So this year I have decided to celebrate the winter solstice instead. It seemed like a good idea to me, to recognise that on the solstice we will be past the shortest day. I have a friend who is a pagan, and has celebrated the solstices for many years, so I asked her for some more info, and was delighted by her description. I probably haven’t absorbed it all, but here’s what registered with me…

The winter solstice is a celebration of the coming of the light again, as we move through that part of the cycle which has been the darkest. So it is all about lights, candles, glitter, shiny things – ring any bells?! It also recognises those things which stay the same no matter what, represented by evergreens like holly and fir trees – again, this may ring bells with you as you put up the Christmas decorations! The holly also represents the holly king who has reigned over the land from the summer up till this point, and who dresses in red and green – again, we somehow managed to put a similar figure into our Christmas celebrations! As we move through the turning point of the year from the fallow period, there will be new birth, which is represented by mistletoe, a symbol of health and fertility. OK, you see, I am really going to celebrate both stories!!

So, as you sit back to have a little peace finally at Christmas, remember that it is also the time of the returning of the light, the rebirth in the natural cycle, and delight in the natural world we live in and so often forget. Whatever our beliefs, we all deserve a little respite at this time of year, so make sure you both have fun and rest a little, to be able to get through the rest of winter – and have a lovely time!

Maui is a wonderful place, it really is paradise, and we are very fortunate to have such a welcoming set of friends, well, family on the island. This is our retreat time in the year, the time where we figure out/are shown the ‘what next’ on our journey. This year was no exception, and some amazing, magical things happened, which I hope in the new year, when we run our next Meta Spirit Day, that I will be able to share with you.

One of the most magical involved my old friend and teacher Emmanuel, and it’s that story that I wish to share with you.

Emmanuel has been a life-long teacher of mine. Most of you will be aware of him, I quote a lot from him on our Journey to Mastery programmes, and he’s the guy responsible for us meeting our Guardian Angels at the end of that programme. I’ve known him this lifetime since I was about 17.

When I was 17, I was a typical mixed up teenager. I was rebellious, had a penchant for all things black, was just as monosyllabic as most boys of that age, and had a taste for any drug that got you high. Confusingly, I also had become aware that I was also on a spiritual journey and that ultimately there was purpose to my life. (Which when you are a ‘goth’ is very annoying because it drop kicks all notions of nihilism into touch!) This contradiction – that I was very human, complete with all the human frailties that come with that, and that I also believed that I was angel and wanted to be more angelic in my life, led to a lot of confusion, depression and addiction.

I was very caught up in drugs at the time, and so I would be sat there doing that and thinking, how could I be an angel when I do these things to myself?

What I know now is that it was important for me to experience that darkness so that I could help others who have also experienced darkness in their lives. But at that time it was a different story, and it was Emmanuel who helped me through that dark time.

So let me introduce you to Emmanuel…

Emmanuel is a disembodied spirit, he doesn’t have a physical body like you and me, he’s an angel, and his purpose is to help us on this planet to remember who we really are.

It is his “job’ to remind us of our purpose and to help us to use the gifts that we have inherent inside of us – (And yes, that’s ALL of us, including you!) – to help transform this planet to a heaven on earth.

So… not a small job then! LOL

At the time I first met him, a lady called Pat Rodegast channelled Emmanuel. Pat was a beautiful lady, in her late 50’s I’d have guessed when I first met her, and over the years we formed a very close bond. Pat ‘adopted me’ as her un-official grandson in the latter years, and I willingly accepted her as my ‘adopted grandma’. She was a very, very special lady, whom I still love very dearly.

Pat was wonderful because she never quite ‘got it’. She wasn’t perfect, she wasn’t an embodiment of all of Emmanuel’s’ teachings, she was a human being just like the rest of us. She liked white wine and good Italian food, she had difficulties in her family life, she loved her Ford Mustang convertible and every morning walked on Miami Beach… in short she had doubts just like us and was human just like us. That’s what made her so adorable, and Emmanuel’s teaching all the more profound coming through her.

