277 thoughts on “Pleasures of Life or Distractions”

1. It is so ironic that our ‘pleasures’ to make us feel better, more comfortable, are in fact distractions which take us away from the gorgeousness we already are.

2. What a great understanding you came to, ‘ that there was another way to live life and that I was enough exactly as I was, as everything I needed was inside me.’ and so you could let go of your old damaging beliefs and way of living.

3. From what I see we all have a knowing there is something more then we are currently living it’s just that some have it hidden deeper than others. It’s not a judgment but more an appreciation and true equality. You are not just saying we all know but I’m better because I know, .you are saying it’s all there for all of us and if I see this then my responsibility is to allow others to see it. They may not need to walk the road I just walked on as it’s is only about the quality of that true return.

4. This is GOLD Jacqueline – “Being and Connecting to my true self And Feeling Myself From the Inside out Is The Greatest True Pleasure in Life.” Claiming this as a foundation sets yourself up for a path of truth. What I have realised further to this, with the true support from Serge Benhayon, is to be honest along the way to reduce and be aware of the distractions of earthly pictureous pleasures ie. “I was not able to connect to me as ‘my pleasures in life’ kept me distracted from my true self.”

5. Setting aside the so-called pleasures of life for good is one of the most truly pleasurable things we can do. When the day finally arrives when we no longer need that glass of wine, cup of coffee, hard-on-the-body regime or whatever it is we’ve relied on, it is a joyful day indeed.

6. Those things we seek and use keep us away from the treasures within, how very true and reading this today gives me a new understanding of how we rob ourselves with our props of feeling who we are, and the delicateness we are and bring.

7. Many of us have been pushing ourselves to do, to better or improve ourselves, and as you say, nothing truly changes, and yes; what a blessing to come across Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine who has shown us there is a different way to live, ‘that there was another way to live life and that I was enough exactly as I was, as everything I needed was inside me.’

8. I agree Irena that we don’t appreciate ourselves enough and habitually focus on what we think we are lacking. As you say ‘Never feeling good enough-is a trick. It is not real and should not be taken seriously.’

9. Chocolate was one of my pleasures, as was exercise and reading self-help books. I used these things to manage my way through life, without really dealing with what was happening in front of my face. If you had said to me 10 year ago that I would willingly choose to stop eating chocolate, I would have laughed and said, ‘no way!’ It’s so true Jacqueline that the things we call our pleasures are actually distractions away from dealing with and feeling the pain of the issues we are burying and then allowing ourselves to feel the real beauty of who we are from the inside out.

10. When we realise that nothing has truly helped to change a life for the better, we also realise that most of what is available in the form of modalities, advice, solutions and comforts are just numbing and distraction tools that take us further and further away from our essence.

11. ‘All my pleasures in life and distractions kept the door closed to my inner heart’ – I had not looked at the distractions in this way before but this is true. Everything we overload the body with leaves less room for who we truly are.

12. There are so many distractions built in to the Western style of living that the idea of even a few minutes of quiet contemplation time seems absolutely foreign. Such is the truth of how far we have moved away from a loving and supportive way of living.

13. It is very humbling when we feel for ourselves that the many things we say we enjoy actually keep us from the true joy we already hold within, but have not known how to live. Learning to do this is in itself the greatest of pleasures, way better than chocolate and coffee.

14. ‘…my pleasures in life’ kept me distracted from my true self.’ It’s a bit of an oxymoron (not sure if that’s the correct word), suggesting that pleasures come from outside of ourselves, things that we need to add onto or do to feel good, as opposed to connecting to our selves. It’s like we completely ignore the fact that we are already everything and so all these other things that tempt us away from that are what we choose to believe are what life is about, but it’s an illusion, because take those crutches away and what are we left with? Just ourselves, and if that’s an awful feeling, then isn’t that alarm bells for how we actually feel about the person we are, our true self?

15. I love what you share here Jacquline on your change from reading self-help books into writing your own journals which in fact are more beneficial to your connection with your innermost then these self-help books were able to bring to you, as in fact they probably did the oposite.

16. Sugar has become a major addiction for many people, the crutch that keeps many individuals going when we run out of battery power, yet it is a very short term fix that then requires copious amounts more to keep going, when we find a way of living without the need for sugar, we realise that it is possible to naturally reenergise ourselves as we are no longer being depleted by living in distraction.

    1. Sugar is not only to keep us going while we are tired and feel depleted, but in fact it is affecting on much more levels as well. Sugar is creating a constant nervous tension in our body that makes it difficult to come to that place of stillness we all hold and do need to visit regularly to maintain a healthy balance in our busyness.

17. Beautifully expresses Jacqueline, when I look back at my life I was the queen of distractions and spent a lot of time, energy and money indulging in everything outside of myself to fill me up. Of course nothing ever worked until I meet Serge Benhayon and also discovered as you have this deep knowing and wisdom we all have within and how amazing life becomes when we connect to this immense love and then the need for any distractions and the continual searching just naturally fall away.

18. Such a perfect blog to read as I start my day, thank you so much. I could feel my body want to change the way it was sitting and reading and as I honoured the call from my body I could feel my thoughts change and the pulse that I could feel in my body from the blood pumping round it changed too – less obstructions. clearer messages and thoughts. Great start to the day!

19. Making the choice to stop doing and searching is so freeing and self nurturing; also deeply knowing and appreciating, that exactly who we are, is enough . Thank you Jaqueline for highlighting these points.

20. Because we all feel in a way that the life we are living as a society is not it, we are looking for remedies and sometime distractions to what life is actually asking of us. Life is asking of us to return to a way of being that we naturally are from and deep down all have a remembering of. The only thing is that we rarely see a reflection of this way of being in our daily lives and that makes us wavering as we have lost the confidence in just being ourselves as the basis for our lives.

21. Considering the high demand for yoga these days, one has to question if there is a real benefit to it? it seems that in order to not feel the discontent people are finding more ways to indulge and find distractions to keep them away from true responsibility and evolution. Just today I was reading about a new trend called Beiryoga which combines what they call ancient practices of drinking beer and yoga in order to find enlightenment? this is a total lie which offers absolutely no healing or communion with self, only keeping further and further from embracing our true essence within.

22. “I realised that yoga was providing me with temporary relief from how constantly tired my body actually was, but not actually changing anything.” And this happens with so many things we do, we think they are good for us however they actually just give us a moment of distraction and relief without truly changing anything in our state of being.

23. I love the opening paragraph of this blog because it shares the wisdom that the wheel of ‘self-improvement’ in truth has the effect of confirming the belief that we are not enough. The basic premise is, ‘I am not enough and I need to better myself’, negating the innate beauty and love that is within us all. It is my experience too, that letting go of such efforts, has been an important step in embracing who I truly am – and as Jacqueline shares here, this is ‘the greatest true pleasure in life’.

24. Round and round in circles we go – the cycles of life being inescapable, we are asked to look at our choices, how that affects the way we live and how we can makes changes. We may condemn cycles and repetitions, but they are there to support us to learn and evolve.

25. When our way to walk in life is based on ‘doing’ we are accepting to measure life, and us in it, based on our performance and to accept that the way forward is pretty much linked to the results we get. It is a whole way of moving through life.

26. The key is that when we eat for comfort we dull ourselves and our senses – all of them. So we don’t feel the tensions in life but also not us and how delicious we are as you say here so beautifully: “This joy in my body helps me feel how sweet and gorgeous I truly am because I have reconnected to my inner beauty and stillness, which was always there, but before I was not able to connect to as ‘my pleasures in life’ kept me distracted from my true self.”

27. So true Bryony, I have the same experience. Every day I commit to sitting down on my morning break with a cup of tea and reading one of the purple books from Serge Benhayon. This brings me back to my stillness which greatly supports me when I go back out to work again. I have more awareness of my movements, and clock more quickly when my movements become driven or a little rushed…its a constant choice to move in stillness and a work in progress.

28. I agree Jacqueline, nothing outside of myself can come anywhere near to the feeling of connection to myself, everything and everyone yet I still choose to not live in this connection consistently. It is a choice and the more I observe and be honest with myself in the quality I choose to live in every moment to the best of my ability the closer I get to living my life in connection to myself.

29. When we are in the ‘doing’, where exactly are we? It is clear that we are not settled in the body. The doing is the activity of that expression. We move with some level of anxiety, some nervous tension, some restlessness. The doing, on the other hand, is all that we do against ourselves to feed that unsettlement. It is not just an externally oriented activity.

30. When we believe we are not enough exactly as we are, imperfections and all, we come from the basis of a lack. And from that lack we can tend to put pressure on ourselves to be what we are not.

31. The feeling that we can ‘improve ourselves’ is endowed with ways to measure this fact. A double falsity.

32. Reading this again today I can feel how much your story on how you used sugar as a crutch resonates very clearly, I know this so well, and right now I’m looking at how I do use sugar in various situations, and it’s a distraction as I’m not dealing with what I need to deal with, but instead getting my sugar fix. It’s amazing to get this understanding and start to unpick those areas where sugar is still very much in charge and how much that impacts me.

