I was born Hong Kong Chinese.
I have never liked being Chinese because it never felt natural, but I have lived most of my life feeling trapped within the picture of what being Chinese meant. I was always looking to run away, to be any nationality, to live in any country but to be where I have incarnated to be.
What I wanted to run away from was feeling that the cultural traditions of being Chinese were not true, but I did not want to take responsibility in expressing this fact. In my observations and exploration I realised that there is no truth without first expressing in honesty.
In the Chinese culture, when a baby is born, because of its preciousness, the elder generations would call him or her ugly because of the belief that when a baby is adored she or he will start to be proud and therefore die.
From birth we are not confirmed of our innate worth of being alive by generations who do not know, and probably have never been confirmed, of their own worth either. Our ingrained way of expression is self-deprecating, convoluted and complicated; it is reflecting the lack of simplicity and love that are natural to our heart.
We are born into a culture where it is the norm to not accept self-worth and therefore the choice to evolve into our true being is very limited.
Being small and to hold back from our true worth is taught from young to be our normal way. From an early age we learn to not express truth for the sake of appearing humble.
The pained expressions of women, showing signs of being demure and quiet, in the Chinese culture is considered beautiful. Silence is considered a virtue.
Children grow up hearing one thing which means something else. It is a cultural norm to say something and to mean the opposite, without choosing to be aware that whatever is expressed does not simply go away, no matter how it is meant to be interpreted.
Women still choose to whiten and brighten their skin to escape being yellow. As a culture, we are looking up to the West and other cultures in lifestyles and fashion styles. Inferiority is the other side of the coin of control; when we do not honor our own worth, we are sold out to the supremacist consciousness, we use it amongst ourselves and to those we feel we can control. Control is in our blood from the lack of control we feel when lies make up the foundation of our existence. Equality is not a lived truth in us.
Many feelings are kept unspoken – we call this keeping words “in the heart” – but the truth is, what is from the heart cannot ever be kept mute by our body. Because our expression does not reflect honesty, our protection thickens. When we hide and do not share, we hold back transparency and true reflection. We do not learn from each other but keep everyone at bay.
In disconnection with ourselves, we live disconnection with others, but we call this being conservative. Anger is built from feeling truth but not speaking out. I know for a fact that my yellowness in complexion comes from the fact of what I have internalised and not expressed.
We retreat into our mind, far from the truth of our body. When we form our consciousness based on what is not true, we do not like ourselves very much and value is not something we feel in our blood. We never feel good enough, and to compensate this we compete and work non-stop to prove that we are the best. We convince ourselves that this is success, and so we continue this legacy by being dishonest to our bodies, but we make sure we look good on the outside and we do this very well. We tell ourselves it is all well worth it, by redefining success to be how we appear externally and how much money we have.
We earn the recognition that the Chinese are powerful; we think we are invincible and can reclaim the gaping hole and emptiness from our foundation by a constant drive of seeking externally, yet that is far from the truth. Our unworthiness remains no matter how much we have achieved. We do not in truth feel any more value in ourselves even with the infinite monetary zeroes in our banks.
Our bodies suffer and we further comfort ourselves that this is okay with all the forms of indulgences and entertainment we choose as our normal to not commit to life, and remain in the biggest comfort of all that “everyone is doing the same.”
For many years I have lived most of the above.
I met Serge Benhayon and attended presentations by Universal Medicine (Australia) in 2012 – a time when my ingrained patterns of looking up to, and outside of myself, were still strong. I felt aggrieved that I lived so far away from where the Universal Medicine presentations and clinics were based, as after all these years I had finally found the first and only teachings that truly made sense to me in a world that did not make much sense.
The purple books of Serge Benhayon were the first teachings that I connected with, and the books touched me deeply because what I know within my heart to be true, is expressed in them. The books did not teach me what to do or how to get from A to B, but they, as well as Serge Benhayon, inspired me to live my every day in deeper awareness and self-love, and from there my entire life gently but completely changed.
During the past 4 years I have come to accept that my Soul reincarnated in my birth place, Hong Kong, for a reason. And that reason has nothing to do with not being worthy, or that it was my loss (to be far away from Universal Medicine) to be born here.
In fact, it was such a loving opportunity for me to live step by step in deep patience and tender acceptance of my developing self. Throughout this deepening and ongoing process, I have realised that being physically far away from Universal Medicine can only mean that support is already where I am at.
The deepest support has come from my body and the lightness of joy that I know is within me. I started to understand through my own experiences as to why we do the things that we do, and what impact these ‘cultural’ choices have on us collectively as a momentum that has carried on for ages. But I also see how, although this momentum feels so strong, the connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture.
The power of this connection is never forceful; in fact, it is deeply joyful and light! Most importantly, when I take the responsibility to consistently express truth in all my delicateness, vulnerability, imperfection and power, this is the support to keep me going and a reflection being offered back to my whole culture.
Our culture is associated with a feeling of heaviness and being not enough, but this is only so because as generations we have avoided expressing in honesty – not because we do not know honesty but because we have not taken the responsibility to say what we truly mean or live who we truly are.
When I deepened this relationship with myself, I deepened the appreciation of being Chinese and the opportunity this has given me in re-discovering the deep connection with myself. There is no more need to run from my birth place or from my culture anymore, in fact, I wake up every day in joy to live the purpose of being born here.
The truth is I am not just Chinese, as no culture, nationality, color, religion or background can change the universal feeling I know within me.
What is experienced in the Chinese culture is not special to just the Chinese, it exists in other cultures too, and how we live in our culture affects all cultures. Every culture has its own specific consciousness from the collective choices of its people, and that we have to accept. The layers and layers of cultural prison we are held in, of which we are not initially aware, begin to show themselves when we live deeper the words that our hearts know, and layer upon layer they can also be gently released.
No matter how I look on the outside, where in the world I was born and where I am living now, what language I speak, deep inside there is something which does not distinguish me from everyone else, and this quality is who we all naturally and equally are.
Being physically far from Universal Medicine has asked me to live the responsibility of expressing the truth of who I am in my daily life and what a huge gift this is.
By Adele Leung, Creative Director/Fashion Stylist, Hong Kong
Further Reading:
Magic of Knowing… We Are All One and The Same On The Inside
Countries in Comfort
‘I know for a fact that my yellowness in complexion comes from the fact of what I have internalised and not expressed.’ – Wow this is so interesting to hear – that our lack of truth can affect even our skin colour. We focus on the physical and ignore that how we are can heavily impact the physical.
We have cultural beliefs that are imposed on us from birth and then as we grow up we take on other one from what we hear, see and feel. Its no wonder I have said and have heard many others say, ‘who am I?’ There is a way out of this self imposed straight jacket and you expressed it well when you wrote, ‘The layers and layers of cultural prison we are held in, of which we are not initially aware, begin to show themselves when we live deeper the words that our hearts know, and layer upon layer they can also be gently released.’
It’s beautiful to know and understand that our expression is not bound by the country or nationality we are born into – in fact, our expression is universal and comes from beyond what we can see.
A fascinating insight into a culture I only know a little about – with so many cloaks and rules of behaviour it just reinforces that you should not be yourself but to do what the state tells you to do. Of course the problem with this is the guiding force is not what is natural, and will always have to be heavily controlled to keep things in check, with consequences that even now, after so many years of Communist rule, no one has the first idea of what those will be.
Adele your description of the treatment of babies in the Chinese culture makes sense of something else for me. I’ve noticed in my interactions with Chinese people or those with a Chinese cultural heritage that they can be incredibly frank in their delivery of their opinions about your appearance (“You look so fat / tired / awful today!”) and so forth. I wonder if this springs from the same space as not adoring babies for fear they’ll grow up arrogant? Whatever it is, it doesn’t feel loving.
This was an eye opener for me Adele to see how suppressed the Chinese culture is. Reading your blog you can feel the immense responsibility one has to live all the love they are, and show people another way. By doing this we offer a key to unlock the illusion we are held under. The illusion that we are not equal, divine son’s of God from birth.
Irrespective of our cultural heritage we have to find our own truth and live by that. Subscribing to a cultural “norm” is actually very harming because we can find ourselves subscribing to all sorts of things that are not in fact true for us.
Culture in a way can be one of the greatest imprisoning things in our world – with all the beliefs and shackles to our innate expression that it can come with. Thank you Adele for the clarity that you bring here, without judgement, just a clear observation of what we can choose when we dis-connect from our essence, and also what is possible when we re-connect with that untouched place inside of us and express forth from there in our daily life.
Thank you Adele. Sometimes other cultures can feel very alien and seperate but your blogs smashes that illusion and shows me that every culture is false as none of them accurately reflect our true nature and absolute equality.
We pride ourselves on our national backgrounds yet when we stop to truly look at our difference what is offered is a different slant on the way we are ALL living. There is so much in this blog to consider about the way we can be led to believe that we are better off, better than and better because we are aligned to a specific nationality.
The words “culture” and “traditions” are often used to mask many controlling and abusive behaviours that we would question if they were not layered with these words. Is this not an example of how we cover, protect aspects of our lives that we choose to stay in recognition or comfort with in order to not delve into our natural oneness with one another?
“We are born into a culture where it is the norm to not accept self-worth and therefore the choice to evolve into our true being is very limited.” It’s incredibly common that it’s considered normal to not like oneself.
I am so glad to be part of the way of the livingness where loving oneself is considered essential in order to truly love another. We are pioneering this and it’s so supportive for how we live, in time it will be seen as essential for wellbeing full stop.
“From an early age we learn to not express truth for the sake of appearing humble.The pained expressions of women, showing signs of being demure and quiet, in the Chinese culture is considered beautiful. Silence is considered a virtue.” It is a sad endightment on any culture that teaches a child or adult to hold back its own self worth for the sake of anything or anyone, in a world that professes to be advanced in so many ways and on so many levels.
‘The truth is I am not just Chinese, as no culture, nationality, color, religion or background can change the universal feeling I know within me.’ Connecting to the Universal feeling is knowing who we are, and therefore accepting the way this looks in the detail of human life becomes easy.
We incarnate into certain cultures and nationalities to reflect a piece of the puzzle that will help bring that culture back to the equallness with others (where there might have been divide before). Through our simple living ways we can do this – once we come to know and embody that we are all of the same pure essence within, we then reflect this in all that we do… and this is what is then passed on to the people around us.
It is through shining the spotlight onto all the limiting and destructive beliefs we hold about ourselves and others that have been imposed through so-called culture and nationalism, that we can finally release such thought limiting beliefs and free ourselves to live who we truly are..
Universal Medicine has brought to my attention the gift of one life. For many years I have had an internal dialogue with myself that is much more honest than what I present to the world. I am still working on this – but I know what it is to be honest and transparent and that is an amazing foundation.
“Our bodies suffer and we further comfort ourselves that this is okay with all the forms of indulgences and entertainment we choose as our normal to not commit to life, and remain in the biggest comfort of all that “everyone is doing the same.
For many years I have lived most of the above.”
So true- I used to justify so many choices on the basis that everyone else was doing it. I would look at everyone’s habits and want to assure myself my own health and lifestyle was ok as it was a bit better than others. I have since discovered how much I was fooling myself. I am so glad to know much more solidly what is actually true for me, and to be more committed every day to actually living my truth.
What you’ve shared here Adele about Chinese culture makes so much sense from my own observations of a culture that holds back the vibrancy and true expressions of the people within it. This has been an eye-opener, and I can feel a deeper understanding already as to why it is the way it is.
And every time you walk, every time you move, every time you speak in the light of your soul Adele, a light that is universal transcending any perceived separation, skin colour or difference, you activate the healing of lifetimes for so many more, even if at this point in time they do not yet know it.
Beautifully said Katerina. Adele reminds us all that culture is an illusion.
I can relate to rejecting and not accepting my place as a woman early in life. Perceiving that it was a place of weakness in our society compared to being a man. Thankfully, that has fallen away just as you described Adele in claiming fully the life you have been born into and the purpose that you have.
I love the expansion I feel when I read that we are not bound to our culture or birthplace as a prescription for how we should be; but that we are born there with a purpose to inspire.
This is such a deep inspiration to acknowledge that what we have in life is here for a purpose.
When I have conversations with people about culture it feels very restrictive, as if saying ‘I am a [culture]’ it reduces the person to a character, to a set of behaviours, to become like an actor and take on a role. For years as a kid I would be proud of being half American, as it was something different to what I was surrounded by, living in England. But over time I started to see and feel more of what comes with that culture and started to detach from it. Claiming ourselves to be a culture feels very small, whereas when I claim being me it feels very grand, bigger than any culture.
I agree there is a reason and purpose to where and when we incarnate. I used to find it hard to accept too and kept coming up with some stories to fight the circumstances therefore not commit to life – but it was a battle already lost. Coming to understand life as evolution, everything makes absolute sense and in fact blows me away how perfectly everything is laid out for everyone to find a way back to who we truly are, and we are so much more loved than we can ever imagine.
“No matter how I look on the outside, where in the world I was born and where I am living now, what language I speak, deep inside there is something which does not distinguish me from everyone else, and this quality is who we all naturally and equally are.” So very true and something we meanwhile can all explore very actively with all the migration that is going on in the world. It doesn’t matter whom we meet despite all the outer appearances, different languages and customs when we let our heart speak we are all the same.
It makes sense that these cultural beliefs would have an outward expression, as you have stated ‘Anger is built from feeling truth but not speaking out. I know for a fact that my yellowness in complexion comes from the fact of what I have internalised and not expressed’.
This is a very powerful blog that exposes how conditioned we are by our culture. What it also reveals however is that we can get through the patterns set down by our culture, race, gender etc and actually live true to ourselves. There is nothing grander than living true to the divine spark of God that is within us all.
Very well expressed Elizabeth. Culture is such a strong force that keeps us from being our true selves. This blog by Adele exposes this so clearly and is an inspiration showing that we can break through the conditioning.
Adele, I love the depth and context you bring to what culture is and how we can be affected by it, and how in fact if we are true we are more powerful than any culture. What strikes me is that all cultures play a game in different ways in how they express, and avoid honesty and truth and that each of us is learning how to live honestly and express the truth we all deeply know. And you’ve beautifully shattered the idea that what is said to mean something else or not said still impacts, this is important for all of us to know, so we live and speak truth to the best of our ability.