I’d go for a weekend retreat with Emmanuel most years from the age of 17 to a few years ago when Pat retired. When you go and see Emmanuel he doesn’t teach per se, although he does talk a little… We would ask our own personal questions of him, and then through his answers we would receive our own personalised teachings, but also (and here’s the magical bit) no matter who asked the question, often the teachings would have relevance to all of you in the room. So through the course of the weekend retreat you’d have very many ‘a-haa! moments’ and realisations. It was in that beautiful farmhouse in the depths of Herefordshire where the retreat was held that I’d often feel most at home, and have the most beautiful spiritual experiences that would shift me along on my journey.

Emmanuel has ALWAYS been there for me. He’s been my confidant, my guide, and my teacher. He’s given me a good kick up the backside when I needed it, but also given me permission to be me. He’s encouraged and delighted in me, but never let me off, he’s pushed me to be the best that I can be and helped me to uncover my real life purpose.

There were times in my life that I’m not proud of, times of real darkness when I felt I was alone, but Emmanuel made me realise that even in the depths of despair, even in my darkest hour I was never alone. That realisation helped me get through my addiction, helped me to recover my angelhood, and gradually to fall back in love with myself.

You see, Emmanuel says that the biggest thing that is wrong with our planet is not wars or greed or hunger. It is the fact that very few of us on this planet truly love ourselves. And that if we were to all tomorrow fall in love with ourselves again it would be amazing how this world would transform, into something close to a heaven on earth. There would be no violence, no hatred, no war, and no hunger. Because if we truly fall in love with ourselves, how can we hate? How can we not give? How can we not love our fellow man?

Over the years of having Emmanuel as my teacher, I came to understand that our relationship was changing. Now when he spoke to me through Pat, I felt that it was my elder brother talking to me, my fellow angel, and – dare I believe it? – my friend? He was now reminding me, encouraging me to live to my purpose, to believe in the truth of who I am, to be the biggest version of myself and follow my heart. To live ‘in love’ and to be the beacon for others to follow.

Emmanuel’s message is not ‘wishy-washy’ or ‘airy-fairy’ its very real and very understanding of the human journey we are all on. He talks about not dismissing your humanity, but to embrace your humanity while also allowing the angel that you are too. To be BOTH is the whole point of the human journey! There is no point dismissing the stuff of life, it is important to live life to the full to embrace it all, but also to understand that there is more, and that life ultimately has purpose.

And that is what he has given me the permission to be human, but also helped me find meaning in my life. It’s OK for me to be desirous, to want, to need, to like good red wine and sometimes forget my angel self completely and immerse myself in the human experience. It’s OK to forget. It’s OK to get caught in the drama of life. It’s OK to be you, it’s OK to be human! And from very early on he told me that I should work with young people, to be a beacon for others to follow. It took me about 15 years to finally ‘get’ the message, but now I know that my work with young people is what I am here to do.

Emmanuel is the greatest permission -giver I know. He’s also one of the biggest lovers I know. He just loves you up. Love just pours out of the messages he gives people, and love is all that he is. Emmanuel says that we all answered the call of love to be born on this planet, and that it is love and only love that the universe is made of. Not ‘romantic’ love but the most powerful incredible kind of love that there is.

So let’s fast forward a little and get to the juicy bits of this story…

About 3 years ago now Pat was diagnosed with a degenerative illness and she decided that it was time for her to retire. When Pat retired, I was sad to lose my ‘adopted grandma’. I had grown very fond of Pat and considered her part of my family. I also thought that I would lose Emmanuel, but this wasn’t to be the case!

About 18months ago or so, I was talking with my mum in one of our usual ‘sorting out life the universe and everything over a glass or two of wine’ evenings, when I encountered Emmanuel again.

It was late in the evening, and I was berating my mum for not doing an exercise that she had been doing with all the people she was coaching at the time. It was asking them to name their ‘forever friend’, the guardian angel that walked with them. I wanted to know who my ‘forever friend’ was, and so she asked me:

“Who’s your forever friend Jo?”

“Well I think it might be Emmanuel…” I said, somewhat surprised at my own response.

“Well since I’ve just gone all goose-pimply…” (Mum’s early warning system sign that meant it was the right name for the forever friend), “I think you might just be right!”

And then I heard a voice…

It was a voice that I’d known forever. It wasn’t loud, and in fact I didn’t really ‘hear it’ but soothing words entered my head…

“Of course I am your forever friend my dear, dear Joseph. We have known each other since the beginnings of time. You have always known this and now it is time for you and I to be together again.”