33. Finding pleasure in just being oneself is the greatest pleasure there is as everything else will be met and experienced with this inner contentedness and feeling enough.

    1. Beautifully said Esther – we don’t need any relief from life nor any treats, rewards or out time when we are being our full selves and living life in a quality that is true to the Soulfulness we are eternally part of.

       1. So very true, it just struck me again, how we then actually need less and less from the outside to content ourselves. How very simple and immensely awesome.

34. Yes I can relate here to the challenge in giving up sugar. It took me some time also to break my addiction with sugar as I was also caught up in the exhaustion and anxiety cycle that would constantly mean I needed sugar to keep me going. It was only when I looked at the reasons why I was so exhausted all the time that my dependence on sugar started to shift.

35. I can so relate to the list of comforts, pleasures and distractions you’ve shared Jacqueline. I used to have them too. I used to look forward to some sort of treat or reward during or at the end of my day because I felt something was lacking. I now realised, it was the lack of connection to myself that often led to cravings and the need to reward and comfort myself. Once I started living more connected to me, choosing to drop things that wasn’t supportive, especially certain foods that made me feel heavy and grumpy, I no longer felt exhausted. It is incredible how we choose to live affects us on all levels, it affects how we feel and it affects our relationships, with ourselves and others. I am now choosing to let go of things that were blocking my connection to me, constantly refining this and as a result, this supports me to deepen my connection and relationship with others.

36. So great to be enjoying the new awareness felt with every choice made Jacqueline. That is the gold – the freedom that the body feels.

37. You know, the deeper I go in my relationship with myself – the more I feel open, loving and connected with others, and the less I feel to use the ‘go to’s’ of the past that would keep my life seemingly ‘full’, but devoid of true and deep connection. It’s great that you expose this with such honesty Jacqueline – how easily we lead lives on a treadmill of late nights, sugar and coffee for example, and yet, fail to recognise the richness of love within that our behaviours may actually be keeping us from.

    1. Awesome sharing Victoria. I remember feeling exhausted and knew to some degree what I was doing was not loving, the late nights, consumption of sugar, and heavy glutinous foods wasn’t great for me but I continued to repeat these behaviours because I didn’t know how to let go of them. I felt it in my body that my choices we not supportive and everywhere I turned, everyone around me were making similar choices, so I use that to confirm my unloving behaviours instead of listening to my body. Now, with the inspiration of many people I have met at Universal Medicine, I am listening to my body more and more and allowing it to guide me through life. I am much more aware of not letting outside influences distract me from listening to my inner knowing, connecting to me and the wisdom of my body’s messages/intelligence.

38. Just how many things do we regard as ‘pleasures’ – yet just scrape the surface a little, and many are actually devices we use to fill a ‘gap’ we don’t know how to fill.
    Re-connection to the essential nature of who we are is fundamental in restoring such a balance in life as you’ve experienced – without this, we are left flailing, and yes, so readily seeking of that which may fill our ‘gap’ or void, without the conscious awareness of why we’re doing what we’re doing, or even that it’s not necessarily truly loving at all. This is deeply inspiring Jacqueline, thank-you.

39. “All my pleasures in life and distractions kept the door closed to my inner heart” and living in this way always keeps us going around and around in circles looking outside ourselves for that which we know is the real truth deep within our bodies. With honesty and our commitment to truth we can let go of these and embrace the truth of who we are.

40. It is such a strong consciousness about entitlement for pleasures in life -we work so hard, we deserve the pleasures. Man in the gym I go to: “…well after all the reason we work out so hard is so we can party hard”. It shocked me how accepted this is. Really? get fit to trash yourself? This may seem a long way from those ‘little pleasures’ but it may also be a slippery slope, where if life is not enough, then we do not look at why and instead feel entitled to seek a little more pleasure and then when things are really horrible, then even more and a then lot more.

41. True connection with ourselves is the best food we can eat.

42. Being myself has been a breath of fresh air. After a decade of personal development I have come to know I don’t need to be better in any way, but I do need to be more of myself equally with everyone. It is nothing alike, for with the latter I know I am already worthy.

43. Society has decided that some things are good for us, like yoga books and I am not saying that they aren’t but the first person I have seen boldly question what the quality of the yoga or books are first before deciding anything is Serge Benhayon. He brought up interesting philosophical questions like – if everything is energy, like Einstein famously said, then what energy are the people in that are writing the books we are reading and the yoga we are prescribing to? Rather than blindly prescribing ‘healthy’ things in my life, I was asked if I had ever stopped to feel which ones were truly beneficial. I had yoga teachers that were taking elitist drugs on the weekend and were obsessed in images, whose bodies were hard but my old approach was to say but they teach yoga, and yoga is healthy, right? What I know now, is when we prescribe to something, we don’t get to pick and choose the parts we like, we get the whole thing. So now, I look for a livingness in all I prescribe to, to know that I get the whole thing, not just the bits I like.

44. Its a fascinating selection of goodies when you list them like that – some obviously to support exhaustion but others are in the ‘self improvement’ pile. And yet they are in the same list. Its a very useful exercise to do it like this… there are the obvious patterns of behaviour that are propping us up, but by adding them all together it reveals that there are not so obvious things that are really doing the same thing.

45. “everything I needed was inside me. This had a profound effect on me” I agree Jacqueline, when I heard this it stopped me in my tracks and it has taken me a while to fully connect to my inner-heart and appreciate that it is the absolute truth. No more doing, distracting or searching, just being all that I already am.

46. To make true changes to our way of living does take some time and loving discipline and patience with oneself are a great companion in this as well as letting go of perfection. If we step by step walk in what feels true to us each step will bring us more clarity in what is truly good for us and the key is to register that and not dismiss it as something small but to build from there. Like everything in life the ‘good’ things are build one brick at a time with precision and dedication.

47. Something that stops me from doing the gentle breath meditation is that I think I’ll do it wrong or it won’t be as effective as last time. I’m putting conditions on the practice, which is reducing my ability to just be and connect (which is the point!). I’m finding now that even having the intention to take a stop moment and feel my breath is enough, I don’t need to perform or fix something, just being me is enough and my breath is very good at communicating that fact.

48. It’s amazing to feel how much we can change if we open ourselves to the possibility that we are absolutely enough without having to do anything.

49. Jacqueline those lists of ‘pleasures’ read very similar to my own. It’s curious that we find something pleasurable that has a harming effect on our body. I know I was only interested in the instant gratification that they provided and didn’t really feel into how my body felt afterwards or the long term ramifications that these continued choices had on my body. I have made some new choices now, and this will continue over time as I continue to feel the consequence of my choices, but with this comes a huge appreciation for the teachings presented by Serge Benhayon, with without these I would have never realised that our body tells us everything we need to know.

50. Jacqueline you wrote: “I realised that yoga was providing me with temporary relief from how constantly tired my body actually was, but not actually changing anything.” That is exactly my own experience as well and I was a bit shocked that I did not feel this obvious fact before.

51. Well said Jacqueline, – ‘Being and Connecting to my true self And Feeling Myself From the Inside out Is The Greatest True Pleasure in Life.’

52. A great blog Jacqueline and many of your comforts and distractions I too indulged in for a long time, interestingly these all took me further away from who I truly was – it is empowering when we learn to let go of these comforts and enjoy reconnecting back to our true selves.

53. we search for pleasures and comforts because we feel unsatisfied with our life. More time spent engaging and appreciating with what life has to offer, no matter our current situation than it would be impossible to not to make light of what is going on for us.

54. Yes I agree, letting go of what is not our truthful way and reconnecting to who we are will lead us back to well being. Evident in all areas of our lives. Physical emotional and spiritual. With a stillness, clarity and vitality to our functionality.

55. Life has been set up in a way for us all to subscribe to images of the way life has to be, these distractions are harmful to our bodies and letting go of them is the first step in us claiming back our true nature as the sons of God.

56. Being caught in the constant ‘doing’ of life leaves us exhausted and in need of multiple distractions, using the Gentle Breath meditation to re-connect to our inner hearts allows us to feel the true joy of being connected our inner selves and the distractions we thought were so necessary fall away as we re-discover the pleasure of being our true selves.

57. It is interesting how a lot of the things that we call pleasures in life are actually harmful for the body and not so pleasurable in the long run.

58. What you describe is living science to me. You get inspired and you explore the effects your daily choices have on you by eliminating, adjusting and experimenting what is supportive of your daily living and well-being or not.

59. When we are preoccupied with constantly rewarding ourselves with the external pleasures of life this actively prevents us from finding the true love and joy that lies equally within us all.

60. My distractions have been food and also keeping busy in the doing (sometimes both at the same time!) and it’s something I am continually working on. Awareness of my body through the Gentle Breath Meditation is definitely supportive in refining this process.