I love that you have turned off the mute button and spoken up and out of the harm of not living the truth that is possible. The illusion that people create, of what physical or financial success looks like, will always have a sell by date, as the truth cannot but expose through the body, one who has fallen for choices not based on itself.
It is interesting to read how silence – or not speaking – has been considered a virtue in women in Chinese culture, and yet in reading this blog it is clear that the women who are expected to behave this way have actually never stop expressing themselves, through their facial expressions, the way they move, or simply by the quality of their breath. Even if it has not come out in words, what is being felt by everyone is the truth.
What a reflection you are offering Adele, going deeper than cultural beliefs and expressing the light of the soul.
It’s amazing how much we accept because that’s just how things are in our culture. I love this line from your blog Adele – ‘When we hide and do not share, we hold back transparency and true reflection. We do not learn from each other but keep everyone at bay.’ Being ourselves is the way forward. We are more relaxed and authentic and thus inspire others to do the same.
Only when we have disconnected and separated from ourselves, can we even think that we are different because of cultural beliefs or customs.
Thank you Adele for exposing the harm and damage we can create to ourselves and others when we choose to live with these cultural ideals and beliefs. They seem to serve to suppress our true expression, our honesty and who we are. Letting go of them in my experience have been deeply empowering, because no matter where we come from or what culture we are born into, we are all equal and the universal language that unites us is the language of love. A very powerful blog, I feel that it is very much needed to open our eyes and our hearts to what is possible when we let go of these ideals and beliefs.
I am inspired Adele, you have turned your whole perspective of your situation around from being one that could justify your lack of self worth to one that it not only truly accepting of it all, but truly embracing and loving it! Goes to show there is much power in a simple choice to appreciate!
I love what you have presented here Adele, thank you for sharing your experiences and for deepening my understanding of Chinese culture. As you have so wisely pointed out, in essence we are all the same and anything that separates us takes us away from who we truly are.
How strange to hear how an entire culture is configured to say one thing yet mean another. Of course in hindsight this is prevalent throughout the world… so why do we choose this peculiar way of communicating? What purpose does it serve other than to obscure, to complicate, to pretend or paint a picture that is otherwise less than the truth. And yet no matter how good we are at playing the game, the funny thing is that we can all feel exactly what is going on under the surface, so all that is truly being communicated is that we are lying. Lying to ourselves, lying to each other.
Adele thank you for sharing, there is much to learn from each other and different cultures even though we are all the same underneath, I was particularly taken by your words ‘ Children grow up hearing one thing which means something else. It is a cultural norm to say something and to mean the opposite,’ this must be very confusing, and when we don’t express truth, the lack of expression is held in the body and it is part of what makes the body feel heavy, and hard.
Yes Wow Adele, I didn’t know how full on it was to grow up in the Chinese culture. You have undergone an amazing transformation, particularly given the distance you lived from presentations, healing sessions etc. I take my hat off to you… your tenacity and dedication to what you felt was true is remarkable and very inspiring.
When we reconnect to our Soul we will find that this is so much more powerful than the forces of cultural behaviour we live in, the cultures which we collectively have created in our disconnected way of living.
There is a lot of discussion these days about the need to be “culturally sensitive”. Could it be that we are missing the point here and that what is really needed is to know that we are all the same, irrespective of our culture and that what we need to be aware of is just how sensitive we all by nature?
Wow Adele, you’ve really nailed here and for me personally highlighted how by being born on a different part of the planet from where Universal Medicine is situated it doesn’t mean that I’m any less, infact it means the support is here for me to live a life of truth right where I am.
Wow, Adele this peeling off the layers of culture provides us with profound insights. I love that you have concluded that all it takes is for us again to listen to and speak from the truth of our own hearts, thus confirming ourselves. We are gently and joyously powerful when we do.
Wow, I loved reading and learning about the Chinese culture as it has supported me to bring a further understanding to others and the lives and upbringings they have had. Adele you have also supported me to confirm further that each and every upbringing, lifestyle is exactly the same (yet in differing flavours it comes) when it comes to whether a small child is met for who they truly are or not. It’s love or it’s not. It’s healing or it’s harm and there is no in-between or even better or worse at the details. Love is who we are and what we need to be cherished and honoured for and this love is abundant and on tap for whenever we choose it for ourselves too.
Culture is far from an excuse to hold back, it is beautiful to read your findings, and see that all that is held in this cultural consciousness is from all our collective choices. Feeling the responsibility to grow my love from within.
‘Inferiority is the other side of the coin of control; when we do not honor our own worth, we are sold out to the supremacist consciousness, we use it amongst ourselves and to those we feel we can control’ This is a statement worth pondering for it lies at the heart of so much angst in our world.
Being born and living in Hong Kong does present you with ‘such a loving opportunity for me to live step by step in deep patience and tender acceptance of my developing self. ‘ How great that you are embracing the opportunity for evolution that this presents.
I loved what you have shared here Adele and what you have claimed within you against such a consciousness, one that is, as you say, complicated, convoluted and incredibly self deprecating. Also saying….. “We are born into a culture where it is the norm to not accept self-worth and therefore the choice to evolve into our true being is very limited.” Yet you have connected to you and the truth of life and love, such a credit to you and I am sure an absolute inspiration to all of whom you meet.
I have felt the same Adele Leung as I too could feel the pressure of identifying with my cultural background. I would often be named by my ancestral roots even when I would introduce myself as Natalliya. There so much identification that comes with cultural diversity but how are we diverse? The work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine has shown me that we all come from the same source and that living this truth leaves no space for cultural differences or separation.
‘What is experienced in the Chinese culture is not special to just the Chinese, it exists in other cultures too, and how we live in our culture affects all cultures.’ This is so true Adele, because the more we become integrated with those beliefs the stronger that belief become.
‘We tell ourselves it is all well worth it, by redefining success to be how we appear externally and how much money we have.’ I was always brought up to believe that success was related to how much money you have, and now I know that success comes from the inside and is nothing to do with anything material.
What a beautiful sharing Adele and also such a beautiful claiming within yourself for who you are, what you innately stand for and expressing from that. Love your parting comments being “No matter how I look on the outside, where in the world I was born and where I am living now, what language I speak, deep inside there is something which does not distinguish me from everyone else, and this quality is who we all naturally and equally are.”
We are all exactly where we are supposed to be in every given moment learning exactly what we need to learn. It is our choice on whether or not we take the opportunity to grow and evolve from each experience, or not.
It is beautiful to feel how we all have incarnated into the place we can learn what we need to evolve. The support that is there in this is incredible to feel and enjoy the learning that is there for us.
Imagine if we were all to drop these distinguishing points of difference and come back to the truth that we are all equal in essence.
This is a very powerful uncovering of the effects of culture on us and the world and the undermining it offers. There is also an informative and honest look at the Chinese culture and the lack of honouring and foundation that exists here and every where in its own unique ways. The true love, oneness and appreciation for ourselves and all we are is clearly offered to us by Serge Benhayon and the Ancient Wisdom and is far bigger than everything else we could ever be offered far grander far deeper and far more magnificent than we can grasp as human beings.A beautiful sharing Adele offering so much understanding thank you.
So many in every nation around the world are captives of their own culture. As you say Adele, they tolerate it and accept all the entertainments and distractions it offers at the same time as resenting it, yet I am sure like you deep down they know the truth but are scared of losing their identity because they have covered their hearts with protections in order to survive. To let go of the attachment and risk feeling vulnerable, to follow the heart and step lightly, brings a distance and an ability to recognise the illusion. Only then are we free to live within it and love our fellow brothers, and serve in love. When our home is in our inner hearts we can live anywhere, as you have so beautifully expressed.
“Responsibility to consistently express truth in all my delicateness, vulnerability, imperfection and power” – we don’t see such qualities together often! Yet from reading your blog it is evident what a potent mix they make, not just for yourself but gracing everyone around you as well.
A powerful expose Adele on the evil of culture… and some great insights into the Chinese culture in particular.
What a very powerful expose on what culture truly is, Adele.
“the connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture”. I love what you have shared here as it is a message to all of us that our culture whether it be of a country, and age group or an occupation is not who we truly are inside and that connecting to this is stronger and more in truth than any cultural pull.
One day, culture will not be revered. It will be seen for the poison that it is – a most potent weapon in enforcing people to hold back from their true expression. The most gigantic ball and chain around humanity’s neck.
A really interesting sharing of your understanding on the influence of the Chinese culture on your upbringing as a young Chinese girl. Our cultural and national background has such a strong influence on how we are brought up as you have shown. It is wonderful how you have learned to accept and grow over the past few years with the understandings from Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine into the very vibrant, dynamic woman that you now are, brimming with confidence. I was brought up here in Australia, but there was a very strong old English cultural belief that children should not be spoiled, so relatives were dissuaded from giving beautiful presents to we children, but rather very boring practical items that did not appeal to young children. They were also not encouraged to recognise our attributes, which also resulted in a great lack of self worth for many children of that era. And, in the effort of not spoiling one’s children, we were brought up with the understanding that children are seen but not heard, which meant that we had little input into all the things that controlled our lives at that time. This was something that was a part of the times that I grew up in, and I see much change for the better in this later generation, where children are brought into discussions with the family far more now. Most cultures have their effects on the development of children which then impact on how they grow up to live their lives as adults. But as you have learned, all of us in this world, are actually one people, and it is time for us to live as our true selves as human beings in this one world, we are all brothers under the skin.
It’s interesting watching some of the Olympics and how people suddenly become very patriotic, getting very excited about the athletes representing their country. There is so much pressure on the athletes to perform and succeed for the fans. It’s also horrible to see the devastation experienced by those who don’t win or get the medal they were expecting.
It is amazing to what level we are willing to compromise our innate truth in order to honour our cultural background. I grew up in a culture where nothing was questioned or discerned for its truth, it was done because it had always been done in a certain way with very clear images of what men and women needed to be like, as I have chosen to let go of these layers of ideals and beliefs my body feels totally different as I no longer abuse it in order to fit into a picture of what a man should be but feel connected to the tenderness and gentle nature within me.
Thank you Adele for exposing the ingrained consciousness that many cultures worldwide carry and how this affects us living who we truly are. Wherever we live we can offer a true reflection to others and a reminder they are equally this too – as you consistently do so beautifully everyday Adele.
“Children grow up hearing one thing which means something else. It is a cultural norm to say something and to mean the opposite”- I grew up experiencing this too – saying what was expected of you to keep the peace, appear polite and not challenge the ideals and beliefs. This was very confusing growing up and you could feel it when lies were said. It caused me to not trust and communicate openly to adults.
We can attempt to hide, smother or alter truth, but it cannot be destroyed. It is always there to be expressed by someone free of the illusion we have chosen to live it.
Beautifully written and expressed Adele, it’s a very loving insight into culture in general and the steps to live the true, authentic self.
There is a huge range of cultural and national behaviours that we are indoctrinated with when we are young, and grow up never questioning because they are considered to be ‘normal’. In fact, we can often judge others from other places in the world for not adhering to the same beliefs as we do, all based on our unquestioned idea that our habits and rituals are normal and their’s are not. In this case all we end up with are short-sighted blinkered views of the world and what we are capable of. Love and compassion are equal in all of us, regardless of where we spend our life. Why do we not nurture one another to recognise this about ourselves, instead of the differences?
It’s amazing that an entire culture should dedicate itself to holding back and playing small which is gross irresponsibility given that we are truly divine beings and possible that each culture has it’s own way of doing a similar thing contributing to keeping humanity bound in the tight web of illusion.
How very true it is that wherever we are, we are never far from universal medicine – because it is universal. In fact, any distance we experience is of our creation, not for any other reason.
I work with a man born ‘Hong Kong Chinese’ most days of the week. I will see him differently today. Thank you Adele.
Adele, it is really inspiring to feel how you are going against the strongly engrained momentum of the Chinese culture, exposing it for what it is and at the same time being fully committed to staying in Hong Kong and not bowing down to it. Expanding this awareness as well as deepening the love and appreciation for yourself is a powerful combination.
Being Chinese, or being English, German, Malaysian, French, Spanish, Kiwi, or any nationality comes with some form of characteristics, identification or even judgment of who we are, But, this is just a label, because when you think about it, when you peel a label off a bottle, all bottles are essentially the same. Different shapes, sizes, colours, but still a bottle. We are all the same human beings beneath the mantle of nationality.
A truly insightful blog that shatters the illusion of culture and nationality that would have us believe we’re different and instead offers that ‘the connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture’. In fact it’s a connection that reflects a quality in us that is ‘who we all naturally and equally are’.
This for me is a great lesson in seeing how we can either react to something we know is not true (e.g want to run away or attack back) or we can respond from a place connection and shed light on it for the benefit of all.
The picture painted of false humility, which is really self effacement in order to fit in culturally, feels like it is a harming pattern of behaviour. Harming for oneself in choosing to express contrary to what one feels is true. And harming for others, because of sustaining the cultural norms that keep everyone from evolving.
It is easy to rebel against our culture but then we simply adopt another culture – that of rebellion. The key is to deeply understand culture. Then we have a true choice.
When we start bringing in race and cultures, this just serves to divide and separate humanity, and can have a huge affect on how you live your life and whether you are free to be your true self, or someone that belongs to a culture as has to abide by the beliefs of that culture to be accepted. We are not called human beings for nothing, and we are this before anything else.
I agree Adele the love we seek and demand and need from others we can only really find inside ourselves for we are already everything we seek and crave, we just have to connect and appreciate it.
We are moulded and controlled and manipulated by our cultures far more than we care to admit.
Accepting and living our purpose of earth feels so fulfilling that all distractions of the world are no longer enticing. Who needs to get lost in TV series, the night club scene or drink alcohol when one is living in a way that best serves the plan and what we are here to do, which in my understanding is be and reflect a point of light to all that shows we can live our true Heavenly selves.
Adele, you are pretty much the point of difference in Chinese culture – that’s incredible! Breaking out of that cultural consciousness that has held Chinese people for many 100’s (maybe even 1000’s) of years is showing others a way of being that is true to the inner heart instead of being a slave to the mind.
Thankyou Adele for sharing these insights into Chinese Culture. It is incredible how much a culture does impact on us an individuals and we take on these ideals and beliefs because that’s ‘just how it is’ in the country we are born/grow up in, passed on from generation to generation. They can have such a hold on us that we often don’t even realise that we are under the power of such belief systems and the impact that this is having on our lives. What you are showing us here is that it doesn’t have to be like that, and when we start to live in a way that is true for us as individuals we have the power to break through a consciousness such as this and to actually begin to change it. This is groundbreaking Adele, and deeply inspiring.
