Ancient Wisdom for the Global Marketplace

The recent implosion of the financial sector, and the social unrest in many parts of the globe have reverberated throughout the world and generated fear for many, but others see these crises as an opportunity for change. However, most people do not approach change with a positive mind or a hopeful spirit. Some people even fear change for a myriad of reasons that frequently arise due to conditioned responses. Our collective answer to the problems that have faced the world up to this moment has been to deny what is. We are now seeing on a large scale how fragile our lives can be, but also how inter-connected we are as a species. Now is our moment to come together as a human family and sit down at the world kitchen table and talk about the mess that we have collectively created for ourselves.

It is doubtful that leaders with vision for a sustainable future will emerge from the political spectrum. While this may sound pessimistic, the truth is the electorate in most parts of the globe remains polarized and angry. Leaders that come forward with new ideas are immediately branded and set into one camp or the other making it difficult for real change to occur. However, there are 21st century ideas arising in other sectors that are circulating through the collective mind to reshape our future. The one idea that is common among these innovators and most visionaries for the 21st century is the notion that our collective leap in consciousness will bring resolutions to many of our problems. I met a man who is this kind of visionary because he can communicate truth.

Derek O’Neill is one of those rare individuals that regard the human being as powerful, without limitation, and possessing all the knowledge within to create a better world for all, without exception. An Irishman who holds not only an advanced degree in psychology and several martial arts, he is also a well-known psychotherapist in Dublin and a popular spiritual teacher in America and abroad. Derek also happens to be a fully enlightened human being, which affords him a rather uncommon perspective about every aspect of life. More importantly, his enlightenment makes it virtually impossible for anyone to categorize him. He is appealing to folks on both sides of the political and ideological spectrum because he has no attachment to either. He cannot be categorized into one religion or even a spiritual perspective because he is attached to none. His teachings are powerful because they come from a place that transcends division. He speaks only in terms of unity, which is a place that feels familiar to his listeners. He can’t even be categorized as a New Age guru because he wants no followers, nor does he seek publicity or accolades.

I met Derek for the first time in the fall of 2005 at his advanced training course in Dublin called “More Truth Will Set You Free.” The name of the course was intriguing to me and I thought at the time that more truth and more freedom were two things I could certainly use in my life. I have attended Derek’s yearly course in Ireland for the last six years. I highly recommend this experience particularly to those in corporate jobs because my time spent in these workshops has transformed my personal life but has also had a profound effect on my business life. These workshops are very different from any event in the human potential market in that there is no agenda, no syllabus, no timetable of events, and no information to jot down. Derek only asks his audience to relax and allow their own experience to unfold and trust that what happens for each individual is perfect for them. So how can something like this change your life?
Conditioning refers to our patterns of behavior that we have either acquired or learned since birth. How do we come to think and behave the way we do? Why do we have strong feelings of like or dislike for a type of mate, or a person from a different race or culture? How many of us live with spoken or unspoken coulda’s and shoulda’s? How many of us consciously or not try to impose our conditioning on others? The challenge that Derek offers his participants is to accept who you are – warts and all. At the same time, know that conditioning can be jettisoned at any time because it’s not really who you are. When you recognize the conditioning and choose to let it go, who you truly are can then step forward. This sounded like a paradox to me (and it is) but I decided to try it anyway. Derek will be the first to say (with a touch of an Irish twinkle in his eye) that to look within requires courage and character because while it’s relatively easy to see how we are conditioned in a positive way, it is more difficult to see the not so shiny parts. It is downright unnerving to meet the parts of the personality that lies and cheats, or that is viscous, hateful, prejudiced, anxious, lazy, addicted, depressed, or fearful of death. The reward for shining the flashlight in these darkened corners is freedom, but the first step must be the willingness to see whatever is there. The remarkable healing that takes place in Derek’s workshops is not, therefore, performed by him but generated by the individual who has the courage to look, to see, and to ask that whatever they saw to be let go.

I have participated in Derek’s challenge for six years. The changes I experienced came quite rapidly. The only thing that I can say that I consciously did was make a commitment to myself to look at my conditioning. I learned that most of my own personal suffering was due to negative thinking and a poor self-image. I also learned that everything I knew about myself came from the outside – either from other people or events. I discovered that I believed my own thoughts about who I was and this was fueling the negativity and forming a relentless loop. When I let go of the negative conditioning I found a person inside that I hadn’t experienced since I was a child. I felt free of so many burdens and happy to be alive. My work has taken on new meaning and I am grateful and eager to discover the newness of each day. I work in the oil-trading field which is a highly competitive business. I was conditioned to be very competitive for many years, getting locked into the “them or us” mindset. Now my first thought is cooperation and how can a particular situation be resolved with a cooperative spirit instead of the polarization of competition. I basically approach my day with the attitude that I want to serve everyone, whether they are a member of my company or one of our competitors. And it feels very natural to work in this way. This is how the world changes. First we heal ourselves…….

Derek O’Neill is often referred to as a Master Healer. But he will tell you quite simply that we are all masters and all capable of doing not only what he does but much more, and he works hard to empower folks to believe in their own mastery. He is humble and sincere and his knowledge of ancient wisdom offers a perspective that the world is hungry to hear. He offers truth that rises above petty differences and self-interests, and truth that blasts open the closed hearts of all who cross his path. He is looking for the brave who are willing to walk this path of truth with him to serve humanity with heart and soul. World teachers of this caliber do not come along often. We have reached a moment in our collective history that requires us to change the manner in which we live and work together. The average global citizen wants simply to live in peace, have enough food to eat and fresh water to drink, and work at a job or a career that provides a sense of accomplishment and the financial means for a happy life for themselves and their children. These are such simple requests and yet they are elusive for so many. Change begins with us, each individual citizen, no matter what country or city or town we each call home. I am writing this article to appeal to the reader to be a part of the solution. Check out Derek O’Neill for yourself. Don’t take my word but investigate for yourself. Dare to invite a miracle or two into your life. It’s the only journey worth taking.