Follow Your Heart

Stuart Harrison

Published by Western Wellness Centre Pty Ltd on behalf of the S&DHarrison Family Trust.

Copyright 2012 © Stuart Harrison

All rights reserved. is publication is copyright and may not beresold or reproduced in any manner without prior consent of thepublisher (except for excerpts for genuine study purposes, in

accordance with the Copyright Act).

Set in Linux Libertine

Editing and production by Hourigan & Co.hourigan.co

Find the author onlinewesternwellness.com.au

Every effort has been made to ensure this publication is free fromerrors and omissions. e author and publisher shall not acceptliability for any loss, injury or damage occasioned to any person

acting or not acting as a result of the material in this book,regardless as to whether there has been a negligent act or omission.

v.2014-05-14

is book is a journey of fearless self-examination.

It will open the door of possibilities and allow you tounderstand yourself in a unique way.

Contents

Contents 4

How to use this book 5

Why follow your heart? 7

Part 1 – Discovering our potential 8

Part 2 – Overcoming fear 14

Part 3 – Manifesting your dreams 21

About the author 29

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Anowledgements

is book is an authentic expression of my own truth. Itmanifestsmy experiences as the creator ofmy life.is journeybegan for me many years ago and is a bliss that will never end.

e most profound teachings in my life have come fromexperience, from adversity to success and from heartache tolove. All these have brought me to where I am and who I amtoday.

In my life, I have been influenced by many people’s wis-dom. is book is an acknowledgement of my teachers andfriends, and of the many people that have allowed me anopportunity to serve them.

My greatest supporter has always been my wife, Danielle.Today, with her love, respect and vision, we live by helpingpeople to transform their own lives through yoga, meditationand self-development.

I would also like to acknowledge the teachings of the manyliving masters and authors who have influenced my work andprofoundly affected my own life journey. e teachings ofNeale Donald Walsch, Louise Hay, Deepak Chopra, DoreenVirtue, Eckhart Tolle, Esther and Jerry Hicks, Wayne Dyer,Carolyn Myss and Stephen Turoff are timeless.

I believe that all truth is universal, regardless of who themessenger is. As a teacher and messenger, my purpose is toawaken the “inner guru” within us all, and I hope that readersof this book will have this as their experience.

Blessings.

Stuart HarrisonMelbourne, AustraliaDecember 2013

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How to use this book

Let me begin by sharing with you a short summary of how theFollow Your Heart journey began.

What began as a healing journal chronicling my journeywith alcoholism and childhood trauma quickly turned into aguidebook for life. rough my suffering, I discovered how tomaster my behaviour, life experience and relationships. Alongthe way, I embraced the wisdom of yoga and meditation as thefoundations of my healing.

rough trial and error I began to heal my suffering dayby day. Over a nine-year period I transformed my life inevery way possible. I overcame addiction and le unfulfillingrelationships and careers while embarking on my life’s dreamof creating a wellbeing centre that supported others as theyhealed in the same way I had.

At every step in my journey I felt fear was the biggestbarrier to ending my suffering. By realising that what I fearedthe most was my own happiness, I unshackled myself from thechains I had put on many years before.

My story is authentic and unique to me, but I do notprofess to be separate, different or more magical than anyperson who reads this book. My intention is to make personaltransformation easy for anyone seeking to re-create who theytruly are. rough this book, I aim to inspire others to use thetools of transformation for their beerment, so that as humanbeings we can all embrace the life our hearts want us to live.

is book has been wrien in a reflective style that willstimulate your natural ability to think. Allow yourself time toread through the concepts and experiences shared within eachchapter.

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My desire is for readers to enjoy and experience a journeyof self-discovery that prompts reflection within the presentmoment of life. e teachings are profound and designedto stimulate a natural process of transformation within thereader. Each of the teachings is based around a core theme thatwill encourage you to uncover and bring forth the experienceof you own authentic identity. e first step in this process isto discover the teacher within.

roughout the book, there will be a number of reflectionpoints prompting you to think about a concept or a question.It is a good idea to record your thoughts and to observe yourfeelings, as every emotion you experience contains endlessamounts of wisdom.roughout this experience, I also encour-age you to make notes as an aid to personal reflection andexploration at a deeper level.