This article Adele is so beautiful and comes with such deep love and understanding for all of us as humanity to read. ” Universal Medicine has asked me to live the responsibility of expressing the truth of who I am in my daily life and what a huge gift this is.” Thank you so true and is a real gift for us all.
It is interesting to observe how we as a society are identified with our different cultural behaviours and traditions and how high we often do hold them. Often we are even proud to be part of a certain culture, to know certain dances or know how to cook certain dishes. We mostly are not aware how much this gives us the feeling to be special, to know more, to be better, to belong to a group and as such we feel safe. Mostly we do not question this because we have been brought up in a certain culture. In truth this creates separation and uncertainty between all of us as in order to stay in this false feeling of safety we have to hold on to the special behaviours, customs and patterns of the culture we live in. The cultures give us a feeling to belong to a certain group when in truth we are all equal and do belong to ourselves and our innerheart.
Yes, belonging to a culture makes us feel safe. There are lots of others like us and many of us gladly pay the price of not being truly ourselves.
In 1979 I was going for a trip to the UK for a skiing and judo holiday and I had pondered on what to say to people about where I came from and I felt like a Universal Man. So I worked out to say, ‘I am from the Universe first, then this planet Earth, then from Australia, then from Wollongong, and then from my street address’. I am sure every one thought I was strange but I did not care because I always had the feeling I was more.
Awesome Adele, and as you say not confined only to the Chinese culture. I live in a small country and it too has its own ways in which we keep ourselves small. It comes down to noticing, developing understanding, taking responsibility and expressing honestly and truthfully to change these old deeply established ways that hold us all back. We are all the same essentially.
Weirdly, when you dissect it like this we can start to see, that all the different ‘cultures’ and nationalities are actually pretty similar. And yet they pride themselves on being so distinct! They are similar that they deny and try to replace some essential home truths with some other mumbo jumbo in place. They provide bizarre rules that we must follow to ‘belong’. Yet deep down, we all know the truth, inside we know what is right and what is wrong, so truly it is just our choice whether we want to play along. Or live as you do today Adele, a student of life, a true world citizen, and true owner of our own choices and living way.
Cultures bring with them so many expectations that are often taught and ingrained from a young age. I too have experienced the cultural pressures to achieve and be in constant drive which was considered the ultimate success, but lead to little to no self care. This blog helps bring so much understanding on the choices to stay identified to the belief or the choice to express the truth that does not come with any cultural expectation.
wow Adele, amazing honesty in your article about the prisons we create around ourselves in the name of culture and tradition, that then limit our ability to see beyond to the truth that we nevertheless know deep down inside.
We are one. How damaging it is to society and to each of us to accept division of any kind, be that borders, nationalism, future, sex, gender, race…such division allows for further rules, beliefs and doctrines to cement the separation and to keep us from our true oneness with all.
How powerfully you dissolve the myths and expose the great divide of culture and nationalism.
We need be having many more conversations across the board for this is a global issue that affects us all.
I never liked being called English either, we’re so much more than where we our born, our nationality and our race – it doesn’t even begin to describe our universality.
This is an amazing insight into the Chinese culture thank you for sharing this with us. I was particularly struck by the following “Being small and to hold back from our true worth is taught from young to be our normal way. From an early age we learn to not express truth for the sake of appearing humble.” What a big load for the young to carry.
Adele, you show so clearly how cultural beliefs passed on through generations can affect the wellbeing of everyone, with encouraging such low self worth. I loved reading about your transformation and how you have found that the best support is within you. Having met you at the start in 2012, it has been awesome to observe your journey of unfolding the inspiring person that you are and always have been.
Not speaking the truth that we feel causes anger – what a different approach than falling for the belief our anger may be caused by someone else’s behavior!
The understanding and insight that this article offers opens up the most amazing opportunities to be gentle and respectful with each other, whilst not enabling and championing the imposts of culture on any of us.
Thank you for sharing this Adele and exposing the truth of culture and other identifiers, such as religion and nationality, for the separative and divisive institutions that they are. These institutions are put forth as unifying, when in truth, they only serve to unify one group against another, or one group against all others. Unifying a small segment of humanity can’t truly be unifying, it can only ever be separative.
Thanks Adele. Very internesting insights into the Chinese culture, something I know nothing about.
‘From birth we are not confirmed of our innate worth of being alive by generations who do not know, and probably have never been confirmed, of their own worth either.’ This could be said of many cultures the world over. It is only since attending the presentations of Serge Benhayon that I have felt my innate worth and true essence.
This is a phenomenal and evolutionary piece of writing Adele. What you speak of, is universal and apt for all in humanity. The recent withdrawal for example, of Britain from Europe exposes the rot of the consciousness which exists as the external culture its residents hold onto and highlights as a result the separation, external drive for recognition and consequential racism. You speak for humanity and from where you are in the world your consistent expression is felt and ripples through mine and everyone’s world daily. Thank you Adele.
Thank you Adele; this insight has been profound. I live, work and teach many from the Chinese community. You have deepened my understanding and provided me with far more clarity and depth to deepen and build my relationships.
As the internet and ease of travel have broken down borders in a practical way we have the opportunity to go deeper with this, unravelling our separatist ways. Questioning cultural practices is one such responsibility we all can take.
It sounds strange to hear you say that it didn’t feel ‘natural’ to be Chinese, but reading about the parts of the culture you have shared here a great deal of it feels totally unnatural with enforced rules and beliefs that go against human nature. What a strength you have to know and recognize this and not allow yourself to be dictated by it.
I never wanted to stay in the country I am born and from youth on I dreamed to live in another country. The more I understand the teachings and presentations of Serge Benhayon the more I understand that it is not about nationality but about people.
‘What is from the heart cannot ever be kept mute by our body’ – This is so true Adele, and as you’ve shared even in societies where silence is promoted and seen as one of the virtues of being a woman, our bodies never lie and continue to communicate to us and reflect whether the choices we are making are true or not. Thus regardless of where we were born or the culture we grew up in, we can still choose to listen to this and express what we feel to be true – no one lacks this ability.
Adele, what you write of Chinese culture has it’s variations worldwide; anytime we are not true to who we are and identify with an outward expression be it culture, race, nationalism or religion we are lost to who we truly are, for as you say we are never our race or culture or religion – we are all the same, we are all universal and what you describe in your day to day living in the culture you were born in is the journey we all make to learn to be who we are no matter what culture surrounds us. Thank you for a super insightful blog.
It is interesting how we can be asked to conform to our culture – one moment I remember well, was when I was young and had badly hurt my hand whilst out on a walk. I was crying a lot because it hurt, and an older woman came up to be and told me to toughen up, because english people had stiff upper lips. I remember thinking how stupid it was, and luckily my mum told me not to listen, however this is how these ideals get passed on.
“In my observations and explorations I realised that there is no truth without first expressing honesty.” This is so true Adele, and when we hold back from expressing honestly we are holding ourselves and those around us back from an opportunity to evolve.
“deep inside there is something which does not distinguish me from everyone else, and this quality is who we all naturally and equally are.” Adele i’ve always felt this and very much enjoyed reading how despite all the practices, customs and beliefs our inner knowing is far stronger and remains untouched.
There are times when I feel I would like to be closer to other students (the nearest being about two hours away) but I also feel it is for a reason I live where I do. I have chosen the exact spot on the map to reincarnate and sometimes I have to remind myself that I have all the support I need in my commitment to connecting to my soul and from the practitioners of Universal Medicine and the student body even if I have to travel.
Adele’s allowing to see and feel what actually goes on around her within her culture is incredibly inspiring. Honesty is key and the more I connect and honour myself, the more I can see what is going on around me and express with such honesty. It is in the allowing of myself to feel no matter how painful it sometimes may be.
“The truth is I am not just Chinese, as no culture, nationality, color, religion or background can change the universal feeling I know within me.” The reality of identification with culture and nationality is a complete illusion.
“The connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture”. This is such a powerful statement.
It truly is a gift for anybody to develop back to their true being, and specially you living so far away from the UM “head quarters” means that you rediscover the truth as your own truth with your own power constantly. Living close to Serge and the clinic can have the effect of getting a bit complacent, as I can go for a re-adjusting healing session anytime and therefore rely on the help of the practitioner rather than my own consistent commitment.
People generally glamorise culture, harping back to its richness, I am not anti-culture but following ways and traditions purely because someone has done them for a long time doesn’t really make sense. Things should be followed for there quality not for their history.
Your sharing of the unwritten and heavy unspoken expectations and patterns of your culture have been exposed Adele and through claiming who you truly are you have allowed for the manipulation to be released. Your comment – ‘In fact, it was such a loving opportunity for me to live step by step in deep patience and tender acceptance of my developing self’ is something we all are finding our way through. What you have discovered is to be celebrated and shared with others within your culture bringing in a truer way to live which is in essence held by every human being no mater what culture or nationality they are.
The best way to live no matter where we live in the world and under what conditions is to be True to ourselves. To get to know our True self is key.
It is True that we are Universal first and foremost and the false other is no more than clothes we adorn, a veneer or an encasement or perhaps a veil or screen we apply to avoid the fact. Our particles respond to the Truth of the Universe and despite our resistance to the fact, we can never change this Truth.
A part from war, what have cultures done to humanity? Have they served love and truth? If not, let’s get rid of them.
Wow – great sharing Adele. I couldn’t but feel the parallels between all cultures with their ingrained ideals and beliefs and false doctrine from birth. How different our world will look when it is one-world without any true distinctions based on nationality race, division and separation. When we are willing to realise that we are all brothers and equal sons of God.
It is so interesting to consider the culture we are raised in and how this affects our perceptions and the way we see ourselves and life in general. Feeling the truth of who we are, regardless of the culture we were raised in, and being able to express this truth is truly inspiring.
‘The truth is I am not just Chinese, as no culture, nationality, color, religion or background can change the universal feeling I know within me.’
Yes Adele, we are made up of the same resonating molecules and divinity is our true way.
Adele you are writing on a topic that every young person born into the Chinese culture at some point has also felt and ‘muted’. Turning up the volume as you have done here through your writing is for every young person born into a ‘culture’ that defines them based on where they are born rather than their true essence, which is always found in their heart.
It’s interesting how you knew deep inside you Adele that the way of your culture never felt true and instead of being constrained by it, you have blossomed out in truth with what you feel. What an example you show all your fellow countrywomen – there is another way to be, for them to have the courage to respect the truth of their inner feelings too. “The connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture.” You are not on your own here, the deeper we all build our connection within us, the more we all feel it.
“Many feelings are kept unspoken – we call this keeping words “in the heart”” It’s interesting how we can tell ourselves that what we are doing is “noble” or “good” when in fact all we are doing is accepting abuse, contraction and reductionism and then burying it by glamourising the choice to do so. Personally I can relate to this as this is something I have done, but it was done because the truth of what I had accepted was too painful to be honest about – the truth being that I overrode the truth, gave up on myself and accepted a lesser way of being because I stopped loving and appreciating myself and all that I am.
“The cultural traditions of being Chinese were not true, but I did not want to take responsibility in expressing this fact. In my observations and exploration I realised that there is no truth without first expressing in honesty.” I wonder how many of us feel the lack of honesty within our cultures but don’t express the truth of what we feel? It would be interesting to note just how many people across the world grapple with their cultures and cultural traditions wherever we come from. We all know the truth and yet so few of us utter it, or choose to live in a way that is true in spite of the pressures to conform and the early desire to fit in. In our silence we perpetuate the myth of the importance of culture and so encourage another generation to override their feelings and reduce themselves to a set of ideals and beliefs.
“Being physically far from Universal Medicine has asked me to live the responsibility of expressing the truth of who I am in my daily life and what a huge gift this is.” I too Adele experienced the fact that when I was unable to attend Universal Medicine presentations it was actually an opportunity to step,up and live for myself consistently all that I already knew, and instead of being a curse it was actually a blessing, to embrace the responsibility I hold.
You wrote about your culture “Many feelings are kept unspoken – we call this keeping words “in the heart” – but the truth is, what is from the heart cannot ever be kept mute by our body.” In German we have a saying, interestingly enough, that roughly translates as ‘turning one’s heart into a murderer’s den’ when we don’t speak our truth. And that feels more like your experience of what the protection and alienation can do to us.
Wow, Adele, thank you for such a beautiful insight into what culture and nationality can do to a population. We are far more than the customs we learn and the piece of land we were born on.
Adele you are to be commended not only for this great blog, but your willingness to stay with the tension, the discomfort of your ‘exile’. It cannot be easy to be far from a community you love and know offers so much support, and in a place with which you felt no true affinity. Thank you for sharing your journey and inspiring those of us who do live closer to Universal Medicine to not fall into the comfort of that for there is so much more to be and bring to the world as you amply demonstrate here.
It’s great feeling ‘universal’. As an adopted person I do not know my heritage and have always enjoyed feeling, as I put it, ‘more global than local’. This has been very freeing. Although I’ve been brought up in a certain culture, and have unconsciously taken on beliefs from this culture during my life, I have no particular allegiance to (or intense dislike of) the place where I live, or to anything it might stand for or champion in terms of national, cultural or sporting pride… or indeed anything that ‘rah-rahs’ a certain way. It’ll be a great day when the borders come down, culturally and literally.
‘…we have not taken the responsibility to say what we truly mean or live who we truly are.’ And what an irresponsibility that is. It leads to all manner of ills, such as those relayed here. It seems there is such terror in ‘standing out from the crowd’ yet standing tall is exactly what is required.
It seems counter-intuitive that lightness and joy, tenderness and delicateness might be powerful and empowering. Yet the vulnerability we can hold and express can move mountains or, like a spider with its fine web, find the strength to hold exactly what it needs.
It is so true that when we form our sense of self from something that isn’t true, we don’t like what we see and feel. This is a constant rub, knowing our truth but living a lie or lesser version of our truth just to be comfortable or fit in. Then as we lose touch with that truth, we just think there is something wrong with us, rather than realising that the us we are living is not who we are at all.
