prepared to deal with. It’s a very cunning and clever trick, so I’ll give myself credit for that! But it’s a very deceptive and deceitful one too, where no one is truly loved or cared for, including oneself, in fact quite the opposite, the lack of true honesty only creates more waves of dishonesty for everyone to deal with further down the line.

482. I find your blog is so full of truths and each time I read it I can connect to something else that allows an unfoldment. As you say ‘The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it’ and this is something I have known for quite a long time and yet I persist in holding on. Letting go of these hurts is a gradual process and maybe something that I will continue to do until I have built a connection of trust and love in my body. I am gradually feeling this trust and love growing and expanding as each new day brings more blessings and each day I can feel the fullness of the connection to that and how this supports me. We are so graced by the presence of Serge Benhayon in our lives if that is what we choose.

483. Thank you Nicole – so revealing and inspiring. You explain so well what unsupportive comforts are, why we choose them, the harm they actually do and that there is an alternative / loving way and why to choose it. Very inspiring.

484. The particular sentence that resonated with me was ‘I had to be prepared to go deeper, to look at the bigger picture, to be completely willing and wholeheartedly open to doing whatever it took for me to heal my hurts and therefore shine.’ Like you I was willing to go to courses and attend workshops, but I was unwilling to change my ‘livingness’ and give up ‘my way of doing things’ and the comfort that I was still holding on to. Yes, I was prepared to change my diet and commit to certain things but there was always something that I was hanging on to, to compensate for what I had given up. And then it all became too urgent and my body made me realise that until I was willing to go deeper and to look at how this comfort was hurting me and holding me back, nothing was truly going to change. It feels that until I was willing to commit to myself, nothing was truly going to change.

     Thank you Nicole for your inspiring blog, it has helped me appreciate how far I have come, and the amazingness of life as it is now.

485. Nicole, I found what has been shared vey honest, open and inspiring as well as being able to relate to most of what is written, particularly this sentence “Letting go of the non-supportive comforts of life that hold me back has been a test to my level of commitment to humanity.” Thank you and a great reminder when I feel comfort sneaking in the ‘back door’!

486. Dear Nicole, this is one of my favourite blogs to re-read, as I can relate so much to everything you have shared. “The hurt only hurt when I tried to avoid it; not letting myself feel everything that was there to be felt was actually more harmful.” Having spent years avoiding my hurts, I can now appreciate the wisdom in these words and am opening up to feeling what is there to be healed.

487. Nicole, great blog, and yes I felt uncomfortable reading it as I could recognise how easy it is to continue with those unsupportive comforts, and I know there are a few – I love how you approached it and the fact that you call out being less as a comfort, it so is. Thank you, I can feel the support in reading this is allowing me to look more deeply at those on-going comforts I maintain and many of them are actual ways of being.

488. Great blog – thanks Nicole… it really lays out the steps you have taken to reconnect, and the benefits of truly facing those hurts to clear them so you can live differently. Its inspiring.

489. Thank you Nicole for your honesty. I found the following passage really revealing ‘ I had chosen to set my marker lower so that I could choose to remain in and be surrounded by areas of comfort that would not expose my deeper hurts. The hurts that stopped me from shining and being all that I truly am.’ It exposed to me that this is what I do to avoid giving up those familiar patterns that I revert back to when I feel vulnerable and reach outside for confirmation. The ridiculous thing is that it has the opposite effect and leaves me feeling needy and does not protect me from the hurt but buries it deeper down inside.

490. It is amazing how we are not supported, in fact the complete opposite, to be the amazing selves we truly are. How we have to work at appreciating ourselves, how ridiculous is that?

     1. I agree completely Jonathan. We are all equally and completely amazing by essence and it feels crazy that we have to work at appreciating ourselves bringing our true worth to the fore.

        1. I agree with you Jonathan and Maryline, it is ridiculous how we are not supported for simply being amazing. and then when someone genuinely appreciates you, you are guarded in the acceptance of it thinking there must be a catch when there isnt one. The only way I have found to fully start to appreciate myself and by doing so accept and acknowledge appreciation from others is to appreciate myself and to ‘stop to feel how far I have come with my personal growth and how I now feel my life is nothing short of absolutely amazing’. With this appreciation instantly I feel the support I have received along the way.

491. Thank you Nicole, really honest and open. It’s very easy to get stuck in comfort, but to stop and let go of this appreciating how far you have come – sometimes its not easy, but its worth it!