Allow this book to unfold for you, and focus on enjoyingthe experience even more than the words. More oen than not,simplicity in life can sometimes be wisdom lost in ignorance.Allow yourself time to nourish the experiences you gainwithinthis book. Stillness and silence can sometimes be our mostpowerful teachers.

I hope this book will be the start of a journey that opensthe door of possibilities and allows you to understand yourselfin a unique way.

Enjoy the journey…

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Why follow your heart?

At some point in our lives, we find ourselves searching for an-swers to some of the greatest unanswered questions. Perhapsthe biggest of these is, “What is the meaning of life?” Or moreimportantly, “What is the meaning of my life?”

As a life coach, I have worked with many people who areon an endless journey of searching. I passionately believe thatas human beings our greatest achievement is to discover ouridentity, purpose and underlying potential.

For many of us, this is where our journey of searchingbegins. What first made us take a step back and re-evaluatewho we are and what we want from life is very individual. eimportant thing is that we start the journey of discovery.

Whether you have just started your journey or have beenon it for some time, you have may have found yourself attimes questioning your identity and purpose in life. In thesemoments of reflection, where do you go to find the answers?And when you find the answers, how do you use them tochange your life? e answer is simple: when we understandwho we truly are and what our purpose is, we can discoverwhat is possible. Once we know what is possible, we can startturning our dreams into reality.

So how do we discover our identity and purpose in life? It’ssimple … just follow your heart.

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Part 1 – Discovering our potential

In this chapter, we will explore the concepts of our potentialand free will. We will also look at who we truly are as humanbeings (our identity) and what it means to truly live a life.

To understand potential, we must first connect with thefollowing:

• Potential exists within us when we have an intention tocreate.

• Potential is an organic process that resonates within usconsciously and sub-consciously.

• Potential is fuelled by our free will.• Free will is the essence of all life; it is the consciousintention to act.

Before we begin, take a moment to reflect on these ques-tions:

• What does potential mean to me?• What does potential feel like?• Who determines my free will?

Now I would like to start this journey with a story frommypast…

I was raised in a safe but emotionally challenging house-hold where my parents used alcohol to cope with the pres-sures of life. ite simply, alcohol was a way of life in ourfamily. When my parents separated and then divorced, I sawthrough my parents’ experiences that alcohol was not only arelationship-management tool but also an emotional escape.

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As a child, I soon realised you could put life on hold and escapereality through alcohol.

When I reflect on my childhood, I realise the majority ofmy negative experiences as a child were a result of alcohol. Iwitnessed and I was subjected to my parents’ alcohol-affectedactions and abuses on a daily basis. During these challengingtimes I came to recognise that somewhere deep inside of me,despite the pain, I was not the cause of my parents’ actionsand I knew this. But knowing that I was not the cause of myparents’ actions did not stop me reliving and recreating painfulchildhood experiences duringmy teenage years and early adultlife. By my own free will I chose to follow in my parents’footsteps and form my coping mechanisms through alcohol.

For me, like my parents, alcohol became a coping mech-anism used to escape reality and mask emotional pain. In-evitably, this behaviour resulted in binge drinking and anaddiction to alcohol.

In retrospect, I had the potential to create this experienceand givenmy upbringing it was natural forme to do so. But thiscycle of destruction was in reality my own creation and moreimportantly the product of my own free will. I had chosen toform my relationship with alcohol and to create every painfulexperience along the way. ese experiences taught me thatpotential exists where we have an intention to create; I hadthe potential to live sober yet I also had free will and chose tocontinue my relationship with alcohol well into my teenageand adult years.

I eventually realised I needed to seek professional help toovercome my addiction. Like many alcoholics, I lived in denial,rejecting all the warning signs as my life took shape aroundme. For me, recovery was an intuitive experience that wasmade real aer my family relationships dramatically ended.My reasons for drinking were much deeper than a need or

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inclination to reproduce the behaviour I learned from myparents; for me there were many scars, which I will addressin this book.