I would have to agree that choosing to be small and inferior is a great way to have control. It isn’t something you would expect but having played small most of my life, I can now feel how much leverage it actually gives you. It affects the way other people view and treat you and what they expect of you. You as the victim or smaller person are actually controlling the situation. It may look like you are hard done by, but this is all part of the unconscious game being played by our spirit.
The Chinese cultural norm of creating convolution and complication feels like it pulls you out of your body and sends you straight into your head to spin round in circles. It also feels like a huge joy killer. If you are discouraged to have self worth and celebrate yourself, how can you feel joy? This is a huge loss to all Chinese born people and the rest of the world.
I loved your realisation about needing to express honesty to honour the truth that you know inside. We are no different from those who willingly accept it, if we can feel the untruth of our society or culture and silently avoid or resist it. Honesty is a fundamental step in claiming or reclaiming truth in our lives.
When you meet someone who is of a race or ethnicity, you never consider that they struggle with the label or identity that that comes with. It was really interesting to consider that the cultural traditions of being Chinese never felt right for you. This is great as most of us swallow and champion our cultural norms. But imagine if we all hung onto and championed knowing we are one humanity. It would be a very different world.
There is a lot here for us to learn from. Not being identified by our culture is enormous! I come from a mixed race family, so there are many cultural clashes that even to this day, play out in the most disharmonious ways. It’s our excuse to remain separate from each other and relieve ourselves of responsibility.
Gosh Adele, when you dissect a culture like that, it really brings to our attention just how debilitating it is designed to be.
When I grew up I didn’t like the German culture into which I was born. Later I realised that it was culture in itself I was uncomfortable with because culture involves being untrue and expressing without love a lot of the time. This insight very much took the sting out of the particular culture I was born in and made it much less of an issue for me.
I caught a glimpse of the opening of the Olympic games a few days ago. I wondered what it would have been like if everyone turned up in the same colour clothes and no one knew which country they were from and they just had fun meeting each other and playing games just for the enjoyment of being together! How different would this be? The possibility of appreciating each other would be there in ways that competition completely annihilates. Culture and nationality are barriers to the finding the truth that lies under the skin.
“Women still choose to whiten and brighten their skin to escape being yellow”
This is so exposing of how women simply do not accept what they have and the great lengths we go to to change things – some have white skin and spend hours topping up a tan to be brown, women with brown skins want whiter skins and so on. What madness this is.
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’Women still choose to whiten and brighten their skin to escape being yellow.’ How much do I still do the same in term of not truly accepting myself as I am and for the choices I make? Self loathing is self abuse when underneath any lack I may berate myself for something precious beyond words…
“Being physically far from Universal Medicine has asked me to live the responsibility of expressing the truth of who I am in my daily life and what a huge gift this is.”
Despite living on the other side of the world and only meeting you once Adele, i can vouch for this gift as i observe and appreciate the celebration that is your life expressed through images, blogs and comments on social media, indeed this activity grounds responsibility and meaning to our wayward global communication.
Adele this is deeply powerful and exposes the trap of culture – a belief system that has created separation for eons. And yet you have the opportunity to break this trend. As you say – ‘the connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture’ – this is so true and I can feel how race, skin colour, religion is simply a way to divide us but the thing we cannot deny is that underneath all that we are the same and we are all connected.
‘Women still choose to whiten and brighten their skin to escape being yellow’. Until we know who we are, we are forever trying to be something else.
I was shocked by reading this: ‘In the Chinese culture, when a baby is born, because of its preciousness, the elder generations would call him or her ugly because of the belief that when a baby is adored she or he will start to be proud and therefore die.’
It amazes me how we choose beliefs to live by; that in fact destroy us.
Anger is built from feeling truth but not speaking out. Thank you for this, I never looked at anger this way, very inspiring and brings a lot of understandig to look at anger in this way.
One of the most profound and initial exercises I participated in which expanded my understanding of human life million-fold was closing my eyes whilst I stood in front of someone else, for just a few minutes I chose to put aside my thoughts of their looks, their size, their gender, their culture, and any other differentiating ideals and beliefs I held. I could almost not believe the magnitude of the pull from within my heart and my whole body I felt toward that person, it felt like every cell of my body felt like reaching out and hugging that person. And I did this exercise with several people, those I had a history with good or bad, those I had never met before – it did not make the slightest difference, if I dropped all those factors we tend to pigeon-hole people into, the love and pull I felt toward the person in front of me was absolute! Culture and any other ways that we proudly differentiate ourselves with is a huge booby prize – it traps us away from the gorgeous open relationship we can have with billions and billions of other people.
There has been an understanding of lack of self worth issues and holding back from true expression that we can carry as individuals and in families, but this blog has really brought it home to me just how deeply ingrained and hard core this is from an entire cultural consciousness. No doubt every culture has its own set of accepted rules to abide by – thus, we are held and bound by an accepted consciousness, holding us all far away from the truth of our innate essence. Perhaps a dastardly plan that we have been fooled by, that has been playing us all along to think and believe that this is true living……when it obviously is not.
‘…although this momentum feels so strong, the connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture.’ – if this is true we can live our true light everywhere. In any kind of family, culture, nation, circumstances. This is a very much empowering realization.
“we have avoided expressing in honesty – not because we do not know honesty but because we have not taken the responsibility to say what we truly mean or live who we truly are.” Knowing honesty but choose to not express it is hurting and anti-evolutionary. If ‘culture’ does promote this we really have to verify what ‘culture’ exactly is, mean and is made for.
“Many feelings are kept unspoken – we call this keeping words “in the heart” – but the truth is, what is from the heart cannot ever be kept mute by our body.” This line really shows how many excuses we make for something we do but know is not true.
Nationality does not define us, as is shown in your blog what defines us is our inner essence our heart for life. Nationality are just the ideals and beliefs we collectively have taken on as a group of people living in a certain piece of land. It really is not more than that yet it feels so powerful because of so many people living it. In truth there is no nationality and we are all the same. I find living from knowing that very beautiful and freeing.
And this dis-ease founds deep levels of lack of self-worth which impinge on the quality with which we live and interact in every moment.
On the one hand how powerful and controlling the cultural rules that we live with are; on the other hand the power we each have to debase and stand true in the face of them – properly world changing – thank you, Adele.
“….. what is from the heart cannot ever be kept mute by our body.” We may suppress and hide what we are feeling to the point of believing it is dealt with but for our body this is not the case. Eventually what we bury within it, will be expressed through physical posture, illness, disease and/or emotional and mental disharmony.
Living and abiding by our cultural traditions can be a way to keep us from expressing in the truth of who we really are, a way in which we cap ourselves and stay small. Cultural traditions are yet another border contributing to the divisiveness of humanity.
So many extraordinary cultural and societal paradigms of upbringing and self-awareness being revealed here… And yet within all of our societies we will find similar destructive and negative patterns… What is needed now on a global scale is for each one of us to understand the energetic make up of the universe, to understand our place within it, and then to bring up our children with this wisdom and awareness.
This is going for our connection, what us all unite naturally and letting go of the separating identifications. This turns the world as we know it and are familiar with upside down….good start to get familiar again with the Universal facts like there is no ‘up & down’.
Yes support is where we are at. It is everywhere, if we choose to open up to it.
Gosh, your blog shows just how much culture makes a person live within boundaries, like living between the goal posts. And its not just Chinese culture, there are many many cultures globally, that have the same influence on people… Take these goal post out the ground, and what do we have left there standing… a human BE-ing… Imagine a world full of human BE-ings!
“The connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture.” Adele, our connection is indeed more powerful than anything that is imposed on us, in fact nothing can impose on us when we are connected to the truth within.
If we identify ourselves with any nationality we separate ourselves from humanity. Perhaps because of the extreme customs of the Chinese you have been able to see more easily just how false nationality is, Adele and you are now able to expose this to the world. I know of no cultures where we are ‘confirmed of our innate worth’ as a baby. There are usually expectations laid on us which give us the sense that we are not good enough unless we fit these criteria. Our children are indulged, or praised and celebrated for what they do, not who they are, which means they are set up to strive for that same recognition from life which takes them away from who they truly are.
‘…although this momentum feels so strong, the connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture.’ What a powerful message to understand, if only we could take it on in full: that we are mighty enough to overcome a momentum that keeps entire peoples under lock and key. THAT is amazing.
What ‘…we choose as our normal to not commit to life, and remain in the biggest comfort of all that “everyone is doing the same.”…’ is the stuff that poisons us. Living in our self-created tableaus of comfort and avoidance we claim a willing ignorance while all totters along dysfunctionally around us.
‘Our bodies suffer and we further comfort ourselves that this is okay with all the forms of indulgences and entertainment we choose as our normal…’ Adele it’s true – our bodies cannot lie and how we live during our life will always catch up with us in the end in the form of illness, accident, condition or disease, whether it be in this lifetime or the next. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and this immutable scientific law we cannot escape. If we decide to indulge in food, for example, the result can be overweight, obesity, diabetes and a raft of other health ‘complaints’. Do we really have any right to complain though, given we are choosing all we choose to the hilt?
‘We never feel good enough, and to compensate this we compete and work non-stop to prove that we are the best.’ The consciousness of working to prove oneself is a dis-ease that well and truly knows no borders. So many of us have no sense of our own self-worth so it makes sense that we would look to what we do for (a false) confirmation of who we are.
‘In disconnection with ourselves, we live disconnection with others, but we call this being conservative. Anger is built from feeling truth but not speaking out. I know for a fact that my yellowness in complexion comes from the fact of what I have internalised and not expressed.’ Brilliant connection to make. We all know certain liver conditions cause the skin to turn yellow, and the liver is known in a number of healing modalities to be the organ associated with anger. That a yellow-skinned people might have manifested their complexion because of a predilection to silence borne of an inability to express the truth makes sense. A fascinating proposition.
As a woman with an Anglo-Saxon up-bringing – where a reserved demeanour is the traditionally accepted status quo – I can relate to this aspect of Chinese culture. I would be interested to hear from women or men from cultures typically considered to be more expressive whether their mode of communication is in fact more honest than the reserved approach or whether it too masks something else.
‘The pained expressions of women, showing signs of being demure and quiet, in the Chinese culture is considered beautiful. Silence is considered a virtue.’ The extent to which women everywhere are disempowered in some way or the other is astounding. We must be pretty powerful given there are so many forces wanting to hold us back. Actually, stop us in our tracks.
It’s worth asking the question: where do ill beliefs, such as not adoring infants for fear they will become too proud and die, come from? As no doubt many people outside the Chinese culture – and perhaps some of those in it – would agree, that this thought would gain any traction with anyone anywhere is hard to fathom. Not only is it illogical, it runs deeply counter to everything we feel when we behold a child. So how do traditions such as this, and so many others across the world, originate, let alone take hold? And what is their purpose? Much to ponder here…
Great questions, Victoria. And then why do we adhere to them? And it is this that we can change in an instant.
This was so interesting to read Adele.. to understand about different cultures. Yet to know that they do not have to define us is awesome – even though we may be born into a certain consciousness, we can go our own way.
Looking at a nation and being willing to be absolutely honest about a culture and how it doesn’t work is refreshing and I respect your honesty. I think each of us could look at where we where born and address the ill conciousnesses, beliefs, behaviours and patterns that have run for eons. We can easily see in the world no matter what people strive for or wealth obtained nothing changes because nothing is truly addressed. In fact it is getting worse and beliefs like these that currently continue certainly do not help the matter ‘In the Chinese culture, when a baby is born, because of its preciousness, the elder generations would call him or her ugly because of the belief that when a baby is adored she or he will start to be proud and therefore die’.
Wow, in the name of culture and tradition, setting precious babies up to not feel good about themselves from day dot…very revealing Adele.
‘The deepest support has come from my body and the lightness of joy that I know is within me’ ~ just beautiful Adele
A very beautiful written ,deep ,honest and transparent article you have written Adele ,and it felt beautiful to read the depths of your understanding of yourself and your culture . It is much appreciated to be able to read such a piece of work. It felt like so many layers of the onion so to speak were peeled back , exposing the centre where truth resides.
What an amazing teaching. The lack of appreciation for our preciousness and who we truly are ends up with the trying to control and proove our worth in doing. No joy results out of this. This apply for single persons as for nations.
Yes. What we do & allow to ourselves we do & allow to us all.
Many of us want to run away when we are young because we can feel that the world around us is not true and we don’t want any part of it and we know that it doesn’t have to be this way so we go in search of a true life only to discover that, although all cultures are different, they are all limiting and not true. As if we can find the truth outside ourselves in another culture. Only when we wake up to the fact that we are carrying the Truth with us all the time, if we choose to connect to it, do we realise the search is over and the choice is in the energy we choose and the quality in which we move. The answer is in us and our free will not in the culture we are born into or choose to live in or by.
You are a beaming light to express to all women you meet, Adele, so they can see how to re-connect to themselves as you have done. Different cultures are sometimes desired to be preserved as a background to remember our heritage, but it serves only to separate us and make us feel different. It’s possible to feel the falseness of this when we know we are all the same.
I agree Adele that connection with the universal essence inside us all is way more powerful and real than any cultural differences or differences in skin colour or language or race or religion. Powerful blog thank you.
I have a feeling Adele that probably all cultures encourage us to deny our truth and keep us away from being our true selves. I could feel also that ‘Control is in our blood from the lack of control we feel when lies make up the foundation of our existence’. Control seems to be the basis of ‘culture’ – something that has been offered to create a false feeling of unity within a small group but a disassociation with all other groups on our planet. How can we ever live at one with ourselves when the basis of our life is separation and lies?
When we can feel that something – a person, situation or even culture – is imposing and/or making us contract and feel lesser the easiest and arguably ‘best’ thing to do is to walk away from it. What you’ve shared Adele is super important as you’ve presented that although this is a short term way of avoiding the problem, we have a responsibility to expose the behaviour or consciousness at play and inspire others to do the same.
The deep understanding of the Chinese culture is beautiful to read. The Impact culture has on how we are is immense and shows us what we have to learn in this life. Culture is deeply ingrained but I can feel how it is there for us to learn from, freeing ourselves from its hold.
Such strong cultural impositions, overlaying who we naturally are. Imagine what the world would be like if we were free to express and encouraged to bring out our uniqueness and appreciate our self worth so we can add to the mix in our own inimitable way.
A very brilliant article Adele with many points to reflect on about how the success we seek to achieve is meaningless unless the life you live is meaningful. As the restlessness that comes from a life lived without connection to our Soul, is never laid to rest no matter how much success you attain.