It was Emmanuel. He was talking to me… And that was the start of the next stage of my relationship with Emmanuel.

You see, from now on Emmanuel would begin to talk through me. Just as he had with Pat, now it was with me.

And that wasn’t easy for me to accept I can tell you! Oh boy!! Over the next few months I struggled a lot with denial and unworthiness. Who was I to have Emmanuel talk to me?? Who was I to think that Emmanuel is talking through me? How dare I think that!

My mind went into freefall. Was I going crazy? Surely hearing voices was the first (or perhaps the fifth or sixth!) sign of madness? All my insecurities came up, all my unworthiness, my doubts, my fears!

Thankfully I had my mum, who would encourage me, ask questions of Emmanuel that I would have no way of knowing anything about, and get Emmanuel to answer through me.

It was weird. Really weird! (And f**king freaky too!) I can tell you!

But over time, I became more and more used to it. I would collect with my ‘doubting Thomas’ mind all the evidence of stuff that Emmanuel would say that I had no way of knowing. I began to accept that it was indeed Emmanuel that was talking through me, and even sharing it with some people, other than my mum, who had been on an Emmanuel day before and so experienced him before.

We developed a shorthand and so when Emmanuel wanted to speak with someone that I was coaching he would tap the back of my right hand. Then I was put in that awkward spot of saying: “Ermmm… if you don’t mind, there’s someone else who wants to speak to you.”

“Oh really.. who??”

“Well… as you know I have a teacher called Emmanuel, and he’s a disembodied spirit and… ” – you can imagine the look on most people’s faces I’m sure!

But actually, when he began to talk to them, their expressions changed. They often would be transformed, delighted, and most importantly loved. Emmanuel loved them up, and helped them, giving such a different perspective to that which I would ever have been able to give.

And so over this last year, I have been on an incredible journey of self-discovery and learning. With Emmanuel and Mum’s help I have been on a ‘fast-track’ course on channelling, so that I can get more of ‘me’ out of the way, so that Emmanuel can come through more clearly and easily. It’s been a rollercoaster, but now Emmanuel is ‘on tap’ for me all the time. He never goes away, he’s always with me.

And so on Maui, we were talking with Emmanuel, and I asked him what I had to do in the upcoming year on my spiritual journey. And Emmanuel launched into a detailed description of what ‘me and him’ would be doing together. It seems that my ‘training’ is over, and that it’s time for me to ‘come out of the closet’ (no, not THAT closet but the spiritual closet) and say that: “I am Jo Clarkson, and I channel Emmanuel”

So I guess that’s what this update is about. I wanted to share this remarkable story with you, my friends at Meta Spirit…

Some of you who are friends already knew this, and those of you who came on the last Meta Spirit day had a taste of Emmanuel, who very much hi-jacked proceedings that day! But I wanted to properly come out of the closet about it and announce to the world, that Emmanuel and I will be working closely together in the future.

It’s a part of my purpose to be a channel for Emmanuel’s teachings, I know that. I am very honoured, and proud that he has chosen me to work with, and I am really very excited about what might be to come.

He has told me that we have some work to do with young people and that is the main purpose of our work, but I know that he also wants to share his message with everyone he can.

So I’d like to suggest that if you are up for it, that Emmanuel leads the next Meta Spirit Day, and we use it for you all to meet and ask questions of Emmanuel. I consider this community a very safe place to begin this journey with Emmanuel, and I would consider it a great honour if you would come along and share this amazing gift with me!

In the meantime, I thank you for listening to my story, and I hope that you will come and meet Emmanuel and hear his beautiful inspiring messages at the next Meta Spirit Day.

And so, I wish you a beautiful, heart-warming Christmas.

Make sure you spend quality time with your loved ones, and let them know that you love them…

Sending you all my love,

Jo (and Emmanuel!) xxxx

As you know, music is something that is close to my heart, and 3 years ago we came across this children’s orchestra in India that blew us away.

Ma Chetan Jyoti, who originally set up the music school, was one of my teachers. She taught me kirtans (Indian chanting), which is something I practise still today. Ma was someone who was devoted to helping people in her local community and she was especially moved to help the children whom she felt deserved the opportunity to better themselves and have some skills that may enable them to move out of poverty.