Over a three-year period, I began to heal my emotional painby learning to meditate and to develop my intuition. I wasdriven during this period by a calling, an inner knowingnessthat I had not connected to since I was a child. is callingto heal myself was warm and safe and, through the guidanceof my first meditation teacher and mentor, I began to feel likemyself for the first time in my life.

For me, meditation was hard, but over time I allowed itto become a doorway into my subconscious self. is allowedme to observe my emotions; most poignantly, though, it alsoallowed me to understand the messages of my heart, whichgave me a beer understanding of myself.roughmeditation,I soon came to realise who was responsible for my addictionand the creation of my suffering up until that point – and Iknew this person well. e reality was that to overcome myaddiction to alcohol, I had to take full responsibility for creatingthat addiction.

My potential to heal myself came from the same forcethat gave me the potential to create my addiction and painfulexperiences. Wherever I had been faced with adversity, I hadthe potential and free will to create my experience; in mostcases, I used them to create an experience that was negativeor painful. Yet, along the journey I also had the same potentialto change my direction at any point. is gave me hope.

Although your story may be very different from my own,at some point we have all chosen to create and be part of apainful experience by using our own free will. Free will existsorganically when we, as creators of our lives, form and act onour intentions.

In other words, free will is a vehicle that we are we all born

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to drive.e question is, do you want to learn to drive or wouldyou rather be driven?

In summary:

• Free will exists when an intention is placed upon it by itby its creator.

• e creator of our free will is also the creator of ourpotential in any given moment.

Take a moment to reflect on these questions:

• Who creates your free will?• Who gives your free will an intention?

Once I took responsibility for my free will, a weight waslied off my shoulders and I realised that I was the creator ofmy experiences. is meant that I had the potential and freewill to change. Just as I had realised as a child that I was notthe cause of my parents’ actions, I now realised that I was thecreator of my own experiences.

My instinctual ability to followmy heart and to listen tomyintuition is central to the story of my recovery from alcohol.While the cause of my pain was deeper than what I’ve talkedabout so far in this chapter, my desire to intuitively connect tomy heart and to follow my inner guidance was my salvation:it brought me home to myself.

Take a moment to reflect.

• When was the last time you passed the blame for some-thing negative happening in your life?

• Why do you feel that you did this?

At any given point, free will gives us the power of choice.We can choose to listen to and follow our heart, or followsomething or someone else. Ultimately, we all have a very

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powerful potential. At some stage in our lives wemust all cometo terms with the following statement:

I accept that I created … by my own free will, to choose to livethat experience.

For most, this statement is confronting; it challenges us onall levels as human beings. However, to balance this conceptwe should consider the role that other people play in our lives.Aer all, don’t they also affect how we use our free will?

Take a moment to reflect on these questions:

• How can you be influenced?• Do you choose to be influenced, or does someone choosefor you?

roughout my adult life, I have been addicted not just toalcohol but also to creating familiar experiences to do withalcohol and my relationship to my parents. As self-destructiveas my behaviour and addiction was at the time, I recreated eachday an experience that aligned with who I thought I was, andthis formed my identity.

For years, I identified myself as a victim of trauma throughmy parents’ alcoholism and behaviour towards me. By design,the identity I adopted placed responsibility for the creation ofmy experience on my parents, not on me.

My emotions told me something else: in my heart I didnot see myself as a victim, but in my “rational” and “judge-mental” mind I was the victim. erefore, it was inevitablethat I would follow in their footsteps and also become analcoholic. I allowed the voice inside my head to provide mewith an abundance of self-doubt so that every day I woke upconfidently reassured of my identity as a victim incapable ofchanging the self-destructive path I was on.

To heal, I needed first to change my identity. is was thehardest and most fear-filled experience of all. I had to let go of

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who I was so that I could become who I am.I spent a prolonged period reflecting on this next realisa-

tion. If I was not a victim of my experiences, then who would Ibe? It was one thing to accept that I had created an experiencewith my own free will, but to no longer identify with thatexperience, which formed the very basis of my existence, wastruly terrifying.