I love what you have said here Carola – it is our deepest connection to ourselves that is our greatest priority and gift to ourselves and those around us – without this connection there is no true meaning to life. But with the connection, everything matters, every breath, every move, every encounter.
It is so true Adele that the foundations that we are brought up with is what determines the quality and degree in which we live with love, in connection to who we are within. If they are established on empty ideals and beliefs, we grow up not having a true sense of who we are, and the emptiness felt can never be filled by a single thing that the world outside offers.
True humbleness is a quality whereby there is no holding back knowing and expressing who we are, in honor of the equal greatness of all others. A knowing that there is no-one greater or lesser than another, a knowing of the greatness of God that we are all equally from, and not a trying to appear humble by making ourselves less. What a great exposure you have shared with us here Adele. As with true humbleness the wisdom of who we are is never diminished.
Throughout any culture that we have in this world today and in history, be it religious, racial or social, there have been and still are countless strong beliefs and customs that impose a way of living that if not adhered to results in an ostracism or leaving one feeling displaced and not worthy of being accepted or loved. It seems that with this we are greatly missing out on what truly counts, the person, and the gorgeous quality that we all innately are within to share regardless of our gender, culture or race.
Adele I was blown away by your power – thank you so much for not holding back about being Chinese. With your clarity you debunk the evil of culture and nationality.
It is indeed important to be aware the effect culture has on us Adele. They are constantly there and reinforced in our everyday activities, but when we reconnect to our inner most we find that the cultural behaviours and beliefs are far from the truth that we all equally hold within which cannot be destroyed by any cultural ideal or belief.
Every country has a particular feel about it, a collective image that is portrayed. It feels so entrapping when we hold each other in such a limiting way. Often when you travel, you can be boxed by nationality and related to based on these images, which are not necessarily, and most often not reflective of the truth.
I am sure a few people didn’t know that about the Chinese culture and I am one. No criticism of the Chinese culture but how can we have things like this and not think they are a little odd or don’t make sense. We often blindly follow what has been said before out of fear and taking the just in case route. It’s great Adele that you are exploring some of this for you and your extended family and maybe being able to shed some light on these things.
It is amazing the adverse impact that culture can have on individuals and societies as a whole. Culture is often revered and held as sacred and untouchable without truly examining the impacts it has. Thank you for exposing this Adele.
Culture seems so real to us all, and yet it is simply an idea of how life is supposed to be.
A condition in how we need to be in life. This blog makes me question much and the possible condition I live with and place on things. Thank you Adele.
Any culture is there to numb us from the fact that we are universal and the same.
What an amazing world we would live in if we saw if as one world and one people – universally so.
Where is the truth in living in such a way, and are the ill behaviours that we are seeing play out in many homes And communities across the globe a result of our lack of true connection to ourselves and others, which is also now understood to be the cause of addictions. You have given us much to ponder Adele.
‘No matter how I look on the outside, where in the world I was born and where I am living now, what language I speak, deep inside there is something which does not distinguish me from everyone else, and this quality is who we all naturally and equally are.’ – Truth expressed. We are all one and the same.
You are truly courageous, Adele! To stand out in a culture that is all about conformity and keeping your head down, and where holding back and shyness is seen as a virtue.
Adele, I love how you dissect the Chinese consciousness and expose it so openly but without judgement.
Yes I agree. Beautifully done with no judgement and much understanding.
I have avoided and tried to run away from my culture and my country for similar reasons like you Adele, because I did not address what is not right in the German culture – the guilt for the past, that is passed onto each generation and the subsequent need to prove ourselves that we are good and perfect and that we are on the watch for wrongs always. All of which makes us hard and critical and does not allow us to appreciate ourselves and shine and enjoy the true nature in ourselves and others. It also does not allow us to see where we are truly at as a country and what our purpose is and our way forward.
A very real and honest sharing of the Chinese culture Adele and makes so much sense with the way it all plays out in society. What an amazing exposure and clearing to offer to the world and the undoing and necessary changes to take place to allow a more loving way of living for all.
“…the connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture…” Indeed, this is the legacy of Universal Medicine!
A very revealing sharing of the impact of culture has on a person, thank you Adele
It’s quite huge and makes me realistically consider and ask, just how much are we being our true self in life? Who are our friends truly, our partners, our parents etc if all the culture, ideals, beliefs were not lacing them. It’s a true gift to relate from our essence to another’s essence.
This must be a world first in exposing the illusion of the Chinese cultures (and other cultures) way of living in such a simple, yet power-full blog. Well done Adele. The body is so so beauty-full that it cannot be confined by any culture, ideal or belief when it is allowed to express its truth.
Thank you Adele for the real and honest article, its awesome how you have exposed the harm of cultural beliefs
It’s interesting how we curse ourselves with false ideals and beliefs taken on through negative experiences. I have done this to myself as a woman and am finally starting to recognise and clear the outplay that has been going on for a number of lives. In this I recognise what I have allowed in terms of abuse and given others permission to allow also, through living contracted, without true expression. In beginning to claim the power in the truth of who I really know myself to be I am beginning to be open up to the enormity of just what I have been contributing to in terms of perpetuating those ideals and beliefs for others, but equally I can feel through your inspiration Adele how powerfully it can go the other way! Again thank you!
“In the Chinese culture, when a baby is born, because of its preciousness, the elder generations would call him or her ugly because of the belief that when a baby is adored she or he will start to be proud and therefore die.” What is striking about this, apart from the obvious hurt to each baby born, is that you are uncovering so clearly the illusion or “curse” that a whole culture has fallen for and taken on. What you are sharing here too is no different to the consciousness we have taken on in our gender roles too. The veil of illusion is thick in all areas of life, but what I am deeply appreciating about you Adele is that in your newly found self acceptance and love you are reflecting back to a whole culture as well as to all women (and men) that it is not acceptable to accept abuse on any level and will expose a whole culture because of this self worth. So powerful!
Your understanding of the Chinese culture has been expressed with crystalline clarity and wisdom Adele. Sharing your lived experience and understanding is very profound, deeply felt and hugely inspiring. I can totally relate to the feelings of unworthiness you talk of Adele as what you share is universal, and as you share, is equally applicable to us all. Thank you.
I love how you are bucking the trend of the culture you were born into and are expressing fully. I have had the joy of working with many Chinese students in my career – how awesome to know that you are in Hong Kong, the birth place and home of many of them – all of whom I still hold in my heart and carry with me. When we start to express truth is is beautiful to feel the power that emanates – wow!
Wow Adele – this is a really awesome blog, so claimed and powerful! “But I also see how, although this momentum feels so strong, the connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture.” Yes one person claimed, in connection and in true reflection as we know, has the power to inspire millions!
An amazing reflection on culture and our lack of love for ourselves as humanity seen in our different but similar reflective cultures collectively. Where we are in our beliefs and protections hiding so much and not expressing is very sad but honest to feel and is the cause of so much hurt ,distractions and suffering. A beautiful reflection also on what is possible living from who we really are fully expressing this also.
I love the way that because you are so physically far away from Universal Medicine it has given you an opportunity to totally live the responsibility and love that UM teaches. It’s easy to follow the crowd, whether this is the UM crowd or your very strong culture. You have done neither, and you have found and built the strength within you to live true to yourself within a culture that is asking you to be anything but. You are so inspiring Adele.
I love how you have gone from feeling resentful about being Chinese to totally accepting it and embracing the purpose. What a gift you are to your country and your culture.
This line stopped me in my tracks – “when a baby is adored she or he will start to be proud and therefore die.” I was taken aback by such a blatant crushing of self worth as a generally accepted notion in China. A striking example of one of the many loveless beliefs and ideals that are accepted as norms in society and keep us from our inherent glory.
I love what you express here Adele about the greatest support being the one that we can give ourselves. I have spent a long time in the expectation – demand, even – that Universal Medicine should heal all my ‘stuff’ – without taking the responsibility for looking at it myself. What I since discovered is that there is not one single person who can do my own healing for me. There is support all around us, but none is greater than that which we can give to ourselves.
“Children grow up hearing one thing which means something else.” What better way to debase an entire society than to confuse a growing child in this way. How are we supposed to know and trust our feelings if the society around us is based on socially accepted falsehoods that directly oppose what is truly felt within us? The only reason someone might die of feeling proud of themselves is by someone else murdering them due to the murder’s intense jealousy. It is a very back to front society to live in and therefore even more amazing that you should find your way out of this maze of lies Adele and back to who you really are, a strong, fragile, delicate and powerful woman, deeply connected to your innately wise nurturing, restoring truth and love in your life and showing other people the real Way home.
Gosh Adele I never knew about Chinese culture calling babies ugly just so they do not develop self-worth. It feels very crushing right from the start – after all babies are naturally precious, just like we all are, but show it without any barriers. It feels like this almost immediately tries to force a sense of unease onto children rather than truly appreciating the gift they bring us.
“There is no more need to run from my birth place or from my culture anymore, in fact, I wake up every day in joy to live the purpose of being born here.” Adele what an amazing turn around from how you felt before…this is a great testimony for the presentations of Universal Medicine and how they inspired you to make the change.
It is easy to see how restrictive our cultures can be, even when we think we are free of its influences underneath the beliefs are still calling the shots. Once we have children all kinds of beliefs come to the surface and then are played out without questioning where they came from – the calling of babies ugly to protect them is a great example.
Thank you Adele for sharing about the Chinese culture as I did not know much about it and it is great to know what ideals and believes people all over the world live with. I could have looked it up in a book of course but hearing it from you with the understanding you have come to is so enriching. It applies to basically everyone as culture is everywhere and to be honest if it is truly supporting us or not is a very wise thing to do.
Adele I love the fact that its not about being Chinese or from any where in the world but life is about being true to ourselves, regardless of where we are born, the customs or the cultures. What a great gift to reflect back to China and the world.
Living the way you live and with the connection tou have with yourself Adele, on an energetic level you will be taking giant steps to bring about change and bring about the demise of the illusion called culture.
This is the solidness of love and who we are – “the connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture.”
“I know for a fact that my yellowness in complexion comes from the fact of what I have internalised and not expressed.” So true – my father was very sick when I was young and has now passed on. He was yellow too and did not live long after having a liver transplant. In the esoteric language we know the liver represents the organ of harmony or anger. He was unfortunately a very angry man and I can say he had a lot of unexpressed truth that he internalised and which should have been expressed. Something I can learn from too. Great observation Adele and a sharing worth the read.
Yes when we don’t express it causes a lot of hardening in the body and sadness too. I have been very hard and very sad but looked out and blamed everyone else for it rather than taking the responsibility for the choice to live in contraction and to not express my deep feelings and knowing truth. In being able to see this I am allowing the clearing process but am super appreciative that I have been supported to see and feel this so clearly.
This article stayed with me and inspired me for a lot of yesterday – it breaks so much of the imprisoning thinking we do about being part of a culture and being forever governed by its trends and rules – thank you, Adele.
Every step that we take, that loosens and dissolves what has bound us and kept us less than who we truly are, is to be deeply celebrated. You have shared the key here Adele – our re-connection to the inner-heart, the ‘Ishvara’ as it has been termed in times both past and present, the place within where our innate divinity and connection to the all is known.
Make this connection, or rather re-establish it within, and our life unfolds. The shackles loosen to the point of no longer maintaining a presence, and all that we are is liberated to shine through in its natural state once again.
Culture runs so deep for something that is so false as an identification of any kind.And its influence is huge and has been huge, as you so well describe.
This is brilliant: “…the connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture.”
This is something I feel I’ve always known deep within, yet learnt so much about since deepening the connection with the essential nature of who I am Adele – particularly so since becoming a student of the work and teachings of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
In our essence, we are all equal, we are all the same. The divisions, intensities of limitation, arrogance and indeed supremacy that plague us on a cultural level will all need to tumble down, in order for us to truly recognise that the place of our birth or colour of our skin is minuscule when compared with the beauty and purity of our true essence. It is only through such inner re-connection, that we can see through the thick smoke-screen of apparent cultural differences, and recognise that no matter the division, no matter the pain, we are all inherently one and interconnected.
The piercing of a cultural bubble… Adele, I deeply appreciate how you outline so much about the Chinese culture here, yet also make this about us all. Every one of us faces deeply ingrained attitudes and influences, many of which still diminish our expression in life. The limits of culture, as Serge Benhayon has presented upon repeatedly over the years, deserve exposure, deep consideration and addressing in full. Thank-you.
Adele, your writing is quite beautiful. I’m so touched by the loving way that you share what it has meant for you to be a woman born Chinese, and how you are finding the support you need within yourself, through connecting with your true essence.
Your words are deeply inspiring.
‘I have never liked being Chinese because it never felt natural, but I have lived most of my life feeling trapped within the picture of what being Chinese meant.’ I love how this opens up the conversation about culture and nationality. I wonder how many people across the globe have felt this but never dared express it, such is the strength of national pride, identity and needing to belong. I wonder how many people like myself have felt this way. I reacted by feeling like I was the odd one out so I tried to find a niche, a pocket of belonging I could hook into.
Only recently I visited a place where I’d invested so much energy into identifying with and trying to belong to that I got to feel the full brunt of how ugly and separatist this was. Instead of open heartedness there was defensiveness, insecurity and even hostility. I’d lived in that self-made prison of judgement and oscillation between superiority and insecurity for years. Unpleasant though it was, it was amazing to feel the truth of it so clearly.
Culture, nationalism, race, background, border, region – when we hold on to any of this, identify by it, we are lost and devastated as a race of human beings. Look at our world today and its global events to see this in action. When we forget all of this, we are all won, and one, from realising we’re all from The One. That one is Universal Love.
Zofia – so agree. The moment there is any identifcation with anything we are lost to that. Love your comment that we are “all won, and one, from realising we’re all from The One”. Succinctly said!
“When I deepened this relationship with myself, I deepened the appreciation of being Chinese and the opportunity this has given me in re-discovering the deep connection with myself” – I can say the same for me too Adele, being a make-up of several different cultural backgrounds, I always had the feeling of not belonging [and the dissatisfaction of feeling separated/apart], and also wanting to belong [at its core I craved true brotherhood], that led to feelings of not feeling good enough, superior and also inferior, the whole lot! Acceptance of myself led to an appreciation of all of me, all my backgrounds, complexion, with no hiding or dismissing, or shame…over the years working on getting rid of these hurts, I today see and hold those I meet from all over the world in the same way as myself, an equalness that was never truly there 10 years ago. I really do see the beauty in people, races, nationalities, thanks to seeing and accepting the beauty in, and of myself, a transformation that has been inspired by The Ageless Wisdom Teaching and Universal Medicine.