Music was always at the heart of what Ma did: she loved to sing kirtans and was beloved in Rishikesh for doing just that. Her musician friend, Shivananda (whom those of you who regularly read Meta Spirit will know I wrote about in the last update) was a classically taught musician whose talents meant that he was able to play and teach Indian classical music in any one of the numbers of instruments he played. (He plays violin, tabla, sitar, guitar, mandolin, santoor and teaches Indian classical singing too!)

Together they hatched the plan to set up the CJ-Maa Music School. The idea was to set up not only the school but also a children’s orchestra for Rishikesh. Any child from 7-18 from the local community was invited to come and learn an instrument or learn how to sing. The belief was that if they learnt an instrument or sang, and passed a proper exam graded classical music course, they could go on and earn a living as a musician and support their families, or at the very least, have far more confidence in themselves and their abilities, so they could find work and pursue education.

It was a bold plan and 3 years ago, just a year or so into the school, Di and I visited Shivananda in Rishikesh, and we experienced first hand these young children and their love of music.

We had gone to pay respects to Ma, who had sadly died earlier in the year. Ma was a big influence on both of us, and it was a visit that was tinged with sadness. Whilst there, Shivananda had asked us if we would come and listen to the children’s orchestra one day, as they wanted us to come hear them play… we of course were delighted to, and so one hot July afternoon we went to Ma’s house (where the music school was based at that time) and climbed the stairs to the roof terrace.

The scene that greeted us was very moving. Around 40 or so kids were sitting around Shivananda who was leading the orchestra. There were big kids and very little kids some only 6 or 7 we’d guess. There weren’t anywhere enough instruments to go around so many of the children had nothing to play but sang their little hearts out when they knew some of the words of the ragas (Indian classical songs) they were singing. We were given seats of honour right in front of the children. They were turning around staring at these two strange foreigners watching them! What we did not know at the time was that actually they had been preparing for this concert for us for some time, and so the performance was just for us!

Oh, if you could have seen the looks of concentration on those children’s faces! They soooo wanted to get it right for us. And get it right they did, they sang their little hearts out and played their instruments (sharing them in some cases half way through songs!) to the best of their abilities. They looked to us with eager little expectant faces… Did we like what they had played? Had they pleased us? Well… almost as soon as they started we were both very moved. We struggled back the tears as they sang and played for us – and gave rapturous applause as they finished their recital. We were quickly surrounded by this angelic little faces, beaming grins across their faces, as they took turns to say ‘Hello, how are you?’ in their best English accents!

That evening we talked with Shivananda as he fed a number of the children about how the orchestra/music school worked. He told us that any child from the age of 6/7 was welcome to come and learn there. He proudly told us that he had over 40 children who came every day, before school and afterwards, for their lessons. Those that came in the evening had a hot meal provided for them too, and while we were there we got to know a few of the children and their stories stirred our conscience.

There were nowhere near enough instruments to go around. So a lot of the children may only have a small amount of time each day on their instrument of choice, if they got to play it at all! The instruments that were there were generally old and donated by local musicians, and so they were not of a very high quality, and often needed repairing and re-stringing just to get them playable again.

We revisited India this year and we went back to see how the music school was progressing. I’d often thought of that day on the roof at Ma’s house and of the children we’d seen that day. Where were they now? And how was the orchestra doing?

We found that in the intervening years the music school had been struggling to survive. After Ma’s death her house was fought over by different claimants, which left the music school without a place to call home. Eventually Shivananda found a nearby school that was prepared to rent them a space (outside on their terrace) where they could practice. No longer could they afford to do morning and evening lessons, now it was only once a day in the evening after the school had finished for the day.

There are more children than ever at the school, some 50 or more now. They range in age from 7-20 and some of the older pupils now assist Shivananda in teaching the younger kids. They are continually playing in local temples and ashrams to try and raise enough money to survive. While we were there, we got to see a concert they gave at a local ashram, (the photo with them all in their white concert outfits!) and they were brilliant.

Sadly, the continued existence of the orchestra is dependent on the donations of others. Shivananda does not earn anything for his tireless work. (He teaches them, gives them lifts to and fro from the school, feeds them, mentors the kids, and is a father-like figure to many of them – he does this every single day!). He loves those children and he loves teaching them and helping them to believe in themselves. He’s a real gentle, warm heart-led man.