Upon this reflection, I realised that fear was determiningmy actions both consciously and subconsciously. I felt paral-ysed by the fear of change.

It’s time to now address fear as a separate topic, as ourrelationship to fear determines the actions we take on the pathto personal transformation.

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Part 2 – Overcoming fear

In this chapter, wewill explore overcoming fear, and our abilityto cut the ties that bind us to the past.

To understand fear, we must first connect with the follow-ing:

• Fear is an illusion that holds us back from possibility andachieving our potential.

• Fear is determined by our free will and desires.• Fear is something we choose to create and experience.• Fear binds us to the past as it creates part of our identity,giving us purpose.

To fully understand fear and how it affects our potential wemust first understand our ability to manifest and create fear.

For example, imagine this:Walking through the city late at night, you enter an area

known for muggings and assaults. One such incident was report-ed just last week. As you continue to walk down the street, youobserve in yourself the feeling of fear, knowing that there is thepotential for something bad to happen.

Consider the following:

• Who is creating the fear?• Is the city actually dangerous, or do you think so becausethe newspaper reported an incident?

In this example, the word was implies the past tense.Perhaps for someone in the past, the city has been dangerous.Whereas the word is implies that right now, in the presenttense, the city is dangerous.

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Take a moment to consider what happens when fear ariseswithin us.Where do you feel fear? Perhaps your head gives youa logical reason to be cautious; maybe your stomach squirmswith a “gut instinct,” or perhaps your heart beats wildly andyou feel a rush of adrenaline.

For most of us, our potential fear is created by our logical,judgmental self or mind, whereas our “gut instinct” and ourheart represent the emotions that we feel rather than theperceptions we create in our minds.

Take a moment to reflect on the following:

• What is fear to you?• When do you commonly experience fear?• How do you respond to fear?

As a life coach, I have spent time with people who are driv-en, propelled and even paralysed by fear. I grappled with fearwhen I confronted the notion of living sober and identifyingmyself as a non-drinker.

roughout my teenage and early adult years, I workedlong hours and socialised frequently; I was a typical “workhard, play hard” person. My work ethic came from my father,who lived with a relentless determination to be successful atany cost.

For me, drinking was not about balance. I enjoyed my beerand wine and loved overindulging. Subconsciously, I knew Iwas self-medicating. I instinctively knewmy past was the basisof my drinking, but I preferred to mask that realisation withalcohol.

By my early twenties, I realised that consuming as muchalcohol as I did was not a wise long-term health choice. Butknowing that my drinking habits were bad for me and facingthe reality of giving up alcohol were two different things. e

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thought of a sober life was too shocking to consider. Aer all,alcohol was part of my very being.

I had never known a life without alcohol. It was my re-laxation and my social life; it was how I related to my familyand peers, and I was well known for my drinking personality,which reinforced my identity. A life without alcohol wassimply terrifying, even though alcohol was destroyingme fromthe inside out.

So, what was the basis of my fear?In my case, the fear was of change, and of losing my

identity. I was living proof that fear is a direct manifestationof our potential to experience what we desire, whether it isdesirable or undesirable.

In the first chapter, I spoke of potential existing withinus. Here we are adding another layer by indicating we alsohave the potential to manifest what we desire. During thistime where I feared change, I also became secondarily addictedto my hangover days, in that I felt good about the “weekendrecovery session.” In truth, my fear wasmuch stronger thanmydesires for change. Nothing changed … just as I had desired.

Our free will gives us the potential to desire anything wewant. Free will arises within us consciously and subconscious-ly. erefore, we can manifest fear in the present moment byrecreating an experience from the past.

Previously, I spoke of identifying myself as the victim ofmy parents, whose alcohol abuse was the foundation of allsubsequent alcoholic experiences within my life. In actual fact,I desired subconsciously to be a “victim” and this manifested inmy reality, where I found myself recreating past experiencesover and over again.