This is a ground breaking blog for hopefully not only the Chinese culture but for all cultures and cultures within cultures to stop and consider if what we pass on to our families generation after generation is truly loving.
‘Being True to My Self’ holds the key to gaining an understanding and appreciation of the ‘big’ questions about LIFE – regardless of our race, creed or culture.
Thank you Adele for sharing with us your very insightful understanding of what a huge impact our culture has on us from the moment we are born. You have opened my eyes and heart to go deeper in my understanding.
How interesting to get the impact of a world not expressing their natural qualities and feelings from our impulses. This sets us up with a dishonest foundation, where the truth is played, and individuals even countries are at the mercy of the prevailing beliefs and cultural traditions.
It feels you have been divinely placed Adele Leung, the truth you bring has the power to cut through the false consciousness of culture, which can divide and set us apart from each another. You are in the perfect place.
It’s beautiful what you’ve shared Adele about how underneath the labels or identifications of race, culture and religion we can all access the same love and the same feeling of universality that you’ve described. No skin tone or ethnicity reduces our ability to feel what’s true, express this and inspire others to do the same – in other words our power.
Recently I have been reflecting on a similar theme, that before we are even born we have made a choice based on the many lived choices made previously, and this then determines what family constellation we are born into and what culture and country also. If we zoom out we can start to get a sense of the enormity of what is offered for us to walk through, we get to meet our own creations. This is a level of responsibility that we may not have considered.
What an informative observation, and for me a deeper realisation of the layers and beliefs we have imposed on us by being born is a certain place, change places and another set is there for us to comply with. Very insightful to take us beyond our individual limitations and expand it to include all of humanity, where very few are living according to the truth of who we are. Adele thank you.
There is no doubt that you are a blessing for Hong Kong… reflecting the truth of what you have shared… supporting them to unpick and unfold the cultural prison they have been born into by choosing to live and express the truth of who they are, inspired by your presence, just as you have been inspired by others.
This is an immense consciousness breaking piece of writing Adele. Thank you for expressing from the truth.
I was brought up in the Chinese culture too. What you’ve shared Adele I feel is so important and very much needed. It exposes so much of what is actually going on and what people are accepting as OK is in fact not true or loving at all. It exposes a culture perhaps like many others that teaches people to be nice, polite and not express truth, hold back express how we truly feel to make peace but this to me I have experienced and know hasn’t worked and doesn’t work because truth is what brings true harmony, love and brotherhood. If we are encouraged to not express truth I feel it is extremely harming not only for ourselves but for humanity. This line, ‘Silence is considered a virtue’ really stood out for me because I feel silence is what has caused many if not all conflicts and wars we have experience throughout history. It is simply due to people not speaking up and expressing truth.
Adele, a deeply personal account which offers us an understanding of how we can find ourselves behaving in a particular consciousness, that of right and wrong, accepted and not acceptable and any other limitation we accept based on culture, custom or code. “Every culture has its own specific consciousness from the collective choices of its people, and that we have to accept.” Your insights clearly confirm that while we can accept the culture we are born into, we do not need to take on any expression that is not true, or accept being lesser, greater, better off, worse off in any way. In truth we are all born of the one source and we can fool ourselves that we are different when we allow the outer images to rule us.
“What impact these ‘cultural’ choices have on us collectively as a momentum that has carried on for ages.” What is very interesting to me is how ‘cross cultural’ these collective choices are. As you describe the concepts of how life is approached I can feel many similarities to my own culture and up bringing. Thank you bridging the truth to the equalness of how we are all influenced by the force that says life is tough and you have to prove yourself from the back foot.
The true point is, we are all equal and it’s even simpler to appreciate this lovingly in any culture, supporting everyone to shine and evolve as who they truly are.
“The truth is I am not just Chinese, as no culture, nationality, color, religion or background can change the universal feeling I know within me.” Adele, what you have shared here is groundbreaking not just for Chinese culture but for cultures across the world. We all idenitfy ourselves by the cuture we are born into, without even acknowledging that inside we are all the same. Cultural identification is a deeply held consciousness that has a hold over so much of the worlds population, but by claiming the universality within you over and above your nationality you are paving the way for us all to do the same.
It is so revealing that as humanity we have found so many ways to separate ourselves from one another. Whether it be through culture, race, religion, national borders or myriad other ways. The aim of this separation is to deny the equality that we all share. If we truly felt this equality, then there could be no harm in the world as to harm another is to harm ourselves. Following on from this, self harm can only result from separation from self.
Reading your blog Adele I can feel how we relate strongly to our cultural identifications and how they give us a sense of belonging and identity and how we desire this for our own comfort. With this desire comes accepting some fairly extreme ways that we say ‘oh that’s ok because it’s part of our culture’. We have similar practices in Australia…tall poppy syndrome etc. I feel one of the reasons we are born within certain cultures is to observe and learn (and potentially unlearn) that which prevents us from living equally with all of humanity and each cultural group and subcultural groups have this. I love visiting big cities these days and know that this is the future, not so much for living in cities but that there are many cultural groups living together in the one place. This is occurring so that we can see and feel that we are in fact the same and that we can live in harmony.
I was brought up immersed in two quite different cultures. I could see loads of idiosyncrasies in both that did not make sense, and at times I would say so, but the normal reply was akin to ‘we have always done it like this, who are you to question it’. On hindsite that itself shows what you have so well described here, although so many champion culture, the consciousness of culture does not expand and grow with people, it traps and does not support the evolution of mankind.
There is a huge belief in societies all over the world, that there are certain people who hold the answers to life. These people are regarded as great teachers, masters, guides. And there can be centers built for them, for other people to come and hear what they say, or even to worship them. This belief however is founded on a principle that there can be some who know and some who don’t. The truth is that the light of God is in everyone equally, all human beings are equal. It therefore is just a matter of whether we want to see that or not. And when someone such as Serge Benhayon comes along, and founds something so spectacular as Universal Medicine, that highlights this truth, it supports us to see that we are equal, even if we may have chosen not to live it.
You have me pondering what hold my culture has on me Adele. Having been born in Australia I feel that there is a culture of not standing out (being the tall poppy), we are fed the idea that standing out disconnects us from others and means we think we are ‘better than’ this leads us to live in a way that is not true for us and results in many people choosing not to shine.
Thank you for providing this amazing insight into Chinese culture. You have helped me to understand the impact that culture has on the way we live and the responsibility we have to see where these conciousnesses run us.
Yes, this has been a great invitation for me too, to look at what still runs in my head as rules from cultural beliefs that I have accepted and run with, however detrimental, without question. In responsibility I have the gift to get into my own driving seat and navigate my way out of this imposition, as well as developing my relationship with the inner quiet voice that absolutely knows what serves us all and what does not.
Adele, you shine! Your immense grace, beauty, wisdom and love for humanity shines far ahead of you. It is so great break down the barriers of culture.
There is so much in this blog to be shared even wider Adele. You can be Chinese and have no attachment to the fact! What liberation you are inviting all humanity to embrace!
You are one inspiring woman Adele and your willingness and openness to trust what you could always feel about our forever connection with each other as human beings is changing the world! Watch this space!
Thank you Adele for sharing the consciousness in which you have been raised. It is inspiring to observe and hear you speak of your re-connection to who you truly are in-spite of the forces attempting to shut you down and separate you from the truth. The essence that is alive and thriving within you is more powerful as you have shown and it is true that every culture has it’s own set of rules, beliefs and traditions working in the same way. This has been so informative and expanding – thank for sharing.
I agree Christine. Adele’s ability to be honest with full appreciation for all she has been willing to see is deeply inspiring.
I recently read that in one country where people have darker skin, the skin whitening industry is worth almost $180 million and is growing at a rate of 10 to 15 percent annually. That is just one country. Many of these creams contain harmful bleaches, banned in the EU, that damage the skin irreparably. This is just one aspect of how we human beings are very focused on the outer images of what we have been fed i.e. fairer skin is more beautiful than darker skin, but often to the detriment of our body.
‘When we hide and do not share, we hold back transparency and true reflection. We do not learn from each other but keep everyone at bay.” This has been my experience Adele. When I kept myself quiet and small, I was missing out on so much of life. Now I marvel at what I can learn or the connections I can make with people everyday simply from being more open to have a chat and share myself.
Cultures are often championed in the world, yet there is an element to them that keeps us separate and divides us. Humanity is our race and there are different expressions of us, but at our core we are all the same. Understanding other cultures, which Adele has so beautifully presented, allows us to see through those barriers culture may present.
Knowing what is true, not living that and conforming to some other standard is a huge source of tension in the body. This tension is what we walk around in, and so does everyone else. Connecting and living in brotherhood is much harder when this is our foundation. But it is possible, as is connecting to what we know is true. Nothing takes away what we know is true and we all have the courage within to speak truth.
Reading your description of the Chinese culture gave me such an understanding. I have lived in various countries and cultures and this description allowed me to have a much deeper understanding for them all. There is a consciousness at play that any culture lives under. We are born into that and then that becomes our norm. What you share is beautiful.
“Many feelings are kept unspoken – we call this keeping words “in the heart” – but the truth is, what is from the heart cannot ever be kept mute by our body.” What we feel in our heart will naturally express through the whole body, but we learn to hold our expressions back and conform. When we look at life from this perspective it is no wonder that we have so much pain and disease in our bodies.
I love that you allow yourself to look at ‘your’ culture with honesty and see how it has influenced you but that that is not a way one has to live forever. That we can step out of these customs, not by rebelling against them or by fleeing from them but by looking in all honesty what there is for us to learn and to let go of.
‘We are born into a culture where it is the norm to not accept self-worth and therefore the choice to evolve into our true being is very limited.’ – wow Adele – this really highlights the harm of culture – how it can override how we naturally feel. It seems we can invest our whole way of living in these boundaries set by culture – when all this does is cap our natural and full expression. If only we could see it this way…
Fabulous account Adele, you say ‘We are born into a culture where it is the norm to not accept self-worth and therefore the choice to evolve into our true being is very limited.’ – Well, I must have been chinese in many past lives, because this felt very familiar to me. Aren’t we all at some level part of this controlling conciousness.. as part of what the different cultures and religions have told us through the times.
What struck me reading this is how far away from our true and natural expression we will go in the name of culture. And not just the Chinese culture – this is relevant to every culture on this planet. Culture by its very nature separates us from truth that we are fundamentally and innately the same.
It is already within us- yes indeed- it doesn’t matter where we live, it is all at our ‘doorstep’ if we so choose it because its within us and always has been.
The Chinese women not accepting something so basic about themselves, such as their yellowish skin tone, is deeply concerning. We all are beautiful when we connect deeply within and honour our own beauty.
Very inspiring that no force of a culture, whether that is traditional, ethnic, country, sport or art based can overcome a personal connection with self when truly honoured. Living from this connection allows one to see all for what it truly is.
Thank you Adele for sharing in such detail, there are so many gems that struck me but none more so than ‘Silence is considered a virtue”, what a powerful tool for control that is. I have always been fascinated by other cultures but the Chinese felt like a closed book and this blog is most enlightening and also empowering because we all have the responsibility to express our truth wherever we are.
Culture feels like a prison to enforce conformity and thus control the masses. I always struggled with this and started travelling in my teens in an attempt to escape my cultural background (British) but of course eventually realised that I took it with me and it is only recently as I started to express more honestly that the layers of protection that I built up have started to crumble and I am embracing the universality of all of us.
This is an incredible exposè and insight into Chinese culture Adele, but what I love is that you found a way to be yourself and develop true self worth even in such an intense environment and culture – it’s super inspiring, thank you for sharing.
Growing up most of our family friends were Chinese. There was a lot of pressure we experienced at gatherings, I was always ridiculed by the adults for my height and often made to eat last or to sit separate to others or I would miss out on the other treats that the other kids got. I was constantly made to stand in front of the group of adults and they would put me down and make jokes about me- my parents joined in this too.
I used to dread going to these gatherings and started to resent these family friends yet I never spoke up until one day when I heard one of the men making racist comments about why we shouldn’t let refugees into the country. I did not like what he was saying and it unleashed a fury in me where I didn’t hold back (there was this thing that you never spoke up against your elder and this man I had to call uncle). I unleashed all my fury of not just this situation but all of the things he had said to me over the years- what I said wasn’t okay either- it was all from rage and hurt, what rattled me the most was the talking down about another. We were never invited back to his house- if my parents ever attended an event with them they were told to not bring their kids. Reading your blog made me reflect on this and all the unsaid rules that are not true in many cultures but that we are taught to not challenge and to which we often give our power away too. If I had spoken up earlier I probably wouldn’t have had to put up with years of abuse or he would have had the reflection of another way.
Adele – these examples of how the Chinese culture so actively dampens and denies the light of a child are amazing to read. And there are countless similar examples from other cultures. Culture, nationality, religion – these are some of the most separative forces that infect almost every single corner of humanity. Until we unequivocally accept, breath and live the fact that we are all absolutely equal then there will never be true harmony – oh and by the way; peace does not equal harmony.
There is a lot of gems in this article, thank you Adele for sharing and exposing the Chinese culture. As one of the main manufacturing countries in the world it makes sense with that such a lack of knowing ones self-worth the quality shows in the products. Products that then go all over the world and share that quality with all. No different to the quality we hold within ourselves ripples out to all others around us.
A really interesting read Adele, shedding light on some aspects of culture you wouldn’t normally hear about – and yet it can be the foundation upon which so much is built and lived. We pride, prize and champion our cultures, and yet we never question if they are a contributing factor so some of the suffering we experience and the issues we as a humanity face.
What is the long term effect of growing up in a culture where they say something while meaning the opposite? What kind of individuals does this fact breaths forth?
A very strong national consciousness calls for people to align to it and walk it alongside.
It is interesting how images of ‘how does it feel’ or ‘what does it mean’ to be a national of a country affects us in how we relate to the collective we belong to (in terms of culture and nationality).