Whilst talking to Shivananda about the financial realities of keeping the music school and kids orchestra going, what we realised is that we are talking very small amounts to us westerners, whereas in India, to Shivananda and the music school, they are massive amounts that are difficult to continually raise.

They still have very few instruments – nowhere near enough for the children that come there. The instruments are old and battered. Most are in a bad state of repair and are constantly in need of money-draining maintenance and repair. They play on the terrace of a nearby school in that has a roof but not much else!

Just finding the money each month to re-string instruments and pay the rent for the little outside space they get at the school is a struggle sometimes and, as Shivananda says, one day they might not make it!

So we had a very bright idea! We thought why don’t we make the CJ-Maa Music School our charity for 2011? We already donate 5% of our net fees from all the work that we do in organisations to a charity of the organisation’s choice, so why couldn’t we add the music school to the list of possible recipients?

Also we felt that a lot of you, the people we know and love might just like the idea of making a real difference to these children’s lives.

If you’d seen the look on these kids faces when we arrived back this year, the smiles and frowns of concentration as they tried their very best to play their instruments for us, then you’d be happy to contribute a few pounds to help the upkeep of this really worthwhile cause. I’ve put a list of what are the daily running costs of the school below.

THE RUNNING COSTS OF THE CJ-MAA MUSIC SCHOOL

These are the costs of the everyday things that the music school needs to survive…

EXAM COSTS (to put 1 child through their classical music grade exams for 1 year) – 250 rupees – £4

RENT – 1500 rupees a month – £22

STRINGS – 1000 rupees a month – £15

TABLA (Indian drum) skins – 500 rupees each – £7

VIOLIN – 3000 Rupees – £45

GUITAR – 4000 Rupees – £55

SITAR – 8000 Rupees – £120

HARMONIUM – 8000 Rupees – £120

If you feel moved to donate perhaps a violin or sitar? Or perhaps moved to pay the orchestra’s rent for a few months? Then why not do it?

What we promise is that it will be going to something that we think is really making a difference to these Indian children’s lives.

So get in touch and we’ll make sure that your money gets to them direct. And we’ll even send you a photo of the instrument you’ve bought with the child that you have bought it for… so you can see first hand what your money has done!

If you’d like to find out more and see more photos/videos of the children check their website – www.cj-maa-music-school.org

This was a dear friend’s legacy, to help these children find purpose in what was for most of them a very difficult and deprived life, and hopefully get themselves out of the poverty they were born into.

We believe that it is something that deserves the opportunity to not only survive but also grow and thrive!

So if you’d like to help, just drop us a line… and we’ll do what we can to keep the CJ-Maa-Music School open!

Thanks so much

Sending you all my love,

Jo xxx

The heads of 15 green campaign groups have written to the prime minister warning the government is in danger of losing its way on environmental policy. The groups include Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the RSPB. The letter is also signed by the heads of Green Alliance, Christian Aid, WWF, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, the Campaign for Better Transport, Oxfam, the Institute for European Environmental Policy, the Wildlife Trusts, Butterfly Conservation, Plantlife, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and the Woodland Trust.

First good news: this is a significant alliance of organisations and they are actively campaigning, and you can join in by going to any of their websites.

In their letter the campaign groups describe the pledge as a “great ambition” and cite the cancellation of the third runway at Heathrow, the decision to set up a green investment bank and a commitment to a Natural Environment White Paper as examples of a “promising start”. The letter also says: “Most critically we urge you to set out the case that a green economy is central to the future prosperity of the UK and not a cost to be endlessly debated and watered down…
It goes on to urge the prime minister to accept the key recommendations of advisory body the Committee on Climate Change on cutting emissions “to create clarity for investors and citizens about the UK’s direction”.

Andy Atkins, executive director of Friends of the Earth, told the BBC’s Today programme: “Let’s be clear, the climate change committee has not just made these recommendations on the basis of the science, they have looked at the economics as well.”