At my lowest point, I realised I could no longer continuebeing who I was. My desire for life prevailed, and I decidedto change my experience. As soon as I did this, my desire to

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overcome my fears prevailed.For me, fear is one of the most powerful components in our

potential to create. What we create is a manifestation of ourintention to create. When we intend to create fear, it usuallyappears instantaneously for us to perceive.

Fear exists for our survival, and for me it became mypathway to recovery. Following my fear led me to identifywhat I needed to heal first in my life. Ultimately, our free willdetermines the creation of our fear and its experience. To moveforward in life, we need to master our free will first.

Take a moment to reflect on the following:

• Who determines your fear?• If we have the potential to create fear, can we control ourresponse to it?

• Does your fear have a purpose?

As I began the journey towards a new, sober life I recon-nected to my authentic identity and realised my greatest truth:that I was the creator of my life and, as the creator, I coulddetermine my experience.

For many years, I had suppressed and denied feelings andemotions that were authentic to me. Since my youth, I hadalways been naturally intrigued by and felt drawn towardsliving a more spiritual life. roughout my teenage and ear-ly adult years, I gravitated towards counselling and helpingothers. During my recovery period, I meditated daily, and asI listened to my heart and reflected on my dreams, passionsand skills, I began to realise my life’s purpose.

When I reflected on my life up to this point, I could seethat through the roles I had played in life, a paern wasemerging that drove me towards a career in healing, teachingand coaching. roughout this process, I realised my truepotential to help others discover their own life purpose and a

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pathway for living it. Every cell withinmy body resonatedwiththis fact, andwhen I meditated on this realisationmy heart wasoverwhelmed with joy.

As human beings, our emotions are real to us, but we alsohave free will that gives us the choice to accept or reject ourfeelings. I know that when I experience an emotion, my soulis communicating to me how I truly feel about a given subject.In this instance, the subject was my life’s purpose and what Itruly desired.

When I meditate and listen to my heart, I find myselfconnecting to an innate wisdom that lives deep within me. Butwhen I ignore my heart and the emotions I’m experiencing, Iobserve pain and fear: my soul does not support the choice Ihave made about who to be.

Take a moment to reflect on the following:

• Have you ever denied your emotions?• Why do we lie to ourselves?

Empowered by the knowledge that I was the creator of mylife, and having chosen to no longer live in fear or be boundto my identity as a “victim” I could now use my free will tochange my life and to take action. Over time, I took steps tostart living that purpose and to create my own new existence.is was also to be the beginning of a broader transformationthat occurred within my life.

It took me three years to heal and recover from my addic-tion to alcohol and the trauma surrounding my karmic familyrelationships. During this time, my first wife was supportiveand stood by my side.

My wife supported my decision to make changes withinmy life and career, and also supported my renewed interestin a spiritual path. Even in the face of her own perceived fearthat her husband was changing, she was strong and remained

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supportive. But towards the end of my recovery, it was clearto both of us that I had changed to a point where I’d become astranger in her life.

Initially, I resisted acknowledging the changes in our re-lationship. I desired a real change to occur within me, and onsome level I expected my wife and others around me to changeas well, which would keep us on the same path. Obviously,though, it is unreasonable to expect another person to change,and in my heart I didn’t really believe that my wife wouldchange as I had, regarding my relationship to alcohol and thelifestyle we had lived up to that point.

In this moment, I again had the potential to choose myown path. I had changed and this caused us both deep painand conflict to the point that our marriage no longer servedeither person’s needs. We were both now on very differentpaths. Having the awareness of choice is one thing; acting onthat awareness is another thing entirely. For months I choseinaction.

I again foundmyself in a life filled with fear and stagnation,where I felt trapped. But I chose not to leave, even thoughmy desire was to run away. Resentment built in both of us,and I became paralysed by guilt at the prospect of endingour marriage and being “judged” by friends and family. Manyquestions plagued me. Would I be alone for the rest of my life?Would I truly be happy without her? It all seemed too difficultto deal with, so I told myself I was happy and that if I believedthat to be true then it would be. I continued to live where I was.