It feels to me you have really hit a truth Adele for most cultures when you say the ‘norm to say something and to mean the opposite, without choosing to be aware that whatever is expressed does not simply go away, no matter how it is meant to be interpreted.’ There is a falseness in society where we are pandering to others and saying what we think they want to hear, which I know I have done as well in the past, for fear of offending others and getting reactions. This exposes the ill in cultures all over the world.
“Being small and to hold back from our true worth is taught from young to be our normal way.” Thinking about the British culture we have sayings like…’you are getting too big for your boots’ ‘The tall poppy syndrome’ ‘You are up yourself’ ‘Don’t get above your station’ all made to put others down when doing well or feeling confident.
I grew up in a culture that thought it was acceptable to go out on a field on a Saturday with fourteen other guys and beat the hell out of another team of guys all in the name of sport. This is when culture also becomes a religion and there is little love in it. I think I would now prefer a culture that learned to play music or had absolutely no culture at all.
“In my observations and exploration I realised that there is no truth without first expressing in honesty.” So refreshing to read this .. stepping stone to truth and love.
Wow, a woman in her true power Adele Leung! The Chinese culture is very dismissing of self-worth. Thank God for the esoteric who are not defined by culture but who choose to connect to who they are in their innermost. What a groundbreaking blog to free the Chinese culture; and all cultures. This is headline news – a warming to the heart.
Adele it’s fascinating the different cultures and beliefs from around the world, each one affects us differently. Yet none of the celebrating and appreciating the true equality we are. I am amazed at the practice of calling babies ugly but under the believe I am sure this seems the most “loving” thing to do. How amazing that you are free from such customs and able to see clearly what is going on, its often said we can’t see something that is in our backyard and perhaps this is the case for the majority of people in many cultures.
The clarity and and claiming this is written in is inspiring for many- thank you Adele
Thank you Adele I really enjoyed how you laid out so clearly and honestly the culture in China. I could feel the holding this carries and even at times, though born and live in the UK, the similarities in upbringing in regards to “Control is in our blood from the lack of control we feel when lies make up the foundation of our existence. Equality is not a lived truth in us.
Many feelings are kept unspoken – we call this keeping words “in the heart” – but the truth is, what is from the heart cannot ever be kept mute by our body. Because our expression does not reflect honesty, our protection thickens. When we hide and do not share, we hold back transparency and true reflection. We do not learn from each other but keep everyone at bay.” This shows how the different cultures ways’ may look different but ultimately we are all affected in the same or similar ways. At the time it is all we know and seems ‘normal’ until we can stand back and away and feel what is actually running through our body. Then there is a choice to see the truth and what we have chosen and realise in Truth we are all One and Universal and worthy of living this everyday.
To not need to act in a way that hides our true expression, is to offer an honesty and vulnerability that is at once delicate and powerful.
An amazing expose of your experience of expression in culture and race. In fact it seems that much of the world grapples with what you describe as so few are connecting and listening to the honesty that our bodies want to naturally express. I know this for myself also, coming from an English culture and the Italian one, that the same could be said “We retreat into our mind, far from the truth of our body. When we form our consciousness based on what is not true, we do not like ourselves very much and value is not something we feel in our blood. We never feel good enough.” We find our own cultural and collective ways to compensate for this. The way to not continue this legacy is to develop awareness, and bring an honesty to our bodies so that what is there to be expressed, can be expressed… and if it doesn’t fit with the cultural norms, then how amazing these restrictions are being loosened.
Although extremely personal this is a deeply insightful and powerful observation of the influences of culture that speaks for and to everyone. Thank you, Adele.
Agreed jstewart51. Books need to stem from such observations…
When we deepen our relationship with our self we become and you have said Adele, we become colour blind to the only race there is the… human one.
Yesterday I heard on the radio that over a billion people had used a photo app with a button that had ‘beautify’ on it, once pressed this made the colour of your skin lighter. I was shocked that so many people had used this app and sad because it shows how many people who are unaccepting of themselves and not aware of there real beauty.
Wow Samantha England – what you say about the beautify app is amazing. What is so insane about this is that whilst that goes on we also have billions (many of them no doubt the same billion that use this app) that are taking absolutely no care of their bodies and themselves. We are actively rejecting and disregarding our own innate beauty and then go looking for a quick fix through some App. Five years ago, this would have been laughed off as sci-fi. Where will we be in five more years?
Adele, was a powerful article, simply revealing that you don’t need Universal Medicine on your doorstep, because you are Universal, it is already in you, and it is your connection to you, culture and nationality aside, that counts in this world and it is honesty and truth that evolves.
I live some distance from other practitioners and Universal Medicine event’s I have to save and plan to attend to get to the events. I have felt that the refection i am offered from this situation is is that I get to feel the quality I live for myself, the true that it is all within to be lived if we wish. I also know some times, I have tried to do it all alone, as in, you have to live it yourself for it to be the real deal and although this is true, I am learning to ask for support, build more relationships in the community and express more it, because it feels amazing and it is evolving.
I have always felt a connection with China, people have shared how I have asiatic features, I had the opportunity to travel there some years ago and what you have observed and expressed in this article I can recognise.And I feel that we can travel to countries and re-imprint lives we have incarnated in, in the past. I found when I travelled that each place offers a different refection to ponder and learn from. I felt challenged and provoked often in China, because of my own assumptions and habits. It was fantastic to become aware of where I was not understanding and open and also appreciate what was there of me to learn. Every country, has something for us to learn from, a part of us can be evolved by being open to what it reflects. But as you say in truth we are all the same, equal, the differences are tiny in comparison to heap of love and light our hearts equally have the ability to shine.
Running away from who we are and where we’re born isn’t very wise. There’s purpose, power and responsibility towards life. To run away from life’s impulses is actually a way of individualism, rather then taking responsibility to live the loving power that we hold inside. What Adele’s sharing with us is grand and showing us the capability of discerning all the dogmatic cultural ideals and beliefs and set ourselves free to live ourselves in full.
Such comprehensive, universal article, it covers so much to ponder and embody, so honestly, concisely and beautifully. An honour to read.
Wow – what a blog – thankyou Adele. Whatever culture we are born into we take it on – until – as you write so clearly – we can see it for what it is and deal with the hurts imposed on us by it and its people. I love how you say you ” also see how, although this momentum feels so strong, the connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture.” Yes to t hat.
What you share about how the Chinese culture treats babies is deeply shocking. And that this is continued through life as a way of self-depreciating is just as shocking. What power a culture has in the way that everyone thinks and feels about themselves.
A brilliant reflection of Chinese culture Adele, and it is such a huge topic as cultural identities could be stripped bare across the world. I grew up in Scotland where self deprecation and humour are a huge part of the coping mechanisms, and there is also huge pride in identifying yourself through “being Scottish”, whatever that actually truly means. It is something I know I still hold on to but in doing so I know it actually blocks that deeper understanding of who I really am and the fact that we are all here on the same planet from the same place regardless of the imposed idea of culture that becomes ingrained in our mannerisms. So the years ahead will be an opportunity to strip away those cultural behaviours and become more Universal in how I live and less attached to being from a country I was born into.
Wow Adele, what a powerful piece of writing this is.
Every culture has the potential to stifle and imprison true expression, and it is not just confined to national cultures. Organisational cultures do the same, where the norm is fitting into the prevailing behaviours whether we like it or not. Standing steady in our own breath and honouring who we are in the face of a dominating force what is a mark of true strength and knowing who we are.
Adele, you must have a very strong connection to your preciousness and self-worth if all this mortify ‘culture’ and behaviors, the pressure of all this long term traditions presented and lived from sooo many people around you could not stop you find the support for your true being and shining. You are a powerhouse. That’s why you are in China – you can handle this and so: serve where it is needed the most.
I had a look at the world card and found the place where I was born (Germany) much further away from the Universal Medicine Clinic in Australia as China is…. Anyway, Universal Medicine did find me. This is a very good feeling.
And now, I am presenting Universal Medicine in the way I live in the area I am living and so bring it/offer it to anyone around.
Truth find its way and I support, yes guarantee this, by living it.
This is a beautifully tender expose of the limitations of the Chinese identity Adele, thank you. Your wise words show us that although we may physically live a long way away from Universal Medicine, when we choose to express our honesty, connect to our heart and honour our body, we are living hand in hand with Universal Medicine everyday. It is a medicine that melts all the limitations of cultural identity and restores to us our true identities and complete knowing that skin colour, gender and nationality are but external decorations that can only separate us if we choose to live life on the surface and ignore our internal, eternal divine Universality.
This article and inside sharing confirms again what I observe since a while: ‘culture’ is designed to separate us. It’s evil.
Thank you Adele for this deeper inside view into ‘the Chinese’ culture. Always very enriching to understand more what is going on.
Thank you Adele for a clear observation of the harming effect of culture that pervades any society and keeps us away from expressing what we feel and know to be truth.
I remember when I was younger always wishing that I had another family, and why was I born into this family….I realise now I trapped and capped myself with this non-acceptance of where I found myself! There is never any co-incidence to the family we are born into, it is exactly where we are supposed to be for our life lessons, for our growth, development and expansion. Most of my deep hurts were family related, which I have had the willingness to work on to clear and heal, with much support of course from the modalities and teachings of Universal Medicine. I have grown and expanded in now accepting my family fully and their choices and in that, they too also accept me and my choices…..
Deeply inspiring Adele, I can feel the responsibility that you are living and expressing….. and will take your shinning example into my day.
I agree jacqmcfadden04, Adele is a ‘shining example’, an inspiration concerning expression and joy that I also now can feel expansion and ‘yesness’ in my body through reading this article.
Fascinating insights into Chinese culture Adele, thank you. And into you. My appreciation for you has deepened as your commitment to truth, people, joy and love is divine.
And Adele, I must say too that I can immensely appreciate the delicacy and honesty that you have literally dissected the Chinese way of living, ideal and beliefs. Being born Hong Kong Chinese puts you in a perfect position to offer a constructive criticism, whilst still absolutely and totally appreciating the beautiful potential that lies within everyone, regardless of our cultural background.
My immediate family as well as my extended family is multicultural – in my family we have Chinese (from mainland China), we have Scandinavian (Finland), we have American, and we have French and also Australian so we get to experience the cultural mix everyday. And over the years we have also gotten to explore some of the ideals and beliefs that come with each culture, always whilst learning to appreciate the person themselves and what they already bring or are yet to bring. It is a wonderful learning curve.
“Being physically far from Universal Medicine has asked me to live the responsibility of expressing the truth of who I am in my daily life and what a huge gift this is.”
To live with love every day, is a choice and still has to be made by each person in their own time. To be in a circle where others are already choosing to live lovingly is indeed a beautiful thing, however, it does not teach us to hold ourselves outside of this environment. Adele, what you are undertaking is phenomenal – to live in love each day facing the consciousnesses that abound, and you have your inner strength to turn to every day because you have as a necessity developed this relationship with yourself – nothing takes this away, and nothing brings it to you, other than your own choice to do so. What an inspiration! Thank you!
What a fruitful and enlightening presentation you have offered us all to enable us to understand a little more fully the ‘culture’ of being ‘Chinese’, and I have for a while pondered this as I have witnessed in our local well known shopping plaza known as Pacific Fair the number of Chinese folk that choose to literally curl up and settle in for a good and deep sleep on the huge and comfortable chairs that abound in this precinct, out cold and oblivious to the world around them, and I wonder at the exhaustion they must be experiencing to enable them to do this. On this note of observing beliefs of any culture, and specifically the Chinese culture for the moment, on having seen a television programme titled “If you are the one” which is a dating programme, I find quite fascinating the stance on which the the ’24 pretty girls’ and the intended suitors arrive at to choose a partner, supposedly for their first date before leading to marriage and the awareness of an overall lack of connection to their true selves, self worth or self love. I can now as a result of your blog Adele have a deeper compassion and understanding as to the platform that they are presenting from. If only they were connected with the deeper knowing that each one of them “Is the One”. I can feel the power of your reflection here on the Gold Coast, Australia, Adele, no matter how far away Hong Kong is geographically.
I can very much relate to not liking or feeling comfortable with the nationality, the culture, the circumstances that I was born into – and what I have learnt from Universal Medicine is nothing ever takes place by chance and there is a very good reason for anything to happen, and accepting that ‘very good reason’ feels to be an integral part of taking responsibility in a much bigger picture that far surpasses the nationalities, the cultures whatever we hold onto to identify ourselves with a sentiment – be it positive or negative.
I really love your sharing Adele. You are an inspiration to all of us and your country of birth. I agree we don’t really belong to any particular Country and the learning we receive from one another shows this. We are all Equal Sons of God and the more we live this the closer we will become. Nations will integrate as this is seen to be the truth. We are all fortunate to have access to the teachings of The Way of The Livingness as presented by Serge Benhayon and the lived example of this by him and his family.
There are so many pearls of wisdom in this piece of writing. Today this one stands out: “Anger is built from feeling truth but not speaking out”. We are born from truth and to live in a way that does not honour and express this causes a deep disturbance in our bodies and beings. An overwhelming sadness that then becomes anger when we do not allow ourselves to feel it.
Adele, I loved reading this. I too was born in Hong Kong but to Australian parents and I was only there for 2 years so I remember little. However, it remains the place I chose to incarnate into and I have since been back to visit. During these visits I felt totally engulfed there. Not being a part of the culture I was completely overwhelmed by all the bright lights, loud noises and frenetic pace of the city. Knowing you and reading this I can feel that you offer this country the reflection of a different and more truer way to be, one that is not confined by the dictates of culture but more so defined by the universal language our hearts speak when left unencumbered by the many layers we allow to impose over the top. This language is love, it is the voice of the Soul and it is spoken the world over by every person who makes the choice to relinquish the bonds of their chosen culture and truly see that we are united by love and divided by all that is put in place to stop us living this. Adele Leung, for me you are the brightest light in Hong Kong, in the deepest and truest sense. Thankyou for shining xx
Cultural beliefs can really place us in boxes from the very day we are born. The true essence of who we are cannot be held back from the ideals and beliefs as it is a separation from the actuality of our soul’s unified way. Adele thank you for breaking through the cultural barriers and sharing how equality is felt and lived by us all when we express from our bodies’ true knowing.
Wow Adele!! What you have shared here is truly exposing of not only Chinese, but all cultures and the bounds that these expectations place on all of us. Cultural identity prevents us from connecting to the equality that we all share as humanity.