Second good news: we don’t have to wait for the government to get its act together. There are already a few energy companies that are truly committed to green energy, and we can transfer to them, and help to grow the green agenda from the people end! I would recommend looking at ecotricity. This company is absolutely committed to green energy. Their approach is to charge the same as the big energy companies, but to invest profit in creating new renewable energy resources, so that there is more available, and less excuse for not being able to do anything about it. So they cost you no more than your present suppliers, but are changing the way we resource the energy we use. On top of that, they have excellent customer service, transparent policies, and simple procedures for joining. What are you waiting for? Their website is www.ecotricity.co.uk .

Go and have a look!

Someone recommended this book to me, and I don’t remember who – sorry if you’re reading this!!

It’s a running example of how to reframe any situation or circumstance and think about it more usefully and constructively, with different aspects of our lives covered in the different chapters, e.g. health, confidence, success. To me, it gives simple reminders of how we can turn around our thinking to help us handle our lives better, in an easily digestible and dip-into-able format. Even those who are good at approaching life this way will find something useful in it, and the rest of us will undoubtedly find several things we can immediately use!

ISBN 978-0-273-72751-4

The first task is to distract ourselves. Our thoughts are busy reinforcing that we are wrong, or were wronged, and finding more and more reasons for being upset or angry, so we need to get out of the spiral. What makes you forget everything else that is going on? Is it music, a jigsaw, a good film, a hobby you love, playing with your children? We need a repertoire of these distractions to call on when this happens, so as to create a space that allows our mind to begin to regain perspective.

Secondly, we need to recognise that the reason something can take over our world like this is that it is linked to something important to us emotionally: maybe someone made you feel small, or stupid, and that hurts; or you made a mistake, and you always want to get things right. There are lots of possibilities, but most times it does link into some breach of our core values in some way. So, what was it about the event that upset or angered you? Now consciously find at least ten counter-examples of when this core value was supported: people liked what you did; you were thoughtful, etc. This is to remind yourself that your world really isn’t not working all the time!!

Thirdly, we need to forgive. If others were at fault, see them as children who don’t know any better and let it go. If you were at fault, remember you are only human, and if you got it right every time, you would be divine!!
By now, you will be beginning to regain perspective, so take a breath, and reward yourself with a treat! You’ve just put yourself through the mill and started working to put yourself together again, so you need a little pampering! Be kind to yourself, as you would to a friend who had been through the same thing.

Finally, it’s important to do what you can to avoid a similar battering in the future, so ask yourself: ‘What will I do differently in this sort of situation in the future?’ And, for a moment, see yourself using the alternative approach.
Above all, remember: most of the time, your life works pretty well!

I’ve just been to India, and whilst there I seem to have uncovered a part of my family that I just didn’t realise I had!

This is not my real family, but my spiritual family. I’ve talked before with you about the fact that my belief that it is not always our real family that are our ‘true family’. As the Messiah’s Handbook in Richard Bach’s book – Illusions – says:

The bond
that links your true family
is not one of blood,  but
of respect and joy in
each other’s life.

Rarely do members
of one family grow up
under the same
roof.

It’s a quote that has always appealed to me, and in terms of the my closest friends (who feel like more than just friends, more like family) I’ve got it, but experiences half way across the planet in India have made me realise that I have family there.

India is an intense place. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.

It’s like going into town on a Saturday… only that ‘busyness’ happens everyday, 24/7. There are constant noises, colour and smells that us westerners just aren’t accustomed to. It feels like watching a movie in 3D only you are actually in the movie! (I call it Indian 4D!!) And you get frazzled in about 30 minutes flat!

It is an alien world, but to me, I’ve always felt at home there. From the first time I visited, I looked at the people and just knew that this was home. They looked so different, but I instantly felt like they were my brothers and sisters. It was a strange experience, never had somewhere so alien and unfamiliar felt so homely!

As I think you know, I sing ‘kirtans’, which is Hindu devotional chanting, so in the last year I’ve been teaching myself harmonium and developing myself as a ‘Kirtan Wallah’ (Kirtan Singer). It’s been a tremendous learning curve, and I’ve loved every minute (Kirtan singing IS my spiritual practice and once it gets under your skin and into your heart, its very addictive!). Sadly, the woman who was the inspiration behind me taking it up more seriously, a lady called Ma Chetan Jyoti (Ma for short) died a couple of years ago and she never got to see me sing.