Towards the end of the third year of my journey towardssobriety, my wife and I decided to go away for a weekendof reflection and relaxation in the bush. I spent the entireweekend meditating intensely, trying to connect with themany messages and emotions in my heart.

As I meditated, my heart revealed to me the message I

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needed to hear: “It’s safe to leave and it’s time to go … It’s timeto free yourself from your relationship… It’s time towalk to theedge of the cliff and leap!” In truth, I had been receiving thissame message for months, but I had not been ready to listenand act, as I had not realised who I could be. For the secondtime in my life, I was paralysed by an identity crisis!

At this point, I realised my final lesson about fear. I fearedmost what was possible in my life. I feared that my dreamswould come true. For months, I’d dreamt of being free to be theperson I wanted to be – free of judgment, free of addiction andfree of all negative relationships. My realisation was profound;my paralysis was as genuine as my fear of what my life couldbecome. As the creator of my own life, I had to take action tofree myself. In this moment, I felt my fear, walked to the edgeof the cliff, and leapt forward with pride. In this moment, a partof me died. e old Stuart was gone; it had been time for me tolet him go.

e decision to end my first marriage was hard and causedpain to all concerned. It was, however, the best decision thatI could have made. It showed me that my greatest fear was ofmy potential and that I would now no longer hold myself backfrom living my dreams.

Fear has helped me to become a more authentic person.It has allowed me to navigate the wisdom of my heart. Fearhas helped me to understand the illusions I create for myself.Fear has allowed me to manifest my own reality, whether it isdesirable or undesirable, and allowed me to peer through anopen doorway into my subconscious.

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Part 3 – Manifesting your dreams

In this chapter, we will explore our ability to manifest ourdreams and turn what we desire into a reality.

To understand manifestation, we must first connect withthe following:

• Dreams are a metaphor for the things we desire in lifeand the experiences we have in our sleep.

• To manifest our dreams, we must align our intention towhat we desire.

• To manifest our dreams, we need to understand whatwe desire in any given moment, as we are constantlycreating.

• To manifest our dreams, we need to change the beliefsystems that drive our ability to manifest, which is ourability to desire and create.

• We can only create what we genuinely believe is possiblefor us—a belief which is influenced by our recognition ofour potential and by the fear we may have of it.

In the first chapter, we discussed how we are the creator ofour potential and how free will can manifest our intentions. Ascreators, we have the choice to determine our experience andthe potential within our lives.

In the second chapter, we discussed fear and the conceptthat fear is a manifestation of our potential to experiencewhat we desire, whether it is desirable or undesirable. We allhave the potential to feel fear, yet we all experience fear inan individual way. Like our experience of potential, our fearexperience is a choice: we can perceive fear and respond to it

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with the same free will that governs our potential. We can learnfrom our fear or we can be ignorant. Our response to fear is alsoa maer of choice.

is chapter will explore our ability to manifest what wedesire and turn those desires into reality.

Let’s start with a simple question: do you believe yourdreams can come true? ink about dreams for a moment.When you sleep at night, do you want your dreams or doyou have your dreams? For me, dreams are a cosmic bundleof energy that can show me what’s possible. Regardless of thecontent of our dreams, for the moment in which they exist,they are real.

When we experience dreams, we create them – they occurwithin us. We experience them in the present moment of oursleep state. Our ability to experience a dream is a manifestationof our potential to create. When we desire, we energeticallybring forward the experience that we seek.Wemake the dreamexperience real in the present moment.

So, how do we create a real dream experience within ourphysical lives – one that we desire? e key lesson for man-ifestation here is the difference between having dreams andwanting dreams. Wanting is the creation of wanting; having ismore powerful, it’s the creation of ownership.

To manifest a dream, we must align our intention of cre-ation to what we desire, as we can only create what is alreadywithin us. ink about how you create happiness in your life.Do you start with an intention of being happy first?