492. Thank you Nicole. As Alison says, there us so much to feel into here. The depth in which you have exposed and taken responsibility for your non-supportive daily comforts is huge. Your honesty has inspired me to really look deeper into many choices that I make. Thank you.

493. HI Nicole, I loved this blog there is much in here to feel. I could feel how holding onto hurts is a comfort in itself, and stops us feeling and appreciating our true essence and how amazing we are.

     1. An interesting point that holding onto our hurts is a comfort and serves to stop us feeling all we truly are and how amazing we really are. Thanks for the reminder Alison, and Nicole.

494. The comforts only hold back but never remove the hurts, this blog is inspiring as you claim to no longer delay holding back. It is inspiring to me to continue to question what is still not supportive in my life. Thank you.

495. Truly amazing Nicole. It’s beautiful when we stop and feel the changes we have made and how in that we get to feel and know who we are and then from here say “I’m awesome and this is me” – with no holding back. The JOY!

     1. Absolutely Shevon and thank you Nicole for your great article. When I recognised holding back to be a ‘major comfort’ for me it was an inspiration to gently go deeper.

     2. I fully agree Shevon, well said.

496. Awesome Nicole – the way you have claimed and expressed this I feel inspired by. Thank you – I can feel your commitment.

497. I love this blog! It says for me exactly what I was wanting to say. For some reason I still struggle a bit with the self appreciation but I’m getting there. I have come a million miles from where I was before I met Serge Benhayon and crew.

     1. Awesome Kevin. 🙂

     2. I am with you Kev. I have made simple changes to the way I live since meeting and listening to presentations by Serge Benhayon and now live in increasing honesty with myself and everyone around me.

        1. I agree Mary, Kevin says it all, we have changed our lives immeasurably by connecting with Serge Benhayon.

     3. Well said Kevin, I too am not perfect but wow – I am light years from where I was before meeting Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.

498. Non-supportive comfort… I like this term, as it really is not supportive – at all. In fact choosing it prolongs the agony of being out of relationship with the real you and all you can be. Thank you Nicole for your honesty and inspiration.

499. Awesome Nicole. Your growth is phenomenal! Thank you for sharing YOU.

500. Beautiful and inspiring in your honesty and willingness to cut the threads that keep the comfort close… thank you Nicole.

501. Hi Nicole, I have felt strongly to read a blog before I go to bed and yours was the one for me. It feels so true how you describe how we use non-supportive comfort as a way to not be who we are. And how we misuse food. How and what we eat has such an impact on our body and wellbeing. Today I found myself overeating and also being distracted while driving the car. These are both old habits which don’t feel right to me anymore and I could feel standing in the supermarket today – closing my eyes for a moment – that I have the power to connect to myself wherever I am and to come back to feeling me and my body. Today I also realised with the support of Chris James how much I hold tension in my face and to let go of my scalp and forehead… that was a revelation (try it!). By coming back to my body, I can put my focus on feeling ‘me’ and letting go of holding back to be me. Thank you Nicole for sharing this blog.

502. Hi Nicole, your words come from an honesty and realness I am also choosing for myself. I relate to your realisations very much so, thank you for sharing them…

503. I can relate… and there is a part of me that doesn’t even want to read what is beautifully presented because then I have to get honest!

504. Thank you Nicole for being your honest and true self… and for taking the time to express this with such clarity… it is truly inspiring.

505. Beautiful Nicole, and perfect timing for me as I too am appreciating and accepting more how truly amazing my life is, and the changes I have made in it.

506. Thank you Nicole for your open honesty.

507. Amazing contribution, Nicole – thanks for your honesty, it is very inspiring.

508. Thank you Nicole, for your beautiful blog. I particularly related to this paragraph – “I had to take responsibility for the way my life was. It took some time and a level of honesty from me in allowing myself to feel the devastation of what I had created”. For a long time I didn’t want to take responsibility and found it far more convenient to blame others for how my life was. Once I began to take responsibility, life became simpler and easier as I wasn’t all the time making up excuses and diverting attention away from myself, in a way where I was the victim of circumstances. I also found that I was not rejected for my honesty – on most occasions I actually felt closer to the other person.

     As you say, when we start making loving choices and appreciating ourselves it just feels so gorgeous and tender – and we can have this feeling whenever, and if, we so choose. How amazing is that!

509. Stunning blog Nicole, amazing!

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