    1. Food is a big distraction of mine too, and I am just feeling how much I still use food to numb from feeling as soon as I sense there is something deep for me to feel. This awareness is asking/inviting me to reassess my food and also the way in which I eat – sometimes still a little too quickly if I am honest!

61. “All my pleasures in life and distractions kept the door closed to my inner heart”

    This is so true Jacqueline and something i know and can feel in my body. I am learning to live more in my awareness so as to avoid seeking the distractions which take me away from me.

62. Such familiar scenarios – addictive food habits, unsupportive sleep patterns, tv binge-viewing – and all ensuring we’re in a pretty constant state of anything but connected to our bodies, to our best source of knowing what’s good and true for us. I’m finding that the key to reinstating that deep connection with my body is to learn a new level of respect for the body and ‘honour it with a new awareness that all my choices affect my body in some way or another.’ From that new awareness, different choices are possible and new scenarios that support a deeper connection with the body are open to me.

    1. I am finding that too Cathy, that the more I honour my body, my awareness grows, which allows me, supports me to refine my choices, so yes this awareness brings more choices.

63. Jacqueline, this is an excellent summation of changes many Universal medicine students have made from how we are simply connecting more to our bodies and honouring the feeling within us from day to day. It is not rocket science and it is not devotional to anything but ourselves and clearly understanding what life is about but it is powerful.

64. I agree and we continue to go round in circles until we are met with realising that there is a different way of life. I am very grateful to Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine for showing me that there is a different more loving and fulfilling way to live.

    1. Yes, the danger is that the circle becomes a downward spiral.

65. It is great what you present here there is no doing needed to feel fullfilled, as the fullness is already within.

    1. Yes it is Benkt, and nominating and removing the distrctions that get in the way from feeling our fullness

66. Anna, I was just appreciating how simple my life is now and how yummy that feels – having let go of so many distractions and letting go of things I was hanging onto internally and externally…. I just did a big clear out in my house, which feels amazing as I have created so much more space in my house and in myself – that is more space to express all of me!

67. Having spent many years distracting myself as well Jacqueline with various pursuits and always feeling continually empty I have now enjoyed simplifying my life and letting go of the many distractions I used to indulge in. Thank goodness for Universal Medicine presenting there is a different way to live and teaching basic self love and self care principles that truly change your life in amazing ways.

68. Reading this blog reminded me of how I would take on a new project to learn and improve myself every new year, always in the pursuit to better myself. Now I know it was only another way to distract myself from not feeling the emptiness inside.
    It wasn’t until I started to attend Universal Medicine courses and do the gentle breath meditation that my life started to change and I could build a relationship with my body.

    1. Same here Julie, when I began to care and truly nourish my body, I too began to build a relationship with my body, that had been non-existent before. This relationship continues to deepen as I listen to the intelligence that my body communicates with me.

    2. Yes, instead of bettering ourselves we can be more connected with ourselves and our inner heart – that is a nice way to ‘improve’ ourselves even though our inner heart is always there but it is worth feeling the connection more frequently and to live from that space.

69. When we are honest about our comforts in life, we can more easily see them for what they are – comforts. For a long time I felt I was ‘rewarding’ myself – when in fact it was pure harm. My rewards were very far from what was truly loving and supportive to the body. So it is so powerful to be able to see comforts for what they are and make a choice that is more loving.

70. What you have so beautifully shared here Jacqueline is so very inspiring. I too spent a lot of my life in the doing and searching for more, more, more. But now see that this was purely a distraction from the glory that already resided within me. Thank you for sharing.

71. There is, as described in this blog, clearly two ways of living. One that is in disregard of our human physical frames and this way is very good at silencing the being inside as well, or there is a way to live that cares for both in unison. What is important is that there is no prescribed set way that everyone must follow, and each person can find their rhythm according to their life, as students of life we are all learning how to love again and this is important to remember.

    1. However, what is very necessary is to learn to listen to our body. What our body says may be different for our body, but the listening we all need to do.

72. Beautiful sharing Jacqueline. Making the choice to stop ‘doing’. So agree distractions only give temporary relief – nothing changes at all, just more numbing out to not feel the truth of what amazingness resides within. Your journey is such an inspiring one thank you.

73. What is inside the body already just doesn’t compare with anything we can do on the outside and yet repeatedly I find myself pushing to do constantly. But then the same occurred with eating gluten, I couldn’t see a life outside of it – take away gluten and you might as well be eating nothing. All these outside things are designed to make us believe that we are nothing without them but thats not true. Like you shared Jacqueline the more we connect to what we already have the less we hold onto the things around us as if they are the all when in fact we have the all already. Thank you.

    1. So true Leigh. Most of us hang onto things tightly, ie ways of doing things or ideals and beliefs because they are so familiar and deeply ingrained, without realising they keep us stuck and in our comfort. Connecting deeply to our bodies and the wisdom within, these old ways of ‘doing’ start to fall away because they are no longer hold ‘true’.

    2. Beautiful Leigh. I agree. There is nothing compared with what is already in the body but our body reflects our choices and when we embrace our love, we feel love in our body. Likewise when we do not choose love we lack that love in our body. There is not justification to seek outside of us if the love is just a choice.

       1. How can we justify behaviours that are loveless and seeking outside of ourselves for a love that is already within us and requires no searching? We can’t, the searching only delays the fact that we created the lovelessness by leaving our love in the first place.

       2. And that shows that we do all know what the answers that we seek are. There is no excuse at the end of the day for creating an endless search to finding out something we already know the answer to.

       3. What I am also finding with this is that the fact that we know because we walked those steps that led us to any uncomfortable situation we end up in can be used to self-bash or self-empower. As Jacqueline has shared it’s not a quick-fix process to let go of the bashing because it holds off the moment of saying ‘I do know that I have a choice to not go down that road again’. Avoiding the power of our choices is one of the biggest issues in our world today.

       4. Absolutely Leigh, aversion of our power, our power through our choices is also an aversion of our responsibility.

74. “All my pleasures in life and distractions kept the door closed to my inner heart”
    This is such a great quote, Jacqueline. I still feel challenged in this area at times as I find I can identify a comfort and stop having it but may replace it with another more “acceptable” one. What a total illusion this is! Distractions can certainly be addictive.

    1. Yes, the way out is the body. When we notice that these ‘pleasures’ make our body feel anything but pleasured – if not now, then very much so a little later, then these pleasures lose their attraction.

75. Jacqueline thank you for sharing, I have also found that when I am tempted by life’s so called pleasures, sometimes when I am out shopping, things will try to jump in my basket, or if I am stressed at work I look for a reward. I have found the Gentle Breath Meditation to be a great tool to reconnect back to me, and when I do this, I don’t seek the reward I once did.

76. It is so true that all the things we deem needed to enjoy our life, are actually distractions from the inner heart, that which brings true joy in life. In everything we do.

    1. This has been so true and revealing for me this year. The more I stay with what needs to be done there is true purpose and an ease with how it is completed. When I slip into the pleasures I can feel a level of tiredness in my body and a restlessness that was not felt before.

77. Thank you Jacqueline for for a great blog, my distractions have not so much been in the food area, but in the doing doing area, of life. This I know now becomes a distraction from feeling what is there to deeply feel. When I take the stop moments and gently breathe this is what brings me back to me.

78. I have found that distractions cause complication, similar to reward, if I reward myself with something, it is also a distraction and an added complication. When life becomes more simple, there seems to be less distraction, and I am now trying to observe when distraction presents itself, and through that observation be able to not choose the distraction. Something I would never have been aware of if it hadn’t been for Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine showing me that there is another more joyful way of living.

79. And boy oh boy the world has an enticing selection of distractions to choose from. We can spend hours, days and years on them…. we can spend fortunes pursuing them and ultimately what is the payoff…. a short time feeling we have made it, which has to be repeated again and again. Or we just be ourselves.

80. ‘I had to improve myself’ – this is the stand out sentence for me Jacqueline. It is the root of so much struggle, so much looking outside of me to be better, with no appreciation that maybe, just maybe, I’m pretty gorgeous already and I just need to focus on being the warm, tender, loving man that has always been there since I was a boy!

81. It is amazing how far and to what lengths we go to in the name of ‘feeling good’, when if we stop for a moment to honestly feel, it becomes apparent these ‘pleasures’ are but instant gratifications, nothing more than a quick fix. I am not yet free of this ill ingrained pattern, yet the snippets I’ve tasted of true joy will forever keep me coming back for more.

82. It can be quite a shock when we realise that our many pleasures and comforts in life are actually having a negative impact on our lives.

    This is why perceptions exists, to warp the reality of honestly taking stock of our behaviours.

83. Thanks for nominating all the distractions out there that are used to keep us in seperation from our inner stillness and love.

84. I became aware that my sugary pleasures were feeding my sadness and this was the cycle I was in. Since being honest and calling it for what sugar is I have been able to debase this cycle but I have to be careful with my foods as sometimes I use a non sugary food to feed my sadness. It’s a work in progress.