Take a moment to reflect on these questions:

• Have you ever tried loving something or someone thatyou did not want to?

• Have you ever tried to be excited about something thatyou did not believe in?

• Have you ever tried winning the loery?

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Were you successful in any of these ventures? If not, why?e first step to manifesting our dreams is to understand

what we desire in any given moment. What we desire inter-nally is what we create externally. We are always creating ourexperience from the experience of our inner self. For many,this is the hardest lesson to learn when trying to create a newexperience for ourselves.

Take a moment to reflect on the following:

• What is being manifested in your world right now?• What experiences are you creating for yourself rightnow?

If we know that we are the creator of our experience, howdowe actively desire things that give us happiness?e answeris simple: we can only successfully desire somethingwe believein, and for most of us we need to see the evidence first. So, howmany people have youmetwhowant to win the loery orwantto find the perfect partner? Did they get what they wanted?

To successfullymanifest something, we first need to believethat it is possible for us. For example, it’s easier to daydreamthe experience of having unlimited wealth than to believe thatit is possible for us.

Take a moment to reflect on this statement:

• I can only create what I genuinely believe is possible forme.

What does this mean to you? Does it challenge your notionof responsibility or control?

As human beings, we have a tendency to judge and com-pare ourselves to others. Why do we do this? e best answerI can give is that it’s part of the everyday human experience,and one that you may choose to reflect on personally. When

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we judge, we limit ourselves to the belief that only othershave what we want or desire, and not us. is is a negativeaffirmation that becomes self-defeating.

As the creator of my experience, I don’t seek to createanything other than what I desire for myself, positive ornegative. I desire peace and happiness for all. I also desire thisfor myself, but it can only become a reality for me if I chooseto experience it and believe that I can do so within my life. It’simportant to remember that what gives me happiness may notmake another person happy.

Take a moment to reflect on these possible desires:

• I would like more money.• I would like my perfect partner to appear NOW!• I would like perfect health.• I would like to never work again.• I would like more or less of something.• I would like my current situation to change.

Before trying to consciously manifest the answers to theabove scenarios, ask yourself the following questions for each:

• Do I truly desire this experience?• What is my motivation for having this experience?• Is this experience for me or someone else?• Do I believe this experience is possible for me?

e secret to manifesting is to become truly grateful for thenatural intentions and desires you have and to simply listen toyour heart rather than your head. We are always creating.atis, we are always manifesting; it’s just a maer of – what arewe manifesting?

Taking control of the cycle of creation is simple: becomeconscious of your intentions and desires, speak to them, make

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them real and then start taking action. As you are the creator ofyour experience, it is only you who can manifest your desires.

In part 2, I spoke of my paralysis before taking action to endmymarriage.What Imost fearedwas the possibility that I couldbecome a beer version of me. In that moment when I couldn’tmake a decision, my new life had already arrived. However,it would not become my reality until I took action, and thisproved to me that manifestation was not a passive process ofsimply wanting things to change.

So, what was holding me back? I could have stayed inmy marriage, and I could have remained addicted to bingedrinking. I had the potential to choose any outcome I desired.Once I realised my potential and what was possible for me, myfear taught me one more vital lesson. I realised that when I feltfear, I struggled to believe what I desired was possible.

is was a roadblock, as change only occurred when Istepped forward into the perceived unknown. So it was onlythrough my own action that my fears subsided and I was lewith my potential to take another step towards the biggerpossibility of what my life could become. My dream came truethe moment I took action towards my goal, even though I wastruly terrified.

In reflecting on this experience, I learned another keylesson in the creation process: the universe does not give thingsto us outside of the things we truly desire.Most of us will neverwin the loery, but the universe does give us the possibilityto create. erefore, I and no one else am responsible andaccountable for my creation, my desires and my action orinaction.

Once I had changed my beliefs around my identity, I wasable to change other deeper beliefs I held about myself, myexistence and my potential. I began to live my new life asthe creator of my own experiences. In doing so, I was able

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to manifest things that I truly desired and believed I couldexperience, such as living sober and fulfilling my purposeas a teacher and coach. Finally, I could now also create anexperience of finding a loving wife who shared my desires.