When I go to Rishikesh, it is Ma that first took me there, and it is in her memory that I go back. This time I am going to visit her devotee and musician, Shivananda. Shivananda runs a kids’ orchestra in Rishikesh. (I’ll be talking more about that next time). He’s a classically taught, multi-instrumentalist musician, who teaches local kids to sing or play an instrument. He dedicates his life, using music to give local underprivileged kids hope and perhaps even a brighter future.

Shivananda, is a selfless giver. I’d guess he’s about my age, maybe a little older, certainly no more than 40. And yet he has never lost his ‘child-likeness’ (this is why he is so successful with the children in the orchestra), nor has he ever lost his ‘open-heartedness’. It just shines out of him when he smiles.

While Ma was alive he was her right hand man, playing tabla (Indian drums) or violin to her sweet devotional singing. It was there that I met him, and instantly had a liking for him… little was I to know what was to come.

Fast forward to us arriving from London in Dehradun. It’s been a hellish journey, about 24 hours at least, door to door. We are tired, run down and there is Shivananda, his big beaming smile lighting up the airport entrance, and re-lighting our hearts. His welcoming hug was like the hug of a lifelong friend. What I didn’t realise then, was that he was welcoming me home, back to my real family.

Rishikesh is a wonderful town, just in the foothills of the Himalayas (literally it’s where they start) and with the River Ganges (India’s most sacred river) flowing through it, it has always been an important pilgrimage place to hindus. It really is quite an astounding place, full of temples and ‘sadhus’ (wandering mystics/ascetics), pilgrims and yoga centres. It’s vibrant and alive with a palpable spiritual energy that comes alive in the morning as the sun rises and then again as the sun sets over the Himalayas. Each temple has its own elaborate (and loud!) ceremonies called ‘aarti’ or prayer ceremony… and up and down the river there is this amazing mélange of different temples competing to make the most noise! It’s simply amazing.

Whilst in Rishikesh, I was in heaven. Every morning I would sit on my balcony and sing. The place we were staying was right by the Ganges and opposite us, the temples vied for your eyes’ attention, and behind those temples rose the magnificent Himalayas in all their glory. Sitting there with the sun peeking over the mountains, nothing could feel more perfect than to be in India in this special place, singing!

Shivananda came to listen to me, and there were tears in his eyes. “You remind me of Ma,” he said. “It is so beautiful the way you sing, you sing with your heart…”

That was the start of some of the most magical days of my life so far. Shivananda (very much in the spirit of Ma who was always pushing me to do things out of my comfort zone!) decided to take it upon himself to get me singing anywhere he could! I was a ‘Kirtan Wallah for hire’ and he was my manager! I got to sing in ashrams and temples, music schools and yoga centres, with some amazing Indian musicians and Indian kirtan singers. It was a baptism of fire, I can tell you, and it brought me alive and opened my heart more than I can possibly share in a short story like this.

During the time I was there, as I got to spend more and more time with Shivananda, I realised something quite profound. He was not just a friend, or someone who reminded me/kept my connection with Ma, he was my brother.

Maybe it was in his smile, or maybe it was in his childlike innocence, or in the passion that he had for the children in his care? Maybe it was in his hug… one thing was for sure, his hug had some serious love in it. Or maybe it was just the fact that this relative stranger, living half way across the planet from us, showed us so much care, attention and unconditional love. Whatever it was, Shivananda drew us both into his heart. Just seeing him every morning made you smile, and during the course of our stay, he just got closer and closer to us…

At the end of the stay I had asked Shivananda if he might show me how to bathe in the Ganges. In India the Ganges or ‘Ganga’ is worshipped as a goddess, and every day there is a steady stream of people going to bathe in the Ganges and ritually cleanse themselves. Rishikesh is a particularly holy site on the Ganges and that is why so many people come to bathe and visit there.

So the morning arrives and he takes me down to ‘Triveni’, the holiest point of the river’s progress through Rishikesh. When there we began to disrobe (you just go in in your underwear) and already, being the only westerner there, we soon had a small crowd of people watching this giant and his Indian friend bathing in the Ganges – seriously it was hilarious to watch! My mum was with us, and she suggested that maybe it was best if Shivananda did it first and then I copied him after, but he said, ‘No, we must do it together, as brothers’…

And so, bare footed on smooth rock, we moved a little into the current – it was fast flowing but we could just about stand. Shivananda showed me the proper way to do the ritual bathing, and I began immersing my whole body into the Ganga. And as I did so, I was immediately swept away in the powerful currents of this magical river. It was chaos, and at first scary, but then I just found it incredibly funny! Here I was, the gawky giant westerner, being swept down the river in front of the group of pilgrims, bathers and local onlookers.. What a sight I must have been!