85. I agree Victoria; ‘ I feel re-connection with ourselves is the panacea to all our personal and societal woes’. It may take a long time, but we are all going to walk that path back to our soul…. with many already walking this return journey.

86. Those little pleasures in life had a big influence on my connection to me. The powerful distractions created the illusion that I was participating in life, caring for myself and contributing to society. Quite a bind. Once I dropped away the different forms of stimulation, distractions and rewards, a whole new level of clarity, vitality and self care unfolded. There is now more honesty, love and joy in my life – all thanks to the teachings of Universal Medicine.

87. No other tool like it! Unveiling treasures perhaps long forgotten, awaiting rediscovery.

88. Self-help books keep us searching outside of ourselves to better ourselves, to reach a goal. Yet, as you share, we are everything already and all we have to do is to connect to our amazing essence and choose to live in that connection.

89. This is indeed interesting Judith and totally exposes the world plague of comfort in attempt to escape from our true responsibility – which is to live and breathe the love we are.

    1. Agreed – very true Rachel, well said.

90. People often say ‘just be you’ but Serge Benhayon has shown us that there is a very literal and physical side to this phrase. It doesn’t mean sitting still on a mountain somewhere but living life in full connection. When you actually get to feel this sweetness as you have done Jacqueline its clear the distractions just don’t cut the mustard.

    1. Yes Joseph, once you taste the yummy sweetness that you are, and in your words, ‘the distractions just don’t cut the mustard’.

    2. When you’re in your sweetness you don’t actually need or want distractions.

    3. ‘Just be you’ did get its true meaning when I started to practise the Gentle Breath Meditation and later on when I met Serge Benhayon it became even more clear for me Before that it were just words in my head, now I feel who I am,my sweetness with my whole body, such a difference and the start of a true way of living.

    4. Just being you…. with all the commitment, and with everything that we are. Sounds like a definition of full-fill-ment.

91. I agree Thomas, all lasting change starts with being honest about how we are living and if what we are choosing is truly supporting our bodies or not, with the understanding that every choice we make supports our body or it does not, but mostly we tend to forget that every choice comes back to us like a boomerang.

92. Jacqueline what a truthful blog. This part of a sentences is a powerful hint: “. . . but before I was not able to connect to as ‘my pleasures in life’ kept me distracted from my true self.” Wow – is it not – that we all are falling for our pleasures in life? That is a very awful trap because we are so busy with wanting our pleasures that we did not get a glimpse of being trapped! It needs people like you as a role model to let people feel through observation that there is an other way.

    1. It is an awful trap esteraltmiks, in that I thought I was leading a healthy lifestyle because I did lots of yoga, exercised and ate healthly… but the truth was, all my so called pleasures kept me going round and round going no-where. Thankfully, I got off that merry-go round and found another way….

       1. It’s a real testament to you jacqmcfadden04 that not only did you realise exactly the cycle you were in, once realising it you were able to discontinue your part in it. It takes a great commitment to redirect well established momentums, and to initiate change to completely transform what was to what is today.

93. I am currently on holidays and it is currently much more obvious just how many so called ‘pleasures’ exist in life to numb or distract us from feelings we do not want to feel. I have noticed that whenever I am feeling something ‘close to the bone’ so to speak sometimes I seek those things which will numb and distract me from feeling the truth of what is going on. This seems like a temporary relief only but overall just keeps me even more disconnected from my heart.

94. It is interesting what we deem ’pleasures’, as you say “All my pleasures in life and distractions kept the door closed to my inner heart: my true home where my truth resides,…” Why do we do this to ourselves…I have been on holiday recently to a place I am very familiar with, it is a classic family holiday location there are lots of food and drink to indulge in, sun to enjoy and beach play to have. I have felt challenged by the familiarity of this, many holidays I have been on in the past when ice creams, pasties, cream teas and fish and chips would play such a significant part of making it ‘feel’ like a holiday. I am reappraising what holidays mean for me, they can be about rejuvenation and connection, not indulgence and escape. I am learning to bring my own children up in a different way and food is not a reward, it is for nourishment and to support our bodies. They are growing up with less connection to food being something to numb or reward themselves with and I am learning to transform my habits around food. I have been learning this and making this my choice for last 10 years, and it have never been about losing weight. Through self care and love, I have reconnected to my inner heart, I feel more awareness, wisdom, stillness and truth, through these changes and they have hugely altered my life. It is something that is precious, exquisite, and divine, something to cherish and nurture.

95. This is an awesome self-awareness Jacqueline;
    “What struck me the most was that there was another way to live life and that I was enough exactly as I was, as everything I needed was inside me”
    I am enough; how profound is that.

    1. Yes Shirl, it is profound and it is that simple; I am enough!

96. Jacqueline, beautiful blog of the simplicity of coming back to all that we are. My story of self-distraction sounds very similar to yours. The more I become aware of moments of distraction the easier it’s becoming to say goodbye them. Plus the feeling of who I am feels so amazing I don’t wish to distract myself anymore.

97. “Feeling yourself from the inside out” sounds like a very delicious recipe for true success in life and an amazing feeling of wellness and vitality.

98. I too have had distractions in the past that I have let go of, particularly New Age books and can relate to the sweet foods being an issue. I do occasionally find myself tempted into sweet foods, but it is getting less often and I know I need to commit to myself more deeply. Thank You Jacqueline for your sharing.

99. I love how you say Jacqueline, that the Gentle Breath Meditation is true quality time with yourself. I did all kind of meditations in my life but it was never true quality time with myself. I got frustrated by not ‘seeing’ the beautiful things in my meditations others shared with me, my mind would make me crazy etc. The Gentle Breath Meditation offered me a connection with my inner heart, with my gentleness and I felt to not search anything else any longer, I have found me and there is no need for anything else.

100. My continual doing doing too, has been a great distraction, from really feeling what my body was telling me, not knowing at that time that what I was searching for was held within. I love the words ” feeling myself from the inside out is the greatest True pleasure in life”. Thank you Jacqueline for sharing.

101. The old pleasures in life are now being replaced with real pleasure in life, living in connection.

102. The pleasures in life, what a bittersweet pill. So often what I have percieved to be a pleasure has in truth been a complete distraction from reality. Sugar, has been one of my biggest distractions. I’m still in the process of going sugar free, and whilst giving up the white stuff is relatively easy, when you have alternatives to fall back on, like maple syrup, the hard thing to give up is not the product itself, but the feeling, and the meaning behind what that sweet taste represents. I know for me, that whenver I feel I have achieved something, or if I feel sad or angry, or anything emotional, I want to reward/numb myself with that sweet comforting taste. There isn’t anything wrong with enjoying a sweet flavour, but I know for me it is so much more than that, its a dependance that it will make me feel better about life, for a few seconds, only to find that all those feelings are still there the moment it wears off.

103. Thank you Jacqueline for a great blog. I have known the distractions of the doing, doing.
     My body has been doing for the last 65 years. Over the last few years, since coming to Serge’s talks, and understanding that I am love in my innermost being, this has slowly started to change, and with it a deeper awareness, that with this felt love I am enough just as I am. This has been a slow process of claiming more of me, the gentle, beautiful, tender person that is, the true me.

104. Funny I am currently reading a FANTASTIC book called ‘Time Space and all of us – Book 1 – Time’ by Serge Benhayon and there is much in it about how time is related to us going round in circles to keep giving us the opportunity to learn, observe and evolve and here you start by saying you are going round in circles, as are we all and as is the planet. You can find out more about this great book here: http://www.unimedliving.com/publishing/books-by-serge-benhayon/time-space-and-all-of-us/time-space-and-all-of-us-book1-time.html

105. Jacqueline, I like the part where you mention how it took you 2 years to go sugar free. I find even with the immense support of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, getting rid of an addiction still requires discipline, commitment and surrendering to feel things that are painful at times. This is not something that I can avoid when I choose an esoteric way of life. The difference is though, that Serge’s support and the intimacy in friendships along this path are so profound, that choosing love is an option that is always at hand.

     1. I too have found this to be true felixschumacher8, there is no denying what is felt from the body, no matter how often or much I can pile whatever I can find on top of it not to feel it, the fact remains once felt it can not be un-felt.

106. I love the part about the ‘pleasures in life keep me distracted from my true self’. So true, for me they are like a heavy blanket that is carried everywhere you go, smothering any ounce of life and sparkle from the eyes.

107. The ‘doing’ is in itself a distraction as well. I find this as a very distracting pattern for myself, my body and foremost the stillness within me. I have noticed I have to become more acquainted with this Stillness like building a new, deeper relationship with myself. Instead of running from myself by doingness it is more and more being with myself in what I do, whatever it is at that moment.

108. This is a revelatory blog which could help those yet to see the distractions as fillers. As I was reading I was recalling how I had no idea that the rewards and comforts of life that I used to use, were harming in anyway or kept me seeking, in a ‘not enough’ loop. The distractions we use take on many forms, even things that seem quite harmless. But when they are done to keep us away from our inner self there can only be harm.