Let me share with you another personal experience, whichbrings me an abundance of happiness.

A fewmonths aer my first marriage ended, I met Danielle,who is now my second wife. On our first date, we went out fordinner and a movie. It was the first date I had been on in almostten years, and I was a bit nervous as my head was clouded withemotions surrounding my recent separation. Overall, the nightwas pleasant and we both le feeling completely neutral aboutthe experience.

Unbeknown to me at the time, Danielle had also just endeda long-term relationship in an almost identical timeframe tomy own separation. Emotionally, she was in the exact sameplace as I was, and we both expressed the need for some timeto heal from our past relationships. We agreed we were in norush to jump into another long-term relationship, and decidedto go on another date.

We both enjoyed this second meeting, and I rememberfeeling unbelievably nervous. In reality, I had nothing to worryabout: Danielle was mentally and emotionally in the sameplace in life and we both took time to get to know eachother. Our second date was very special and we were ableto connect and get to know each other on a deeper level; wehad temporarily removed the emotional barriers that had beenbetween us on our first date and were able to relax and enjoyeach other’s company. We both enjoyed the night and couldn’twait for our next date.

at night, I knew I had met someone like me, who had thesame interests and loved the spiritual aspects of life. I felt thatour hearts connected. My stomach knoed and my heart told

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me I had just met someone very special.A fewmonths passed, and despite our original reservations

about jumping into another long-term relationship we foundourselves fully commied to each other. Around this time, Iremember stumbling across one of my old journal entries fromthe time ofmy separation. In amoment of reflective frustration,I had wrien a list of aributes that a potential partner musthave for me to love again. At the time, this could have beenseen as an ultimatum to the universe, but when I revisited thejournal entry I realised the potential of what I’d created.

I had, in fact, manifested my perfect partner into myexistence. At the time of writing the journal entry, I desiredand believed that I would find that special someone who wouldlove me and share my interests. I wholeheartedly knew I wouldfind this person or they would find me, and that I just had tobe patient and allow time for this to manifest.

e most intriguing element of that manifestation was thatDanielle had done the very same thing. Unbeknown to me,Danielle had also kept a journal before our first date. She likesto refer to it as a “man list,” which detailed all the qualities shedesired in a perfect partner.

When I told Danielle about my secret manifestation of ourrelationship, she revealed her journal entry. To this day, it stillmakes for an interesting storywhen people ask us howwemet.

My personal journey towards manifesting my dreams wasmade real through meditation and the belief that I couldbring about the state in which my dreams exist by choosingto manifest the experience of those dreams in the presentmoment. Meditation is more than just siing in silence; it’s aclear channel of communication to our inner self that lets usconnect to the wisdom of our hearts. Meditation allowed meto connect with my teacher within, and it has never failed me.

As your own creator, you have the free will to discover

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your authentic identity and purpose and to realise your truepotential. You choose your own experience in this life. Youalways have, and you always will. Personal transformation isoptional – so what path will you choose?

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About the author

Stuart Harrison has over eighteen years’ experience in thelearning and development sector as a leadership consultant,life coach, trainer and company director. As a coach, Stuart spe-cialises in self-leadership and behavioural change. Stuart drawsupon his diverse expertise to assist people in realising theirpotential by cultivating a mindset with no limitations. Stuartis a compassionate and inspirational teacher, oen recountinghis own personal challenges surrounding alcohol, addictionand emotional conditioning.

Along with his wife Danielle, Stuart operates WesternWellness, a yoga, meditation and life-coaching centre inMelbourne, Australia. Stuart remains active as a yoga and

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meditation teacher, following his heart to help people find theirinner guru. Stuart maintains lifelong passions for music and allthings aviation. Stuart andDanielle are both keen bushwalkers,and when time allows they seek solitude in walking trailsaround Victoria and eensland.

For further information about Stuart’s life coaching pro-grams, or to contact him, please visit westernwellness.com.au.

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