Shivananda had got swept away too, but he grappled for the bank and made it to shore. Then he got back into the water and, using his body as something for me to grab onto, he caught me. I’m no small fellow, as you all know, and that knocked him back into the current and almost away with the flow, but thankfully I’d somehow got a firm footing, and the two of us, tumbling over each other in the water, managed to grapple our way to the shore.

We collapsed on the bank, laughing. This was Goddess Ganga’s reminder that she was not benign but very powerful, and it was not lost on us. We had come together, through the ceremony, and with that grace and a lot of laughter we had found each other. Not as friends, but as brothers, soul brothers.

We stood then, in the shallows, and finished off the ritual. Giving salutations to the great river and the sun, we sat on the bank to light our prayer boat (made of leaves and flowers with a small oil candle in it), and let it set sail, whilst we gently sang our songs of devotion together.

Sat there together with my brother Shivananda, on the banks of the Ganges, was heavenly. He was crying tears of joy, as was I. We both knew we had shared something very special. We embraced, as only long lost brothers, reunited after a long time can do… and in that embrace so our love blossomed and was shared with all that watched.

I went to India hoping to maybe find something more in my singing, or to learn some more about our teacher Maharajii. I had no idea that I would find my Indian brother, and reconnect with the Indian family that we have there.

Shivananda was just the beginning..

I was to find so much more of my spiritual family whilst in India. And there were so many more lessons and experiences that I hope, with time, I will come to understand and share with you.

But for now, do not wait until tomorrow to tell your real family that you love them. Remember, that not all members of the same family grow up under one roof, so who else is in your ‘extended family’? And who else might it be an idea to get in touch with again, and send love?

Well, I will say goodbye for now, I hope you have enjoyed my tale,

Sending all of you my love,
Jo xxx

This is a simple and lovely approach to change which counteracts all the cultural fears around change.  Although geared to address situations, where change appears to be for the worse, Walsch’s principles apply to all change, and just remind us that (a) it’s always happening (b) how we experience it is a choice.

If change bothers you or looks as if it will, do read this and change your view of change!

ISBN 978-1-57174-606-1

TOMS shoes is a company founded by Blake Mycoskie, who was horrified by how many children he saw without shoes, when he visited Argentina. He returned home, sold his website business, and started TOMS, making canvas shoes. The distinction of his company is that, for every pair of shoes sold to a customer, they make a free pair of shoes for children who don’t have any. These are delivered by volunteers to children all over the world.

TOMS shoes have become very popular and fashionable, and so far they have delivered over a million pairs of shoes to children. Blake knew nothing about shoes design, but he did know that he could make a difference somehow.

His passion made it possible, and sets an example for others. See more at www.toms-shoes.co.uk

And what does that mean, to be a human being?  We are a living system within a larger system and our purpose is to live in relationship with ourselves and with others.  Originally when we worked together to achieve common goals, it was to feed, clothe and house ourselves.  We realised that it was easier to achieve these things by co-operating and supporting each other, using our different strengths to play our part, and encouraging each other, so that we would all want to be a part of it.

Our ‘organisations’ are really just groups of people forming a bigger living system, so that they can achieve what they want to achieve more easily.  So why have we forgotten about how to use these systems well, and got caught up in just getting things done?

It’s time we remembered that it is through our relationship with others that we achieve more, it is by taking better care of ourselves that we really utilise our strengths.  It isn’t hard to do, in fact it comes naturally!

So for the next month;

• Give yourself a break before you are completely exhausted, and just take some breathing space to be.
• Address the human being you are dealing with before you just ask them to do something.
• Offer help to others, and
• Ask for help from others
• Encourage others to take a breathing space with you

None of this needs to take up much of your time, in fact it will be better use of time than the attempts we make to keep going or look as if we’re keeping going, when we’ve really had enough. Instead of depleting your energy, it will help to re-energise you.

When it comes down to it, none of us will want our epitaphs to say: ‘She finished the to-do list!’