     1. Great comment Fiona. I love the ‘not enough loop’.

     2. Beautifully said Fiona and a great awareness to start my day – no matter how subtle or minor we may think some decisions are, if ‘they are done to keep us away from our inner self there can only be harm.’ Very powerful and exposing.

     3. Great point Fiona. I can pull out those less obvious distractions when I don’t want to feel something … problem is the disconnection also takes away the yummy feeling then there is the sudden pull to eat something sweet or stimulating. What a set-up!

109. I can see how many ‘pleasures in life’ are just used as fillers and distractions. To fill voids and distract away from feelings of sadness/emptiness. All the new things keep people busy and so they don’t have to stop. When I started to stop it was like a brick wall and baby steps were certainly needed. For me, it’s like if you don’t keep moving all the not so loving choices catch up with you… Yet they are always there so don’t actually have any catching up to do in the first place.

110. Since I stopped going to yoga 5 times a week, eating sugar, drinking my daily latte, eating bread and cheese, drinking wine, watching TV and since I took out all my ‘How can I find myself’ books, my life changed 180 degrees. Universal Medicine is the real deal and showed me another way to live.

111. Wow what a blessing to read your words:
     ‘Being and connecting to my true self and feeling myself from the inside out is the greatest true pleasure in life’.
     All of society is set up in the opposite way; it’s all focused on the external pleasures of life and what we can acquire from the outside.

112. This a lovely blog. I agree with the pleasures and distraction in your life were the lock on the door to your inner essence.

     I feel the same way and experience that very feeling today. It takes deep consideration and self reflection to unlock that door. As you have to find what actually keeps you there.

     – Not having enough time
     – another thing to do
     – I can be better
     – I give up

     Instead the answer is very simple, so simple its hard to believe. The door was always unlocked.

113. Another stunning blog Jacqueline, thank you! I can relate to how you have shared the many distractions that can be used to avoid feeling what is actually going on for us. It’s quite a bizarre game when you think about it – for if we distract ourselves from feeling, then we cannot address whatever it is that is going on, so the same situation or reaction will keep repeating, as will reaching for our favourite distractions to avoid dealing with it!

     1. I realised a few months ago that I was using tv shows in this way – especially at the end of a big working week. I was telling myself I wanted to relax, do something for me, take it easy but essentially I was just zoning out, staying up later than I needed to and avoiding giving myself that time to reflect on how the week had been and also take care of myself accordingly – be that through a lovely bath, an early night or hanging out with my flatmates and sharing how our day or week had been. TV shows can be pretty addictive but once I saw how I was using it, the “need” to watch the latest episode just fell away and I haven’t watched a show for over a month! Screen time is a poor substitute for time with me☺.

114. It’s great when you realise the so called pleasures of life are a distraction and you don’t have to continually chase the never ending rainbow for happiness – it is with you and always will be.

115. What a journey of great discovery, Jacqueline and, as you expose, your words here: “All my pleasures in life and distractions kept the door closed to my inner heart”. It is incredible just how distracted or busy ‘doing’ we can keep ourselves, and equally how much modern life is arranged to foster all this. With the digital technological age ever increasing, I can’t imagine how much more further dis-connected to our truth we might be as a society. It’s people like Serge Benhayon, and businesses like Universal Medicine, that are our saving grace in these times, through which we can be inspired, as evidenced by your post.

116. I loved reading about how you ditched all the books and found writing and keeping track of your own experiences more enriching. It is a great reminder that we are already enough just the way we are without having to look ‘out there’.

117. Oh those distractions, I know them so well. But as you say Jacqueline, and as I have also realised; “All my pleasures in life and distractions kept the door closed to my inner heart”. I am slowly learning to remove all these distractions from my life and it is an ongoing process, but now I know, that without the distractions, food, tv, books etc, I have the space to really feel what is happening in my body, and I love that the door to my inner heart has no longer such obstacles blocking the way.

118. Jaqueline I can feel your joy and truth in every word you have expressed here- your gradual transformation is inspiring and I trust the impact of your loving choices was felt not just by you but by everyone around you – offering a true way to just be. Thank you

119. A great article Jacqueline. It is very revealing that the pleasures that we ‘do’ can prevent us from the true pleasure of being ourselves.

120. Jacqueline, I particularly took note of your words ‘I came to realise they were all distractions as they all kept me in the ‘doing’ and kept me from the knowing inside that I was enough.’. While I have made big strides in terms of challenging old behaviours, I am still aware that ‘doing’ is a distraction I still get caught up in sometimes. Time for me to gently recalibrate as I prepare to go through my day …. thank you!

121. I loved how you came to your own realisation that the ‘pleasures’ in your life were actually what was blocking you from the one true pleasure in life – being connected deeply to yourself. Beautiful.

122. A very inspiring blog Jacqueline. Our greatest ”pleasure and reward’ is in reconnecting to our inner heart and true self. So beautifully expressed.

123. Adam, your last line really stood out for the truth you present: ‘ We have long given up on ourselves in truth, and that is a large part of the underlying drive to find truth in what we do, rather than who we are’. Thus our focus is in the wrong place; on the doing, the pushing, the acheiving and getting ahead, and the recognition from others; all subtle forms of distractions, but distractions nevertheless….

124. The reward of ‘pleasures’ for all the ‘doing’ is a tiresome spiral, in being and feeling the celebration has no end.

125. “Being and Connecting to my true self And Feeling Myself From the Inside out Is The Greatest True Pleasure in LIfe” – yes Jacqueline, what a gift from Serge Benhayon, who has shown us a way to live lovingly from the inside – who we truly are.

126. ‘I came to realise they were all distractions as they all kept me in the ‘doing’ and kept me from the knowing inside that I was enough.’ This is something for me to look at. Thank you.

127. This is a truly inspiring blog Jacqueline, I have the pleasure to personally know you and have really felt and seen how indeed you have truly blossomed and developed this strong connection within you.

128. A truly inspiring article very well written.

129. I really loved reading this blog again Jacqueline and the ending is very beautiful. I can feel the absolute truth in what you have written and it makes me question why I still choose false ‘pleasures’ that are such a poor substitute for the joy of living in a way that is connected and true to me. I feel that I have taken on messages from outside of myself and gave up on the fact that I was worth connecting to at some point. Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon have presented how to live true to yourself and with this support I have also begun the process of reconnecting to me.

130. Well said Adam and thanks Jaqueline for a great blog that I can totally relate to , spending a lot of my life doing a huge amount of things and many adventures only to find what I was missing was myself and being connected more deeply to me .

131. So true Jacqueline, no “pleasure” in life could ever equate to being connected to the inner heart.

132. You’ve reminded me to go back to the Gentle Breath Meditation. I’ve been avoiding being still because of the momentum I have been in lately which hasn’t allowed me to stop which always results in me eating comfort foods, not sleeping well, or sleeping way too much and generally feeling aches and pains through my body.

133. Great blog Jacqueline, “Going to bed early had other positive impacts; I saw I was less emotional and this also reduced the need for the stimulants and distractions I was using to get me through the day.” This is huge for me in learning to live harmoniously with my body, early to bed sets a foundation for a more love filled day to follow.

134. Thanks Jacqueline, and of course we have all had our lists of distractions, and it’s always enlightening to read someone else’s, especially when you know the person and know how gorgeous they truly are now.

135. Jacqueline and Alex – you have really exposed how ridiculous it is for us to look outside for answers or recognition of who we are, when this type of search never satisfies. I love your comment too Alex, “bring the future here now”.

136. Well written, not many people admit that they are addicted to sugar because it is there comfort food. Of course people will say a little bit is okay but that is because they could not give it up themselves. Sometimes I still crave and want sugary foods to stop me from feeling the tension I feel on a daily basis. It’s amazing though how uncomfortable I am when I do have sugar though…(headaches, twitchy, can’t connect to people then the drop and laziness afterwards) the alternation is becoming not worth it at all.

137. A lot of the so called pleasures in life are actually not pleasures at all, they erode, rot and drain us from the inside out. When we discover that less is more and the abundance that we carry inside is enough to fill an ocean, it is a real magical moment to celebrate with a few gentle breaths.

     1. Beautifully said Matthew: “When we discover that less is more and the abundance that we carry inside is enough to fill an ocean, it is a real magical moment”. We can feel fully content in ourselves not needing to seek escape solace from any distractions, which we formerly would have called pleasures in life as what we can feel in our body is so much grander.

138. Thanks for your sharing, if it comes to yoga I had the same experience of temporary relief of what I did not want to admit was there to feel. Sometimes I even went in competition with the others in the yoga class instead of connecting to myself and my body. Living in connection with myself and my body is something I can choose every moment of my day and makes life simple.

139. I love what you share with us Jacqueline – “I was enough exactly as I was” and “everything I needed was inside me” beautiful and so true.