Adele- it’s interesting that cultural ideals and beliefs (every country for that matter) are imposed on us from birth and mould us in our childhood into our adulthood, even though deep down we know them to not be true.
It’s so awesome what you bring to your culture -a beauty-full reflection of truth as a woman, someone who is not afraid to speak up and show self worth and equality as a woman, from a foundation of love and truth.
Awesome exposure of what consciousness the Chinese culture is held in- e.g. supremacy, subservience in woman, lack of self worth when a child- all to prevent the people from reconnecting to the truth of who they are and where they come from.
‘I know for a fact that my yellowness in complexion comes from the fact of what I have internalised and not expressed.’ This sentence really resonates as I realise the anger I hold in my body is felt as hardness, cramps in my hands and, perhaps too a yellow complexion. Something, like my anger, I have tried to pretend isn’t there. My discomfort at seeing a yellowness in my complexion I’ve dismissed as me not accepting myself physically. But perhaps what I’ve felt is my anger eating me up inside. An anger I’ve not allowed myself to simply feel (I am no longer the out of control angry teenager that I was) so old hurts are released and healed.
What a fascinating and insightful understanding of how culture can do its best to impose ideals and beliefs from the moment we are born, indeed before we are born, to keep us from knowing who we are in essence. I look at how my experience of culture doesn’t celebrate the truth of who we are and encourages empty, temporary ways to build confidence and self-esteem. I have certainly bought into being reduced to trying to rebuild myself without realising I am already everything.
Great to break that belief or consciousness that if everyone else is doing the same thing then its ok… when we truly look at how we live, and bring honesty and responsibility to the way we are living, a lot of our choices just do not make sense!
You have given me an insight into the Chinese culture that I never had before, ‘We are born into a culture where it is the norm to not accept self-worth and therefore the choice to evolve into our true being is very limited.’However, I am not sure there is any culture in the world that allows a deep fostering of self-worth of its citizens. They all have their nuances and certain ways of limiting this…each one has a certain flavour and it is great that you have begun the topic for discussion.
I love how you say Adele that when you express from connection and truth you not only support yourself but also offer a reflection back to your whole culture that there is a different way. This is how we inspire one another to greater awareness and consideration for how we live.
Adele this blog is a corker! You are deeply inspiring! ‘No matter how I look on the outside, where in the world I was born and where I am living now, what language I speak, deep inside there is something which does not distinguish me from everyone else, and this quality is who we all naturally and equally are.’
Thank you for sharing Adele… I had no idea of some of the cultural aspects you have shared – like saying a baby is ugly! How awesome to express all this, to have it out in the open, and to see it for what it is… and in this way it no longer has control over you, and you offer others a true reflection of how to be in this world which is very inspiring for everyone.
Thank you Adele for this very insightful look at another culture. One thing that struck me when I read this sentence – “Because our expression does not reflect honesty, our protection thickens.” – was that you could say this applies to many cultures for many of us around the globe were brought up to be nice and to be polite rather than to be honest and real.
Adele I had no idea of the culture of China in that way. There are so many cultures that ask you to believe and commit to their ideals of how you need to be to fit into their culture. Only yesterday a casual staff member was sharing how they can’t eat certain foods on certain days of the week, and I thought, how can you honor your body and what it needs if your going by what a religion tells you, you have to do. We are then just like destiny pawns going along the track of life, giving our power away to a belief, never to know our true power. It’s absolutely perfect Adele that you are where you are, your way is very much needed there to break through long held and debilitating beliefs and ideals and help set others free from that.
These things we identify ourselves with are nothing more than labels, however we get very attached to them. Our cultural beliefs run deeply and I imagine there are many that we assume are our own when really they have been given to us. How great to be able to step back and see that you and all of us are so much more than the culture we were born into.
‘….the connection that we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture.’ To grow in this beautiful understanding Adele is to break down culture completely. What we can bring to our various ‘cultures’ cannot be underestimated when this understanding is lived as you so beautifully express
Wow Adele, thank you for this powerful, honest and deeply inspiring blog. I am can very much relate to everything you’ve shared. The truth you express completely blows our cultural barriers away leaving our universal language to speak loud and clear, as it emanates from our hearts what is true and absolute truth, LOVE. Love breaks down all barriers and illusions created by man.
This is one amazing, world changing blog Adele. I love how you have exposed so beautifully that being true to our self first and foremost has the power to build a connection that “is even stronger than the force of a whole culture”. That statement stopped me in my tracks as I realised the power and the implications that come with it. There is no culture in the world that has the power to keep us separate from each other if we come from the place within us that is nothing but love.
When we step beyond our culture and the country in which we were born or live in, we all have the opportunity to reconnect with our essence and see that in truth there are no borders, there are no barriers, that underneath our skin, deep within dwells a place that is a kingdom that lies equally within us all.
I had goose bumps as I read this Adele, revelation after revelation, you being you from your innermost being, recognising and addressing what keeps us away from that tender loving place that everyone of us has and is within, regardless of race, culture, nationality, colour. This feels world changing.
Amazing and true Adele, that the connection we can build with ourselves is even stronger than the force of a whole culture. The vulnerability, delicateness and imperfection you describe is a powerful combination for a steady, deepening connection to ourselves.
Such a great illustration and confirmation that we all are exactly where we need to be and all the support is there for us when we allow ourselves to accept and understand why we are where we are. “In fact, it was such a loving opportunity for me to live step by step in deep patience and tender acceptance of my developing self. Throughout this deepening and ongoing process, I have realised that being physically far away from Universal Medicine can only mean that support is already where I am at”.
The light that you shine Adele is an absolute blessing offering a reflection that extends beyond race, culture or gender.
It’s great to see someone tackling the on going consciousness of culture and bringing it the awareness in order to change. It defies belief how we can be so hooked into something that so clearly separates mankind from each other and is one of the things that helps keep us from truly knowing who we are.
This is such a powerful statement, especially because it comes from someone born into the culture. It feels obvious to me Adele you are born there to be the one to bring the truth to this whole culture. You are so powerful and all knowing that you don’t need to be near the work and instead need to be out holding a whole country!
The fact is in the title Universal Medicine. I know myself I have not done many courses in the last 6 years but have never felt less or wanting for anything. It is one of the remarkable realities of what is lived by those who present, they are fully available in what ever way you can access them.
You’re such a powerhouse Adele! I’ve never really felt into the Chinese culture, but everything you share, resonates deeply. As I was reading your article I wondered how I relate to The Netherlands and what is the consciousness of my own country. One we have in common, to work hard to get recognition and to avoid feeling and that life is about feeling. There’s definitely a deep worthiness, but as this is not expressed there’s also a lot of ignorance and arrogance. Consequences of this choices means that there’s a lot of individualism in The Netherlands. We tolerate each other, which is acceptance from our minds and are very much focussed on our own little world. We’ve got an amazing health care system to which we all pay quite a lot of money to take care of each other. Caring is different than nurturing though. Acting ‘normal’, don’t stand out is a common belief. Thank you Adele for opening up the exposure of the consciousnesses of countries.
What a very heavy culture China is and what an amazing place to be born and bring truth and break the cycle of all the games being played. Awesome Adele.
Thank you Adele of unraveling the Chinese culture and with that culture as such, showing that culture is just something we have created that however has nothing to do with our innate knowing of who we are.
Thank you Adele for expressing this. I am inspired by your honesty and openness in expressing who you are, living your truth. I can relate to much of what you have shared in being of Asian background and allowing culture to shape who I am. The truth remains though that we are universal.
It is true Adele, that much of what you present being of Chinese culture is common in other cultures. It is these beliefs and ideals the world over which keep us so disconnected from feeling our truth.
The responsibility is ours to live the truest essence of ourselves. The cultural norms you speak of are reflections to continually remind me of true purpose.
Every culture and nation has its own way of getting through life. Whilst I am not Chinese I can certainly relate to this Wall of China we create with other people, keeping them out with lies we promote and truth we deny. This relentlessly debases what others feel and makes them second guess what they sense. The more I consider what you present Adele I can feel that even in our addictions and ill patterns we are much more similar that we like to think as a human race. It is this idea of difference, that is our biggest malaise.
Being close to the Universal Medicine presentations is no guarantee that we will choose to embrace and understand what is being presented. In fact there can be a certain level of comfort in thinking that by attending that it therefore follows that we are ‘doing the work’. That work comes from choosing to connect and embrace what is true into a way of living and you’re testament to the fact Adele that close proximity to the presentations is not necessary to be able to connect to one’s innermost and then live from that place and to then inspire others you connect with.
Thank you for bringing understanding around the consciousness of the various cultures. We are all under the illusion of the consciousness of what we’ve chosen to be born into and when we step back and bring understanding it helps to dissolve this illusion we’ve surrounded ourselves with.
Adele, what a blessing you are for Hong Kong, bringing your light, your joy. The awesome woman you are will be felt, no one can deny what you have to offer, true love for people.
‘In the Chinese culture, when a baby is born, because of its preciousness, the elder generations would call him or her ugly because of the belief that when a baby is adored she or he will start to be proud and therefore die.’ This is horrible and completely against anything that is true and of love. We are precious by nature and to be adored confirms our innate beauty and love.
There is so much shared in this blog Adele, I look forward to continue to re-visit and feel the truth you write of regarding the effect of culture and beliefs on the young. I love the exposure of dishonesty, creating thicker protection and keeping others (and ourselves!) at bay when not expressing our truth.
“Many feelings are kept unspoken – we call this keeping words “in the heart” – but the truth is, what is from the heart cannot ever be kept mute by our body. Because our expression does not reflect honesty, our protection thickens. When we hide and do not share, we hold back transparency and true reflection. We do not learn from each other but keep everyone at bay”.
Wow Adele – what an incredible and very honest blog bringing an amazing insight into the Chinese Culture, unknown to me before reading this.Thank you!
Different cultures have a lot to answer for stifling true expression and keeping us as far away from truth as possible. Picture a time where culture takes a back seat to free expression and everyone being all that they are.
Adele, this is huge and such an inspiration. To continue to live within your culture but not from it, instead connected to the whole through your connection with yourself and your inner wisdom. Thank you.
So many parts of our lives that we naturally question and challenge as children we are then taught to accept and conform to are the very aspects that do us great harm. You are right Adele these complexities appear in many cultures across our world.
Amazing blog Adele. Cultural pressures and norms are heavy for us when we grow up, sounds like China is no exception!
Inspired by the support you have brought to yourself and your dedication to a living way that would seem so odd in your country, but is showing is the natural way and people connect deeply with it.
The untruth can only be exposed by the truth.
Now you are no longer caught up in the Chinese Culture what an inspiration and blessing you are to all.
I agree the fact that you live so far away from Universal Medicine has supported you to trust yourself deeply and know that you are capable of the challenges that come your way. You probably have evolved more in these 4 years then many who live close to the work.
In our most challenging moments we can learn and develop the most.
I often wonder why I chose to move so close to Universal Medicine. I moved before being introduced to Serge Benhayon and his family and Universal Medicine and then it made sense for me to be here and I appreciate it each day but I also love and appreciate that there are friends like you and many others, all around the world who are living The Way of The Livingness and inspiring so many people in your lives, in your communities and in your countries so that they too are able to access the teaching that have touched and changed our lives in so many ways.
Thanks for sharing so much about being Chinese. I never knew a lot of what you shared because to me, being Chinese has never meant you were any different. I see you and all, no matter what culture you come from as one and the same.
Just beautiful
Your “outing” of one of the many cultural consciousnesses that thrive today on our planet is much needed. They all seem so logical when you are in them, but if you look with fresh eyes as you have done, there is lack of common sense everywhere.
We could say that the whole world is born into a culture that does not value who we are as people and that it is our responsibility to see beyond this and claim for ourselves our innate divine essence and hence our worth.
Gosh Adele that was really interesting to read about the Chinese culture and as I was reading it I could feel so strongly how of course none of us are a nationality and all are of the same essence which is exactly what you said further on. Still it must be very intense to live under that conditioning as it is for everyone, everywhere who is indoctrinated one way or another, but very rarely treasured and supported for who they truly are.
When we consider all the cultures, religions etc in the world – within each, children are brought up thinking what feels natural and innate to us is not normal because of the ideals and beliefs that everyone around them are acting from. Then finally children adopt it. This is a mass suppression on humanity as a whole – and one many never question but quite often defend because of the years it has been ingrained and invested in.
Pure gold ‘the truth is, what is from the heart cannot ever be kept mute by our body.’
Quite simply – thank you for writing this.
What a huge debunking of how the not being honoured for our preciousness can be hidden in culture. This paragraph says a lot and a huge exposure to humanity’ ‘From birth we are not confirmed of our innate worth of being alive by generations who do not know, and probably have never been confirmed, of their own worth either. Our ingrained way of expression is self-deprecating, convoluted and complicated; it is reflecting the lack of simplicity and love that are natural to our heart.’
This is a corker of an article – addressing straight on the insidious and awful influence of cultural consciousnesses. Thank you for sharing so honestly from your experience and for then expanding it out to the fact that, whatever our culture maybe, we are imprisoned by it until we choose not to be. To mention ‘delicateness, vulnerability, imperfection and power’ together in one context is really cool and prison bar breaking. Thank you.
This is a stunning article Adele. It is deeply moving and honest. I lived in the Middle East a lot of my life and that felt more like home to me than the UK. It was confusing as a child that I did not look English yet that was supposedly my home. Knowing now that we are all one, breaks down all these barriers to just being who we are, despite cultures and other ideals and beliefs that hold us back, if we allow them to do so!
Beauty Full Adele! Living where you do is the gift to know who you are from your body, from the way you live. What I have loved about the way Universal Medicine works is that it doesn’t leave anyone less, there are lots of ways to hear the presentations, even what was presented on the retreats. The thing that has struck me, is that it is unimposing, if I don’t want to know no one hounds me, if I want to know, it is all right there for me to bring into my daily living.
This is a great point. It is always our choice with how much we engage with Universal Medicine and the support it offers. This is the first time I have come across this unimposing way in a business.
What a gorgeous reflection on “culture”. Thanks Adele. The taste of the cultures might be different, but it is still a taste of what is not from Soul.
Well said Felix. Anything that separates us or does not support us to know and feel the glory of who we all are is equally suppressing to our innateness.