140. I can relate to how you wrote about the self help books and that writing your own journal was far more enriching than any self help book you have ever read. I was similar except only with spiritual philosophy. I used to find quotes and things online that I abided by. But I realised that I am wiser than those quotes. I now prefer to make sense of life by what I feel in my body, and I like to write things down.

141. Jacqueline I really enjoyed reading and feeling your transformation – the way you lovingly let go of so much but in your own time and in a way that supported you. I could feel the new level of commitment you now have for yourself and how lovely that is. It shows we all can make more loving choices in our lives and how it comes back to stopping and feeling from the inside out.

142. A true testimony to when we connect to ourselves, the relentless searching and seeking outside of ourselves ceases.
     What a celebration that moment is, what an awesome, magnificent stop point that is, the turning in to find life’s rich’s inside of oneself.
     After a life time(s) of looking outside to find, what we already are, deep in our inner heart.
     Thank you Jacqueline for your intimate blog.

143. What you have written Jacqueline speaks volumes – nothing is greater (or more pleasurable) than being your true self. I still find myself seeking out ‘life’s pleasures’ to make myself ‘feel good’, but these only take me further away from myself. Connection to myself is key.

144. Good example Jacqueline of the huge benefits of giving up the so-called pleasures in life.

145. I really appreciate the emphasis in this blog on the limitations of making life about doing, including in such activities as Yoga, which is really meant to be about exploring a quality of being. Try to find that type of practice out in the world beyond Esoteric Yoga, founded by Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine. Every other form of contemporary or traditional Yoga, even down to the most meditative, is about occupying the mind in an activity. As such these practices cannot help the mind to come to rest in a deeper feeling of surrender. So much of life is about holding on, controlling and contriving a life, rather than surrender to the rhythm of life that lives within us as well as in nature and is integral to, but not bound by, our physical world. So what is great about where this blog went, is the description of that new way of looking at life and I appreciate more and more how there is an unlimited number of ways we can express this.

146. Jacqueline, so simple and yet so true. “Being and Connecting to my true self And Feeling Myself From the Inside out Is The Greatest True Pleasure in Life.” I just had to re-visit this beautifully expressed blog.

147. I love this, so much is said here and so much I can relate to.

     “For the first time ever, I felt the truth in my body of what he (Serge Benhayon) was presenting; that is, I felt that everything presented I already knew on some level but had not as yet integrated into my life.” I felt exactly the same and also saw that there was another way to life, that everything is within. This was such a relief and Serge helped me get off the constant merry go round I had been on … and going absolutely nowhere!

     Also that ‘pleasures’ were actually distractions. You so hit the nail on the head here, they were in fact taking me further away from the truth and me from me.

148. Thank you for this blog. It covers all the everyday things we do to get by and kid ourselves that life is all that it is meant to be. I loved your approach of cutting things out for a few weeks to feel what happens (and then never going back!) I have also found you can’t feel the full effect of something you are doing or eating until you remove it. Only then is it possible to feel how your body responds. Having the mind shift that perhaps our pleasures are actually doing us no good is a great start.

149. A gorgeous expansion of yourself through living what you know to be true

150. It is quite incredible the feeling in my body now that I have taken out all of the comfort foods I was eating. Having a diet that is very clean and nutritious, and not eating too much has given me a similar feeling to what you describe here. Being able to feel how sweet and gorgeous I am, feeling a lightness in my body that was never there before, no more foggy head, no more dragging myself through the day exhausted. Food makes a huge impact on how I feel.

     1. Agree Kate, food is underestimated when it comes to how we feel. It has a big impact and it is ever evolving, my relationship with food.

151. Thank you Jacqueline, great blog that shares many of the things I thought were a pleasure in life. Thanks to Universal Medicine and the presentations by Serge Benhayon, the simplest thing in life is my breath and the choice that I now have to choose my own breath brings me to me, there has never been a greater feeling than me being me.

152. Jacqueline, thank you for sharing your experiences of reconnecting to your body and your awareness around how comforting foods can be and what you considered ‘pleasures’ kept you distracted from feeling and living your natural loveliness. It is inspiring to hear anothers’ journey with this. It offers me the possibility of letting go of another layer of distraction and really feeling my gorgeousness in my everyday; offering to myself the gift of my stillness in each moment. And as you beautifully share, this is the true pleasure in life.

153. Beautiful and simple, Jacqueline – the words were coming to me while reading your article. I like how clearly you show that our “pleasures” are actually distractions on the way to our precious self, our true pleasure of being us, connected.

154. Isn’t it interesting what we have called ‘pleasures’ in life. It a bit like how we call sweets, cakes and lollies ‘treats’. When a child is ‘good’ or we are looking for something to make us feel better we have a ‘treat’.
     I have suggested that perhaps its more of a ‘punishment’ than a treat. Because really anything that keeps us further from our true gorgeous selves can’t be considered a treat now can it? Great Blog Jacqueline and truly a ‘pleasure’ to read.

155. Jacqueline, its great to read how you changed one thing but then it had far more reaching positive effects on your life than expected. Like going early to bed allowed you to be less emotional & tired, and thus not crave the stimulates – and that lead to being more aware of the messages from your body, so that you could listen to your body and go to bed when you are tired… best medicine ever!

156. The ‘pleasure’s that we have have in life are indeed distractions and not true pleasures by any stretch. I love your closing line Jaqueline – “Being and Connecting to my true self And Feeling Myself From the Inside out Is The Greatest True Pleasure in Life” – this is so true!

157. Jacqueline, a beautiful example of how listening to and honouring yourself brings greater vitality and joy to life – True Pleasure in Life.

158. Wow Jacqueline such an awesome read. I resonate completely with the doing and searching having done a fair bit of that in my time – I too am deeply inspired by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine – the presentations have been fundamental in my making changes and living a much more fulfilling life.

159. When we are not filled with who we are, we have to find something to fill that space. For me, I found it in distracting myself with hobbies, food and pot. The latter two being a match made in hell! Now that I feel more of me, there is the less their is the need for those things to fill the void. In this sense it makes sense to say that we are vessels containing a life form – a form that can either be loving or not. I find all my choices depend on that initial choice I make.

160. I am inspired by your expression in this blog Jaqueline. I so enjoyed reading it, thank you.
     What resonated with me was your comment about being aware of and taking care of your body
     “I now have a deeper connection with my body as I have learned to respect and honour it with a new awareness that all my choices affect my body in some way or another”

161. Hi Jacqueline, your blog made me stop and consider something, particularly … “I had to do better, I had to improve myself, I had to push, I had to do, do, do. It was this belief that kept me feeling that I was not enough as I was, and kept me in the search of looking outside of myself for the answers.” I always thought it was the other way round, I am not enough so I go out and push, drive my body, whereas it’s the drive that leaves me not feeling enough, and leaves my body tense. Releasing the tension in my body and finding a gentler way to be with it, then brings me back to myself. No need to get caught up in the “I am not enough” story – it really feels that simple. Thank you.

162. Yes, distracting ourselves is a major dis-ease worldwide and I know that I have certainly been caught in its grip. Since becoming involved in Universal Medicine and meeting Serge Benhayon I am steadily growing in my understanding and appreciation of stillness as a key factor to understanding what is needed for vitality and well-being. Jacqueline – thank you for reminding me to simply listen to what my body is telling me.

163. I love the simplicity and truth of this line “Several years ago, there came a day when I realised that I was just going round and round in circles in my life, and for all my ‘doing’ and ‘searching’, nothing ever changed.”

164. Amazing changes you’ve gone through and so awesome to read Jacqueline, Thank You. Finding comfort in food is a big one I can relate to. I used to surprise people by how much I can eat at meal times because I have always been very petite. I loved eating lots of what most people consider as healthy food but the quantity sometimes was just too much. I am learning to not have to take my body through pain and discomfort by over eating. To be more aware of why I want to stuff myself and make the choice next time to not do the same. Since being introduced to Universal Medicine I am not more aware and loving towards my body. I am still learning everyday and fine tuning as I go, being more gentle and loving. Reading your blog is a great reminder.

     1. Finding comfort in food is a big one for everyone, especially overeating, and once overeating becomes a habit we do it without thinking, because that is what we are choosing so as not to feel what we don’t want to deal with. Like you Chanly, I am more loving and respectful to my body which helped break my pattern of overeating. I started to get honest with myself and how I was living in disregard with myself with no self care or self love whatsoever… which slowly gave me more awareness to make changes to my diet; to choose and eat food that truly nourished me.

165. Jacqueline, what a huge revelation you are sharing here “I realised that yoga was providing me with temporary relief from how constantly tired my body actually was, but not actually changing anything.” The question is, are most people willing to admit that whatever ‘medication’ (in your case yoga) they are using in their day to day living, it is not really changing anything?

166. Thank you Jacqueline for sharing your awareness, who would have thought that life came from within in its fullness and all the other pleasures as you put it are mere distraction from the truth that we are life. As has been written “To Be or not To Be” that is the question. It feels like it is our only choice. We are naturally who we are but we can choose to distract our self from that which we are.

167. Thank you for a very practical post on how you have slowly but surely made changes to your life and how much better those changes have been for your livingness. After reading your post I can see more clearly the things that are causing me distraction and what I can change to be more supportive of myself.

168. I really appreciate the message in your blog Jacqueline. “Being and Connecting to my true self And Feeling Myself From the Inside out Is The Greatest True Pleasure in Life. It has inspired me as well. Thank you.

169. Well said Benkt. I have also noticed how much is said that need not be. We can so complicate things by overdoing our conversations too.

170. “All my pleasures in life and distractions kept the door closed to my inner heart”
     I love this line Jacqueline, it’s gold.

171. Thank you Jaqueline, It is indeed a great thing to truly feel what is needed and what is not. I can feel how many things we do to just do and not feel rather than truly do something that’s needed at that moment. And how every comfort, un-true choice, we choose will take time from any other much more important task.

172. Jacqueline, I can feel the joy in your blog of letting go of your so called ‘past pleasures’ and reconnecting to yourself and your wisdom. The teachings of Universal Medicine have supported hundreds of people to reconnect and make loving choices that are true for them.

173. Amazing clarity you are presenting here, Jacqueline. Thank you. Re-connecting and re-developing a relationship with myself teaches me and proves to me the wisdom the body so effortlessly gives out – and exposes the choices I have made that never/no longer work. Lately I was feeling as if I have been in a process of collecting myself up from a rather large fall, but never quite making it up to a full standing position, and your blog felt like a perfect pep talk.

174. How easily the so called pleasures fall away when we connect with our true selves. When I’m asked about how I gave up sugar, my reply is “I didn’t give it up, it gave me up”. And I apply that to other things like watching TV or eating foods like cheese and chocolate. I found myself just not wanting them, not reaching for them and then over time, I’d look back and realise that I hadn’t had say chocolate for months and hadn’t missed it. It was because the underlying reasons for eating chocolate in the first place were diminishing…I used chocolate as my comfort. When I was hurt, upset, stressed, pre-menstrual – all the times I was not connected to myself. As I learnt and practiced staying connected…chocolate was no longer my best friend.

175. Absolute gorgeousness Jacqueline. I can really relate to the sugar addiction and thank you for your awareness. I must remind myself that it is a process and something that may not change overnight. The feeling of pleasure or artificial sugary happiness is so short lived and then comes the guilt and frustration I feel with myself for even going there, again. I can feel the potential of eternal Love and Joy available in my body and will continue to work at discarding this addiction and understanding why it’s there in the first place. Great inspiration here!

     1. Understanding why you have the addiction to sugar in the first place certainly helpled me to kick my own addiction to sugar… which took around 2 years for the cravings to stop. But I still have to be careful when I am tired, because the old thought/belief sneaks in the back door, silently whispering sugar will give you a boost…which I no longer fall for! Instead I reach for an apple or a small healthy snack.

176. It is a normal thing to indulge in life’s pleasures. For me – they used to be a treat and a reward for how I was living. But I now know that rewarding my mind hurts my body.
     Certainly I knew what foods were bad for me – but I was coming at it as ‘it’s bad for my figure’ rather than its harming to my essence.
     Now I make my choices with a whole new level of awareness. Based on support and self love.

177. This is a very similar to the way which I walked when I started to change the way of my life. It was worth it all! Thank you Jacqueline for sharing your experience.

178. That was simply stunning! Inspiring and reaffirming that everything I am is one simple breath away. What a great way of living! (:

179. Dear J, your blog is wonderful, you cover so many areas of daily life and how change is achieved with practical steps revolving around listening to yourself. I am realising that humanity is perhaps in an epidemic of looking for answers on the outside, propping up their lives with the distractions and comforts you speak of. I know I was certainly there, and am still working through it. It’s very disempowering to buy into the idea that the answer is outside of ourselves. I love what you wrote about your journal, it’s the same for me but I hadn’t fully honoured this until I read your words, thank you.

     1. It’s very disempowering to buy into the idea that the answer is outside of ourselves. Spot on Melinda, it is this idea that takes us further and further away from ourselves and further away from the wisdom that resides in the body, in our inner heart.

180. I can really read the difference you have brought to your life by simply being you. That is certainly an amazing offering from Universal Medicine – as it has allowed me to see the many pleasures and distractions I created to not deal with what was really going on! Thank you for sharing.

181. “All my pleasures in life and distractions kept the door closed to my inner heart; my true home where my truth resides, where my stillness, innocence and beauty and love reside and also where true inner peace and joy is to be found.” I love this sentence. Once we have connected to this within ourselves, every time we look outside of ourselves for a treat or a distraction, we have a clear marker that we have left ourselves once more.

182. ‘All my pleasures in life and distractions kept the door closed to my inner heart; my true home where my truth resides, where my stillness, innocence and beauty and love reside and also where true inner peace and joy is to be found.’ So beautifully expressed, Jacqueline, life can be so beautifully simple when we let go of these distractions, and with the gentle breath meditation return to our truth and our inner heart where we truly reside. It was beautiful to read this blog at the beginning of my day and to remind myself that life can be as simple as I choose.

     1. LIfe can be as simple as I choose, I love the truth and simplicity in this line Susan.

183. I know what you mean Jacqueline about ‘lifes pleasures’ or what we can also say are ‘treats’ that seemed to be what I lived for. Having worked hard days I thought I deserved such things… but I realised that once I started connected to myself – through the Gentle Breath Meditation presented by Serge Benhayon that when I worked with this connection I actually enjoy doing it and that at the end of the day I don’t feel I need anything to reward myself. This totally turned itself on its head and as simple as breathing my own breath!

184. Jacqueline, lovely to re-read this today. Practical, simple and so self accepting, you allowed yourself to feel each step along the way, experimented with what worked and observed what happened when you dropped something – a great way to find your way. And one for us all to experiment and find ours without our distractions.

     1. Great point here about feeling every step of the way. I’ve found when I connect to my body and how I’m feeling, and the more and more honest I am with that process, the easier it becomes to make choices which support my body and to be aware of the distractions which take me away from that support and connection.

185. Great blog Jacqueline its good to know that each and everyone of us is enough without all the outside influences and that all the answers lie within.

186. This is such a great practical example of how changes can be made in how we live our lives as one choice leads to another. Thank you for sharing and being an inspiration, Jacqueline.

187. This is gorgeous, Jacqueline. The relationship between pleasure and distraction from who we truly are and what we truly have to offer ourselves and everyone, is definitely something worth exploring.

     1. I agree Shami, plenty here to ponder on.

188. Great blog Jacqueline, I can relate to a lot of what you say especially the do,do do. And like you, thanks to Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon, finding out that there is a different way to go about life and that we do have a choice was a big revelation and inspiration for me.

189. A joy to read Jacqueline – and very encouraging.
     I love how you allowed things to drop away as they didn’t feel right for you and it’s great to be so open to letting go of things that we do it without any holdings or trying to replace it with something else.
     And as you say, Universal Medicine opened the door to what you already knew – relighting the fire 🙂

190. A great sharing thank you Jacqueline, and one I can so relate to. I used to push to do and to better myself, only now realising it kept me trapped in the belief that I wasn’t enough, and had to get something to improve me from the outside – so giving my power away. This was insidious, and stopped me realising that all I needed to do was to stop and re-connect back to my myself and my inner heart where all love, stillness, beauty and joy naturally reside.

191. Yes, Alison it was like a merry-go-round, going nowhere. I too was searching for that missing something, and it was only on attending some talks by Serge Benhayon that I realised the futility in that. I came to understand and feel that, ‘I was enough exactly as I was, as everything I needed was inside me.’ No more searching, just connecting to myself.

192. Great blog Jacqueline. I can relate to all you’ve shared. I agree that lots of small changes made in life make a considerable difference.

193. Jacqueline, I can really identify with what you say here about the need to be always
     up and doing. It can become a sort of obsession. Since my exposure to UM,
     I have been much more aware of the quality in which I do things.
     There is still a ‘To do’ list but everything on it is done in a more considered and caring
     sort of way.

194. Indeed Ryan there is another way to live life and my body loves it. I fell for the “self-help” industry for years before finding Universal Medicine. It is a very sophisticated way of distracting you from the truth, it felt like a temptation and it was easy to fall into it when I was exhausted and empty as it was the case then.

195. This is a great blog to re-read, so simple and a reminder of the true pleasures in life. Thank you Jacqueline 🙂

196. I love the simplicity of what you write here Jacqueline, it makes such sense.

197. I can so relate to what you have shared, Jacqueline. The push, drive and to do better for myself was entrenched. The “pleasures” of life, as you say also distracted and numbed me from feeling a deeper connection to myself and others. When I feel off or overwhelmed by life I can resort back to TV or overeating as a default button to cope with something I don’t want to feel. But there is nothing like connecting to the stillness and loveliness inside, and expressing and living from there.

198. “Everything I needed was inside me” – it’s a shame we are not taught this from birth so we did not have to spend countless hours, years and buckets full of money searching outside of ourselves. The truth and the love is so simple and we have it all inside us all of the time.

199. Hi Jacqueline thank you for sharing, as I can relate to most of what you have written. Also how the benefits of looking at how food affects me and the health improvements which have followed due to listening more to my body.

200. Great blog, I enjoyed reading it and can so relate to using food as pleasure, reward and comfort. Thank you Jacqueline for stating it so clearly, it’s very helpful as I explore where I still crave sugar.

201. “Being and Connecting to my true self And Feeling Myself From the Inside out Is The Greatest True Pleasure in Life.” – So true, thank you Jacqueline.

202. I had the same experience when listening to a presentation by Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine. “For the first time ever, I felt the truth in my body of what he was presenting; that is, I felt that everything presented I already knew on some level but had not as yet integrated into my life”.
     During the presentation Serge spoke of certain foods and how they harm us energetically (not what to eat) and for the first time ever, I felt the harm in my body. From that moment, my relationship with food began to change, as did the old ‘food issues’ which had become deeply buried with my previous food choices.
     An inspiring blog Jacqueline – Thank you.

203. Oh those distractions, I know them well…I have removed a lot of them, but there are definitely quite a few that remain. Your words ‘This joy in my body helps me feel how sweet and gorgeous I truly am because I have reconnected to my inner beauty and stillness, which was always there, but before I was not able to connect to as ‘my pleasures in life’ kept me distracted from my true self’ made me feel that it would be worth looking at why I cling on to them – It made me feel positive about making changes.

204. This blog shares with simplicity and clarity yOur way back from being distracted in the outer, re-turning to our true self and then living from there. Very confirming and inspiring Jacqueline.

205. Hi Jacqueline, I can also relate to using distractions to avoid myself and my feelings. I love the way you have called this out for us with such clarity – thank you.

206. Jacqueline. You write so well, and express true feelings on how things are for you.
     I find the Gentle Breath brings me back, as it gives me time to reflect on where I am and where I need to be.

207. Thank you for mentioning the Gentle Breath Meditation. This is such a powerful technique, allowing us to connect with our bodies and ourselves.. So simple too.

208. Thank you for sharing Jacqueline – it is crazy how we have come to value these ‘distractions’ as more important than feeling consistently great.

209. Thank you Jacqueline for your honest and open sharing. I relate well to what you say especially the multitude of self help books which I too thought were all going to offer the answer! None did and then I had the pleasure if meeting Serge Benhayon and the simplicity of what he presented was the key for change. No more looking outside in books for the answer, it is all inside. I am my own self help book. No purchase required just a willingness to connect to me.

     1. I love that Beverley – ‘No purchase required just a willingness to connect to me.’ That is all it takes to live a truly rich life. I have for a long time sought wealth as a security, but in fact it was always a distraction from what I was running away from – the devastating pains of not connecting to me. Now that I have started living with more connection, I feel much richer in a way that is not calculable to monetary wealth, but a wealth of knowing me and knowing love more deeply.

     2. I also love this Beverley ‘ No purchase required just a willingness to connect to me’

     3. Very beautifully put Beverley. Our bookshelves were so empty that we had to take a lot of them away when we redecorated the house because we gave away so many of our books. It created more space and now it feels so simple and uncluttered.

210. For me I too have felt the benefits of stripping away the distractions in my life from sugary foods and computer games. Now having found that one of my seemingly biggest distractions are the negative thoughts in my head. But now without all the other distractions distracting me I can see that these thoughts are no different to the computer screen, ice cream or hobby. Equally as obstructing from my true self but never bigger than me and like the distractions before it they too will be stripped away.

211. Lovely blog Jacqueline – I must say one of the greatest weights to lift off my shoulders came with the liberation of throwing every single self help book, CD, DVD and bit of promotional tat right out. Letting go of the hobbies I’d forced myself to like (to fit in with society and have something “interesting” to talk about) has given me and continues to give me more space to be able to defrost my body, to feel it so I can actually listen to its wisdom. I know categorically that my body knows what is best for me, in every situation. Gaining that awareness and actually acting on those feelings I get, is where I’m currently at. Sometimes I do and it’s magical and sometimes I don’t and things don’t go quite as swimmingly as if I’d have listened to those amazing signposts within.… It’s a clear (and easy) choice when present.

212. Awesome blog Jacqueline, thank you. I can relate so much to what you have shared. Among my guilty pleasures, was one cappuccino per day. I would walk for thirty minutes come hail, rain, snow or shine, to the best coffee house in town for my caffeine fix. It was only when I started to listen to my own body that I began to feel the effects of how just one shot of coffee stimulated my mind to become over active, and it also caused nervousness within my body. Furthermore, when I made the decision to stop assaulting my body with coffee I could feel how addictive caffeine is through the withdrawl symptoms I experienced.

213. Wow thank you for this sharing. I can also relate to so much of what you have shared. Recalling how exhausted and drained I was through the drive and searching for answers in contrast to the vitality and lightness I am now feeling by just being me.

214. Hi Jacqueline, I can relate to spending hundreds on self help books, and various spiritual courses from my early 20s through to my early 40s. Each course, book or diet would enthuse me for a while, but there was always something missing and before long, I was onto the next book or next course. During this time I was also a huge sugar and coffee addict and I used alcohol to help me unwind after a hard day at work. This food combination left me bloated, lethargic and overweight, not to mention miserable because I could never seem to control my weight. When I started attending the presentations of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, I knew my 20 year search was over. The changes I have chosen to make have been gradual but through the gentle breath meditation and learning to truly start caring for myself again, I too started to make more self loving choices. I have more vitality and joy in my life than ever before and that’s without sugar, coffee alcohol, gluten or dairy.

215. I love this. It describes so eloquently the paradox of when we believe we are being loving and caring of ourselves when we are in fact being the total opposite.

216. Like you, Ryan, I feel this quote deserves particular comment. I find it such a beautiful and evocative description of our inner heart and how we trick ourselves from connecting with it.

     1. Yes absolutely, it’s astonishing that sometimes what we seek and what we claim to ‘love’ keeps us from what we really want.

217. Thank you Jacqueline for sharing and it is back to front when we look at life closely how that in ‘doing the searching’ we get further away from what we’re looking for, which has actually never gone away and is inside. I have found for me, when I have indulged in sugar, coffee, treats etc. how my awareness of the simplicity and beauty of myself is numbed. It now feels amazing to actually feel I am enough and everything is already here so long as I choose to connect to me!

218. I love the way you describe all these ‘treats’ falling away, and then being able to look back and see that these were very much part of the problem, the overwhelm, the need to push ahead creating the need for coffee etc. Suddenly space and time open up before you… to just be yourself! How simple is that.

219. It’s lovely to reflect on all those things we claim are “pleasures” and start to be honest with ourself. It’s so easy to keep doing and seeking. Thanks for calling out so many areas and I love your ending line “Being and Connecting to my true self And Feeling Myself From the Inside out Is The Greatest True Pleasure in Life.”

220. Thank you Jacqueline for a great blog exposing how we seek to better ourselves by using distractions which actually ‘close the door’ on what we truly seek – our inner heart.

     1. This is so true Jess, the distractions we use only serve to take us away from what it is we most want, a connection with ourselves.

221. Hi Jacqueline, I can totally relate to the incessant distractions we can find to simply keep ourselves away from the beauty we are! Life can be so simple but we make it so complicated with these distractions! This is a great blog – thank you 🙂

222. Just beauty-full. Thank you.

223. Thank you.

224. Awesome Jacqueline.

     1. Thank you Shevon.

225. Just loved reading your blog Jacqueline. I can relate to so much of what you are sharing. Thank you.

     1. Thank you Priscila.

226. Oh yes – I so recognise the ‘doing’ and the feeling of not being good enough – your words are a lovely reminder to ‘feel that I am enough exactly who I am and that everything I need is inside me’.

     1. Hi Carmel, I too still have to remind myself that I am enough exactly who I am and that everything I need is inside me! This grows stronger every day…

        1. Hi Jacqueline, I agree Carmel it is a loving reminder that I am enough exactly as I am, thank you for sharing.

227. Hi Jacqueline, what a great simple, practical and real description of the path of regaining you. We have been so indoctrinated into thinking that coffee to kick start us is normal, and sugar to reboot us in the afternoon is normal. The true pleasure of feeling the connection to you can sound fluffy if your life is filled with distractions and stimulants, but as you have clearly stated, it is real and you are living proof.

     Thank you for the blog.

     1. Hi Heather, thank you, it was simple and practical, in that as you make one small change in your life, and then feel the difference in your body, this then makes it easier to examine other areas in your life to make more small yet subtle changes, that make a big difference in your energy and vitality. And yes indeed, I am living proof, how very true your words are!

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